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Some random sights from along the way:

After the long trip, we finally arrived at Oxford.  We were greeted first by a long wall of graffiti (you know those Oxford thugs)

and then by the town itself. 

There was a good bit of rain falling, so we hustled along and ran into a bustling little street market. 

Here, we checked out the wares -- sampling some tasty food -- before making our way to more of the town:

We decided to stop for lunch at a Chinese restaurant called "Cafe Opium."  This place is next door to another Chinese place called the "Opium Den." 

Cafe Opium served up an eclectic mix of Chinese and Japanese dishes.  While places serving mixed cuisine often have a spotty track record in terms of quality, the food here actually turned out to be pretty good.  I had a bowl of sweet corn crab soup, some salmon teriyaki rice (quite simply, a salmon filet on top of a bed of rice), and (of course) the pan-fried seafood noodles.

We finished dinner after 5 PM, but thanks to Daylight Savings Time beginning a week earlier in England than in the U.S., it was still fairly light outside.  We headed back into the heart of town, this time with an eye toward checking out a few of Oxford's thirty-something colleges.  However, since we were without map or any real idea of where we were going, we got a little sidetracked:

By this point, it was raining pretty heavily.  But hey, you can't let a little rain get you down.

Walking down the avenue, we found ourselves across the street from the "Christ Church"

and decided to take a closer look. 

There was a big tent on the church grounds with a vibrant little book festival inside.  We browsed the books for a bit before heading back outside to navigate the rain again.

I think this was meant to be some sort of political statement, but I'm not sure what.  Ishaan guessed it was comparing Ike Eisenhower to Osama and Saddam.

More Oxford:

Thanks to a healthy dose of serendipity, we ran into the Stanford House!  We tried to see if anyone was home, but nobody answered (it seemed to be spring break at Oxford).  All I have to show for our visit, then, is this picture:

We tried to pay a visit to Oxford's botanical garden, but we were foiled again; it being the weekend, the place was gated up.

By this point, it was getting pretty late in the evening, and we still had the hour-and-45-minute trip to London and dinner with Bernie on the docket.  So we said goodbye to Oxford and made our way back to the train station.

It had been a long day, and the lengthy train ride provided an opportunity for some rest.

At about 9:30 PM, we finally reached South Kensington.  We stopped for a bit at Ishaan's place, and then we made one last trip to Leicester Square and Chinatown for a late dinner with Bernie at Tee Kung.  For my final meal in town, I enjoyed some szechuan prawns and another plate of pan-fried seafood noodles.  Tasty stuff.

With a day of flying ahead, the trip had reached its conclusion.  It had been a great eight days in the U.K. -- I had an opportunity to see some great sights and enjoy London's fantastic international food.  As far as spring breaks go, this has to rank up there with my all-time favorites.

Map of Oxford