Hello!

And happy Monday to you.

Mom and I got back around midnight last night from a short trip to the U.K. I feel pretty tired but not too bad considering.

Mom’s main purpose of the trip was to attend a seminar on Friday. My main purpose was to have fun galavanting across the U.K.

My aunt came as well which made the whole thing even better.

I have been to London once before and it certainly has it’s charm, but I think my favorite part of this trip was visiting Oxford.

I had been wanting to go there for a while. Some of my favorite writers (Lewis and Chesterton) spent time there, as well as Sheldon Vanauken who wrote one of my all-time favorite books: A Severe Mercy.

Sure enough, Oxford did not disappoint. Even though we were only there for a few hours, the visit was completely worth the fifty minute train ride from Paddington Station.

The archictecture there is entirely awe inspiring. Walking down the streets all I could say was “wow wow wow.”

I’m so glad we were able to go and I really hope to make it back someday. I barely scratched the surface of all that there is to see there. That said, here are my top five from our short visit.

Black Friars

Before going I googled ‘Catholic churches Oxford’ and the Blackfriars showed up. They are Dominican Friars who live in the heart of Oxford. They have Mass at their friary daily as well as their regular prayers throughout the day (liturgy of the hours) that is open to the public. We were able to go to their 1PM prayer (midday prayer) and it was a beautiful experience to be a part of. There’s something surreal about stepping inside this building off a busy street in the middle of the day to listen to eight men in white robes singing their praise and thanksgiving. It was so peaceful in there, it was a good reminder to me of the absolute necessity to stop and be still every day–no matter how many things there are to do or see.

Christmas Market

Something we saw in both London and Oxford were these small Christmas markets which were scattered throughout the cities. They were comprised of small kiosks, some of which sold goods and some of which sold food/drinks. They were really adorable and fun to walk through. They had Christmas music playing and lights surrounding the area, the effect was quite festive. The one in Oxford was especially charming, and we went right around dusk which made it even more delightful.

Bridge of Sighs

This was one I had only seen before in movies and I was super excited to see in person. It’s a bridge modeled after one with the same name in Italy (I hope to see the original one day) and so beautiful. This picture is one of my favorites (we had to wait a while because people kept wanting to get their pictures under it–worth every second of the wait!).

Radcliffe Camera

This was definitely my favorite structure. The photo doesn’t quite capture the beauty and grandeur of the thing, it was really something. The way the sun was hitting was also just incredible. It made me appreciate just how much architecture can truly be such a source of beauty and wonder.

Christ Church College

Christ Church was one of the colleges (Oxford has 39) I was really adamant about seeing. We didn’t get to go inside (our time was limited and it cost 10 pounds to go in), so I was a little disappointed. But I will say seeing the structure and the beautiful green space around it was a good consolation prize. Again, I hope to make it back one day and see all of these things again more closely.

All in all it was a phenomenal day. Oxford is a gem of a city and I definitely recommend going if you are a fan at all of architecture and history.

Ok, now back to real life.

Cheerio!