Wednesday we went to Blenheim Palace (that's blen-im -- actually, the name comes from a German village, but they say blin-tem) It belongs to the Duke of Marlborough (currently the 11th, I believe) having been built as a gift to the first duke after his remarkable military victories over the French in the War of Spanish Succession. That probably means more to some of you than it does to me :) Anyway, it's often considered as the finest palace of it's kind. It also has a number of famous (and enormous) tapestries depicting battle scenes. The place is huge, and very beautiful. An interesting fact: Winston Churchill was born here (I've seen the room. And locks of his hair). He was cousin to the duke.
The land here was absolutely gorgeous. That's what I call a fairytale sky.
Hehe, I like this statue.
There gardens and fountains are all incredibly lovely.
There really is a Secret Garden.
Us being sneaky in the Secret Garden.
Pretty garden scene.
I just thought this road was funny. And it doesn't go anywhere.
Then we went to Oxford!!
Oxford University is made up of a number (38?) of colleges. You live, study, and are tutored in this college. It's a bit different from the system in the States. Oxford doubly so, since you don't have real classes. Just a tutor you meet with once a week to discuss and get new assignments, and then a big final exam at the end of your three years that decides if you get a degree. This is inside the quadrangle of Magdalen College (maud-lin).
Thoughtful in the cloister / courtyard / whatever. You're not allowed on any of the magnificent lawns here, by the way.
If you want to get a feel for Oxford, I think the sign says loads about their attitude.
I think this used to be a study hall, or classroom. Now it's the refectory. Very posh.
Apparently C.S. Lewis was a student here, and lived in this building. From left to right, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
We found a random bridge and decided to make some shadow art. I'm second from the left in our clump.
We decided to try punting, which is when you have a small, flat-bottomed boat in a shallow river, and you use a long pole to push along the bottom of the river bed to move the boat. We actually had two boats tied together, which made it a bit unwieldy. But Humphrey, our highly attractive Oxford punter guy, was a very nice chap and did a good job of it.
Me trying to punt. Humphrey was a good sport. I ran us into a lot of walls, but I didn't fall in!
All of us on our safe arrival after punting.
The Bodleian Library. Apparently, real Oxford students actually study in there, so we weren't allowed inside.
Here's one for you all to be jealous over. This is the Eagle and Child pub, fondly called the Bird and Baby. For years, it was the meeting place of the Inklings, a group of Oxford writers including J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, who regularly met to discuss their writing.
We got a really flirtatious bartender who guilted us into buying food there, and then tried to convince us we were wasting our chance of drinking in Europe (as the drinking age here is 18, three years younger than in the US).This is us eating in the Rabbit Room, which is the actual room used by the Inklings (it's actually more like the hallway across from the bar leading to the back of the pub that happens to have some tables along the side, but still). Those pictures and plaques in the background are about the Inklings.
We also went to Evensong at Christ Church. It's like an evening mass, or something. They sing, and read prayers and such. They had some very pretty arrangements of scriptures.
