Happy Sunday! This day started off with about an hour and a half bus ride to Oxford. We all appreciated this long drive because it meant we could sleep some more!
When we arrived, we met our kind tour guide, Tim, outside of Blenheim Palace. The palace is beautiful both inside and outside. Some background on the palace that I learned is that it was built as a symbol of the Battle of Blenheim victory. This battle win stopped France from winning control over Spain. Queen Anne gifted the palace to John Churchill, who was the 1st Duke of Marlborough. She was very grateful, as was the rest of the country, for Churchill’s ability to defend their country and allies from French invasion. William of Orange, for example, praised him for his leadership saying “No officer living… is so fit for great commands.”
I thought it was neat to learn that this palace was heavily inspired by the Palace of Versailles in Paris. After hearing this, I was not surprised because both palaces do have similar layouts, such as their gardens and grand hallways. I loved this red room that we walked through. It was once utilized as a space for socialization and as a place for unremarkable portraits.
John Churchill passed in 1722 and never got to see the results of the Palace. To honor him, one of the original architects, Nicholas Hawksmoor, was invited by Sarah Churchill, John’s wife, to create a triumphal arch. Building work for the palace finished up in 1733, with £300,000 being spent, equating to over £58 million in today’s money. This does not come as a huge surprise because of how impressive the architecture of the castle is. Additionally, lots of the decor was gilded. This was a very intricate process of applying wafer-thin gold lead to surfaces and symbolized wealth and artistic skill. Not only was the inside of the palace stunning, but the land surrounding it as well. With acres of polished land and with beautiful gardens surrounding the palace, it was certainly a sight to see that I will remember fondly.
Next up, we headed to Oxford where we got to grab some lunch and walk around for a bit before our tour with Tim. Tim was a great tour guide and answered all our questions while also keeping things interesting and sufficient. We got to tour a bit of New College, which is ironically a very old university. While touring here, we got to see a dining room that is still actively in use, but looked like it was out of movies. It was most definitely not the Eatery! Finishing up our tour of Oxford, we saw the Martyrs’ Memorial. This monument was built to commemorate those who were burned to death due to their Protestant beliefs during the English Reformation. One thing I have taken away from hearing stories on our tours is the past of public, painful executions. I am very grateful that this is no longer a common practice, as it was inhumane and unnecessary. To sum it up, Oxford was an amazing city that had such a unique and older feel to it. The architecture was beautiful and I loved the consistency of the stone buildings throughout the city. Their restaurants and abundance of cute cafés was also excellent!
To end this amazing day, I had Thai food for dinner. I got pad thai- it was very good! After this, Cameron, Ruby, and I stopped by the gelato place, Amorino, because we have been wanting to try the Italian hot chocolate. It met our expectations and was very rich with tasty hazelnut chopped up, garnishing the whipped cream. When we got back to the hotel, Sydney and I had some girls over in our room and had the chocolate cake Dr. Mark’s got for me for my birthday today, which was very generous. I feel so lucky to have spent my birthday exploring new places and surrounded by a great group of people!