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| Swan in River Cherwell |
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| Punting boats |
Then, we directly went to get our bus pass, the Key, operated by Oxford Bus Company. This bus pass is similar to ORCA card in Seattle, except that it doesn't cross over with other bus company, not yet at least. We got the 37 GBP for 4 weeks within the Oxford city, it's a great deal for us because every round trip bus fare cost 2.40 GBP, so more than 11 round trips would definitely worth the 37 GBP. We got the card on the 3 Floor (which is the 4 floor in US, because in UK, they have Ground Floor that is our 1F, and every subsequent floor is +1, a bit confusing at first) of Debenhams, a higher end department store in UK located at the intersection of Cornmarket Street and George Street.
After we got our card, we specifically wanted to look around Radcliffe Square (check map :-) )where Bodleian Library (pic not included here), Radcliffe Camera and University Church of St. Mary the Virgin are located.
The Brasenose College is one of the 38 colleges of the University of Oxford.
The Radcliffe Camera is not a camera, in the modern sense, at all. Camera means chamber in Latin, so Radcliffe Camera is a big, open chamber that used to be the first science library for Oxford.
The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin is one of the oldest building in the entire Oxford University, it was here around 13th century, maybe even earlier (I can't remember the history, check website!). It is OLD!! And magnificent. It's really magical how these buildings have been here for many centuries, and here I am surrounded by these amazing buildings. The buildings have witnessed brilliant histories and themselves have become history! It's overwhelming and extraordinary and incomprehensible sometimes.
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| Brasenose College |
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| Entrance to Radcliffe Camera |
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| Entrance to University Church |
After walking around the square without a tour guide, we bumped into Brian and Chuck. We talked a little and they pointed out that the King's Arms have some really good beer, so we decided to go and have our first British pub experience and have ourselves some beer.
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| The King's Arms |
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| Young's Gold |
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| My empty glass!!! |
With Chuck's recommendation, we both ordered a half pint of Young's Gold, which is a very smooth tasting beer without any after taste at all. For a non-beer lover I really really enjoyed the beer, which was definitely unexpected (as many of you know!) :P Each pub in Britain has a brewer that they chose, so for the King's Arms, they use Young's brewery and their beer.
The beer was very delicious and I finished all of it, haha! And was not red or anything afterward, lol.
After we got our drink, we picked our seats and just enjoyed our beer. There were a lot of students and people in the pub. Everyone had a beer or a drink with them. They were there to talk, hang out and drink.The atmosphere was very lively! We will be trying their food next time (next blog entry). So next time if you are in Oxford, I highly recommend the King's Arms as a place for great food and drink!!
Tip:
This is how British pub works:
You go up to the bar and order your drink with the bartender and pay for it there (no tip at all). Then you can take your drink to where ever you like to sit and enjoy. There is a separate counter to order and pay for the food. There is no need to tip in the UK. If you do, they would love you, but if you didn't, it's ok. There is no shame in ordering just a half pint, even though most British drink the full pint. And you can pair your beer with whatever you desire, sweet or savory, there is no rule. The pub might recommend the pairing, but you don't have to follow. They will serve the food for you.
One rule: the British don't drink to get drunk, public drunkenness is considered very impolite and rude. So, please DO NOT do it! It's an American thing....
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