For years, our favorite mystery series on TV has been a British show called Inspecteur Lewis. Erudite and cerebral as mysteries go, it's set in the English town of Oxford. Although there is always a body, there is also usually poetry, a literary reference, or some intellectual trope that sets it a cut above your typical crime drama. But certainly Oxford seems a dangerous place to be, as the series has had 33 episodes. For a small town, that's a whole lot of bodies.
So we were very excited to visit the scene of the crimes. The actual reason for the trip was to visit our dear friends John and Joan, who happened to live in Oxfordshire (which is close to the Cotswolds, recently covered in this post.). John is a Senior Research Fellow at Oxford and has managed to survive, without encountering a single diabolical villain.
There is a reason the series is set in Oxford: it's a town of great architectural beauty and rich history. Oxford is the oldest English speaking university; one could have studied at Oxford in 1096. It is also much loved and visited, so they've closed the city center to traffic. Our friends gave us an insider tour, including entries to several of the many colleges of Oxford, and the best historic pubs, of course.
It was fascinating to discover that Oxford is set up quite different from American universities. There are a series of "colleges", 30 in all, and you apply to the one that suits you.These are not based principally on subject matter; they each have their own personality, and you find one that fits yours. It makes the university experience more intimate, and less over-whelming perhaps. Some colleges are made up of beautiful old buildings, arranged around a classic quadrangle. Others are in new, modern buildings.
More photos:
On the green of John's college, a cut-throat game of croquet . See the guy in PJ's-- Joan says it's a campus trend to wear them out and about.
Our friend John's office has a beautiful view, inside and out.
In the very heart of Oxford is the baroque Radcliffe Camera, circa the 1700's, an iconic building built as a library that still serves as a reading room for one of the colleges.
Of course there are cozy historic pubs.
John told us that many students come back to Oxford to get married on campus, like this bride and groom we encountered.
The day we visited there was some sort of graduation ceremony going on, and it was fun to see the happy faces.
A bit of window shopping: I coveted this English fascinator
Now on to Oxfordshire. Our friends' village in Oxfordshire is as postcard-pretty as the Cotswolds. We were charmed by the village church. Can't you just see Elizabeth Bennet chatting with the vicar?
Houses in this area tend to have names, not numbers. The postal workers have to memorize where each is located.
Many houses in their village have beautiful tucked-away gardens.
The many thatched roofs are a marvel. Traditionally when finished, they place a small animal statue at the top. These are called straw finials, and they ward off evil spirits.
Merci John and Joan, for a super visit!
Recipe: Joan's Mini Pavlovas
Pavlovas are the ultimate light summer dessert, and Joan made these lucious individual ones for us. Joan makes merigues like this: use 2 oz of sugar for every egg white. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then whisk in the sugar. Pipe or form into nests and bake at 275 (140C) for one hour. Turn off the oven and leave them there for several hours or overnight. (But sometimes Joan just buys them--making it the world's easiest dessert if you can find them! She gave me some as a gift, after I bugged her for the recipe, and complained that I'm terrible at making meringues:
Fill the meringues, homemade or not, with whipped cream, and top with berries (Joan sometimes uses Greek yogurt). Drizzle with fruit coulis if you have some, or you can just sweeten the berries with a bit of sugar ahead of time, then chill them, so they give off some juices. Or, just melt some berry jam, strain it and chill.
PS: The olympics start today! We aren't going, but we're sending a crack team to report on the story and do a guest blog for us.
We did watch the olympic flame pass through Beaune last week, though. It was fun to see. There were 5 runners in Beaune (though they mostly stroll). Here's a photo of the hand-off.
In the COMMENTS: Paul, the crazy logistics are part of the fun, aren’t they? It’s quite a production. Ian, I agree—worth watching just for the visual tour de France. Chris, Yikes! Please stay cool in Sacramento. That is scorching hot even for Charleston.
Favorite Reads: Natalia likes the French edition of Danielle Steel’s book, Second Vie. I do what Natalia does sometimes, read a book in one language and re-read it in the other. When I am disciplined enough to read in French, which is not often enough! Chris liked The Paris Apartment, a light read we’ve talked about before—good to pick up for your summer vacation.
From our Friends at EuropeanMarket: If you're looking for a gift for a francophile (or yourself!), check out the collections of curated gifts from EuropeanMarket.
