Today, May 12th, we spent the day at Blenheim Palace and Oxford University! I started off my morning with Starbucks, which made me so happy because I haven’t had any since leaving for the UK! I got the iced brown sugar shaken espresso and realized it tastes different here, and I think I like it more! Then, we headed for Blenheim Palace in a very nice private bus for 1.5 hours.
The yummiest coffee! I definitely needed it for the long day of tourist activities 🙂
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace was stunning! Surrounded by acres of grass and trees, the beautiful palace made me feel like I was in a movie. While we were touring the palace, we walked through a fashion exhibit where generations of clothes worn by royal people or duchesses were on display. Some of the dresses were stunning, and others were quite unique! The artwork in the palace was unbelievable, some of which looked like a photograph. The artists of these works were impressively talented. There were even murals on the ceilings that were so intricate and detailed.
This is a main entrance into the palace.
This is an eye mural on the ceiling above the entrance.
When you enter the palace this beautiful mural is on the ceiling!
These are only a few pictures from everything in the palace, including mannequins and paintings.
We then walked out into the gardens where there were fountains and many statues. Just like the paintings, these statues were so intricate with details. Standing by the fountains was also a nice way to cool off since we toured on the hottest day of the year so far! At some points it was 75 degrees Fahrenheit, so we were all sweating a lot! To cool off, we ended the visit with delicious gelato. I got a vegan mango flavor that tasted so creamy and fresh, nothing like the artificial mango flavor in many American desserts.
After our tours, we then rushed back to our bus to go to Oxford for the rest of the afternoon!
Oxford
As I walked through the streets of Oxford, I was in awe at all of the beautiful buildings! The streets were designed like nothing I have ever seen before and the sense of place was amazing. There were many shops, cafes, and tourist attractions to visit, and just by the look of it I wanted to move there!
We started our afternoon in Oxford with lunch, where I got a sushi bowl and onigiri from a Japanese lunch market. Onigiri is like a sushi sandwich and it’s something I’ve always wanted to try! It was delicious and I will certainly look for them in America when I go back to try again. Then, we had a multi-media tour of Christ Church College which is an Oxford campus, and has the stairs that were featured in the Harry Potter movies as well as the great dining hall that the movie was inspired by! The campus was so sunny and nice, with lots of green spaces and even a meadow alongside a lake where rowing races take place. It has a cathedral, which unlike Pitt’s Cathy, is actually used for masses and worship. The architecture of the campus was stunning and if I lived in the UK I would have definitely wanted to attend there. I thought it was interesting that at both the palace and the campus, people actually lived on the properties and used them as home/school, and yet there were hundreds of tourists there at all times. I was thinking it must feel a little strange being a student and having so many international tourists on campus. Similarly, the Duke and Duchess who live on a giant tourist attraction.
Below are just a few of the amazing places I saw in Oxford, including the cathedral and the great hall.
Back in Birmingham
We ended the day by taking the bus another 2 hours back to Birmingham. I spent the rest of my evening working on my research presentation which we will finally present tomorrow! I am a little nervous but excited to finally share everything I have learned and been thinking about since before arriving in the UK.