Oxford Dreaming

Christchurch College, Oxford

The Radcliffe Camera and the dreaming spires of Oxford.

The Eagle and Child Pub

Punting near Christchurch College

I am daydreaming of Oxford because I will be taking a train from Paddington Station in London to Oxford a month and a half from now. I think about the first time I was there. Walking through the streets of Oxford was exhilarating for me. I felt like a kid in a toy store. Giddy with excitement. I knew that I was walking in the footsteps of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Lewis Carroll. Three of my favorite authors. Every street was full of history and fascinating architecture.

I couldn't believe I was actually eating lunch at The Eagle and Child Pub, famous for being the regular meeting spot of Lewis, Tolkien, and their friends to have a pint of beer and talk about their writings. I was surrounded by dark wood, old furniture, and the air of the Inklings.

How delighted was I to experience the grandeur feeling of being in the Christ Church College dining hall, most recently well-known because the Harry Potter dining hall scenes were filmed here. I gazed at the painting of Lewis Carroll on the wall of the dining hall and imagined him walking around the green fields around this college, and the river nearby, dreaming up characters of Alice in Wonderland.

Those who are not quite as bookish as me do not completely understand my excitement, but Jason was very patient with me as I spent as much time as possible in Magdalen College, where C.S. Lewis lived and taught for many years in the 1940s-50s. We wandered the halls, the open spaces, the cloister, the chapel. I even got some cream tea and sat by the river, where rows of punting boats were laced together with rope.

Later, we wandered through several other colleges before ending up at the Radcliffe Camera (the word camera is Latin for room), which is a round classical building that houses reading rooms. Just beyond this building is the Bodleian Library, which is the 2nd largest in the UK behind the British Library in London. Since I didn't get to explore the library, it is high on my priority list for this next visit.

There is so much to appreciate in Oxford, even if you aren't a huge bookworm like I am. The buildings, the history, the people, the culture. But I feel like this place was made for me....bookworm that I am.....