Hey yolk fam. Been a minute, hasn’t it?
I’ve decided to ease my way back into regular blogging, because, if you haven’t noticed, I’ve been taking a little break lately. And by lately, I mean most of the past year. But shhh, no one has to know.
In late August of last year, I moved to the UK. First I took a month long publishing course at Oxford, and then I went to London for a master’s program.
I cannot fit all the details of this year of my life on one page of the internet, so this post will be all about Oxford and how I explored its history. Which for me mostly involved eating at some really old cafes and drinking at some really ancient pubs.
Before we get into it, please know that it is not lost on me how lucky I am to have been able to experience all the things I experienced this past year. I am so very grateful to my family and boyfriend for all their support. But I also owe it to Wei, the OG Yin and Yolk-er, for starting this blog with me. I wouldn’t have had the chance to go to any of these programs without this little blog.
Phewf. Now. Here’s a bit of what I was going to say to you back in September, when I sat down to write this post. Yes, it’s had quite the gestation period.
“Greetings from Oxford!
Again!
It is always better to experience dim and dismal days in places with beautiful backdrops. I’m writing this as I sit by my window overlooking the Oxford courtyard, as light specks of rain gently patter against my window. The sun is just beginning to peek out behind a cloud, and if I look closely, I can almost see a faint rainbow.
My building is new, but across the courtyard still stands some original Oxford dorms for me to marvel at, giving off some mad C.S. Lewis and Tolkien vibes. No wonder this place has got me itching to write.
I’m here for a month long course, with only a few weeks left to go now. Between all the lectures and meals in ancient dining halls, I of course have made time for a few excursions out into the town of Oxford.”
As you can see I clearly had the motivation to write, but photos were another story. But don’t fret, I got ‘em now.
So…if you’re headed to Oxford, where should you go?
For breakfast, Queen’s Lane Coffee House is the self-proclaimed oldest cafe in Europe. You don’t go for the food, you go to say you’ve been. The food wasn’t half bad either, with my friend describing his salmon as “lush”, if I remember correctly.
Across the street is The Grand Cafe, which is the first coffee house in England. An afternoon of tea with a couple of friends and extra clotted cream felt like a full immersion into posh English culture – though I’m sure the place was mostly filled with out-of-towners like ourselves. The scones (pronounced scAHN, as I was gently though repeatedly reminded) were divine, despite my aversion to raisins in my baked goods. Or in anything, really.
But my absolute favorite spot to go for breakfast or a snack was George Street Social. It was a cafe that served food if you order at the bar (like shakshuka or french toast), but also served as a place to work/study, with an upstairs full of comfy seating and used books. The perfect accompaniment to a warm flat white.
When I first went up to the bar to order, I asked for crumpets with clotted cream, like a noob. The nice man working the register told me that’s a really odd combo, and would I like a scone instead? I put my trust in him and he delivered – apparently a crumpet is like a spongey english muffin, usually had with butter and jam or honey. A scone is what Americans know as a biscuit, and clotted cream tastes far, far better than it sounds. (“Clotted” sounds like a bad thing, but it’s really just a cross between butter and cream.)
In between these outings, and between classes, I would wander around the campus and admire the way autumn graced old Oxford University walls with its gently reddening leaves of ivy.
A friend of mine invited me on an afternoon tea river cruise, by which I was delightfully impressed. While mostly full of older couples, this cruise was just a small boat manned by the co-owner of the restaurant that served the afternoon tea treats.
Crustless sandwiches, raisin scones with clotted cream, and a nice tray full of mini puddings (aka desserts) were elegantly placed in front of each pair of us. Sipping on warm tea as the boat glided over the river and the cool September air whispered around us was the stuff of dreams. Dreams, I say.
Surprisingly, I also enjoyed some very tasty BBQ in this small town at The Oxford Blue Smokehouse. Melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork with a side heap of mac and cheese had my eyes rolling to the back of my head out of taste-bud ecstasy. And I have yet to have the same deliciously crispy sweet potato fries anywhere else in the UK.
The Isis Farmhouse was only reachable by foot or bike on the path that ran along the river. A leisurely walk from Exeter College, the farmhouse was clearly very old and rocking a sort of shabby chic aesthetic. My friends and I enjoyed some toasties (otherwise known as sandwiches) and beverages outside at one of the many picnic tables splayed across its front lawn by the water and willow trees.
Surprisingly they also had a gluten free option for my Celiac friend, as well as gluten free chocolate cake for dessert. While there was nothing terrible about the food, I would suggest going for a drink, and staying to enjoy the outdoors for a few hours.
I also suggest running through the Oxford Botanic Gardens and Arboretum if you can catch it on a day that isn’t raining. Another nice-day activity is punting, where one person stands on the edge of a canoe-like-boat and uses a long pole to push off the floor of the river in order to move and steer. I wisely did not volunteer to be our punter, and I’m glad looking back, because it seemed like a lot of effort. And kinda dangerous.
Sometimes I’d run into the Oxford Covered Market near the college to get some Thai food for lunch if the dining hall was only serving meat and potatoes for the third day in a row. This market was also home to a Ben’s Cookies stand (which I mentioned in the other London post) and a cute gelato shop called iScream where we stopped on our way back from a long punting day.
If you’re a LOTR nerd like me, you’ve got to stop by the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology to find the posy rings, those inscribed gold bands which originally inspired Tolkien. And the Eagle and Child (also mentioned in my other Oxford post) to see where he and the Inklings would meet up. You’re welcome.
The program finished in London on the night of my birthday, with a top-floor party at the Penguin Random House offices smack dab in the center of the city. I was now 25, and was ready for wherever this beautiful world would take me.
Special thanks to Jay Brock (whose book is available now!) for doing so much research on Oxford’s best places to eat. And for being our brave punter, of course.