(Left: Avery found her name! Right: Jules & Collin finishing a yummy Saturday morning breakfast at Nosh 2 Go)
(Below: The Eagle and Child, where writers including C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien -who were also Oxford University professors/faculty- met together in a club. It's affectionately termed "The Bird and Baby" by the locals.)
We began with a visit on Saturday to Green Templeton College (the College Collin belongs to here at the University) to pick up the keys for a peek inside our house. The College grounds here are phenomenal and Green Templeton (GTC) is no exception. We were greeted by Burbank, the College mascot Cat that has been "adopted" by GTC because he always just hangs around. We strolled across the grounds and then through the gate to Observatory Street, making our way to #15... Home, sweet home! (Disclaimer: It hadn't yet been cleaned from the last tenant when we visited, so keep that in mind when viewing these pictures.)
(Left: Collin outside the GTC Courtyard and Porter's Lodge. Right: The girls slept through meeting Burbank, but I think we'll see plenty of him as we live VERY near this courtyard.)
(Below: On the grounds of GTC, in front of the Radcliffe Observatory.
(Below: Walking down our street, Observatory Street.
(Left: Turning the key! Right: I'm only going to show pictures of what was semi-clean for now, the rest can -and SHOULD- wait until you see it in better shape! But you can get the idea. It's itty-bitty and old, but we *heart* it!)
(Below Left: Dining room, and the "washer/dryer" looking things in the corner are actually our refrigerator and freezer! Below Right: Tricky stairs. Yikes.)
(Below: The "wow" view out the girls' bedroom window.)
...Sigh... As with any house built in the 1830's, it has several "projects" to complete before it will feel like home, but it is wonderful. The location is absolutely fantastic. We are near everything! A market, (grocery store) a chemist (pharmacy) a dry cleaners and hair salon are just on the corner, PLUS the yummy Jericho Cafe is at the other end of the street and is surrounded by other thriving shops, theaters, etc. Our garden (backyard-- here "yards" are for chickens) overlooks the beautiful Radcliffe Observatory which was built in the late 1700's. It's surreal to look out the kitchen window and just see it standing there. AND we have apples in the garden! A gorgeous, healthy apple tree stretches from our neighbor's garden to ours and is bearing apples on it's branches... too many to count. We picked two and ate them-- they were impressively sweet. I have plans to make an apple pie to celebrate our first week in the house.
(Below: We have APPLES!)
(Below Left: View looking back towards the house, and Avery practicing her best Harry Potter "leviosa" move with the apple. :) Below Right: Girls with Collin at our back gate leading to walkway towards the Observatory/College grounds.)
We have a washer (which is a HUGE deal-- Most houses here don't) but no dryer, so I'll be using the clothesline unit in the back which you can see in the pictures. (It looks like a satellite or something.) The furniture is pretty institutional, but it will be fine for a year. It's what you would expect of college-owned housing I guess. The kitchen and bathroom are hilariously sad, but they will do the trick! :) The bedrooms are perfect-- we can easily make those homey. The stairs are scary!! Narrow and very steep. Baby gates will go up for sure. We are thrilled with the location, the neighbors, the community, and the garden... The rest of the house just needs a little love. :)
(Below: The shops around the corner)
After seeing the house, we ventured off to shop and explore the city center a little. The girls needed a snack, so we snacked in style with two cookie pops which they loved. And as the day wound down and dinner approached, we hit the jackpot. Avery had been asking for a burrito since Day 2! (Ahhh, my little Texan.) We really didn't think we'd EVER find a burrito here in Oxford... Until...... :) With full tummies and after a FULL day, we took the bus home to our "flat" for a good night's sleep.
(Below: Manna from Heaven for Avery in the form of BURRITOS!! They were GOOD, too. A mix between Freebirds & Chipotle. This TexMex family gives it our seal of approval.) :)
Did you say Chipotle!? Where is this place? I'm so missing my tex-mex! By the way, this is Bess.
ReplyDeleteYES!! It's SO much like Chipotle, but the menu isn't as large. It's in City Center... Collin thinks it was at St. James & Carfax? By the Virgin Mobile store, he says. Might Google "Mission Burrito, Oxford" for better directions. :)
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