O is for Oxford

We woke up nice and early, nabbed a seat on the top deck of the bus and spent an enjoyable near two hour ride to Oxford. The eclectic mish-mash of contemporary and historical architecture was left behind in London. Most every building in Oxford seemed well suited to house the fantastical settings penned by literary greats Lewis Carrol, Philip Pullman, and Tolkien (not to mention film site of Harry Potter!). We first headed to the Tourist Information Center to check out their literary tour, only to find they didn't run on weekends. Despite such woeful tidings we marched unfaltering towards the Bodleian Library, used in the HP films. Although the library turned out to be closed, we were happy enough to admire all the interesting buildings from the outside.

That is, after trying all the doors to the library just in case.

This neat round building sat across from the library.



We also quickly discovered why Oxford is well-known for their gargoyles. They were everywhere! These aren't gargoyles, but they were randomly surrounding one of the buildings.


You can see more of them topping the columns in the first photo I posted.
With the Bodleian behind us, we set our destination at Christ Church College. Actually we probably ate lunch before that. We popped into a McDonald's where we ate pre-packed tuna sandwiches. Nevertheless, at some point we came to the college. Having located the visitors entrance, we were greeted with a pretty garden where we debated the purpose of having grass if you're not allowed to walk on it.


Past the garden we walked into a large building, purchased our tickets, and almost immediately found ourselves in the cloisters. It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that we were standing in the cloisters. In the movie, they make the area look so huge. But no, the courtyard was actually quite small and bare. But the windows were definitely recognizable and the moment was still exciting. The signs then directed us towards the one, the only, the STAIRCASE!!! My camera could not really pick up the scene, as the space was somewhat dim. Mika's camera, unfortunately, had decided to quit working all together. So, just imagine that before I put these photos through an editing program, they were virtually pitch black and be grateful for what you get.
So, we have Mika reenacting the McGonnogal up the nose shot.

And here is Sarah on the stairs.

The ceiling was really awesome and I can see why the producer went out of his way to include it in the scene.


At the top of the stairs was the many tabled dining hall, also surprisingly different. They were setting out plates, so the hall was closed, but I joined the few people crowded in the doorway and took pictures anyway. Mika joined the few people who decided to ignore signs and walk over to a window at the other side of the dining hall, so as to see the stained glass images said to have inspired creatures in Alice and Wonderland. Again, dim lighting.

The tables had contemporary lamps on them and the wall was hung with dozens of paintings. I think a lot of CG must have went into making the hall movie ready.
Gawking complete, we eventually made our way to the Cathedral. The cathedral and college, etc, are all connected. We were meandering around the cathedral when a nice, round woman approached us, binder in hand, and asked if we "fancied ourselves as detectives." We answered with confused, non-committal smiles. So, she led us over towards the Shrine of St. Frideswide declaring she'd put some puzzles to us. "Keep in mind the saying 'cold as stone,'" she said before having each of us place hands on opposite sides of the shrine. Apparently, the shrine had been destroyed and chucked down a well. Upon recovery, they rebuilt it, replacing the missing pieces with resin replicas. They went so far as to add a chipped mark to the resin side, but the saying proved true. The original was slightly colder.

She also had us search for "something odd" in a nearby stained glass window. I was looking in the wrong area, so I never had a chance, but Mika successfully spotted the random toilet. You can see it in the top right corner along with St. Frideswide on her deathbed.

The saint actually has a very interesting biography. You should look it up.
Exiting the Cathedral, we got to walk within the cloisters corridor. In my mind's eye I could see Professor Snape, stalking the hallway in his robes galore.

You can kind of tell how small the courtyard is from this photo.

We also made sure to use the filmtastic windows as photo-ops. Note, I am wearing my Hedwig tee for the occasion.


All my Harry Potter dreams fulfilled, we spent the rest of our time wandering aimlessly around Oxford, which was also great fun.