A study of Oxford

Clockwise from top left: inside Jesus College; the exterior of Christ Church College; Jesus College again

Clockwise from top left: Exeter College Chapel; Christ Church College dining hall; Divinity School ceiling

Clockwise from top left: Trinity College garden; our good friend who had one too many; Summer Eights rowing

Despite Monique spending many long hours scouring the interweb for cheap flights for the second long weekend in May, we ended up drawing a blank. While this was a tad disappointing, we decided that a jam packed day trip to Oxford would be just as much fun.

We were right!

We caught an 8am bus that had us there by 9:45, perfectly in time to grab a coffee before embarking on a town walking tour. Oxford is a really beautiful town, and it was fascinating learning about it, the colleges, and the many famous people who had studied there.

It was quite amazing

to get a small insight into the lives of modern day students, and see how much tradition is still such a central part of university life. The students still eat their fully catered meals in stunning old halls with walls adorned by portraits of old collegians, with a table at the front reserved for the professors (think Harry Potter), the colleges still employ a 'Scout' - a person whose job it is to look after the students by making their beds and tidying their dorms (jealous!), and the students still have to sit their exams wearing black suits, capes and a white bow tie. It just so happened that we were there on an exam weekend, so saw quite a lot of students all kitted out riding their bikes to and from their exams. It was quite a sight.

We also happened to be there on the day of their Summer Eights inter-college rowing carnival. It was great to wander down to the river and soak in the carnival-like atmosphere as the students cheered on their respective colleges and let their hair down after their exams.

All in all, it was a fantastic day out, and a fascinating insight into a very elitist culture. After visiting so many colleges, hearing about so many uber-intelligent people, and seeing record levels of pastel coloured chinos, sports jackets and boat shoes, we were both starting to feel slightly inferior.......until we saw a student swaying and staggering his way back to his dorm, wearing nothing but his underpants and a foil survival blanket.