Blenheim Palace

Or, a quaint little place in the country.

Blenheim Palace, home to the Marlborough family and Sir Winston Churchill.  We walked through an enlightening and unexpectedly emotional exhibit of Churchill's life.  I did not know he was a painter, did you?  Go, if you can.

One wing.  There's an equally-impressive one on the other side of the courtyard.

Can you imagine what this was like with water filling the moat? 

Why does this poor fellow have no head?  I'll bet one of the three stautes on the roof knows what happened...

Old-timey security system.  Bet you wouldn't steal the silver with these monitoring the exit.

I somehow think this would look a bit... much... on my front door. 

I've tried to think of something to say about this other than "It's so pretty."  But, since I can't, that'll have to suffice.

This made me giggle every time I saw a similar sign anywhere we went.  "Toilets."  Not "Bathrooms" or "Restrooms."  Just "Toilets."  Succinct, no?  And how very convenient to be near to the Cafe.

This is a big place.  I'm standing in the courtyard between the two wings you saw above and looking out toward that statue on the horizon.  It's really far away.

We've finally reached the gates at the edge of the courtyard.  Embiggen the picture to see the staute beyond the gate.

There it is!  Still pretty far away...

And, this is as close as we got.  The white things are sheep.  They are all over the place!

There's little else I enjoy more than seeing how the other half live. Well, maybe just the other 1%?  Ha!  :)  The Duke of Marlborough and his family continue to call Blenheim Palace their home and do actually live there part of the year. 

The gift shop was fun to peruse.  I even purchased a fine china tea cup that I am now afraid to use.  But, it looks pretty in my cupboard. 

Next stop, Paris!



Oxford

You might think it would be difficult to follow a day of Stonehenge, Old Wardour Castle, Woodhenge and Lacock Abbey.  You'd be right.  We gave it a go, though, and made our way to Oxford.  The first thing we did was park the car outside the town and take a bus into the city proper.  Smart!

First up:  The oldest tower/building in the city, dating from the 13th century.  Old!

It was a bit of a dreary day.  We dodged rainy bits and managed to never get caught out in it.  On such a grey day, I appreciated the bright flowers and foliage against the wet stones.

Proof that I did actually mail postcards from Oxford!  How could I pass up the opportunity to mail something from such a fantastic Posting Box?  These two arrived about a week after being posted.  Others mailed from our little village took their time - almost a month!

Just inside what I think were the main gates was this gorgeous garden, dedicated to the memory of those lost in WWI (if I remember correctly).  Again, with the contrast of the flowers against all that stone.  I love it.

I want this garden at my house.  And a gardener to tend to it, of course. 

Bet you'd like to know what this building is.  Me, too. 

Everywhere we turned, there was a beautiful lawn or garden and, of course, the incredible architecture.  How wonderful it must be to live and learn there. 

Magpies are small birds, yes?

Fitting, then, that this is such a small lane.  Seriously, we're standing at one end of it, looking out the other.

One old building tends to blend in with the rest, but this one stood out to me for what looks like the/a royal crest.  I recognize the lion & unicorn from the massive gates at Buckingham.  Alas, no sightings of the Windsors.

Lee & I had no idea where we should eat, but we knew we were hungry, so we turned to our intrepid guide, Rick Steves.  He led us to The Bear, which boasts of having no right angles in the entire building.  We did not attempt to verify that claim.  Hey, guess what I didn't have for lunch? 

The really fun part of the pub is looking at all of the cut-off neckties tacked to the walls.  Each included the military unit of the serviceman making the donation - we were seated in the late 1960s.  While we were warmly ensconced in our corner booth, we watched the rain fall and people scurry indoors.

Next stop, Blenheim Palace!

Lacock Abbey

Because our day started so early at Stonehenge, Monday was jam-packed with activities.  After Stonehenge, Woodhenge, Avebury and Old Wardour Castle, we made our final stop at Lacock Abbey.  Scenes from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets were filmed here.  Film geeks, are you ready?

Who's excited?!?!

Remember that scene in the first movie, at Christmas-time? The courtyard is covered in snow, Harry's out there in the middle to release Hedwig.  This is THAT COURTYARD.  Loves it!

The corridors all had these medallions in the ceiling and they were all different.  I was enthralled, kept craning my head and not watching where I was walking.  Good thing there were all of six of us in the entire building.

Detail of one medallion.

I'd bet this faded mural was incredible when it was new.

Lovely vaulted ceilings.

Old Wardour Castle

Who's seen Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves?  Recognize this?  Interior and exterior scenes were filmed here, as Robin's home.  I watched that movie more times than I can count, so to be able to be where it was filmed was a dream come true.  Before it was a Hollywood movie location, it started as some Lord's dream castle, then was partially blown up.  Oops.  The facade looks great, but walk around to the back and the damage is pretty bad.  The site is open, so we were able to walk around everywhere, inside and out. 

 

A humble doorway off of the great hall.

Dawn & Lee

The lines in the lawn show where the castle walls stood before being blown up.  Talk about Disaster DIY.

We had a beautiful day!

Julie and Dawn at the very top of the castle.

 Hipstamatic photo taken on my iPhone. 

Driving up, down and around these roads was harrowing, to say the least.  And I was just in the back seat!  At least I could close my eyes on the really tight turns.  At one point, we were actually driving backwards.  Big thanks to Mike for driving that day!

Woodhenge & Avebury

To continue our day visiting ancient sites, we stopped at Woodhenge after Stonehenge.  It was such fun, because we were the only people there and we could totally interact with the site.  Probably because the original henge no longer exists.  Here's an explanation:

It's a big site.

Julie thinks it'd be criminal to not have a little fun, but is keeping an eye out for the authorities...

Strike a pose, Mike!

I don't think Lee is having any fun.

Dawn's ready for her close-up!

Moving on to Avebury, what many consider to be better than Stonehenge.  I don't know if it was the long day catching up with me, the impending rain or the constant sheep poop patrol, but it wasn't my favorite site.  Still amazing, just being in a place where people have worshipped for thousands of years, but it didn't have the same impact on me that Stonehenge did.

See the piles of poo? Seriously distracting.  Good thing we weren't bothering the sheep.

The stones were massive.

If you click on the picture and make it bigger, you can see I cuffed my pants to prevent poo transfer.  :)

Dawn brought a friend with her.