Oxford (or Hogwarts)

Sorry I have been lagging big time on the blogging, life is crazy and time is in short supply lately! Probably a good thing though...
Anyways, I wanted to share my experience in Oxford with you all! Last weekend I met my Yorkian friend Alison in Oxford town after a 3 hour train-hopping excursion from Brighton to explore the town, visit the universities, and yes...get as close to Hogwarts as humanely possible.
Alison and I take Harry Potter fanaticism to an entire new level. She has HP quotes tattooed to her thigh, I can recite the books and movies to you by heart...needless to say this was a very exciting day seeing as Oxford was one of the major locations where the HP movies were shot. We had plans to see as much as  possible while spending as little as possible, hoping to blend in with those pretentious Oxfordians, or whatever necessary.
Our first stop was Christ Church College, one of the oldest Oxford college, home to the Hogwarts dining hall, immense grassy grounds, and just plain history.

So cool, right? It's almost unreal to think that students get up and go to class here on a regular basis, study for finals amongst a background of rolling green hills, and eat where Harry Ron and Hermione drink their pumpkin juice.
We toured the chapel and most of the grounds and were about to head to the famous Dining Hall when we were stopped and told to come back at 4 by an old man. "Excuse me you can't go up there right now...the students are eating." Well sooorrrrryyy, wouldn't want to disturb the young brilliant minds of Christ Church while they enjoy their meal!
So we moved right along and continued to walk until we found the Oxford Botanical Gardens. Now as amazing as this might sound, we quickly realized that these infamous Botanical Gardens are a slight downer during winter...more like a baron wasteland where living things come to die. BUT it was still a pretty cool experience, because these gardens were referenced as fictional sights in the Golden Compass series, as well as the proud owner of the infamous "bench" where Lyra and Will come to sit when they are each back in their respective worlds. I dunno, I didn't read them but Alison was super excited about it!

We walked around the lake, circled the gardens a couple times, and even spent some much needed time in the row of greenhouses that house some tropical plants from all over the world (aka they need to be kept to a tropical climate which we overwhelmingly welcomed in comparison to the bloody freezing rain/snow that was going on outside).
We moved right along to grab a quick lunch, explore famous Taverns, see the city's main square, and admire the collegiate, professional and prestigious vibe that every new location inherently gave off. (Is it ironic that I just misspelled prestigious and had to spell check it....definitely not Oxford material).
Next on the low-key Harry Potter tour was Divinity College, home to the room that was used as the Hogwarts infirmary, but more importantly, BODLEIAN LIBRARY! (One of the most famous and oldest libraries in the world, as well as where the Hogwarts library was filmed...so dam cool). More excited than we had ever been that day, we ran inside to express our Potter mania in one of the most appropriate locations until....we hit the ticket office. 10 POUNDS TO ENTER THE LIBRARY (where you can stay for 20 minutes without taking pictures) and 3 POUNDS TO SEE THE STUPID INFIRMARY ROOM. Talk about popular culture exploitation, much? Seeing as the two of us are poor, struggling college students living in Europe...we just didn't have that kind of money! I even tried to put on my best Oxford face and sneak in as a student, where I was stopped and informed that even Oxford students have to SUBMIT AN APPLICATION 1 week in advance to study in the library!!!! Blasphemy, I prefer good ol' Geisel. So we took 2 stupid pictures in the infirmary and a couple of the outside of the library and bounced. Fight the Man.

At this point, we were slightly disappointed that every attraction cost so much money, and made us feel like dumb American tourists. The last straw was when we went back to the Dining Hall to get our infamous picture, and were SMOTHERED by a group of 100 Spaniards, and a 300-person group of Asian tourists pushing and shoving to get to the front of the room. Not cool, guys. Way to disrespect Dumbeldore and the podium where he gives his welcome speech each year.
After this last effort, we were so pissed that the only thing left to do was disgrace some kind of Oxfordian rule (as politely as possible that is). So we happened upon 2 more colleges that required 2 pound entry fees for visitors and we waltzed right in without paying. Suck it! I knew I could look like a student! So we walked around the grounds, even stepped on the sacred grass that is so manicured and outlawed to human contact, and illegally ventured around carrying books Alison had in her purse to keep us blending in. Suckas.

All in all, despite all of the exploiting disappointments and cheap bastards, we managed to have a pretty great time exploring a pretty great city that inspired Lewes Carroll's Alice and Wonderland, Hogwarts castles and rooms, and Lyra and Will's bench. When I looked around and saw castles towering above me that held everyday college classrooms, and parks and gardens for miles that are common running paths for the locals, I was pretty amazed that people could get so used to this. It was such a beautiful place with some of the richest history and prestige that England can boast, and to have gotten to see as much as I did was pretty rewarding. And even for a second, just a second, did I regret not sending them an application to study there....lucky bastards.

That's all for now! Cheers.
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Spoken by Albus Dumbledore.