Day trips in England

posted by: Katie
Here in London there is a company called Tracks Travel that offer day trips, and it only costs about 15 pounds per trip. Recently, my friend and I went to Oxford, home of the famous University, and Bleinhiem Palace, one of the biggest palaces in England, one of its most famous "stately homes." The sun was shining that day, and it made the gardens everywhere look absolutely beautiful.

We reached Oxford around 10:30 am, and made a dash for breakfast. We found a really cute English bakery and ate a hearty English breakfast. Then, just to say we were in Oxford, we had to buy tshirts that say "Oxford University." The town was very cute picturesque, it reminded me of Princeton, down the road from Rider. There were many small shops, and a lot of history there, like old churches that had stories to them, such as Christ Church, which was where Lewis Carroll wrote his story called Alice in Wonderland. We walked around a lot, looking at the buildings, sadly we couldn't go into any of the school's buildings, since classes were in session, but we did get to go into the building where Oxford has their orchestras and special meetings, and I got to sit in the Chancellor of Oxford's seat. It made me feel special. We then climbed to the tower of the building, and were able to see a 360 degree view of Oxford, all the buildings, steeples (where the first steeple in England was built) and all the gardens surrounding it. The view gave us a good idea of where to go. We then walked to Christ Church, and the gardens around it were beautiful, true English gardens by houses with thatched roofs. Oxford was just a beautiful, small and quaint city. Now I can say I went to Oxford University...

Then after we left Oxford, we drove to the countryside and went to Bleinheim Palace, home of the Duke of Marlborough, which actually still lives there in private apartments in the palace. There was so much to do there. There was a lovely little cafe over looking the gardens for lunch. We also went to an exhibit on Winston Churchill, because he was actually born in Bleinheim Palace, and we even saw his birthroom. His grandmother was the 7th Duchess of Marlborough, while his father was actually the youngest, so not the heir to the dukedome. We learned what it was like in war for the first duke of Marlborough, and saw what it was like for Churchill as well. There was even a station for dress up, to wear the war clothes they did in the Revolutionary War! And I definitely had to try them on. It's a great picture. Then we took a tour of the palace. There were a lot of parlors, not a lot too see, since the Duke of Marlborough still lives there with his family. We did get to see the coronation robes of the duke and duchess, and even saw what the duke wears when he is in a session of Parliament. While walking around the grounds of the palace, there was a man dressed as a soldier from the Revolutionary War, and when I asked for a picture with him, he asked if I was a Yank, and I got so confused! Then I realized what he meant, being colonists vs. England, but he was really nice and I got a great picture in front of the palace. The best thing about Bleinhiem Palace were the gardens. It was a beautiful day for the strolling in gardens and by the river that it rests by, and there were gardens all over the property, even beautiful gazebos sitting in the middle of woods. The view at the palace was very beautiful, and was great in the sun. It was nice to sit by the trickling water of the fountains and by the topiaries and think yourself to a time long ago, and pretend that you are some kind of aristocracy. Then after arriving home a few hours later, it rained, of course that would happen in England, but it was nice to have the sun while it lasted.

Katie