Day #78: Oxford to London to Holyhead to Ireland

Today was a fantastic day! Just so you know, I am currently on a really fancy boat called The Adventure, from Stena Line. When I mean fancy, I mean fancy! This is like the Titanic, only we're not going to sink by crashing into ice berg. *fingers crossed* Christopher went up to the counter when we first boarded because we weren't sure if we had actually boarded the ship, and asked one of the bartenders if we were on a boat. We had breakfast at our hotel, then headed out to Oxford. It was about an hour train ride, so we enjoyed the English countryside as our train traveled onwards.
We had a nice day in Oxford. When we first arrived, we went to St. Aloysius Church, a.k.a. The Oxford Oratory, one of the churches where J.R.R. Tolkien used to go to Mass. It was an oratory of St. Philip Neri - similar to the Brompton Oratory in London. Bl. John Henry Newman had been there at one point. We went into the book store and I got a small booklet on St. Philip, and then I got a free book of essays about John Henry Newman from inside the church, along with a free Stations of the Cross with meditations written by Newman as well. The church was very small, but beautiful - I would mark it as one of my favorites. It had a nice "feel" to it. We then went to the Eagle and Child Pub and got some food, and I wrote down a couple story ideas for sentimental reasons. ;-) This was the pub where the great British authors J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and their writers club called The Inklings used to meet to exchange and critique story ideas over a pint. Then we went to tour Christ Church, which is a college/university, I believe. It's Anglican, not Catholic, but they had a lovely church, and Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, used to work there. They also filmed the scenes of the great dining hall in Harry Potter in the hall here at the college. It was a gorgeous place! I got a cheap CD of their music, and a couple Alice in Wonderland postcards. I want to get a copy of the Alice in Wonderland and Into The Looking Glass books when I get back. I used to have a copy of Alice in Wonderland, a very nice one, in fact, but I don't know if it was given away at one point or not. 
We are currently on a really fancy boat right now! We are only allowed on two floors, but it's like a cruise ship! It is super cool! But I was sick right up until we got on the bus, which was not fun. We had gotten Chinese food at a restaurant in Oxford and I had gotten an eggroll with meat in it without thinking, and there was shrimp in it, but I didn't realize until about halfway through it. I was nearly sick on the train to Holyhead, Wales, where our ship was going to depart from, then when we were waiting for the ship, I was sick twice. But after that I was okay. We got our bags checked in and we got on a bus which took us directly onto the ship. Christopher actually went up to the lady at the bar and asked her if we were on a boat, because it seems to nice for a boat - we were expecting a "ferry" not a cruise ship! The bartender was shocked and said, "Oh my gosh... yes, you are!" It was hilarious! We arrive in Ireland at about 6:15 in the morning. Until then, bon voyage! Hopefully our hostel in Ireland will have internet!