oxford

In Oxford, home of a delightful town and an impressive university, we spent an enjoyable day exploring the town and seeing the sights, perhaps most importantly, those that featured in Harry Potter.  Seeing the Great Hall in person was fantastic.  I loved it and I wish BYU had something similar.  While I realize BYU has not been around as long, I always pictured universities as big, old structures with lots of history and interesting stories and facts, all of which Oxford has.  It also has lots of green spaces which I think are lovely.

Our group was fortunate enough to meet up with a good family friend, Shelley Hoffmire, who gave us some maps and ideas of things to see and do while here, and accompanied us throughout the day.  After admiring Christ Church and the cathedral there, we made our way to the Ashmolean Museum.  There some of us had the opportunity to see, inches before us, drawings and sketches by three of the greatest Italian artists, namely Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo.  It was absolutely incredible and amazing to see them.  Definitely an experience I will never forget.

Preliminary drawing by Raphael for his
"Transfiguration" scene.

From there I hurried back to the university and met up with a group going on a guided tour by the missionary couple in Oxford.  We saw some great things, but those that stuck out most are the buildings where scenes from HP were filmed in addition to landmarks that inspired C.S. Lewis in his series, "The Chronicles of Narnia."  Following our tour, I walked around with Shelley and we went and got her favorite treat in a bakery/cafe.  It was a chocolate caramel square that is unlike anything I have ever eaten.  I am going to try and find the recipe but Shelley warned me that she has been looking and has not found one yet.  They were just too good.



Next on our agenda was to go to the Oxford Union Debate Hall Dome where we saw some Pre-Raphaelite murals that were incredible but also incredibly hard to see.  It was a really cool experience, nonetheless.  Then I caved and decided to buy an Oxford sweatshirt.  I opted for a simple crew-neck one that simply says "Oxford University" on it and is a navy blue.  I love it.  But the best part of this wonderfully sunny (and windy) day was easily catching up with Shelley and learning about the city from her.