June 14, 2006

Oxford, England-Villanova rowed its usual morning practice from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. before breaking into groups to take a day trip in the afternoon. Most of the team set off for London, but several team members headed off to Oxford to take in the sights.

Nancy Olewnik and Elysse Voyer boarded an 11:20 a.m. train with media relations coordinator Megan Bradshaw and rode to one of the world's most respected centers of learning. Almost 40 colleges and universities, the oldest of which date back to the 13th century, are spread throughout the city.

Elysse and Nancy started the day with a stop at Carfax Tower, the 14th century tower of St. Martin's church, which has a magnificent view of the city's skyline from the top. Elysse snapped some photos after climbing all the way to the top, up three sets of dizzying spiral iron staircases.

After that it was a stop for lunch before popping into Alice's Shop. Elysse was delighted to discover this shop, as among her favorite stories are those of Alice in Wonderland. Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, was a math tutor at nearby Christ Church College from 1855-98. He befriended the Dean's daughter, Alice Liddell, and wove stories about her real life. Those stories were recorded in his books "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass".

After browsing in the shop, the girls walked up the street to visit Christ Church College. Just past the cloister is a hall that has the words "No Peel" studded on them. In 1829 students protested against Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel who proposed greater freedoms for Catholics. Climbing up the staircase next to this door Elysse and Nancy found the Dining Hall. This hall has further references to Alice in Wonderland. One of the windows portrays characters from the books, and the brass "firedogs" that guard the fires have long necks, a precursor to Alice's neck growing in the story. The White Rabbit was based on Alice's father who left dinner every night down a narrow spiral staircase behind the head table, which morphed into the rabbit hole in the book.

The dining hall also has other literary allusions. It is the model for the Great Hall in the widely read and extremely popular "Harry Potter" series by J.K. Rowling.

The girls spent time in the cathedral before walking past and admiring the Bodleian Library. The library was established in 1450, making it the oldest library in the world. From there it was onto the History of Science museum, which contains early medical and scientific equipment such as a blackboard belonging to Albert Einstein. Elysse, who graduated with a degree in astronomy and astrophysics, wandered among the displays while Nancy crossed the street and browsed through Blackwells' Bookshop. Opened in 1879, it is now the world's largest and most famous bookshop, with its Norrington Room as England's largest single room of books.

The educational theme of the afternoon continued with a jaunt to the Ashmolean Museum. Its present collection of archaeology and art is based on a collection begun in the early 17th century and passed on to Elias Ashmole, who donated it to the University of Oxford in 1683.

The girls ended the day with a stop for dinner at the Eagle and the Child. Elysse tucked into fish and chips, while Nancy enjoyed a tuna melt in the pub where the 'Inklings' routinely congregated in the mid-20th century. The group, made up of writers such as C.S. Lewis (author of the Chronicles of Narnia") and J.R.R. Tolkien (author of "Lord of the Rings"), would often stop in to eat and discuss the novels they were writing.