10:30-1:00 p .m.

Thames Valley

Oxford, England

After getting off the bus, we passed the Martyr’s Memorial which commemorates the three Protestants burned at the stake in 1555 and 1556 on Broad Street (On Broad Street is a yellow brick cross in the pavement to mark the actual spot). We the headed towards Oxford University. Oxford University was founded in 1167 for English pupils who were kicked out of France by the king. Before then most wealthy parents sent their boys to Paris for quality education. I wasn’t aware that Oxford University was made up of 36 individual and independent colleges. Unfortunately, the day that we arrived, they had an open day for prospective students and their parents, so many of the colleges were closed except to them, including Christ Church College. After the tour of the outside of some of the colleges, we viewed the outside of Cathedral back in London . We then viewed from the outside the Bridge of Sighs which resemble the steeply arched bridge in Venice, Italy. It was built in 1914 and joins the old and new buildings of Hertford College. Next, we viewed the outside and inner courtyard of the Bodleian library. Founded in 1320, it is entitled to receive a copy of every book published in Britain! For the final part of our tour, we viewed the outside of the Radcliffe Camera. No not a picture taking object, but a building built in 1748 for an additional place of study as part of the library. We passed St. Mary the Virgin Church on our way out to the main roads. We then were given time to explore and grab a bite to eat. I headed for the ruins of Oxford Castle. The 1,000 year old castle reopened in 2005 as part museum and part urban area for shops, restaurants and a hotel. I had planned to take the tour, but got there too late to make the current tour, and the next tour would take too long. I took pictures of the mound and outside of the castle wall s. I then decided to head off to find a restaurant . I noticed that many places offered baguettes and sandwiches. But due to my pickiness, many of them were unappealing (still seeing pickles and mustard sandwiches…ick!). I finally decided to enter a restaurant to have a salad and fish and chips (still haven’t had it yet!). I asked the man behind the bar if I could sit anywhere and he said yes. I sat down near the open window. A group of 4 and a mother and young daughter were nearby. After sitting there for about 5 minutes the waitress came by with a small tray of olives, bread, and oil. All she said was, “Olives?” I said, “Thank you.” I tried the appetizer, but didn’t care for the olives, but ate one of the slices of bread dipped in the oil. A few minutes later, one of the group of 4 got up and went and spoke to the man behind the bar. He went and spoke to the waitress. They both came to my table and took the olive tray away. The man said that this was meant for the group of 4! After he left,
I apologized to the group, stating that I had thought it was a free appetizer the restaurant provided. After sitting for another 5 minutes, I got fed up with the service. The group asked if I was leaving. When I mentioned that the service was poor, they said that one had to go up to the bar to order! I didn’t know that! There were no signs. I left and headed back towards the bus. After picking up some souvenirs, I grabbed a cheese bread and water, and got back to the bus.