Christmas in Oxford

We were all a bit bleary this morning but I was almost euphoric with relief and amazement! I'm just hoping that now the Conservatives will live up to their promises and get this country back to being Great again. I know that a lot of the voters in the traditional Labour areas are just "lending" their support to Boris Johnson, but the feeling I had of being totally fed up with the stalemate we were living under seems to be shared by the rest of the country (or at least the majority of them!).

Anyway, no more on the subject!

Sophie and I drove over to Oxford today to visit the Christmas market in Broad Street and we used the excellent Park and Ride at the Pear Tree car park. We boarded a bus that took us straight to the city centre and headed to an independent coffee shop called Black Sheep for a quick drink.

The coffee - I had a Flat White - was lovely, but I would have liked mine a bit hotter! We also shared a slice of vegan banana bread which would keep us going until lunch!

The Christmas Market was in Broad Street, a short walk from the cafe. There were numerous stalls selling Christmas decorations, candles, cheese, Gluhwein, scarfs, jewellery and gifts. We sampled some Moonshine whisky, which was very sweet, and enjoyed a hot mulled wine each.

The market was pleasantly busy but it was very cold with a nasty wind. To warm up we headed for the German stall and Sophie ordered a smoked bratwurst for me and a currywurst for herself.

The food was delicious and after wandering around some more and buying a couple of decorations for our trees (including a lovely dried fruits one) we went into Debenhams to use their facilities. Whilst in there, I looked for a coat as I gave my winter one away last year, and although Mum lent me hers, it's quite posh for ordinary outings. I tried on a couple, but didn't feel the love so we looked around for a present for Keith and then made our way back to the market. We had heard a school group mention a covered market, so after asking for the directions in the Tourist Information office, we eventually found our way there.

As we walked we passed several restaurants and we both agreed that it would be great to return to Oxford, maybe in the Spring. The buildings around were beautiful and old and I'm sure there's much more to discover in the city.

We found the covered market which was a warren of narrow alleyways with all kinds of different shops and some tiny cafes. The market started in 1774 so it's been around for a fair amount of time! It was lovely to mooch about and look at all the varied things for sale, although when we rounded a corner and came upon a butcher's shop with venison hanging up outside, it was a bit of a shock for Sophie!

As we were now tiring a bit (and Sophie's foot was hurting) we decided to go and have a drink at The Alchemist. I had looked online at their menu and tried to book a table for 2pm today but they couldn't accommodate us until 4pm, which I thought was a bit late. Sophie was keen to try their amazing cocktails but when we found the restaurant on the upper floor of the Westgate shopping centre, it was packed with no seats available. We gave up and decided to head home and luckily found a bus stop for our car park nearby.

Within half an hour we were back at the car and heading out of the city on the A34. We'd had a lovely day and the good weather had definitely been a bonus! The journey home was fine until we reached Moulton and became stuck in a traffic jam on the A43. However, we made it home before Keith went to the pub and we said we'd order a Chinese from Brixworth.

It was bliss to cosy up on the sofa with the cat and watch Love Actually before we rang and ordered our meal!