For todays adventure we were able to see many beautiful sites including Blenheim Palace, Christ Church, and Oxford University. The first place we stopped was Blenheim Palace in which we arrived there by coach bus. We met our tour guide Tim at the location and made our way to the Palace. Blenheim Palace holds the Duke of Marlbough and has housed many other historical figures. We first made a stop at the entrance of the Palace and our tour guide told us about the historical significance. There is a flagged station at the roof of the entrance and only flies when the duke is home. The current duke is James Churchill and the current dutchess is Edla Churchill. Another significant fact we learned about the palace is that Winston Churchill was accidentally born here. His mother was visiting the grounds and induced her own labor, so Churchill was born prematurely in one of the rooms in Blenheim Palace. We learned about the first duke named John Churchill. He helped win the Battle of Blenheim, which kept France from winning over Spain. The work on the palace was able to be carried out after the death of Queen Anne because there were arguments over the design. John himself was never ever able to see the finished product because he died.
After learning about the history behind Blenheim Palace, we were able to freely tour the ground for a little over an hour. We wanted to go a lot of different places within the grounds but could not make it to all the spots because of how big the Palace grounds were. Me and a few of my friends ended up just going the Walled Gardens which was really cool and almost reminded me of Longwood Gardens which is a botanical gardens near me. We ended up having to do a fast walk back to our meeting point because the grounds are so big!
After leaving Blenheim Palace on our coach bus we went to Oxford. In the beginning our tour guide gave a us a general tour into the center of town and then we were able to explore by ourselves for a little before our guided tour. I went to tea shop first and was able to try some of the interesting teas they had to offer. I then went to a little coffee shop with Lillie where we got paninis and coffee. I then went to the Oxford souvenirs store and got a sweatshirt ! After our free time we went and walked around Oxford. We did a tour of Christ Church, where we were able to hear automated messages on guided tour. Within Christ Church, there is a set from Harry Potter. I really enjoyed seeing this because I watched and read a lot of Harry Potter when I was younger. After our tour of Christ Church we walked around Oxford some more with tour guide Tim and he even told us about the movies he was in. At the end Lillie and I got gelato while everyone else was getting sweatshirts and then boarded the coach back to Birmingham
The rest of the night I worked with my group for our presentation tomorrow, which I’m very nervous about and had pizza with my friends. I’m so glad I got to see the UK version of Oxford today and can’t wait for more to come tomorrow !
