Churchill, Blenheim Palace, and the Cotswolds

We had the opportunity to visit the church where Winston Churchill and his wife are buried. There was also an exhibit set aside for him at Blenheim Palace.

His baby saddle. I didn't know that was a thing until now.

Ok. Adorable. Apparently Winston and Clementine had a really beautiful romance that lasted their whole lives. That he can help end WWII and still call his relationship with his wife his greatest achievement is really sweet.

The Cotswolds

The cotswolds are all these little towns that made their fortunes in the wool industry. As a consequence, they remain as adorable little towns with huge expensive churches in the middle, called Wool Churches. We had fun in all the little shops that are already getting ready for Christmas.

Here is some small town peaceful mood music, by my favorite Regina Spektor:

This last sign I found was my favorite, maybe because we collect my friend's sassy grandpa's jokes...

Blenheim Palace

I have to admit, I am kind of palaced out. You can only cover so many things with gold leaf, right? I definitely prefer simplicity. However, it has 2000 acres of beautiful landscaping, including a lake, a hedge maze (in which we played pretend Mission Impossible), and a butterfly/bird house that I would have been happy to stay in forever.

You can read more about the history of the palace and the family that lived there here:

Blenheim Palace

That said, I think Lorde's "Royals" is is order as you look at a palace that never actually belonged to royalty.

Because dinner feels so much better when people are staring down at you, right?

I need this library. Because any library that remotely resembles the library from Beauty and the Beast must be mine.

Queen Anne. She was a much loved Queen, and this is a very flattering statue of her. In reality she was short, fat, and sick. I don't really blame her. She had seventeen children, but not one of them lived past eleven. I cannot imagine the kind of heartbreak she suffered.

Just one wing of the palace. I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing because it was too big.

And now for butterflies and birdies!

Please enjoy the mood music: The Butterfly