A home away from home

I'm lucky: I tend not to get homesick. Occasionally when I'm travelling something will remind me of a friend or a place and I will feel nostalgic for a bit. But the same thing happens when I'm settled in the one place for a bit - I will think of friends I met or places I visited while travelling, somewhere else I've lived, my (parents') dogs, my family, my friends in Sydney and those who've moved elsewhere (this is not in any order of importance, by the way!) and feel nostalgic. It's quite random, too.

Anyway, I had an email from a friend in England the other day. I spent about 10 months living in Oxford, studying, and I had a fantastic time while I was there. B.'s email didn't make me particularly nostalgic, though, as it reminded me of some of the peculiarities of our college, some of the things I've got to look forward to when I head back there at the end of this year. But it did bring back some nice memories, and I thought that maybe I should post a few photos of Oxford. It's really a very beautiful place, and I never really got used to the gorgeousness of some of the architecture.

Since I was there for almost a year, I have far too many photos to put up, especially just in one post. So this is just an introduction.

In the first place, it was much colder than I'm used to. The frost stayed on the ground until well into the day - even in the autumn!



And yes, there's ivy everywhere.

My college also has an old church which has been deconsecrated and turned into a library. The stained glass has been replaced with clear glass, which just means that if you have to be inside on a sunny day, the library is one of the best places to be. And it's nice when it isn't sunny, too, which is lucky, since we are talking about England here!



Even in winter when the trees are all bare, it's pretty:



And even more so when there's some snow around:



It gets even better in spring:



Even when the ducks are still cold!



Now I've got to admit, that has all made me a bit nostalgic for a stroll around Christchurch Meadow. On the other hand, it's still summer here, and I think I'll enjoy that while I can!