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Travel Blog of the Gaps
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Location Date Europe 
1664924400 North America 1652310000 Asia 1520553600 Africa 1289520000 -
Location Date Ireland 1664924400 Germany 1652310000 France 1651964400 Spain 1651359600 Iceland 1624575600 Slovenia 1569884400 Austria 1569625200 Italy 1569452400 Portugal 1475967600 UK
1443826800 Czech Republic 1430089200 Slovakia 1428966000 Turkey 1428447600 Greece 1412118000 Switzerland 1348959600 Belgium 1269990000 Netherlands 1269903600 -
Location Date London 1443826800 York 1443567600 Chester 1443394800 Stratford-Upon-Avon 1443308400 Winchester 1443222000 Salisbury 1443049200 Bath 1442962800 Oxford 1442790000 Woodstock
1442790000
Hello, again, Blogonauts!
You may be getting 2-for-1 blog entries today. Be certain to check out my Sunday visit to Oxford's museums, too.
So, on Monday, I headed from Oxford to a delightful little family cottage in the Oxfordshire countryside. The home is owned and occupied by the humble Duke of Marlborough, and christened with the difficult-to-pronounce name of Blenheim (BLEN-hm) Palace.
They are so humble that they only charge £23 (about $35) per visitor. Unless, like me, you've finally crossed that line into "senior" territory. (Then it's only £16.50 or about $25.)
Blenheim Palace, an accompanying 2000-acre estate, and the title of Duke of Marlborough were gifts from Queen Anne to General John Churchill for his 1704 victory in the War of Spanish Succession. He defeated the French forces in the Battle of Blenheim, and it was stated repeatedly during my tour that this victory is why English, not French, is the language of England and it's old empire.
Construction of the floridly ornate, embarassingly enormous house took decades. John Churchill died after living in the partially finished home for only 2 years. Ultimately it was his wife who saw the plans through to completion.
There followed a string of rather torrid stories of infidelity, heir deficiency and profligate spend-thriftery that I will spare you at the moment. Tour guides, however, seemed to delight in dishing the dirt on the Dukes and Duchesses of Marlborough. (The house is now occupied by the 12th Duke and his family. Oh, what I could tell you about him!) The curse of the aristrocracy, I fear, is that folks still gossip about their pecadillos centuries after they have died.
But time marched on. Late in the 19th century, a non-heir descendant of John Churchill named Winston was born in Blenheim while his mother and father were there visiting. Winston, too, went on to win victory in a rather differently fought war, but one that nonetheless helped keep us all from speaking German.
The house and grounds are truly magnificent, and worth the visit. Unfortunatly is was a showery day, which somewhat limited my tolerance for walking through the grounds.
After leaving Blenheim, I drove another couple of hours to reach Bath. More on that later.
Blog to you later!
You may be getting 2-for-1 blog entries today. Be certain to check out my Sunday visit to Oxford's museums, too.
So, on Monday, I headed from Oxford to a delightful little family cottage in the Oxfordshire countryside. The home is owned and occupied by the humble Duke of Marlborough, and christened with the difficult-to-pronounce name of Blenheim (BLEN-hm) Palace.
They are so humble that they only charge £23 (about $35) per visitor. Unless, like me, you've finally crossed that line into "senior" territory. (Then it's only £16.50 or about $25.)
Blenheim Palace, an accompanying 2000-acre estate, and the title of Duke of Marlborough were gifts from Queen Anne to General John Churchill for his 1704 victory in the War of Spanish Succession. He defeated the French forces in the Battle of Blenheim, and it was stated repeatedly during my tour that this victory is why English, not French, is the language of England and it's old empire.
Construction of the floridly ornate, embarassingly enormous house took decades. John Churchill died after living in the partially finished home for only 2 years. Ultimately it was his wife who saw the plans through to completion.
There followed a string of rather torrid stories of infidelity, heir deficiency and profligate spend-thriftery that I will spare you at the moment. Tour guides, however, seemed to delight in dishing the dirt on the Dukes and Duchesses of Marlborough. (The house is now occupied by the 12th Duke and his family. Oh, what I could tell you about him!) The curse of the aristrocracy, I fear, is that folks still gossip about their pecadillos centuries after they have died.
But time marched on. Late in the 19th century, a non-heir descendant of John Churchill named Winston was born in Blenheim while his mother and father were there visiting. Winston, too, went on to win victory in a rather differently fought war, but one that nonetheless helped keep us all from speaking German.
The house and grounds are truly magnificent, and worth the visit. Unfortunatly is was a showery day, which somewhat limited my tolerance for walking through the grounds.
After leaving Blenheim, I drove another couple of hours to reach Bath. More on that later.
Blog to you later!
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R 1 Love your new cars!!!