For some reason the blog is cutting off half of these pictures -- probably b/c they're too big. Check out facebook if you want to see more. *sigh* Technology ...
Hey all!
I just got back from the best weekend in London and Oxford. We were only gone for two days but we did some pretty cool stuff!
My Oscar Wilde class, along with the Alfred Hitchcock class, left Bath around 8am on Friday for London. After a two-hour bus ride, we were dropped off at the Bayswater Tube station, near Notting Hill, and left to embark on our adventures! My class met up with Professor Adrian Patterson from Oxford. Adrian just finished writing his doctoral thesis and is now a professor. His job was to show us around London and Oxford and tell us all the important stuff!
From Bayswater, we headed to Covent Garden - sight of many adventures for Wilde and Eliza Doolittle! We walked past the Royal Opera House and the market. While inside the market, an opera singer from one of the music conservatories in London stood in the atrium and sung for money. Adrian said that a lot of students will do that in order to make some extra cash. Anywhere that supports free classical music is a great place by me!
Covent Garden Market
Opera singer at Covent Garden
Next we headed to Trafalgar Square and stopped in St. Martin-in-the-fields for a quick look around the church. St. Martin’s was built in the early eighteenth century and has a beautiful white and gold interior. It’s known for the concerts that are held regularly in the church. Across the street is the Royal Art Gallery as well as the Nelson statue.
Trafalgar Square
St. Martin-in-the-Field
We had lunch in Piccadilly Circus - a place where Wilde frequented. We moseyed down the Strand, where the Ritz is located, as well as a lot of gentleman’s clubs where Wilde would go. We saw the Savoy Hotel, but unfortunately it’s completely closed for renovations so we didn’t really get the full effect. But right next door was the Savoy Theater where many of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas were premiered.
The best part of the day though was definitely tea at the Cadogen Hotel. Wilde went to the Cadogan usually for various “illicit” activities with his gentlemen callers ... It was at the Cadogan where he was arrested and imprisoned without bail for being caught in such a predicament. My seminar and I were lucky to be allowed to have tea and read John Benjamin’s poem “The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogen Hotel.” Now that, was cool.
Cadogan Hotel
That night we hopped on a train at Paddington Station (Yes, the home of Paddington Bear!) and headed to Oxford. We stayed at a youth hostel right at the train station. That night Adrian took us out to the Mitre Pub, where Wilde often went, especially during exams, to hang out. Afterwards, my professor Barbara took us to the Bear - her favorite pub while she was at Oxford.
Oxford is an amazing little city. It’s completely dedicated to the University and its thirty-nine colleges. There’s a misconception in America, and I was definitely guilty of it too, that Oxford University is just one place. In fact, it’s one large university divided up into different institutions. ASE, the program that I’m in, is affiliated with University College at Oxford. Americans and other tourists are often seen buying the typical “Oxford” sweatshirt, when in fact, if you actually went to Oxford you would only buy your college’s apparel. In town there is only one shop where you can buy various colleges’ apparel and that’s Walter’s of Oxford. Walter’s is a gentleman’s clothing shop that sells everything - ties, pants, shoes, and even beanies! It was really interesting to see how much emphasis is still placed on “dressing to impress” at institutions like Oxford.
Oxford’s colleges also have some great traditions that make even William and Mary seem lax! Students are still required to wear black robes for certain ceremonial occasions and Fellows are the only people allowed to walk on the grass. Some of the colleges date back to the 1200’s - one of which, Worcester College, the poet Chaucer attended. Worcester College also happens to be Adrian’s alma mater and he took us around at dusk on Friday night. We passed through this ivy-covered, stone passageway and emerged out onto a large expansive field with a tree in the middle. Adrian then informed us that the passageway that we had just walked through inspired C.S. Lewis to write the Chronicles of Narnia. When Lewis walked through, he came upon the same field, only with a tree and a lamp post! He thought that it would be fascinating to write about a little girl who came through a passage into another land ... hence the wardrobe and Narnia. Too cool!
The passageway that inspired "The Chronicles of Narnia"
Then, today was the day that I have been waiting for. WE WENT TO THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY! The Bodleian is especially important to William and Mary because it was here that they found the Bodleian Plate depicting the architectural features of the Wren Building. It was used during the Rockerfeller Restoration of CW. To the rest of the world, and mostly Oxford, the Bodleian is the University’s main library and also one of the largest libraries in the world. It houses every book ever written. They say that as you walk through Oxford you are “walking on books,” and it’s true! The Bodleian stretches deep below it’s medieval exterior and winds beneath the city streets. No one is ever allowed to check books out of the library - not even Prince Charles when he went to Oxford. It’s a rule that was laid down when the library was created in 1320.
The Bodleian
For all my Harry Potter friends out there (especially Rach, my Book 7 pal!), I also got to see Christ Church College where much of the first and second movies were filmed. My friend Alyx and I went a little crazy running around the Great Hall, Qudditich Pitch, and Quad! It was such a shame that Oliver Wood wasn't out teaching today ... *sigh*
Welcome to Hogwarts! Alyx and me ... pre-sorting hat.
Alyx and me eating dinner in the Great Hall - we're obviously Gryffindors!!! (Or should I say, "Tots Gryffs Obvi ... haha Alyx)
Quidditch, anyone?
Chillin' in the quad before Potions class ...
Later this afternoon we went punting down the river in Oxford past Magdalen College (pronounced Maud-lin), where Oscar Wilde used to spend a lot of his time. Punting is very similar to a operating a Venetian gondola, except very British with boater hats, linen suits, and floral sundresses. It’s a lot harder than it looks! After a hilarious, splashy afternoon of attempting to maneuver the boat down the river we finally managed to get the hang of it. (Check out facebook for a video evidence!)
Scott, with his newly purchased boater hat, attempting to get our boat down the river
Adrian's group faired comparably better ... I think it's b/c he's British.
As for me, I need to sleep! It’s been a long few days .. .but here are some pictures to hopefully show you what I’ve been up to!
