Today we went to Blenheim
Palace. Mathew wanted to go here, and I had no idea what it was all about - like many things I like to wait, and discover without having read anything about it first. I like doing that, most of the time I enjoy it, and this was no exception.Set in 2,100 acres of park land, we parked and got out, walking to the Palace there seemed to be a Vintage Car Show on in the grounds, which we had not known about! Many very nice cars, horrible cars, and old caravans. The weather wasn't too good, overcast with little sunlight poking through. It was quite chilly today, quite the opposite of yesterday. We made our way through the stately rooms showi
ng portraits, tapestries, and porcelain. This was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, which I had not known until a little later in our visit. We didn't have a guided tour, just "followed the carpet" around the rooms. On the outside, it looked a grand place, although there was no magnificent sweeping staircase inside (photography was not allowed), so most of the important rooms were downstairs. Upstairs there was a "visitor experience" called "The Untold Story" comrising tales over the last 300 years. It was very clever actually, we went through a door where we had a "guide" Grace Ridley (previously filmed and projected onto a screen) at the end of the room. The room was basiclaly built to look like it 
was in the middle of being constructed, with animated robotic models and voices. What I found was particularly clever, was how the main model was made to look like she was "breathing" with her shoulders moving in a rhythm, and her face was portrayed as a mirror-image - having been filmed previously of course, and every person's lines being said at the right time. It was very cleverly done, after having walked through three or four of these rooms, we eventually came out and watched several short "films" in more small rooms, before it suddenly got a little cheesy toward the end, and a very cheesy greeting message filmed by the 11th Duke of Marlborough!
After this, we explored the Italian Garden, the Rose Garden, and the Secret Garden, had lunch, browsed the shops, and went to "Pleasure Gardens" where we enjoyed the very small but fun B
utterfly House, and the Marlborough Maze which was great fun! We actually did it, despite splitting a couple of times, running into each other once, and finally reaching the middle together. It was cold and windy.....but of course, I did the very English thing of having an Ice-Cream on a cold day! Well it was Strawberries and Cream flavour - how could I resist?All in all a great day out, and guess what? I ended up buying yet ANOTHER Christmas present from one of the gift shops! Afterward I asked Mathew where Churchill had been buried, and it turned out that it wasn't far from Blenheim - he was buried in a humble family plot in the Churchyard of the village of Bladon. So we went along to visit it, where he was buried with the ashes of his wife Clementine.
After this, we went back to our hotel, eating there yet again, enjoying the salmon caesar salad, and Mathew enjoying the beef steak.
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