Day eight felt like a very long day! There was a lot of walking involved; however, there were also so many fun sights to see. To begin the day, I woke up feeling very ill with a sinus infection; however, I did not let this keep me down. I was able to buy Lemsip, which is the United Kingdom’s version of DayQuil, and Mentos as they did not have cough drops at any of the stores we went to. After I got all of the items I needed for the day, we headed to the lobby to board the bus.
The bus ride was a nice two hours which allowed us plenty of time to nap before arriving at our first stop of the day, Blenheim Palace. To begin exploring, we were able to walk through the state rooms in the palace. It was very interesting because we were able to walk into the room that Winston Churchill was born in! In the room, they had many of his paintings hanging up; however, most were scenic paintings as he didn’t like painting people, and the paintings would be less detailed if he did. It was Churchill’s way of destressing and reliving the day which can tie back to nursing and the need for us to find stress relievers ourselves after our long shifts, such as painting.
After we walked through the state rooms, we were let loose to go enjoy the gardens! They were absolutely beautiful, and there was so much green space to view and enjoy. There was a huge lake that seemed to stretch for miles, and the weather was the perfect temperature for walking around. Ella and I were even able to get some gelato in the gardens which was the best way to end that part of the day.
Once we were finished at Blenheim Palace we arrived in Oxford! It was the cutest town and we had so much fun exploring it. To begin with, we grabbed a quick lunch and were able to walk around and window shop. We walked through multiple Harry Potter themed stores, along with Oxford themed stores before going on a tour of New College. Despite its name, it is actually a very old building and has maintained its beautiful architecture. We walked through the college dining hall which was actually where Harry Potter was filmed, which was so cool for a Harry Potter nerd like me. The dining hall was also very unique because it is the oldest dining hall still in use at a UK university, and there were various paintings of trailblazers for equality hanging on the walls. As we were walking, we also learned that the university’s motto is, “manners maketh man,” which is a message that can be applied to our lives. As nurses, we will have rude patients and we must remain respectful towards them. This also ties into Blessing’s message to always be kind to your patients no matter what!
Overall, the day was so fun, and I am glad that I was able to experience the history of Blenheim Palace and Oxford. To end the day, I prepared my presentation for the National Nurses Conference tomorrow afternoon, which is super exciting to be a part of! I hope tomorrow goes well, and I am looking forward to what the day will bring.