July 17th - Of Baguettes, Buddhism, and Boat Races

Hi, welcome back to another post!

Today started out pretty normally. I woke up, ate breakfast, yada yada yada. I headed to my morning class and stayed afterward to work on my project with my group. By the time we finished, it was just about lunchtime.

On my way out of the building, I ran into my world religions professor. He was heading out to grab lunch and kindly invited me to join him. I said sure.

We went over to Magdalen College for lunch, and they have this nice little cafe over there called the Old Kitchen Bar. It’s tucked inside one of the oldest buildings at the college, dating all the way back to the 1300s. The prices were great, and even better if you’re a current member of an Oxford college, which we both are. My professor generously treated me to lunch (such a kind gesture). I ordered a breaded chicken baguette with spinach, onion, cheese, ranch, and chipotle mayo, plus a fresh side salad and a slice of ginger cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert. We enjoyed our meal while chatting about weekend plans and taking in the peaceful view of the River Cherwell.

After lunch, we parted ways and I wandered through Magdalen’s extensive gardens for a while, soaking in the beauty of the place, then headed off to afternoon class.

World religions today was a continuation of our study of Buddhism, where we explored its major branches and how they differ.

After class, I went back to my room to do some laundry (finally tackling all the dirty clothes from hiking all over western Ireland!). Once that was underway, I grabbed my book and settled into the Exeter Fellows’ Garden to read the next chapter for class, which covered Taoism and Confucianism.

In the evening, I headed down to the Cherwell Boathouse for some good old-fashioned punting. If you’ve never done it: you stand on a flat-bottomed boat (called a punt) and use a long pole to push off the riverbed. We also had a rowing paddle to help steer. It was so much fun and we were actually racing against a team of professors, including the British literature professor (a punting expert), my world religions professor, and my technical communications professor. At one point, the lit professor pulled off a pit maneuver that spun us around and left us bobbing in his wake. He even showed off by jumping off the boat, running across a bridge, and leaping back onto the punt after it passed under the bridge. Absolutely insane. My team also sang sea shanties until we switched to more modern tunes, such as Red Solo Cup, Country Roads, and Wagon Wheel.

Walking to the boathouse

Ducks in the river

After we finished punting, we decided to have a nice dinner at the Cherwell Boathouse Restaurant. What a meal! The appetizer was day boat mackerel with smoked cod's roe emulsion and kohlrabi slaw. The roe emulsion sort of tasted like a smoked fish dip and it paired really nicely with the mackerel. My main course was steamed monkfish with charred baby gem, aubergine puree, chickpeas, and dashi broth. This was my first time having monkfish, and it was great! The fish was very meaty and delicious, and the dashi broth gave the fish a perfect umami hit. Dessert was a bitter chocolate tart with Chantilly cream. It was so rich and decadent. Overall, everything was absolutely excellent! 

Mackerel

Monkfish. "Try the grey stuff, it's delicious!"

Chocolate tart

After our fantastic dinner, I simply walked back home full and content, and now I’m here writing this post. 

See you next time and have a great night!