Pemberley, Just add Mr. Darcy

Yesterday we toured Hampton Court, which was the castle and home of King Henry VIII and his 6 wives (although not all at the same time). It was absolutely stunning -- everything that I could ever want in a castle. I mean, just look at it!

It was complete with a great hall!

Here's a view from one of the courts inside.

And, despite how neat the castle was, the grounds were by far the crowning jewel. Doesn't this remind you of Pemberley from Pride and Prejudice?? And these are just the back gardens.

The grounds were meticulously manicured with so many gorgeous flowers, bushes, and more.

Another snapshot of the grounds that doesn't do them justice.

If I lived here, I would spend every day out in the gardens.

To end the day, we went to Shakespeare's Globe Theater right by the Thames and watched Henry V.

It was a somewhat surreal experience, considering that I've been studying Shakespeare and this theater since my middle school English classes. To actually be here was crazy!

The play itself was wonderfully done. My only complaint was that it got very cold by the end of the performance. Other than that, it was a fabulous day!

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A Rocky Weekend Recap

We saw Stonehenge today! But first, a quick recap of the "rocky" weekend... :) On Friday we visited Jane Austen's home in Crawton, which was awesome! Here's a view of the house... And Jane's very own writing desk!!!!! I felt much more in the spirit of Austen when I wore this bonnet. Afterwards, we got to explore the ruins of a castle called Old Serum, pictured here. The fields around the ruins were filled with wildflowers. The hostel where we are staying is inside this old house, which is pretty neat! We hiked 2 miles to church on Sunday, and got this awesome view on our way there. Here's another beautiful sight that we saw on our trek to church. And, last but not least, Stonehenge!!! It was a tad windy. :) Here's a picture of our whole group! We also got to hike and visit this large Neolithic burial mound, as well as a tomb pictured below. These rocks mark the entrance to the ...

Punting on the Thames

Today we were in Oxford! We went to a pub called The Three Goat Heads for dinner, and I tried liver. :) But first, a few group pictures that I've missed from past days. This is from last Sunday in Bath. This is our whole group at the Cliffs of Dover. This is our classroom. :) We stopped along the trail in Cornwall to have a class and do some travel writing. A fun view from Stourhead. And here's Oxford! A pic of some of our group in the punting boats. One of the girls learning how to use the punting pole. An Oxford bridge. Some of the cool buildings in Oxford. This is the pub where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would meet and talk about their books together. That's all from Oxford. Love you all!

Chatworth House

Today we toured Chatworth House. It is owned by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, who still live in part of the house. It has been passed down in their family since 1549. It is also the house that they used as the set of Pemberley in the Keira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice. A few photos from inside the house. And another of the outside. :) The gardens, once again, were probably my favorite part. Here is a maze in part of the gardens, as well as a few other pictures. The estate is so large that they have these stone markers around the gardens that tell you how far away you are from the front door of the house. I thought this was pretty funny. There were also several fun sculptures and art pieces in the gardens as well, like this umbrella piece. Get ready for the biggest scandal of the century: The Lion King wasn't actually set in Africa, it was set in the Peaks District in England!...

Abigail Across the Pond

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