Places of Importance

Yesterday was another little adventure.  (There’s actually been quite a few that I haven’t blogged about, but I’ve been doing homework these last few weeks—amazing, right?—so I haven’t really been in the mood to write more than what’s going to be graded.)  Yesterday we took a BCA trip to Blenheim Palace, and from there, to Oxford.

The Palace was astounding because, I have to admit that I wasn’t really expecting to see a palace.  A mansion, yes.  A palace, no.  The Dukes of Marlborough have been living here for eleven generations (give or take).  Winston Churchill was born here during a party in a guest bedroom that was being used as a cloakroom.  (I never would have guessed that Churchill had long blond ringlets as a child.  It makes me look at him in a different light.)  Also, it was in the Blenheim gardens that he proposed to his wife.  The gardens—well!  I’d forgotten how beautiful the grounds surrounding castles/palaces could be.  There were huge man-made lakes, fountains, cascades, arboretums, fields of daffodils, and miles of walks.  It was gorgeous.   I would have been happy to set up my tent and live outside—forget the palace.

From Blenheim we took our coach to Oxford.  Wow—Oxford was crazier than London.  Smaller, but just as bustling.  Their traffic system seemed to need some work.  It just didn’t flow all that well.  Maybe that’s why people bike everywhere.  It’s a miracle that I didn’t get run over.  I guess it must be proof that I’m becoming slightly more city-savvy.

In Oxford, I saw the Oxford Castle (didn’t know they had a castle), the covered market, college after college after college—all of them beautiful, and the Radcliffe camera (still not sure what it was, but it’s famous!  How completely awfully stereotypically touristy).  I saw lots of students packing up their parent’s cars to go home for the Easter break (yes, already!  Their terms are only eight weeks long.)  I saw many attractive young men (attractive and brilliant—my search is narrowed down immensely.  Now all I need to ensure is that they follow Christ and are taller than me…).  I saw Christchurch and some of the staircases where they film Harry Potter scenes.  The great hall dining room is also at Christchurch, but it was closed for parent/student goodbye lunch.  Good thing I’m not a HP junkie or this would have been Tragic.  

All in all, another amazing day.  I love that there’s an infinite number of day trips from Cheltenham!