Hi everyone! Today is Sunday, and we took full advantage of the beautiful weather (I expected to get a lot of rainfall this trip but we haven’t even gotten rained on once!) by visiting Blenheim Palace and Oxford! Both were beautiful and truly special to see!

First, we took a coach bus for about an hour and a half ride to Blenheim Palace. We met up with Tim, our tour guide from Stratford Upon Avon. He was very knowledgeable and told us a lot about the history and design of the palace. One thing he told me that I found super interesting was that there’s still a royal family that lives there, just in a separate section from the public accessible area! As far as the architecture, it was absolutely beautiful! It was huge, with tall steeples and beautiful stones and brick. There were elephant gardens with fountains and statues, with everything being surrounded by clear, calm waters. The interior was very royal and over-the-top. It’s crazy to think that actual royal families used to live there, it was way too big for a regular family. Overall, this palace was something like no other, and I’m so glad I got to experience it and take pictures!

Next, we got to visit Oxford, arguably the most famous university in the whole world. This was tour guide Tim’s Alma mater, and he was very knowledgeable about the incredible history of the ancient university. I’m also somewhat of a Harry Potter fan, so being able to recognize some of the locations from the series was so cool. We got to go in the dining hall, as well as the place there was the floating staircases! The architecture was incredible! Fortunately, the tour had headphones that you could listen to hear some history and facts about each of the rooms we went in, so I really appreciated that.

Prior to this, I thought Oxford was just a university, but I didn’t realize how massive it was and it was part of a larger town. Walking around the town was super cool; it reminded me of Stratford Upon Avon, but much larger and with more Victorian-style buildings. While exploring the town for lunch, we found a Shake Shack! Shake Shack is one of my favorite restaurants I’ve ever been to, and I was not expecting to find one here since they don’t have all of the American chain restaurants. I got a burger and fries, and it did not disappoint! They’re about to open one in Pittsburgh, so this was a great reminder that I’ll have to go when I get back!

In conclusion, today was very busy, but incredibly fun. I had never heard of Blenheim Palace prior to this, but I can understand why it is a world-renowned property. The town of Oxford was so cool, and it felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie or storybook. Tomorrow, we have our final presentations at BCU, so there will be a lot to catch up on in the blog for tomorrow!