Our guide, Tom, did a great job explaining about the different colleges which make up Oxford University and the history of Oxford. It can be quite confusing when you say Oxford University, because there are 38 colleges of the University of Oxford and six Permanent Private Halls. Each controls its membership and has its own internal structure and activities. Not all colleges offer all courses, but they generally cover a broad range of subjects. When you graduate from any of the colleges, you graduate from Oxford University.
We didn’t go into any of the colleges, but we got a glimpse of things to check out further. The picture below is Christ Church College, also known as "The House." It was founded in 1525 by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, and was originally called Cardinal's College. In 1546 Henry VIII took it over and renamed it Christ Church. This college is the largest and most visited of all Oxford's Colleges. The 7-ton bell in the tower chimes 101 times each night at 9:05pm, the time when the original 101 students were called back for curfew. Since Oxford is 5 minutes west of Greenwich, this is actually 9 pm Oxford time!
We loved the garden area at Christ Church.
The guide told us that 13 British Prime Ministers in the last 200 years attended Christ Church which is more than any other college in Oxford, or all of Cambridge University combined! There have been 26 Prime Ministers educated at Oxford University.
This is the entrance to the Oxford Botanic Garden which was founded in 1621 “To promote the furtherance of learning and to glorify nature". All of it is part of Oxford University!
Another of the beautiful colleges in Oxford is All Souls College. All of its members automatically become Fellows (full members of the College's governing body). It has no undergraduate members and is one of the wealthiest colleges in Oxford.
We also walked through the quad at Balliol College, our guide’s alma mater. It was founded in 1263 and claims to have produced three Prime Ministers. The Bodleian Library is housed here – three levels underground. It is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and is second is size only to the British Library! There are over 11 millions items in this research library and Tom told us they are in the process of digitizing ALL the items which will then be available free, online, to everyone!
We really liked the architecture of the Radcliffe Camera. It was built in the early-mid 1700s to house the Radcliffe science library. 
We also liked some of the “grotesques” carved on the buildings in Oxford. Some were amusing, others just disturbing!
The last building Tom told us about was the Sheldonian Theatre. The Sheldonian Theatre was built from 1664 to 1669 and designed by Christopher Wren. It is used for music concerts, lectures and University ceremonies, but not for drama.
After the tour we headed back to the Covered Market which has operated on this site since 1774! Oxford was originally a trade center and this is the place where it started!
Our daughter-in-law told us not to miss it, so we took her advice. It was fun to go through and see lots of the shops. One of the bakeries had some incredible cakes to impress just about anyone!
Our daughter-in-law told us not to miss it, so we took her advice. It was fun to go through and see lots of the shops. One of the bakeries had some incredible cakes to impress just about anyone!
We picked up some meat at one of the butcher shops located in the Market before walking back to Tyler’s place. This was one of the colorful taxis we spotted at Gloucester Green. It looks like a fun ride!
We have passed by this guitar shop almost every day, but this was the first we noticed this kitty and sign.
He was busy watching Tobey – until he spotted a pigeon outside! He jumped from the window and was trying to figure out how to escape through the door! Too bad they were already closed for the night. I am sure his thoughts were, “curses, foiled again!”
We had a quiet evening and will decide on tomorrow’s activities in the morning!
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