A short Oxford [re]visit

When I was in England in 2008, I visited Oxford three times (links to my blog posts from that era, as well as lots of pictures, are available here). But it's much too wonderful a city not to come back to.

Plus, we actually found that our last days in the UK were overlapping with the first days some cousins would be here, and Oxford was the preferred meet-up spot. Although I was skeptical that these two busy families could possibly actually meet up, it happened! And we were able to spend a fine afternoon together.

Here is the group of second cousins, trying to hold up the Bridge of Sighs...

other cameras looking straight on might have gotten the effect they were after

Since our time was limited, we stayed within a small area around our carpark, but it offered plenty to see. Including All Souls College, one that Hal and I remembered as being free to tour in 2008...and it still is! When we visited then, the term was just beginning, however, while now it was exam time, so we were cautioned not to disturb the studying students. But admiring the late medieval architecture (it was built in the 1430's) just elicits oohs and aahs.

All Souls quad

All Souls chapel

Then it was time for lunch, and what better venue could we choose than the Vaults and Garden cafe, right next to St. Mary's church and the Radcliffe Camera! (There's a great photo on the church's website showing the Camera and All Souls.) 

The scones were tasty, and served up with a good dose of history, as this plaque inside explains (it was pretty crowded so I couldn't get a shot without an Oxford-don-looking gentleman in the frame):

follow the cafe link to learn about a threat to this charming eateries' existence

We opted to eat outside, and several of us wandered into the church after eating. Since Hal and I had climbed the tower in September, 2008, we skipped that, but I'm sure the views from there are still gorgeous. Here's the steeple from the cafe:

Next on our agenda was the History of Science Museum. (This is one of my favorite museum subjects! how on earth did I miss it in 2008!)

In a 17th century building that housed the original Ashmolean Museum, it was a treat in its architecture and exhibits.

stairway, window, and...sextant?

beautiful old instruments

I'm not sure I got all of the relevant bits of this exhibit in the frame, but, Lawrence of Arabia! How cool!

It wasn't quite dinnertime when we exited the museum, but it was time to start talking about it. Making dinner decisions with this large and diverse a group takes a while! 

We ended up at a nice Italian place and had yummy pizzas—almost always a hit with almost all of any party. Here are the cousins again, this time enjoying each other's photos:

Getting these kiddos together isn't easy, either. Since we all live on the same side of the Atlantic, it shouldn't be so hard, but we had to travel a few thousand miles to make this happen!

Sad to say, this was our last full day in the UK. From Oxford we drove to Heathrow, where we had reservations at a convenient airport hotel. Our trusty van was turned in without incident and all we could do was rest up for our flights the next day.