People and places

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There are two types of holidays. Those where you visit people, and those where you visit places. Right from the beginning we knew this was going to be a people visiting holiday, with a wedding to attend and JB returning home for the first time in three years.



But with the wedding set in such a beautiful location in Oxfordshire, I now wish we’d built a bit more exploration time into our visit. Obviously we saw a bit of the countryside when we were driving around lost, and got to enjoy our cute little B&B just outside of Abingdon, but in the end we didn’t get to see Abingdon itself besides driving through it on the way to other things.


The wedding was held in the Earth Trust Barn in Little Wittenham; a really lovely place hidden away behind fields and old, thatched roof houses that looked like something the Three Little Pigs might live in. And despite a chilly wind the sun was out for the whole day of the wedding; it was a really great day.



On the Sunday we had a final lunch with everyone from the wedding, then drove back to Oxford to return the car and get the train back to London. We had about an hour spare so decided to explore Oxford a bit. It’s such a gorgeous old town and I really wish we’d been able to stay longer. Some parts reminded me of a brown Alsace with its timber framed houses and cobblestone streets, but then other parts were completely different with gothic looking spires, intricately detailed doors and gates, with little goblins and gargoyles hidden around the place. The Harry Potter movies were filmed in Oxford University, and when you walk around the city you can tell why it was chosen – it has that kind of fairy tale magic about it. If we ever get the opportunity to head that way again I’d definitely want to stay a bit longer.


Similarly, we really only scratched the surface in London. We were back there Sunday night and stayed with a friend of JB’s. We actually had a really great night - went out for a drinks and had some very strange Thai food, but were then up again at the crack of dawn to get the train to Paris. I’ve been to London a few times and it’s not my favourite city, but there are a lot of cool things JB didn’t get the chance to see, so next time we’ll try to stay at least a few more days and get a better look.

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Photos

A Satyr
Very The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Flat white, at last!
The one thing about England is their terrible coffee. I'm not kidding, it's the worst coffee I've ever had, and noone knows what a flat white is. But here in Oxford a couple of Kiwis had a coffee cart and did a fantastic flat white. Thanks NZ!

Gargoyles
Love the detail on these old buildings!

Water well
(not working)

Oxford University
I think. We really didn't get time to verify but looking at the pictures online it seems like that's what it is. You can totally imagine a bunch of wizards playing Quidditch here.

Golden detail
Of oxford university (I think!)