England - It Really IS Merry and Old...

Ah, the Adorable Cotswolds!

The last time we stayed in the Cotswolds was in 1984 before every financial guy from the City of London had bought a "get away" there.  It is still absolutely adorable but WAY more crowded. Wisely, we had chosen an Air BNB about 10 miles south of the official start of the Cotswolds that possessed all the charm but none of the chaos of London Vacation Land.  We managed many forays into towns with unbelievable names (Burton-on-the-Water, Lower and Upper Slaughter, Stow on Wold, etc.).  Our itinerary was such that we were meandering through the area on a Saturday -- the ground zero of Londoners at their ease. We first went to Burford where we had hunkered down on the first trip so that we could revisit the wonderful restaurant at The Bay Tree Inn.  Regrettably, there was a wedding.  There was always a wedding...everywhere.  I thought marriage was old school but apparently not.  We headed to its sister inn, The Lamb, and had a wonderful meal in cozy elegance.   There really isn't much to say that the photos don't say except that you feel like you've been air dropped into Wind in the Willows.  There was one stop - - Burton-on-the Water - - that bears more discussion.

How Do People Get These Ideas?

We finally found a place to park in Burton-On-The-Water and it was right in front of the Model Village.  We were intrigued.  So... The Model Village is: "a 1/9th scale replica of Burton-On-The Water and is the only Grade II listed village in the country.  Built from local Cotswold stone it contains all the historic buildings and bridges from the heart of the village."  WHY?  Why would someone spend years building a model of an entire village?  Answer:  To commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.  I can see the inn keeper couple now gathered around their radio (it was 1930 ish) as the coronation was discussed.  I'm sure the guy turned and said: "I've got a cracker of an idea Winnie.  Let's go measure the entire village and then painstakingly recreate every facet, sign, street, and winding brook at 1/9th scale as a sign of our loyalty to King and Country."  Once you get over what a lunatic concept this was, it is pretty impressive.  All the trees have been done in bonsai.  Every time a store changes owners they change the signs. They even have a periscope through which you can view the village although I have no idea why.  And here is the best part.  After 20 years of proud ownership the entire Model Village and attached Inn is for sale!  If you've been looking to devote the rest of your life to the quirkiest career I can imagine, this entire business can be yours for only $744,475.00 USD,  Pretty sweet, huh?

I couldn't resist this photo of the dog "guarding" his master while he naps on the bench.

Photos of the scale model village of Burton-On-The-Water.

This puts the scale of the village in perspective.

The full size village store fronts.

The "Water" from which the village derives its name.

This was the front of the cottage we stayed in while exploring the Cotswolds. Our apartment was in the back of the cottage.

As Time Goes By...

It happened again.  We headed down to Vanessa and Simon's for a visit and dinner.  They opened the door and it was like we'd seen them 15 minutes vs. 15 years ago. The same thing had happened with another of our beloved Nannies, Freddy, on a prior trip.   So we just jumped in where we left off except their children were a foot taller and in/entering university.  They, of course, still looked 30.

Vanessa was our very first Nanny and took care of Justin from birth to one year.  She was 18 and it was weird to see her kids at the same age as she was when she came to us in Boston.  We were so busy talking that we never took pictures (an oddity for Michael) which is a shame since Simon has turned their garden (English for yard) into a scene of pastoral delight.  Now they need to come to Mexico and they can see our jardin (Spanish for yard). Can't wait.

If It's Good Enough for Winston, It's Good Enough for Us

This is the only "secular" palace in England and, well, it IS something.  It belongs to the Spencer-Churchill clan.  Winston never "lived" there but was so taken by the place that he decided to be born there -- several weeks early.  They had to borrow clothes from the Village folk for him -- love that part.  There's nothing I can tell you that you can't google but Michael's photos are worthy of a look.

When we arrived at Blenheim Palace, they were still breaking down everything from a series of concerts that had been held in the evening in the courtyard of the palace.

The outer walls of the palace...

and the inner courtyard were impressive enough,...

however the palace itself was over the top.

Larger than life statues greeted you at the entrance.

There were towers with golden orbs adorning their tops.

As you entered the portico of the palace and looked up, two giant eyes viewed your approach.

The ceiling painting in the grand entrance was equally impressive...

as was the statuary...

and the furnishings.

A portrait of Consuelo Vanderbilt, who married the indebted, titled Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, Chatelain of Blenheim Palace. 

Paintings of ancestors filled the walls of the palace.

The furnishings in the palace were among the finest hand craft furnishings of several eras.

