I have recently decided to make a 'City Series' of blog posts. What that means is every now-and-again I will post about a specific city I visited while here. And this time it is Oxford!
When entering Oxford there is a buffer of small shops and more rugged streets to distinguish from the open aired country highways and the city itself. From the small shops they slowly grow to become taller and more grand, but abruptly change to tall whitewashed stone walls and ancient colleges.
Walking about the smooth stone walls are never really far away and the idea of its antique nature haunts the air. There are statues of great monarchs and old priests watching the passersby walk among the sun baked streets. While a small chill floats in the air to remind all they are still in England, but it is more a comforting whisper than bone-soaking scream.
Cobblestone walkways and sidewalks break into the black asphalt rivers and bring light and diversity to the streets. Small alleys jut off the main streets as shortcuts or branch into their own main street. Shops, with their doors open wide, allow a flow of people in and out as they preview the old and new. Students in black cloaks walk to and from lessons trying to grab some food on the way.
Cafes and pubs leak out smells of fresh bread, coffee, and cooked meat, while women in windows sip tea in colorful hats. Performers sing and dance, smiling all the while. Their suitcases sparkling with sterling, reflecting the Oxford University trinkets across the street.
Men with dirty jackets sell magazines near shops while their dogs bark for plastic bottles. Young children in uniforms file through the street to try and glimpse the inside of their prized school. And old couples complain about the prices of lunch.
It is a new place, Oxford, but also an old place. And I don't mean just for me, but even for those who have always lived there. It is a changing place with changing people but somehow is stuck in this current time. I think I will like it here in the land of crossing oxen.
To see what sorts of things we have done in Oxford, visit these lovely posts by me:
Molding a New Flat
Creepy Encounters of the Laundry KindMolding a New Flat
Holy Introverts, Batman!
All Hallows' Evening Adventure
Guy Fawkes and the Enthusiastic County Fair
Fists of Fancy
This is Museumtastic!
Embrace the Odd,
Caitlin
P.S.- The title is taken from the Bob Dylan song "Oxford Town", although that song is about a town in the South of the US and is actually a rather sad song. But I liked the lyrics for the title.
"The only way to entertain some folks is to listen to them." -Kin Hubbard
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