Introduction
At the beginning of this trip, I had never been to Europe or travelled beyond the United States and Canada. Tuesday night after playing a very competitive game of Uno in the airport, I boarded my flight to Oxford. When the bus pulled into the city, I could not stop looking at the buildings that towered over me.
Experiencing Oxford
I had the opportunity to visit Christ Church College right here in Oxford with my art and architecture class. Standing outside the building I was able to admire the beautiful neo-Gothic style of the building and look at the intricate stonework.
Christ Church is a place that has such a rich history, and was the home and place of work for many famous authors including Lewis Carroll! I am also a Harry Potter fan and me and many of my classmates had lots of fun pointing out areas that were filmed for the movies!
Oxford along with the incredible architecture also has beautiful green spaces including the Botanical Gardens. There was so much to see and explore! I loved walking along the edge of the garden by the river as well as seeing the fountain.
Each glass house had a different climate, and I was able to see plants from the desert and the rainforest while on my trip here! As I traveled through the green houses I saw cactuses, flowers the size of a pencil eraser, and flowers as large as my hand!
Not only were the gardens incredibly beautiful but they also carry literary significance. There was a small sign in the middle of the gardens that showed the different authors that had visited and been inspired by the gardens. The main person I focused on during this visit was Lewis Carrol.
As I walked around, I could immediately see how someone could be inspired by the gardens. In the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Wonderland has an idyllic landscape with interesting plants and beautiful flowers. The botanical garden here in Oxford emulated much of that idyllic feel and even had a stature of the Cheshire Cat in one of the trees!
London
London is just a short trip from Oxford and is home to many iconic spots! I started off just outside Borough Market and walked along the river bank towards the London Eye and Big Ben. I had heard a lot about the London Eye from TV shows, movies, and family members who had been to London before, but had never seen it for myself.
As we kept walking towards the London Eye, I was wondering when it would start moving and how fast it would go. When we finally got close, I realized that it had been moving the whole time! I never would have thought that it moved so slowly!
From the London Eye our group moved on to see Big Ben. My friend had heard about a spot across the bridge and down some stairs that was the best spot to take pictures! We traversed the streets and made it to the spot. It was definitely worth it as you could see the river and Big Ben in the shots!
Bath
The Roman Baths are a must visit while in Oxford. Bath is a smaller city about an hour and a half from Oxford. I loved looking at the Roman Baths from above and seeing all the statues.
It’s crazy to think that the Baths had been covered for many years and were only rediscovered when someone hit one of the statues while digging!! I was surprised to see how green the water is especially after seeing how clear the water coming out of the spring looked!
I loved how they projected images onto the walls showing what it would have looked like when people used the springs.
At the end of the tour through the baths and museum, I tried the water from the spring! The water that comes from the spring and goes into the baths is not safe to drink due to possible contamination.
However they were able to access deep into the hot spring where the water is pure and pump it into a tap so people can taste the water! As soon as I lifted the cup I could smell that the water was going to taste like sulfur. The water from the spring was lukewarm and not tasty at all. While it’s not something that I would like to drink again, it is fun to be able to say that I have drank the water from the Roman Baths!
Conclusion
When looking back at this experience in Oxford I can see that I have experienced so much and learned more about myself than I ever thought that I would. Study abroad allows you to push boundaries, take risks, and partake in experiences that are not possible at home. This is absolutely a trip I will always remember and something that I will recommend to any college student.
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