Today was the second of three day trips by bus with the TU program. We left London in the morning for a tour of Oxford and some time for lunch and then headed to Blenheim Palace in the afternoon.

Oxford was nice - very pretty area and pretty town. Apparently the British and the Germans struck a deal to not bomb Oxford and Cambridge, so the buildings are intact. Our tourguide led us around and gave us some of the background on the development of the school and the different colleges. It was a very cold day to start – the first one this fall!

We had some free time to explore on our own and grab lunch, so a couple of my classmates and I strolled along the pedestrian mall in search of a good (warm) place for something to eat. We lucked upon a cute, cozy café with well-priced sandwiches and some excellent blueberry cheesecake for dessert, with plenty of tea, of course.

--- the door that leads to philosophy... ---

--- a sure sign Oxford is full of smart people - they all seem to ride bikes ---

Back on the bus and to Blenheim Palace. The palace was intended to be a gift to John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough in return for military triumph against the French and Bavarians at the Battle of Blenheim fought on 13 August 1704. There was much controversy over the construction over the palace as the Duchess did not agree with the Duke’s choice of architect. Nonetheless, it is another example of the English baroque style and quite striking. The palace today remains the home of the Dukes of Marlborough, which is John George Vanderbilt Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough.

Just when I thought I was all palaced-out, I found this tour to be quite interesting, probably mostly due to an excellent tour guide. We visited the state rooms, which seem to be the only rooms ever open to the public in palaces and always makes you wonder what the actual living quarters look like. I mean, hey, no one can actually be expected to lounge about on 300 year old furniture and there’s got to be a flat-screen TV somewhere.

Particularly impressive was the trompe l'œil of the walls and high ceiling in the salon, a very large formal dining room. Looking up, it was hard to tell that the actual walls and ceiling were flat and slightly coved and that all the balustrades and columns were painted. Of course, no pictures inside, so I only got a few shots of the outside and the grounds, which are sprawling and beautiful.

Upon return to London, it was dinner time, so a few of us decided to check out a Korean restaurant near Convent Garden. It ended up being excellent and James, from Hawaii, did a great job of guiding the rest of us through the good things to order on the menu. This included a pot of lemon Soju, which was like a Korean version of Sake, but much tastier!

Garrett and his girlfriend, Jen, were determined to check out a Polish bar around the corner on one of those super narrow streets that no car could ever fit down. Next thing I knew I was enjoying shots of a honey-spice vodka that was absolutely delicious! Despite our bit of international debauchery, I was home at a decent time and quite glad to finally get out for some real socializing with some of my classmates.

--- Blenheim Palace ---

--- fall is on it's way ---

--- the gang after dinner ---