Oxford

Today we visited Oxford. We had good intentions of walking the city and taking in some of the many colleges that form the Oxford University. As usual with most large cities here in England we jumped the Park & Ride bus into the city centre. We came to the Radcliffe Camera and Bodleian Library and toured inside the Divinity School, where the first exams in Oxford were held. James was once again entertained by the audio guide!

A little while ago I heard that Lovely Jubbly Jamie Oliver was opening a cafe/bistro here in Oxford so it was absolutely on my list of things to do. Thoughts of a historical tour of Oxford disappeared and it became a culinary experience instead! The cafe, named Jamie's Italian, has only been open for a fortnight and already the atmosphere and entire package is fabulous - and we scored a table as the lunchtime crowd poured in the door. The food was amazing as one would expect - the freshest produce and pasta and bread and oils - I ate sooo much! James polished off the olives and bread, oil & balsamic. Marty and I wrestled a bottle of Chianti but I have to say every single mouthful was just perfect. Unfortunately there was no room for pudding :( The highlight of our visit was spotting Jamie's friend and mentor, Gennaro Contaldo in the kitchen. I introduced myself and he really took to James (who was too busy to talk with a plateful of olives!) I told Gennaro that James' favourite food was olives so out came a little dish just for him! He was chuffed! I bought Gennaro's book 'An Italian Year' as he signed it for me. It was such a thrill to meet the master of Italian cooking! I couldn't wipe the smile off my face!

Reluctantly we left Jamie's and strolled down towards the bridge where we picked up the canal path.There were many canal bots much to the boys' delight! James proclaimed that most looked like our Welsh boat,Lucy. It was so lovely and cool walking along there past the permanently moored boats with their bright colours and flowering rooftop gardens. We crossed Oxford through parkland to the River Thames. Martin and I both remarked on James' seemingly boundless energy! He was happy though to see the car eventually and was asleep within a few minutes of the return journey home.

Photos are here.