Welcome back, collegiettes™! I hope you’ve all been having a great time in Tampa. For those of you reading the travel blog for the first time, my name is Heather and I am studying this semester at Oxford Brookes University in the UK. To check out more details click here.
This week has been quite an adventure! Of course, academics are starting up on on February 2, so there was a slew of orientations, enrollments, and advisor meetings. This didn’t get in our way of exploring Oxford though. Oxford is rich in history, gardens, markets, and museums. This week lead us to explore a museum of anthropology, art, and history – the Ashmolean Museum. The museum was packed full of artifacts from a variety of regions and time periods. And it was FREE! As students, especially study abroad students, we’ve been on the hunt for every free event and meal we can attend.
View of the Oxford Canal – a stretch of canal that travels 78 miles and joins up with the River Thames in Oxford.
Which leads us to the first Global Buddy event. Global Buddies is an organization at Oxford Brookes University that pairs current Oxford Brookes Uni students with exchange and international students. A lot of the OBU students who partake in the program have gone on exchange themselves, and are more in tune to the difficulties, highs, and lows of being on exchange. My Buddy was very kind and helpful with information about classes, course loads, and places to eat and visit around Oxford. If you’re considering studying abroad, I would highly recommend an exchange program, over say a satelitte American campus because an exchange university is able to provide you with offers to connect to the area around you.
Turf Tavern, the #1 Pub in the UK. It’s tucked away down an alley, but expands largely into the back, with multiple rooms and a terrace. A great place with a relaxed atmosphere.
This weekend, Oxford Brookes partnered with a local tour guide agency for a discounted tour of Bath. It was a wonderful experience. The price of the tour included a coach bus, a bus tour, and a short walking tour. This left us with loads of free time though. In Bath we visited the Bath Abbey, the Roman Baths, and the Jane Austen Centre.
Steam rising from the Great Bath inside the Roman Baths
The Roman Baths were established hundreds and hundreds of years ago, and are the only naturally flowing hot spring in the UK. It was a common place in Roman time for people to meet, discuss business, and socialize. Later, in the 18th century it reestablished Bath as a holiday location in the UK as the spring water that flows from the hot springs is said to have restorative powers.
Tea and Crumpets at The Regency Tea Room with Michelle (L), Me (Center), and Ashley (R)
During our free time, my friends and I also stopped by the Jane Austen Centre. Jane Austen lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806. The centre is not her actual home, though as it is occupied as a place of residence. However, the centre is on the same street as her house. The Jane Austen Centre features a museum and the Regency Tea Rooms. We opted against buying tickets to the museum, as we did have a limited amount of time in the city. Instead, we went for the experience in the tea rooms. It was a beautiful room, where the staff dressed in old fashion Georgian Era costumes. We enjoyed pots of tea and crumpets, with clotted cream and honey.
The final highlight of Bath was Bath Abbey. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to enter Bath Abbey as it closed early at 3 p.m. We did enjoy the facade of the building, and used it as our point of reference for where things are located in the town. On the front of Bath Abbey there are carvings of angels climbing a ladder to the heavens. This is because the man who began the construction and movement behind the Abbey had the dream of angels climbing the ladder to heaven, which spurred his motivation to construct the Abbey.
Be sure to check back next Thursday, for an update on a day trip to London and the first week of classes will be featured!
Cheers!
HCxo,
Heather
Photo Credits:
http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/30/93/58/turf-tavern.jpg