This painting of the 9th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough by John Sargent has the Duke on a lower step to hide the height difference between the Duke and Duchess. Consuelo was 6 feet tall and the Duke was only 5' 7" tall.

Each room had its own color scheme.

The ceiling & crown moldings were very ornate.

No bassinet is too grand for the child of the Duke & Duchess.

Deirdre perusing the books in the library.

The clerestory windows in the library provided soft light to the room.

They also illuminated the organ at the end of the library.

A view from the palace to the rear gardens completed during the time of the 9th Duke of Marlborough.

There was a Churchill exhibition in the palace. This was his dress uniform.

The bed in which Churchill was born.

The back garden and view of the lake.

The head of the sphinx is Gladys Deacon, the second wife of the 9th Duke of Marlborough.

Nothing like taking a selfie on the grass with the sign to keep off in the background.

It was no wonder Donald Trump spent time at Blenheim Palace on his recent visit, what with all of the gold leaf everywhere.

More Adorableness 

After a morning at Blenheim, we indulged our nostalgia once more by going to lunch at The Compleat (English for Complete) Angler in Marlow.  On our first trip this was our first stop.  It was our first stop because I was sitting in the passenger seat of the car making small animal noises and slamming my foot on the nonexistent brakes on my side so often and disturbingly that Michael realized something had to be done.  We entered the restaurant and he said to the waiter:  "Bring a bottle of wine and one glass.  She needs to be sedated."  I was fine with the driving after that.

The view from The Compleat Angler.

From there we went to Henley on Thames-- the site of the famous Henley Regatta.  Bragging alert: Our nephew Campbell rowed there in the big competition.  They wear funny jackets. Steeped in history. Very pretty.

The bridge over the Thames at Henley.

I am not sure why a paddle wheeler named The New Orleans is on the Thames at Henley.

We stopped to watch that quintessential English sport of lawn bowling.

Completely Off Subject

As I was poring over my poorly organized, random notes I found a fact so bizarre that I have to include it even though it belonged somewhere in the Ireland blogs.  When we went to the museum with the World War I trenches they had a sign stating:  "The trenches dug in World War I slightly exceed in distance the circumference of the world -- 25,00 miles. " That's a lot of digging.  And mud. And suffering.

Oxford

We went on a walking tour of Oxford.  Usually guides are filled with humorous asides, quirky facts and salacious tales.  It was our misfortune to have a young Asian theology PHD who, while no doubt pious, lacked all the above tour guide attributes.  We slugged from building to building but it wasn't fun -- impressive but no fun.  What WAS fun were the students.  It was the last day of exams and you could tell.  They have a very old tradition of wearing this specific outfit during exams.  As you progress year to year your jacket keeps getting longer.  I have no idea why since our guide never mentioned anything about it.  It was quite apparent that diversity has yet to intrude on Oxford since almost all of the students looked like they had just come back from The Hunt.  Rule Britannia!

The age of the construction is evident in this building in Oxford.

This section of Oxford is a pedestrian mecca.

An ornately illustrated and hand lettered book in the Weston Library at Oxford crafted by a monk before the age of the printing press.

There is no such thing as a plain building in Oxford. 

The "bridge of sighs" in Oxford connecting two buildings. The students pass over this bridge after taking their exams and it is said the sighs of the students can be heard below.

The students voted to maintain the traditional dress, as seen in this photo.

The Divinity School ceiling contains the initials of the funders of the building, which was constructed between 1423 and 1488. Harry Potter fans will recognize this as the Hogwart's infirmary.

This ancient chest in The Divinity School has a very intricate locking mechanism to keep its valuable safe.

The Sheldonian Theater, designed by Christopher Wren and built from 1664 to 1669, is used for all graduation ceremonies at Oxford.

The Tower of the Five Orders, so named because it is ornamented with the columns of each of the five orders of classical architecture in ascending order: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite.

I couldn't resist this photo of the gentleman with the colorful striped socks reading on the steps of one of the Bodleian Library buildings.

The Radcliffe Camera which was taken over in 1860 as part of the Bodleian Library system, the second largest library in Britain after the British Library.

It's easy to see how these buildings inspired authors like C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien & J.K. Rowling.

On to the Last Round

So, time to wrap up England and move on to Wales.  Wales has become a trendy destination for hiking -- sort of secular camino walks as far as we can tell.  But never fear, always avoiding the trendy and in deference to Michael's pathetic knees we never walked further than from the car to a restaurant or train. Don't worry.  It was still fun.

Yes, thatched cottages still exist in the English countryside. These two examples were very close to the cottage where we were staying.