Chapter Five

Yesterday we went on a day trip to Blenheim Palace and Oxford University.  I know I say this a lot but it was amazing (seriously everything here is amazing).  The palace was beautiful and Oxford was beautiful and everything I do here seems to be beautiful.  

It was freezing at Blenheim Palace... well maybe not freezing but cold, and windy.  Which makes it very cold.  I think it is finally fall now.  It is getting cold and the leaves are starting to change.  I love it.  Blenheim is a Baroque Palace and it was so pretty.  There were beautiful gardens and beautiful rooms in the palace. It was the place where Winston Churchill was born too! 

The gardens were so pretty. The first thing I wanted to do when I got off of the bus was sing "The Hills Are Alive" from the Sound of Music.  I didn't but I did take a picture frolicking in the grass with my friend Hailee.  It was very satisfying. 

After Blenheim we went to Oxford.  It wasn't what I expected, well really I don't know what I expected but whatever it was it wasn't what Oxford was. That was confusing. But I did love Oxford, I guess that's all that matters.  We went and toured Magdelene's College. It was really pretty.   Here are some pictures to illustrate: 

The highlight of the day was punting down the river. Punting is a way to steer a boat down the river.  You stick this long pole to the ground and use it to push off and steer the boat. It was so fun! I gave it a go and was so close to falling in the water. Not fun. It was really hard though, especially because I have zero upper body strength. My friend Alex who didn't go with us really did fall in the water.  She has a whole new Oxford outfit now... lucky her.  Here are some pictures from my punting adventure.

We finished off our Oxford adventure with evensong.  It was so amazing.  I love being able to learn about new religions and their customs.  The service was beautiful and the mens choir was really great.  I really enjoyed being able to worship my beliefs in a different way and to learn about how other Christian religions worship.  It was a perfect end to a really great day.