A Day of Wandering and Irishmen

...well only one Irishman. Anyway...

Spring Break, Day 2; England, Day 2; Oxford, Day 2
-or-
March 8th

After sleeping off two pints of cider, I managed to get myself out of bed only to find that there was no hot water. Not a good start to the day, especially for me, who needs a shower in the morning in order to function. Blah. Anyway, after begrudgingly getting dressed, I headed out into town. Noon had left earlier for seminar or tutoring or something, so I was on my own that morning. I wandered down Cowley, almost got hit by a car trying to cross the street (look right first!), and picked up some delicious pizza to munch on while I wandered.

I walked all the way down High Street- as far as I could go before having to cross another street- before turning down some unknown road. I walked and walked, taking in the gorgeous Gothic architecture and running down the batteries on my camera. I saw the place where three Catholic bishops were burned at the stake for defending their faith. I saw a huge round theater with carvings of heads all around it. I wandered into the University Cathedral, and paid 3 quid to walk up to the top of the tower. The view was stunning- I was lucky that it was really sunny out- and I spent quite a while up there taking pictures and enjoying the view.

Travelling alone is definitely really nice. I can just wander in and out of places on my own whim, and stay for however long I want. It is also rather lonely, since I have no one to talk to or express opinions about what I'm seeing. Or someone to make snarky comments too, which I want to do alot, given the pretention of most Oxford students, Noon included. But for the most part, I have been enjoying this time to myself in which I can do whatever I want. It's a nice break from the constant hectic surroundings of school.

Anyway, after the tower, I met with Noon at Christ Church and we walked down by the river for a while before going to get tea. We ended up just getting cake since his favorite tea place isn't open on Monday's, but it was still delicious. After that, we came here (the Classics Center) for internet, then walked back to the graduate common room of Christ Church where I was left. Noon had a dinner to go to and had called a friend to see if he would like to hang out with me that evening while Noon was busy. We both thought that this friend, and Irishman, would be in Oxford by 6, so I waited in the common room for a text that didn't end up coming till 7:30. After many confused texts between Noon and myself, we figured that Paddy would not be in Oxford till later and that I was to meet him at a cafe at 9:30.

Fast forward through a rather boring dinner to 9:30, when I sat in the cafe with a drink and was approached finally by the myseterious Paddy. He bought us a bottle of wine and we started talking, and he was very nice and polite, though about halfway through a sentence, he took my hand which lay unassumingly on the table and started holding it and stroking it. Naturally, this caught my rather off guard, and I did my best to maneuver my hand back to myself. Paddy, however, was not deterred; he put his hand on my arm, or touched my hand that help my wine glass, he even at one point took both my hands in his and kissed them. Now, I am not used to this very forward attention from men I don't know, and, in addition to the wine, I had no idea how to react. I did my best to make it impossible for him to touch me, but he was clever as well. I texted Noon for help, and he hastily told us to come to the common room and hang out with him and his friends. As we walked over to Christ Church, with Paddy's arm tight around my waist, I told him firmly that I had a boyfriend to whom I was very devoted. He didn't seem phased at all, and refused to relinquish his grip on me. When we finally made it to ChCh, I was able to escape him in the midst of other people, and severely chastized Noon for leaving me alone with him. We ended up spending the rest of the evening in the common room with Noon and a few of his friends, all of whom were drunk and quite hilarious. Around midnight, after kebabs and a taxi ride, I collapsed onto the couch and into a deep sleep.

I have a bad feeling that this is not the end of Paddy, since he is in Oxford for the next few days and also lives in London. We'll see what happens next!

The plan for today is to visit a museum or two, see the Botanic Gardens, then get "proper pissed" tonight with Noon and Co, since I am heading into London tomorrow. Should be a lovely time! :)