Blenheim Palace - The Water Terraces

On the southwest side of the palace are the water terraces, a view that ends in a large body of water in the background.





One of the first things I noticed is that Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers located at the center of the Piazza Navona has been copied. Well, you have to look closely because the Blenheim version lacks the crispness of the orginal.


Below are two pictures of the original taken with my iPhone camera. Granted, the light was better in Rome, but the camera was better in England. Still, there's really no comparison between the original and the copy.

Below is a picture of Blenheim's horse.

Next is a picture of Bernini's horse.

Nevertheless, the Venus di butt-girl isn't bad.

As for the Caryatids, they, too, have an Italian precedent.

Actually, they probably have a lot of precedents, but they remind me of the girls at the Villa Giulia in Roma.

And these girls are themselves part of a water feature.

While Vanbrugh's palace rivals a French Versailles, there is quite a bit of Italian influence in the formal gardens.

There is, in fact The Italian Garden, but it was off limits. Presumably his grace (or whatever) uses it.

Still, there is more to come in a future blog.

Blenheim Palace - Exterior views of the building

Blenheim Palace is an imposing site, and frankly, a bit overwhelming. Therefore, this is the first in a series of blogs on the place.

Blenheim Palace was only a few miles from where we stayed. In fact, our van driver gave us the scoop (or should I say dirt) on the current Duke of Marlborough. Apparently, he is an arrogant man, an impression that was not reversed, I might add, by his appearance at the end of a video I viewed. He is married to his third (and much younger) wife who from her portrait that was just hung in the palace appears to be equally haughty. His heir, on the other hand, is "of the people" according to our driver. The only problem there is that there is some history of drug abuse and an act of Parliament would be needed to disinherit him. Not to worry. It seems there have been some good dukes and others who have squandered their inheritance. At least the current duke seems to be doing a good job of keeping the palace in the black.



So this is where the Duke and his third wife live. Not too shabby!




This is English Baroque. It was built as a monument, castle, and house to honor the newly appointed Duke of Marlborough in his victory over the French and over Louis XIV. In a sense, it is England's response to Versailles.

I really don't get the point of these eyes. I find them creepy. In fact, there was a sign to the effect that they had recently been restored. Really. I keep expecting Nicholas Cage to pop out of National Treasure!



This is the view from the opposite side of the main building from the eyeball portico. Quite an expanse of symmetry, if you ask me.



This is a closeup view of the southeast facade of the palace. I hadn't noticed the discoloration in the stonework until I was reviewing my pictures for this blog. Incidentally, the stone was quarried from the nearby Cotswolds.





A pretty clock tower.



The picture below is of the southwest lawn, provided my other directions are correct. It will be the starting point of the next leg of the journey.

Finding ourselves on a BBC set

Well, to tell the truth, Bill and I were not on a BBC set, but our tour of the Cotswolds sure seemed like one. We took this little bus tour on the same day that we had been to the Oxford Covered Market and the Natural History Museum, and frankly, had fortified ourselves quite nicely with the huge Ploughman's Lunch.

This is our first stop at Minster Lovell.





Below is a dovecote where the lord of the manor kept his squab for dinner.



Happy cows are grazing in the field.




This is the River Windrush. I'm not sure why the Brits always say "River This" or "River That" as in the River Thames or the River Cam. Whereas, Americans say the Ohio River or Arkansas River. It's a puzzlement.



Here's another view of the church (I think). Although I must admit that by the end of the day, all of the quaint little churches began to look alike to me.



Here is a magnificent view of one of the valleys. The Cotswolds got its name from "cots" meaning enclosure and "wolds" meaning "untreed hills."



Our next stop was Burford. Over the years it's been an important staging post. It's a quaint little town. But then, everything in the Cotswolds is quaint.



Now as you recall, I had eaten a really big lunch. In Burford you could find home made ice cream or this pastry shop. Bill opted for the ice cream. However, a cold front had moved in since our morning tour of Oxford, so I chose the pastry.

I did not need this apple cream pastry, but I ate it anyway...the whole thing!



Here was another church, this one in Burford.




More tombstones. I really don't know what my fascination is with grave markers, but I seemed to take more than enough pictures of them while on this trip!



Here's yet another little church. I guess in England you get village status if you have both a church and a pub.



Below is a picture of Bilbury and its renowned Arlington Row. The Cotswolds was known for its wool, at least until the Industrial Revolution came along and the coarse hair of the sheep gummed up the automated machines. Anyway, Arlington Row is a series of weavers' cottages that had been converted from an old barn in the 17th century.



I was fascinated by the vine above. The petals look like Japanese lanterns (or maybe they're Chinese lanterns), but then they morph into silky whisps of things.

Here's another shot of Arlington Row.

At the top of the hill was this pretty group of cottages.

The countryside was very pretty in the Cotswolds.

And as a souvenir, I bought a beautiful lambswool pashmina/shawl in Filkins, a weaving center back in the 18th century.

When we reached Bilbury, the tour guide reminded me that I could leave my purchase on the seat of the van.

...but it had turned really chilly, and I was glad I could wear it...

...price tag and all!

The Lamb and the Flag

If you arrive before noon at the Lamb and the Flag, you might see the beer men delivering their kegs. It's rather interesting. There's actually a track, albeit a rather steep one (hence, the rope and hook), for the kegs to roll down to the pub cellar.



We were the first to arrive, right at the stroke of twelve, for what would be my last pub lunch before heading back to the States.



Here is my cider and Bill's bitters. Both of us ordered the Ploughman's Lunch. Mine came with a little pork pie and chutney.



Bill's with ham and Stilton.



I was reminded that I actually like beets. Of course, neither meal is really a diet-conscious selection. Still, it was a hearty meal and quite tasty.

On Skeletons

Did I get your attention with this title? After Bill and I saw the Covered Market and the Bridge of Sighs, we made our way to the Museum of Natural History.



The museum is housed in a venerable building.



Outside are the remains of some rather impressive tree trunks from Africa.



Inside, iron fretwork forms the skeleton of the main exhibit space.



Exhibit space which contains among other things many animal skeletons.

Below is a large specimen of rock. Sadly, I didn't take a picture of the name of this rock, but it was very pretty.

There were also exhibits of taxidermied (is that even a word) animals, including birds.

I liked this cuckoo bird.

But my favorite exhibit was the Dodo bird.

The Bridge of Sighs

Catherine loves to collect pictures of Venice. We didn't think it would be a problem to find one in Italy, but we were mistaken. So when I couldn't find a print of Venice, Bill suggested I look into Oxford's Bridge of Sighs since both Venice and Oxford lay claim to a Bridge of Sighs.

Here is a closeup of Oxford's Bridge.

And here is a view of Venice's bridge.

The only problem with buying a print for Catherine of Oxford's Bridge of Sighs is that is spans a street!