Restaurants, Shops, and More: The Best of Oxford List

In an effort to procrastinate from packing, I would much rather reflect on my favorite places and such in Oxford. It is going to be a bit of a random list, but I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed doing these things:

Best Sandwich: Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella panini at Le Parisien
Two pounds, fifty pence of pure delicious--no other way to describe it. Le Parisien also wins for best pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant). 

Coolest Pub: The Turf
It used to be a bear pit and is tucked away in alley, but only a few steps from Oxford's main sites, like the Bridge of Sighs, the Bodleian Library, and the Sheldonian Theatre.   

Best Atmosphere Pub/Restaurant: The Perch
Paradise in Wonderland: the willows, Port Meadow, the Isis River, the river boats...Absolutely stunning.

Best Pimms: Eagle and Child
When you think of eating dinner out in England, ordering fish and chips with either ale or Pimms is your best bet. Pimms is a signature English cocktail and each pub or restaurant makes it differently. Eagle and Child used all fresh ingredients and made a beautiful presentation using a mint sprigs and the fruit. 


Best Fish and Chips: The Anchor; Honorable Mention: White Horse Tavern for presentation
A lot of pubs in Oxford claimed to have the "best fish and chips"--I had quite a few fish and chips at different pubs, and The Anchor definitely won.

Best Afternoon Tea: The Old Parsonage, Oxford; Laduree, London
I loved the Grand Cafe, but The Old Parsonage had the best scones combined with a great atmosphere. Since Laduree is technically a French tea house, I cannot count it as my favorite place for England, but definitely one of my favorite experiences period.  

Best Chips and Cheese: The Boss Kebab Stand in Summertown
Also should be categorized under "Best Bargain for 2 pounds."

Favorite Weekend Trip: Brighton; Honorable Mention: London
Visiting Bath, London, York were also beautiful in their own way, but Brighton was by far my favorite. It is probably a win by default because it is by the ocean and has an awesome pier. Seeing Fashion Week certainly does not hurt its ranking either. Going to the Christian Louboutin exhibit and having tea at Laduree in Harrods makes a close second. 

Favorite Affordable Shopping: Primark
Think Forever 21 but cooler. The fashion at Primark is trendy, but it is still wearable for seasons to come. Also a great place to get souvenirs which are less expensive than the tourist shops in city centre. 

Favorite Historical Monument: Roman Baths
The best thing about the Roman Bath is that they remain active because of the hot spring they are built on. It was great to see wonderfully preserved Roman architecture in England. 

Favorite Museum Exhibit: Christian Louboutin 20th Anniversary at the London Design Museum
I suppose if I was a truly cultured individual, I would put the Renaissance Art Display at the Ashmolean Museum or the Dodo Exhibit at the Oxford Museum of Natural History, but seeing all of those red-sole shoes was a feast for the fashion hungry eyes.  

Best Purchase: Wall Art
I have to say, the souvenir for my oldest brother is amazing--and not just because I picked it up on sale. He is tough to buy for, but I figured this was something he would love. Brilliant. 


Best Classroom Memory: Convincing my Shakespeare professor that a homo-erotic relationship exists between Brutus and Cassius in Julius Caesar and the lecture on the significance nonsense during Literature of Oxford at The Perch 

Oxford, Day 5: Christ Church Revisited

Christ Church College was the subject this afternoon in class. I had to write a brief paper on the college and present it in class, so here it is:

Christ Church College is the oldest 12^th century collegiate cathedral and survived religious reform, The Plague, and the Civil War. The property on which Christ Church College resides has changed hands several times during the Medieval period. St. Frideswide’s monastery, the original structure, was built in honor of Margaret Frideswide, a young woman who refused the prince of Leicester’s insistent hand in marriage. Instead, Frideswide resided in Binsey and performed miracles healing the sick—Frideswide also directed the young prince to seek a higher calling and serve God.

In 1529, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey founded Christ Church College after taking over St. Frideswide’s monastery.  Wolsey was responsible for envisioning Tom Quad, the main quadrangle on the campus. He saw through most of the Tom Quad’s completion before losing his power and Henry VIII became Christ Church’s successor in 1546. Henry VIII renamed the college after himself and deemed the Christ Church chapel as the diocese of Oxford, the Oxford Cathedral.

King Charles and Parliament found refuge and residency at Christ Church during The Plague (1625), as well as the (British) Civil War (1629). At this time, Charles lived in the Deanery while the soldiers occupied Tom Quad—the college was ultimately at the mercy of the royal court. It was not the first time Christ Church had visits from the royal court—Queen Elizabeth I stayed at the college twice, on one occasion taking up residency the East Side of Tom Quad with her royal court and the tenants gave up their rooms to accommodate Her Majesty.

Christ Church College is responsible for shaping the minds of many successful poets, writers, philosophers and politicians. Sir Christopher Wren—a former student of Oxford, renowned scientist, mathematician, and architect—redesigned the bell tower in 1682 and remains a main landmark in the Oxford city center today. Other former students of Christ Church College include the father of liberalism, John Locke; religious leader of the Quaker faith, William Penn; poet W.H. Auden, and the mathematician and writer, Lewis Carroll.

Lewis Carroll—his real name, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson studied (1851) and taught (1855) mathematics at Christ Church College. He befriended Alice Liddell, daughter of the Dean of Christ Church, and her sisters. His prized works, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, are inspired by familiar people, places, and events—especially Christ Church College. For example, a green door in the Cathedral Gardens of Christ Church is said to have inspired the door to the garden in Alice. Christ Church College maintains the small village of Binsey, Oxford, near Port Meadow, where Lewis Carroll and the Liddell sisters would go to tell stories along the Isis River.

More recently, some sequences of the earlier Harry Potter film adaptations were shot at Christ Church. Hollywood replicated the college’s great hall to create Hogwarts Hall, the dining hall for the magical school of witchcraft and wizardry. 

After the tour of the college, the group ate at the Eagle and Child, where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would frequent and have a few drinks.

The Green Door in Christ Church College's Cathedral Gardens that inspired the garden door in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland; Christ Church Meadow

The cathedral

The courtyard

The staircase leading up to the Great Hall

The Great Hall

The Eagle and Child

To learn more about Lewis Carroll, Alice Liddell, and Harry Potter at Christ Church College, please click the links below from the college's website:

Lewis Carroll and Alice

Harry Potter