My Oxford Blues

Lets take a break from the wine posts and talk about traveling. I was reading one of my favorite blogs, The Thrifty Anglomaniac. She posted about Oxford and mentions fabulous and thrifty things to do while you are visiting there. So go read it!


The City of the Dreaming Spires is full of old architecture and atmosphere. It is one heck of a college town. Oxford University with all of its various colleges, churches, and buildings dominates the city and it is one of the oldest universities in the world. There is so much history, such wealth of knowledge. There is also something for the Harry Potter fans!




You read correctly. The Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library was filmed at the Bodleain Library. The picture on the right is the entrance to the Bodleian, but the real beauty was the interior. The woodwork, the books, the age of the place transforms your experience into something magical.






Not to get too caught up on Harry, I wanted to mention some food. You all know how much I love food. As my last two posts have shown, food and wine are some of my most favorite things. I was only in Oxford for the day, and had to catch the train back to London in the afternoon. I would have loved to stay for at least another day or a week, or a year, but I did get to eat somewhere quite yummy. 








Have any of you heard of Tolkien or C.S. Lewis? Well, they were part of a literary group called The Inklings. They gathered to argue, eat, drink, and smoke at a pub called The Eagle and The Child or as the locals call it "the Bird and Baby". 

This pub has been around since the late 17th century. You find the dark woods and wooden beams expected in a pub so old, and also, the history. The food wasn't so bad either. I chose to have a burger, but not just any burger. No, it was a Boar and Chorizo Burger. Wow! This burger ended up being one of my favorite meals while I was in England. The taste, juiciness, spices, all made for a lovely rich gamy pork taste with a spicy paprika flavored smokiness. What a fantastic dish. It was served with chips (fries for us Americans) and a vinegar based coleslaw that I actually liked.

Well, I will leave you all drooling about this burger. I also hope this post will inspire some of you to either visit Oxford, or (this is for you CulinAIRy) try to recreated this lovely dish for yours truly.

Ta Ta my dears and cheerio!

Not only for the birds

One of the towers St. Paul's Cathedral

There is something truly magical about this city which keeps
 me completely engaged in the present: the juxtaposition of the old and the new buildings. They both weave themselves around each other creating an architecturally vibrant city. As you walk the streets, gorgeous gems peek out amongst modern  highrises keeping you aware of the history of this city.

While walking towards one of our destinations for the day,
St. Paul's Cathedral, I caught a glimpse of a  gorgeous tower peeking out between to modern office buildings. It makes you stop in your tracks; it made me. What an amazing and tantalizing preview of what was waiting for me. Visiting St. Paul's Cathedral has always been a dream ever since watching Mary Poppins as a little girl. So catching this glimpse of the Cathedral brings out that same little girl who also wanted to feed the birds  (and the stray cats and dogs). My poor mom was always asking where all the bread and hotdogs disappeared to.

Arriving at St. Paul's is quite an experience. This building is not just a church, but it is also a local hangout where people come to sit on its churchyard on the grass, benches, and monuments to chat, meet, eat lunch, or all three. The building stops being a static and imposing landmark and connects the people with its rich history and spirit becoming something to be enjoyed and loved.

Lunch time at St. Paul's

Unfortunately, photos are not allowed inside St. Paul's which is too bad. The beautiful stonework and mosaics are things I would have loved to share with all of you. Since I can't, it means you all must make the trip and see them for yourselves. You will not regret it. 

Finally, I want to leave you all with my last view of St. Paul's. My earlier photograph includes one of the towers from this part of the Cathedral, the West Front. In the photograph below, you see the second tower. The statue in the forefront is Queen Anne who was the reigning monarch the Cathedral was finished. This is such an impressive building not only because of its stonework and grand design, but because of its ability to be part of the city and be enjoyed by everyone, even the birds.