Oxford

Elise and I in front of Blenheim Palace

This past Sunday, I went on a tour of beautiful Oxford and it was truly beautiful!! Before arriving in the city though, we stopped by Blenheim Palace and the grave of Winston Churchill. Blenheim Palace was built in the 1700s as a gift to the First Duke of Marlborough from Queen Anne. The first duke was John Churchill, who Winston Churchill was a descendent of. The Palace is closed in the Winter, but we walked the grounds for an hour and it was magnificent! The palace grounds have a column of victory (dedicated to the duke), a maze, a secret garden, a temple, a grand bridge, and whole lot of sheep!! It was nice to be able to walk in the country air for awhile and enjoy all the sights!

After touring the grounds, our tourguide then took us to have some tea and visit Winston Churchill's gravesite. It was neat because we just happened to go on the anniversary of his death, so there were flowers everywhere! Churchill is quite unique cause he is one of the few to be born at Blenheim palace and buried in that same town.

And now Oxford.......

The building/school that inspired Harry Potter!!

Hogwart's Dining Hall!!!

Stairwell where Professor McGonagall meets Harry for the first time!

After our visit, we then made our way to Oxford! The city of dreaming spires- England's oldest university town, Prime ministers, Nobel Prize winners, Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter have all attended Oxford in one way or another! On our tour we got to see the lamp post that inspired the Chronicles of Narnia, the building that inspired Harry Potter, and many old schools that have tons of history!!

My favorite place of the day was Christ Church, the school that has the dining hall, the main staircase, and the courtyard where Harrry recieves the trophy(all from Harry Potter!!). It also has the most beautiful cathedral that holds tombs and beautiful stories dating back from the time when Henry VIII founded the school!

This pic should look familiar: the hall where Hogwarts students walk through!!

On Tuesday I had my first field trip for my European Government and Politics class. We traveled to the Imperial War Museum and the exhibits were amazing and very heart-wrenching. They have one of the very few Holocaust exhibits and it was really powerful. They have so many objects, videos, diaries, and letters that made it through all of the events. The museum also had a huge WWI and II exhibit along with a spy section. I also got to walk through some old planes and tanks!!

These past two days have been flying by and I have yet another jammed packed week lined up. Tomorrow I go on the Jack the Ripper Walking tour, Saturday I go to my first Football match, and Sunday I go to Brighton (to have legit fish and chips!!). It is also Lucy, my roomates, 21st birthday!! So I am sure fun adventures lie ahead!