Blenheim Palace & Lamborghinis

Today I decided to go on my first sight-seeing trip out of Oxford.  I went to Blenheim Palace, which is a few miles to the north, and is where Winston Churchill grew up.  On the bus ride over in the sleepy and calm morning, we suddenly heard loud engine noises and as we looked over, the bus was passed by a TON of Lamborghinis.  At first we were only passed by 3, and I got excited because I thought perhaps it was Top Gear, but the a ton more kept coming so I realized it was something else.  We ended up being passed by like 30 of them!

As the bus dropped my off in front of the Palace gates, I realized that's where all the Lamborghinis were going too!  I never did find out why they were there, but it was cool watching them parade by.  I tried to get a video of them revving up their engines, which they did frequently, but unfortunately not when I had my camera running.  Here's a video I took anyway:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UmXdj3lWWM&feature=youtu.be

My first view of the palace was breathtaking!  It was a good reminder of exactly I was in England to begin with.  I walked around the gardens for a bit, then went inside.

The inside was pretty cool.  There were some rooms dedicated to Winston Churchill and his story, and then some rooms that told about the rest of the family that had lived in Blenheim Palace since the 1700's.  Currently the 11th Duke of Marlborough and his family live in the Palace, though obviously not in the parts where tours were given.  My favorite thing that I learned was that Winston Churchill loved to paint!  He painted a lot, and he also happened to be friends with the guy who founded Hallmark Greeting Cards, and when the guy started his business, he asked Winston Churchill to paint  some of the first Christmas Cards!

After inside the palace, there were more gardens to explore, including a maze!

All in all it was a great day, full of so many lovely British things:  gardens, history, rain, little children with British accents, and of course, fancy cars on parade.