Love at First Sight

3-17-14

Even though a picture is worth a thousand words, there are not enough pictures or words in the English language to describe Warwick Castle.  Or Oxford.  Or the English countryside.  A moment of ignorant American, I definitely did not think about the non-metropolitan part of Britain, and driving by the first sheep field was a huge face palm moment.  After being in Grand Forks, land of no hills what-so-ever, the rolling hills were a welcome change.  I’m not sure I’ve ever actually seen a rolling hill, but the term is appropriate.  The small towns in between the large cities are also fantastic.  I know I’ve been making a big deal about the architecture, but you just do not see buildings made like these in the U.S.  Some of these towns have building requirements that force the buildings to be made with Cotswold’ s stone, a very expensive stone that was used on the original buildings in order to keep the towns authentic.  One of the small villages has a medieval style pub.  Can you imagine having a pub down the street that is STILL around since the medieval era?!  Speaking of the medieval era, there are no castles in the states, and the movies and pictures we have all seen do NOT do them justice.  Well we were at Warwick Castle Mitch Anna Leanna and I all climbed up to the tops of the watchtowers.  The view was awesome.  

A view from part way up a watch tower

They also have an amazing courtyard with a lot of different kinds of birds including a personal favorite the peacock.  The tours of the rooms include amazing wax figures and allow you to better visualize what it would have been like to have a season in London.  The singing for the women, the poker for the men, the overall atmosphere of being inside of a castle.  The outside is solely focused on protecting the castle and the land, but the inside is all about living, making a home, and marrying daughters off to the rich and famous.  More evidence for the juxtaposition of the area.  Then Oxford.  

Oxford

The academic in me started to shine.  The sheer amount books in the Oxford College, or the logic that went into making the college.  Then you look at the architect of the area and you can see the different eras that each building was made.  For example at UND we have dorms where one flight of stairs gives off one hallway to 30 some different rooms.  At Oxford there is one set of stairs for four doors.  At UND you can have anywhere from one to four roommates. Oxford has only single rooms to assist in good study habits.  At UND we have lecture rooms and you only get one on one learning if you stalk your professors.  At Oxford you are required to meet with other academics working as a tutor to assist in your education.  Then the history of Oxford is incredibly rich.  Each separate college at the university has it’s own crest, and there is a meaning behind the crest.  I’m sure that UND has a crest, but no one seems to know what it is.  If I had the time and the skill, I would be able to sit in one of their many quads to simply sketch the different faces and organisms that appear carved into the walls.  And of course Oxford has some scenes from the Harry Potter series filmed there, as well as housing the dining hall that the Hogwarts hall was based off of.  Apparently the dining hall in Oxford has two meals, one more informal and quick meal earlier in the day, and a formal meal in the evenings.  I’m not yet sure if I would like having to dress up to go to dinner.  Would it be a hassle? Or would it be fun?  Would it be frustrating?   Would there be an extra pressure on you about failing simply because of the standards of the school?  Visiting the school is perplexing me on the current education system in the U.S.  On top of that we went to visit the birthplace of Shakespeare.   

The gardens of Shakespeare's Birthplace

A great opportunity for those who are interested, but to top it off for people like me who cannot quote Shakespeare off of my head they have actors there who will take a famous scene and do a small performance for you.  The people there were very nice and very good at their jobs, and they are all genuinely interested in the plays.  On top of that, the young man playing Hamlet for us was quite cute.  After the full day of bus tours that I was hesitant to go on, my conclusion is that the tour was definitely worth the time and money.