new year's in oxford

We decided to make a pilgrimage to Oxford with some friends for New Year's Eve, just to check things out. In addition to housing the U. of Mississippi (aka Ole Miss, aka 'the school up north'), Oxford has a beautiful downtown area and a thriving literary scene. This is where Faulkner lived, and where the wonderful literary quarterly The Oxford American began.

It was a gloomy and rainy day, but we had fun walking around the old square, with shops and restaurants circling the giant courthouse in the middle.

Though his home, Rowan Oak, was closed for the day, we did get a glimpse of Faulkner.

My favorite place we stopped was Neilson's, which is apparently the oldest department store in Mississippi (founded in 1839). Why, yes, that is indeed a bobcat head on the wall.