I Heart Oxford

We made our way to Oxford today and what a beautiful day it was to visit! The town was bustling with Armistice Day and Remembrance Day festivities and the weather was just right. Oxford is like a mellow version of London--double decker buses were everywhere, free museums here and there, and architecture that makes your mouth drop--all without the crazy congestion of Central London's traffic. Stegen and I decided we would make it our goal to move to Oxford one day...until we found out it had been voted one of the most expensive towns in the UK. We'll just have to settle for one-off visits then!

We had initially planned a day in Oxford to visit their own (free) Museum of Natural History, but upon our arrival, we discovered that the Museum would be under renovation until February 2014. Here's the beautiful interior of the Museum as we walked through it to get to another museum:

Eating lunch in front of the museum

The Museum of Natural History may have been closed, but we were not disappointed. Signs within the museum led us to a separate wing where the Pitt Rivers Museum is housed (click if you want to see some of the exhibits!). This museum cares for the University of Oxford's anthropology and world archaeology collections--and the collections are impressive! 

On the second floor (or what they call the first floor) of the Pitt Rivers Museum

We didn't find the main entrance to the University, but I'm not sure there even is one. It seems that the University spans across the entire city of Oxford, with beautiful buildings on every corner and impressive facilities for the students. Audrey says that if she's forced to go to University, she'd like to go to Oxford--keep dreaming baby!

Entrance to the huge Oxford University park

The remainder of the day was spent running around to various Marks & Spencer stores (a nicer version of Macy's...but with a grocery department!) trying to buy the rest of Audrey's uniform. I'm realizing that I may never be able to go back to a non-uniformed school again! Too many kids are distracted during the school day because of what they're wearing or what someone else is wearing. Without these distractions, kids are on an even playing field and the only way to either stand out or be left behind is through academics--just the way it should be. I guess I have 3-5 years to enjoy this hassle-free look before I have to shell out the money to put her in private school back home...or not.

 We finished off the day with some quality FaceTime with the family (Connie, Johann, Sean, Aunt Joyce, and Uncle Chuck) and with our dear friends Will and Anne. Thanks for calling, guys! We miss all of you.