the Londots in Oxford, pt. I

This past weekend, Brad & Sara came to spend a couple of days with us in Oxford.  They flew in from Copenhagen on Friday afternoon, so Fi & I took them straight to the Bookbinders.  Then, after a few pints, we all headed back upstairs for some dinner.  Fi whipped up a delicious eggplant pasta, & we broke out the gateleg table for the occasion:

That's just how we do on Victor St.  Saturday morning everybody rose nice & early, & after some coffee & pastries from Maison Blanc, we hit the road for some sightseeing.

The first destination on our list was the Bodleian, which is the main research library for the University of Oxford.

Then on to the Radcliffe Camera.

From there, Fi led us onward to Merton, where she did her MPhil.

Here we are inside Merton's chapel

Around the way some students had set up a croquet course

Here's the happy couple, parents-to-be!

Another of Merton's quads, another story

Members-only access to the garden

A brief stop for a lesson on the postal system

Then to the Cherwell for some punting.

The Bridge of Sighs

At this point in our day, we'd gone far too long without a stop in the pub, so we stopped into the King's Arms for a bit of refreshment.

Revitalized, we pushed onward to Magdalen College

Here in Magdalen's Chapel

Magdalen's got a beautiful courtyard

A poem by C.S. Lewis, who was a fellow of Magdalen for 30 years in the early 20th century.

 Magdalen's dining hall