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Published: June 21st 2017
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Our Room at the Old Bank Hotel
Our Room at the Old Bank Hotel Geo: 51.7523, -1.25582
We had a final breakfast at Le Buci the next morning before catching a taxi to Gare du Nord for the Eurostar. We allowed an hour for checking in but it really wasn't enough time. We hoped to have time to shop for food before getting on the train, but the queues were massive and we basically queued for the whole hour and then got straight on the train. When I caught it last year it was a lot quieter and more organised. I am not sure if it was because it was New Years Day, or it is just more organised coming from the UK. We were stuck having to buy food in the food car on the train. That was the only down part of our whole Paris experience. It was the worst food I have ever seen or eaten in my life! We basically threw it all in the bin, it was inedible. At least they had wine!
We arrived in Oxford early afternoon on New Year's Day. We had hired a private driver to drive us from St. Pancras where the Eurostar arrives. We checked into our Hotel, the Old Bank on High Street. We were very happy with our rooms, especially after the tiny rooms of Paris! The rooms were spacious and very clean and comfortable. My 17year old son and 20 year old daughter shared a very large twin room with a view of the High Street, and we had a slightly smaller king bedroom with a view of the courtyard. Here is a link to my Trip Advisor review of the Old Bank: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g186361-d192507-r126075736-Old_Bank_Hotel-Oxford_Oxfordshire_England.html
We were fairly tired, so simply went for a stroll along High Street, Cornmarket and St. Giles for everyone to get their bearings. I was in Oxford last year and was born and raised there until I was ten, so I was loving the chance to show it off to my family! We had made an afternoon tea reservation at the Old Parsonage, where I stayed last year. Afternoon tea was lovely, the scones were the best I have ever eaten. The restaurant was incredibly overheated though (as were most places in France and England!) which made lingering as long as we would have liked a bit uncomfortable. It was nice to get back out into the cold and to walk back a different way to the Old Bank. We unpacked and then made our way down to Quod, the hotel restaurant and bar, for a glass of wine and to listen to some jazz. Quod was packed, seemingly with local people reading the papers, listening to the music and enjoying a pre-dinner drink. The atmosphere was lovely, really relaxed and comfortable. After the musicians left, the restaurant emptied out a bit and our kids joined us for a very pleasant meal in Quod.
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