Spires and Bikes … Oxford calling

I actually applied to Oxford Uni, believe it or not. I didn’t get in, obv, although I had a riot at the interview. (Not literally, although an actual riot would explain why I didn’t get in!). I met this girl from Cornwall and we hit it off and laughed our heads off all week, such that people thought we had been friends for years – we were like “Oh no, we’ve just met!”. Neither of us got in but I don’t think we minded much 🙂

The interview week provided what I like to think of as a “Mini Break” in Oxford, so I became somewhat familiar with the city then, and I still remember the layout surprisingly well. It is difficult to imagine a city more architecturally blessed – from the “dreaming spires” to the charming bicycles. You can just feel that nearby, student brains are discovering a new cure for something or a solution to something else. Probably.

The Bodleian Library oozes the city’s blend of culture, architecture, and brainyness. A bit of a contrast to the thoroughly modern Library of Birmingham which I also visited recently (and is so sharp it might cut itself!)

My BF and I visited Oxford for a short sightseeing jaunt, taking in sights such as the Bridge of Sighs (which I always thought was the Bridge of Size, like some kind of diet bridge 🙂

One thing that always annoyed me about Oxford was the fact that Magdalen College is pronounced “Mawd-lin” when clearly the proper pronunciation should be “Mag-da-lin”. It’s like a secret to help locals distinguish between people “in the know” and the rest of us riff-raff. If there’s anything elitist about Oxford, it’s SPELLING!! 😉