Oxford

The morning started with an alarm twenty minutes earlier than I would have liked.  I took a cab (about £4) to the train station (five minute walk) because my parents are very paranoid.  The ticket was £53, so thank god for railcards or it would have been way worse.  Once I got to Paddington (after taking the tube from St Pancras), I got a cappuccino and a croissant and was very pleased.  I had a moment of remembering the Paddington Bear stories from when I was little.  However, I could not enjoy my croissant and Hemingway on the train as I had planned - the train was packed.  We stood up the entire ride!
But once we got to Oxford, I forgot about how stressful it was planning out this whole day.  I spent two hours looking around by myself.  I tagged on to tours of Trinity and Hertford Colleges, and learned all about the British university system.  The morning alone solidified the belief that I conceived when I was alone in Barcelona for two hours - I really love travelling alone.  This is kind of an issue because my parents don't want me going anywhere by myself.  Being in Oxford by myself was refreshing because I took pictures like a dork and I didn't care if people were looking at me because I had my lovely Canon T2i.  Ha.  That's got to be one of the greatest thing about having this camera - you look legit taking pictures.  But I loved taking pictures.

I did a little shopping and got a Cath Kidston ticket holder for my anticipated rail journeys.  Love it, and totally worth £8.  I bought some postcards, including one in sepia that has a picture of the Radcliffe Camera (above) at dawn with fog.  I decided to start a collection of postcards for every place I visit, so that when I have my own apartment in a few years, I can put them up on a wall and admire my accomplishments.  If you've seen The Good Guy, sort of like his wall.  Or Jumper.  He has a wall of travel pictures, too.

It was a very enjoyable day.  I had my perfect Pret toastie again (mozzarella, pesto, and tomato on whole grain) and got sore from walking (a rewarding feeling).  I would have loved to stay for longer, but I'll just have to go back.  

That day (which was Friday, by the way) made me think that I need to see more of the UK.  I asked my parents about doing a homestay, and they don't want me going anywhere by myself.  That infuriates me, although I know it's a safety thing.  They're just having a difficult time trusting a place new place.  I just got to the point where I could get to New York by myself (that was always fun).  Now I'm starting anew, and I'm going to have to convince them.  Before I actually got here, I worried about them letting me travel with other people.  But now i'm actually here, so they're going to have to let me do things, instead of thinking about it.

Today for the first time in a long time, I was really sad that the weekend is over.  I spent all of Saturday in bed watching TV and films.  At my old boarding school, I was always working all weekend, stressed, running around, sleeping too late, trying to do laundry.  Here it's more leisurely, and I enjoy having free time.  At my old school, it never really made a difference when the weekend was over, now that I think about it.  Here, it means I have to get up at 7am and then spend all day puttering around, being bored during the free time at lunch.  I'd rather be watching How I Met Your Mother (I'm on episode 14 of season 1, and it's only been three or four days)!  Or exploring somewhere else.

So, farewell, weekend.  On to two more episodes of HIMYM before bed.