London Day Six- Blenheim Palace

Today is kind of a blur, but I will try to get everything that happened down. It started off with another early morning 6:30 this time. We quickly got ready, though towards the end I was rushing. I had to grab some few extra things. We made our way once again to the tube station where we jumped on the circle line to Paddington Station. We then took an hour train ride to Oxford, England. I was determined to buy a sweatshirt!
We then hopped on to a double decker bus that took us to Blenheim Palace. The palace was designed in the English Baroque style. It was quite a site to behold. It was rather gorgeous. We got our tickets and went inside to meet with our guide. I have to admit he wasn't as great as Rob. The house also didn't seem to match up with that of the Burghley House. Maybe it was my exhausted state of mind that made me think that. I do know that the Boulle work was impressive. That and the library were my favorite parts. It was so detailed and elegant. I loved how it showed both the negative and positive design of it. Again photos in class just don't do it justice. There is nothing like seeing it in person. There was also 24-Karat gold on some of the ceilings, and that was just plain impressive. There were rich details that the gold illuminated. And did you know that Winston Churchill painted? I certainly didn't until this tour. We moved on from the Boulle work room into the long library. I was light and airy even though the walls were lined with books. There were many windows and the trim and details were a white. There was also a very flattering statue of Queen Anne who apparently looked rather square and not curvalicious like the statue. But it was the books that made me love the room. There were so many old books; I believe the guide said over 10,000. I love books and I feel like the room with the most books is the coziest and most relaxing. In the room there also were clothes that past dukes had worn. I was impressed with one dress the dutchess wore. Then we walked out to the real treasure of the property, the gardens. They were fabulous. There were fountains and roses and statues. Those may not sound impressive, but the view made it so. As you looked out from the manicured garden there were large grass hills with trees all along the back that came down to a lake. It was a beautiful scene. Plus it didn't hurt that the sun was actually out for a change. Benae, Leslie, Rachael, Jessica, and I had a quick bite to eat and then were off to explore. We traveled down to the rose garden, which compared to the one in Julia Davis Park (in Boise) it wasn't too impressive. But it had a certain charm to it. It was kind of out of a storybook. Too bad a prince wasn't there to sweep one of the girls off her feet. Then we went down to the Arboretum of Cascades. The waterfall was beautiful. We played photographers for a bit and took photo after photo. This land brought a smile your face. I wasn't originally looking forward to looking through the gardens, but it cheered me up and I wasn't so exhausted after walking through. We then travelled back up to the palace to take in the view one last time. Of course we sat in the sun before we left. The weirdest thing happened. We were all sitting there and this man, who happened to be Japanese, had a video camera and waved to us! So we waved back and said hello. It was a fun exchange and I hope those who watch the video enjoy seeing us.
After our fun in the sun we headed to see the bridge that people live in. I was a little shocked that anyone would want to live in a bridge, so it was a must see. We headed down this small path to where picnic tables rested. Some of the girls wanted to sketch so we took another break in the sun and watched the ducks and cranes on the lake as they put pen to paper. I couldn't have asked for a nicer, more relaxing afternoon. We then said goodbye to the sun and headed to the bus stop. We hopped on and rode to Oxford. Now it was time to find that sweatshirt. We went into a convenient store that had them in the window. I tried three on. I decided on a light pink one, that fit me but was a little difficult to get on and off. It seemed that large meant medium. But it fit and looked good on so I snatched up. Jessica got one too. The group of us decided it was time to eat. We walked the short distance to Zizzi's and ordered some Italian food. We had a good meal and rushed back to the train station. We didn't know when the last train was and we certainly didn't want to miss it so we quickly walked there, after asking for directions. Then another hour train ride and we were back into good old London. A tube ride later and we arrived at our flat. It was about 8 when we got here and I quickly went to work gathering my clothes to take to wash. Learning how to use a washer/dryer in another country was rather interesting. There was a group of girls from Utah doing their laundry as well. I am sure they think I am a complete idiot. I had a little difficulty figuring out how to use it at first. I think I have the hang of it now though. So now I have clean pants. Today has been pretty good. I am not looking forward to waking up at 5:15am tomorrow though. We have to be out of the flat by 6:40 so we don't miss our train. Tomorrow we are headed to Wilton House, Salisbury Cathedral, and Stonehenge!