We took a trip down to Oxford to visit some of D's old stomping grounds, and ended up having the most wonderful day of the summer ! It was warm, the sun shone all afternoon, and we found lots of quaint places to chill out (what a luxury for the weekend!)
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Cherwell Boathouse
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The Cherwell Boathouse is a restaurant, tea hut, and "row boat" rental place all in one. Built since 1904, it has a lot of history in the Oxford community. It's a lovely place to sit and have a glass of wine (their list is exceptional!), bring a picnic with friends, and indulge in Oxford's great tradition of punting. It was so relaxing to have a great meal and hop on one of the little row boats while we passed swans, trees, and the Sunday afternoon crowd having a pint by the river.
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| Inside the Maison Blanc |
We started the day walking around Oxford, which is about a 30 minute train ride from London. I really wanted to see Raymon Blanc's Le Manoir au Q'uat Saisons, but when public transport failed us (handy hint for future travellers: buses from town to the manor don't operate on Sundays / taxi cabs are GBP60 round trip), we took a detour to his bakery instead. There was a definite buzz inside the
Maison Blanc patisserie, with lots of families queuing for the delicious looking pastries and of course, what is said to be "T
he Best Croissant in Oxford"!
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After snooping around the quaint stores of the high street, it was off to some traditional Oxford sightseeing. I saw a whole bus load of Chinese tourists snapping photos beside the school's landmarks, and perhaps already arranging for their children to interview for a place in one of England's best universities.
It was great to be shown around the campus grounds by an alumni, where I got the back stories of where they used to hang out, the quietest spots for studying (or sleeping!), and where the best places to get a drink were! Just what we needed after a really long walk all over town...
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| The courtyard at the Old Parsonage Hotel |
We stopped by the quaint hotel / B&B called The Old Parsonage - their restaurant had a lovely garden courtyard which was just too inviting in the heat!
It was time to put my glasses down, take in the afternoon breeze and sip some nice Prosecco & Austrian white wine from Gruner Veltliner!
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