Hey everyone,
For my first full post, I will describe to you my favorite place in the world. Now, while I considered making my favorite place my hometown, I decided against that because I have lived here a long time and do not typically feel the wonder I felt in my true favorite place.
My favorite place to visit, as suggested by the title, is Oxford, England. I was lucky to study abroad here in Summer of 2019 (before COVID-19 times, when travel was available...). While I only spent a few weeks in this beautiful city, it quickly gained my heart as everywhere I went I saw interesting and beautiful sights.
As I will talk about in a future post, I am a reader. I read all the time, sometimes when I shouldn't, so getting to visit and study in such a historic area was a dream come true. The Bodleian Library, for example, was a highlight of my trip. Not only for the fact that it was a Harry Potter shooting location, but also for the fact that I was able to see centuries-old books preserved, and I was able to walk through one of the oldest libraries in Europe. Pictured below is the Radcliffe Camera, a part of the Bodleian Library system typically reserved for graduate students attending Oxford. I was sadly not able to go inside the gorgeous building, but I definitely admired its outside view.
For these reasons, and many more, Oxford is my favorite place to visit. I can still taste the amazing cookies purchased from a local bakery, or the delicious tea served in the mornings in the college I stayed in. Someday I hope to return, but for now I will just remember the town with fond memories.
One extra tidbit is that the background image for this blog was taken during my trip to Oxford, except it was taken in Edinburgh, Scotland, while hiking to the top of Arthur's Seat. This is a breathtaking extinct volcano that I and some friends hiked on about 4 hours of sleep while carrying a weekend's worth of clothes and laptops on our backs, which is a story for another time...
This made me feel sooooo sentimental, Tyler! I was a student at Oxford a gazillion years ago, back in the 1980s (I did an M.Phil. degree there), and of course it is a place that you never forget. And do you know the wonderful Dark Materials books by Philip Pullman? He is an author who lives in Oxford, and his books are a wonderful blend of Oxford-as-it-is along with an Oxford-of-the-imagination. They are my favorite fantasy books; highly recommended, especially if you are a fan of Oxford. :-) Pullman: His Dark Materials... and he even wrote a book called Lyra's Oxford (Lyra is the heroine of the novels)
ReplyDeleteHi Tyler! I considered doing the Honors at Oxford program, but after doing the Organic Chemistry in Italy program, I did not think it would be feasible to spend the extra money on another study abroad. I think I would have really liked it; I really enjoyed the architecture of Italy, and the picture you showed looks beautiful! I also live Harry Potter, so seeing a location from the movies would be so cool!
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