This morning we packed up the car and headed out of town. Vicki loaned us her Tom Tom GPS, and so far that has proven to be a life saver! Vicki also equipped us with an extra mobile phone for emergencies. Jerry suggested that we take the M40 out of town and get off near Maidenhead and go to Henley-upon-Thames. Henley is the site of an annual regatta. It's a big point on the summer social calendar for the remnants of the aristocracy. It is a really cute town, however.
We went on into Oxford. The Tom Tom was not at its best here, as it led us a couple times down incredibly narrow streets which proved to have no outlet. We finally found some legal parking at the Westgate shopping center. This little mall is not like the Westfield in Shepherd's Bush. It seemed a bit more like something out of East Germany. But we were only there to the park, not to shop. We went to the Information Center on Broad Street to sign up for the two o'clock tour. We had a few minutes so we walked around and had a quick bite of lunch in the old covered market. Returning to Broad Street, I found a cross made of bricks on the pavement which marked the spot where Cranner, Ridley, and Latimer were burned at the stake by Queen Mary.
Our guide was a French woman named Danielle. Her English was impeccable, if slightly accented, and she knew just about everything about the University and its history. She could bit a little sarcastic at times - we liked that. We went into Jesus College to examine the Quadrangle, the Chapel, and the Refectory. She knew a lot about how the system worked and explained admissions, finances, and how all these things have changed in recent years.
We walked by several other colleges including Balliol, Exeter, Oriel, University and New College. We were particularly taken with New College as we explored the Chapel, the lawn and the section of the old city wall which was incorporated into the college grounds.
We did not do the tour of Christ Church, the most famous of the colleges, because it was late and our guide had warned us that we could not see some of the best parts. But we walked by it and admired its architecture and the lovely meadow near it.
Tomorrow, off to Blenheim Palace (ancestral home of the Dukes of Marlborough) and then on to Chipping Campden and our Cotswold adventures.
