The new Inspector Lewis series has started back on Masterpiece Theater this past week on Sunday nights.  Oh joy!

I had driven through Oxford once before years ago, but never really had a chance to see it at any length. When we were in England last month, we decided to take the day and wander through the streets where Inspector Lewis, one of my favorite BBC characters, investigates crime.

Oxford is a big old university town.  The different schools and colleges are scattered throughout the city, from the historic to the more modern.  You can just feel the scholastic atmosphere everywhere you go, and we did get a chance to peek in to several of the college courtyards.

It’s hard to tell where the school ends and the city begins. The main streets were filled with students on a particularly warm day, and every other building seemed to have some academic credential posted on it.

You could see the students everywhere with their bicycles casually leaned against a wall while they lingered in a café or shop.

Parking was next to impossible, so you saw bikes, and buses and people walking with backpacks everywhere.

The gold-colored walls are the same as in the nearby Cotswolds, and the architecture was amazing. Around every corner was another gorgeous building in that beautiful stone.

It was fascinating to see how the old and new blended so seamlessly. And, I must admit, t was just fun to be in a city again after a weeks in the countryside.

So much of it seemed so very familiar.  Was the inspector nearby?