The Blenheim Palace. After waking up for what seemed like ten minutes that I slept, our "sleep in" day started at 7:50. Train rides are becoming something that I look forward to on the way to our destination, I realize that at least I can get in another hour of sleep although it will not be a comfortable one. The highlight on the way to the palace was the what we rode in, first Double Decker I have been on. We landed back of the bus where five seats fit the fab five perfectly. At times I did feel like I was going to tip over but overall it was a great first experience. The gate that greeted us was huge black and gold, as we made our way in we treked to the palace. The outside was pretty, I didn't expect to walk in and walk out into a courtyard where the palace was on the left usually it is just straight ahead.
As we walked in to get our tour started, we made the mistake my taking the tour that gives "history" of the house. What we didn't know was that it was filled with manikins talking and video clips where the doors shut automatically and basically trap you in to listen to each thing. This was a wasted 40 minutes of what could have been used looking at least at the architecture of the house. As we were stuck in this room, we could see our other classmates playing on the beautiful green lawn. As soon as we got out of the trapping doors we made our way to the gardens. The back lawn goes on for miles, it was like a huge golf course. The intriguing part was the sign that said secret garden. We made our way to see what this had to offer. It was a peaceful little garden filled with trees, tons of plants and flowers. The best part was the gazebo, something that I have always loved. I did expect something secret about this garden, but to my disappointment nothing happened. But it was beautiful. We went back inside to see the actual house. We walked through the dining room and other areas mainly the birthing room of Winston Churchill, who is the cousin of the Duke. I learned that the palace only took 28 years to make, which is incredible for everything they accomplish.Since the rest of the day was our free time to spend in Oxford we decided to go into town. It reminded me a lot of Cambridge, just like a college city. We were in search of an Oxford sweatshirt and found many, I still have regrets that I didn't purchase one. After being starving for hours we found a small crepery where I got the best chicken and cheddar delight. Although it was a short day, it was enough to wear us out.
We have all been sharing a room for the past week and it has been filled with some great times and some great laughs. It also has been filled with one very noisy bunk bed. Until today I did not realize how much it would suck to climb up and down from this each time. I feel bad for Ash, I told her I would offer up my bed with me but due to the fact that she hates to snuggle this just doesn't work out. We had a joyful time on that bed today as you can tell.
As we walked in to get our tour started, we made the mistake my taking the tour that gives "history" of the house. What we didn't know was that it was filled with manikins talking and video clips where the doors shut automatically and basically trap you in to listen to each thing. This was a wasted 40 minutes of what could have been used looking at least at the architecture of the house. As we were stuck in this room, we could see our other classmates playing on the beautiful green lawn. As soon as we got out of the trapping doors we made our way to the gardens. The back lawn goes on for miles, it was like a huge golf course. The intriguing part was the sign that said secret garden. We made our way to see what this had to offer. It was a peaceful little garden filled with trees, tons of plants and flowers. The best part was the gazebo, something that I have always loved. I did expect something secret about this garden, but to my disappointment nothing happened. But it was beautiful. We went back inside to see the actual house. We walked through the dining room and other areas mainly the birthing room of Winston Churchill, who is the cousin of the Duke. I learned that the palace only took 28 years to make, which is incredible for everything they accomplish.Since the rest of the day was our free time to spend in Oxford we decided to go into town. It reminded me a lot of Cambridge, just like a college city. We were in search of an Oxford sweatshirt and found many, I still have regrets that I didn't purchase one. After being starving for hours we found a small crepery where I got the best chicken and cheddar delight. Although it was a short day, it was enough to wear us out.
We have all been sharing a room for the past week and it has been filled with some great times and some great laughs. It also has been filled with one very noisy bunk bed. Until today I did not realize how much it would suck to climb up and down from this each time. I feel bad for Ash, I told her I would offer up my bed with me but due to the fact that she hates to snuggle this just doesn't work out. We had a joyful time on that bed today as you can tell.
Miss the snuggles....mom
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