Oxford, Day 23: Chasing Buses and Botanic Gardens

Originally posted June 19, 2012, this blog post series is an undergraduate short-term study abroad trip in Oxford, UK in partnership with Salve Regina University and St. Clare’s Oxford. The blog post may have been edited for clarity and updated with relevant travel information and links.

Before going to Literature of Oxford, I ate a prepared Singapore Noodle dish from Mark’s and Spencer’s. I had to rush out the door shortly after and caught the bus after I sprinted from Logan House to the stop, knocking on the bus door to let me on.

On the way to the University of Oxford Botanic Gardens, I ran after the bus again so the class could get to the Gardens on time before it closed. It was a lot of bus chasing.

The University of Oxford Botanic Gardens is located across from Magdalen College on High Street. J.R.R. Tolkien and Lewis Carroll frequented the Gardens often and are believed to use the gardens as inspiration in their works. A green pine tree served as the inspiration for the “Ent” tree creatures in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and the Garden’s landscape inspired the Queen’s garden in Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

The class was originally scheduled to visit the Gardens later in the week, but the British weather was kind once again, and so we ventured outside of the classroom. Afterwards, we headed back to The Turf tavern, but because it was crowded, I went back to the dorm and ate dinner at home.

Singapore Noodle by Mark’s and Spencer’s

Upon taking this photo, I realized the camera settings had an overexposure to light, which explains why most of my pictures looked ghastly white. Whoops…