holiday snapshots: Oxford

Oxford. Sigh. Why in the world did I not study abroad there? Given, I think the day we spent in Oxford was near perfect - sunny, blue skies, high 70s, and - everywhere you looked - planters overflowing with flowers. It was wonderful.

Most of you know that CS Lewis is my favorite author . . . so words don't quite do justice to how special it was to see and learn about so many of the places where Lewis spent many years of his life.  And in addition to all of that, there is so much other rich history throughout Oxford! 

Some of the things I will remember are:

- the house Lewis stayed in his first night as a student

- Addison's Walk: a long, beautiful path through a wooded area bordered by Magdalen's deer park; Lewis went on numerous walks there with his friends Hugo Dyson and J.R.R. Tolkein, many of their conversations revolving around Christianity - and playing a significant role in Lewis' eventual conversion

- the rooms in The New Building where Lewis lived while a faculty member at Magdalen College

- eating lunch at The Eagle & Child - where I also enjoyed the best Pimm's in all of England ;-)

- the church where Lewis gave his sermon "The Weight of Glory" (pictured above, The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin) 

- Lewis' gravesite in his parish churchyard

- The Kilns, Lewis' private Oxford home 

I am so grateful that I was able to see all of it in person!  I know it will sound overly dramatic, but visiting made a bit more of Narnia and much in Lewis' other writings all the more real for me. (As an aside: I would absolutely love to take part in a Summer Institute at The Kilns someday - something to add to my Bucket List!)

In the middle of a busy street, this marker is located on the spot where martyrs Cranmer, Latimer, & Ridley were burned at the stake.

The Kilns