Oxford: Radcliffe Camera

The Radcliffe Camera was built from 1737 to 1749, so it is more than 260 years now. It was built to house the Radcliffe Science Library, and now it has become the reading room for Bodleian Library.

Christmas Dinner in Shanghai

It wasn't Christmas this year. It was a year ago that I spent my Christmas eve with my friend Terence in Shanghai. He brought along another friend Joyce, and we enjoyed the tapas dinner for three very much.

The menu

Seafood bisque

Boston lobster salad

Baked oyster trio "au gratin"

Pan seared fresh duck foie gras

Poached fresh turbot filet

Roasted baby lamb rack

Christmas log

I hope it is still not too late to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas.

Oxford: Magdalen College

Magdalen College is part of Oxford University that was established in 1498. That makes it 512 years old by this year! It has a very big compound. Therefore, it took me quite some time to explore.

I first entered St. John's Quadrangle. The first thing that caught my eyes was this President's Lodgings. They really know how to pamper the college President by giving him/her such a nice house to stay in.

The Grammar Hall just next to the President's Lodgings is also a pleasant building to look at.

Most of the buildings are interconnected by arch-corridors like this one. That makes the college like a maze to explore.

After I got into the Cloister Quadrangle, I headed straight to the Chapel. It is not as big as the Cathedral at Christ Church College but it is not less beautiful.

There are many stained-glass windows around here as well and I didn't forget to take many shots of them.

After I had come out from the Chapel, I was greeted with a big patch of green inside the Cloister Quadrangle. I haven't seen any patch greener than this! No wonder the alumnus of Magdalen College didn't have to look elsewhere for greener patches. They have the greenest!

I guess this is why the Cloister Quadrangle was so named because it is surrounded by cloisters like this.

This is the view of Magdalen Tower from inside the cloister, with the greenest patch again.

The arches along the cloisters make good frames for photo shooting.

North of Cloister Quadrangle is the New Building Lawn. Do you notice the green patches again?

East to the New Building Lawn is the bridge across River Cherwell leading to Addison's Walk.

River Cherwell is a very scenic area too. Do you know that the author of Alice in Wonderland used to hang out here with the little girl named Alice that became the main character in his evergreen novel?

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson used to bring the daughters of the Dean from the Christ Church College for picnics at the Deer Park when he was a Mathematics lecturer at Christ Church College. The third child of the Dean, Alice Pleasance Liddell, later became the main character of his renown work Alice's Adventure in Wonderland written under the pseudonym of Lewis Carroll.

Many sights around Magdalen College had become the background setting of this piece of unsurpassed literally work.

I kept walking north along Addison's Walk that meanders through meadows. It was not hard to spot things that inspired Mr. Dodgson along the way.

I was hoping to get out of the college through Fellows' Garden but unfortunately the gate was locked. So, I walked back to where I entered Addison's Walk.

It was examination season, so I hardly see any student around. However, I did spot one or two occasionally.

I couldn't stop admiring the beauty of Magdalen College even though it was the second round on my way out.

In such an environment, everybody should have no distraction from his/her studies/research. No wonder Oxford is always on the top of the list in world university ranking.

I wish I could stay longer, but there were more things for me to explore around Oxford. I took a final glimpse at the Grammar Hall and waved goodbye to Magdalen College.