Barbara & Tom walking and eating in Oxford

21 June 2006 16:07

Woke up at 5:00 today. Starting to get acclimated. Went down to go for a walk about 6:30 and Barbara was just coming in from a smoke. We walked the dog-walk fields again and came back for another great breakfast, although I ordered foolishly. I got soft-boiled eggs and field mushrooms on toast. I'd never eaten eggs out of those little cups before and it was a bit of a hassle cracking and peeling eggs in place instead of under the faucet, but still delicious. Must be quality organic eggs. The mushrooms on toast were also good but they were just mushrooms and toast. I'll do better tomorrow.

We headed for town on a slightly different route. I'm pretty sure we've walked every road in Oxford now. I recognize everything - but I still get lost. We found the railway station again but the info desk was closed and there is no other way to find out how to get where we want to go. We walked on and stumbled onto Oxford Castle. It's a very strange combination of pre-1066 (year of the Norman conquest - Barbara explained who Norman was - some french guy) mounds and foundations topped with pieces of stone-work from every century since. The 21st century is well represented. It operated as a gaol until 1996 and they've been remodeling it ever since. It was dedicated (by the Queen) last month as a museum and is still under construction. New shops and offices are being added on top of ancient walls. It's a strange combination. The museum displays were a bit hokey, but the climb up the tower stairs and the view from the top made it all worthwhile (Ł7 each). View from the top movie (2.85mb).

The guide pointed out the old city wall and where we could walk along it, so we did. I recognized the streets where we came out and directed us toward Merton College so Barbara could find out if she could leave a bag there. Then suddenly we were back at the rail station - another Enlow shortcut. As we tried to figure out where we were Barbara realized we were in front of a fancy restaurant and we went in. We had some as-yet-unnamed soup made out of herbs and stilton cheese and no telling what else. I didn't recognize a single taste. It was good but very thick and rich. We were hungry enough to finish it all before Barbara's pear and cheese salad and my thai salad with chicken arrived.

Barbara directed us back to Merton college and took care of her business, then showed me around the beautiful and closed-to-the-public campus.

Next we found our way to the Head of the Thames and rented a rowboat. We should have punted (shoved the boat along with a big stick) but I like to row. We got into several small canals that were too narrow for our oars but could have been easily punted. It was windy enough that there was only us and a few students out on boats. Three boys in their graduation caps and gowns were very unsuccessfully punting into the shore and trees. They may have been too potted to punt (I would have been).

We made straight for a bus after that and back to bed. We've walked about 10.5 miles so far and still have plans for later on. My feet are complaining though.

I was sound asleep when Barbara called at 17:30. She'd been reading and watching tv and was ready for dinner. We'd been drooling over a Greek place every time we walked by and were finally going to try it. There was no one there. Someone came out of the kitchen, very surprised to see us. He said they were open, went back to the kitchen, came out with his apron on and said, "Now we're open" and seated us. A few minutes later he said that a waiter would be there in 5 to 10 minutes.

We had excellent tzatziki, a good mixed grill, and a bowl of stringy mush that was supposed to be vegetables. Dessert made up for it. Barbara had a bowl of ice creams, whipped cream and sauces (she only allowed me one small bite so I can't be more precise). I had something with filo pastry and semolina custard - very much like flan-klava. We surfed the internet cafe for a bit, hoping for decent driving instructions to Painswick. I'm very apprehensive about driving but Barbara is insistent.

When Harry met Sally was at the famous restaurant scene when I flipped on the tube back in my room. Rob Reiner's mom said "I'll have what she's ...", and they went to commercial. Inconceivable.

I was unable to do my Cotswold homework and fell back to sleep.

We walked a total of 11.5 miles today.