LI

Our Oxford hostel is in stark contrast to the peaceful academia generally associated with Oxford. It is a self-declared "funky" hostel, complete with corrugated iron shower cubicles (bit like posh Aussie camping really) and brightly coloured, painted murals adorning every visible inch of wall.

Arriving last night expecting to find a super-market nearby for additional supplies, we ended up finding a little Chinese restaurant that had all you-can-eat for £8 each, or a takeaway container for £4. So of course, being the money-conscious students we are, we bought one container - yum!!! Recalling that gastronomic delight, breakfast certainly looked a little boring (although we've since had worse) but we stocked up on cereal and toast and set off on our super-sonic-speed exploration of Oxford.

A quick self-guided tour of the outside of the colleges turned up some beautiful buildings. An interesting find was the round 'Radcliffe's Camera' building which now houses a library.

We stopped in at Christ Church College, home of the Hogwarts Great Hall, and Grand Staircase (not really grand - the one that they stand on as little first years). The college had a highly informative video presentation running which explained the long history of the university and the town. It's hard to comprehend the age of the buildings and it's just amazing to see that students are still dining on the same tables in the Great Hall as some intellectual stars of history, many of whom continue to have their presence felt at the college (in the form of giant portraits.)