Exhausted Ramblings

Walking through Oxford today I found myself unenthused and a little cranky.  Oxford was one of the top things I was looking forward to most on this visit.  It is disappointing to me that I was too exhausted today to enjoy it.  We met earlier today than usual and for some reason the usual amount of time I give myself to get ready in the morning was not enough.  I rushed out the door half asleep and already wishing the day was over.  We reached the train station and snapped some photos of Paddington Bear.  Flora really enjoyed this part and she cheesed it for the camera when she got the opportunity to pose with the famous children's book character.

After departing Paddington Station we took a 45 minute train ride to Oxford.  There are several very old and prestigious colleges in this historical town.  We started out with a guided tour of the Bodleian library at the University of Oxford.  The library was gorgeous but they do not allow any cameras or bags in the library. Many of the books there are hundreds of years old and can still be handled and used for research.  They keep meticulous records of the people entering and leaving the library and which materials they are handling.  This has allowed them to determine peak times in library use and has helped them track down the library use of some very famous scholars.  For those of you who know me well you would think that I would be super excited to be standing in such an old, beautiful, and renowned house of knowledge, and I would have been had I not felt like I was going to fall asleep standing up.  

I was not the only member of the group to feel this way.  There must have been something in the air today.  We all looked miserable, hot, and tired.   There seemed to be a consensus that Oxford would be so much more interesting if we weren't all looking for a place to nap.  

To add to my disappointment today, it seems I have made the transition of losing my fascination with the old architecture here in the UK.  My first few days here I could not stop taking pictures of random old buildings.  I was admiring their architecture and marveling at how they have withstood the test of time thus far.  Today, this luster was gone.  I took less than 50 photos and was somewhat underwhelmed at  the site of more old buildings.  I hope this was just a fluke and that once I've had some rest I will be back to my old enthusiastic self again.  Here are some of the photos I captured today, I hope you enjoy them.  Until tomorrow, goodnight!