Woodstock

Today Joel and I decided we should take a bike ride to get out and get a bit of exercise, as with him home this week we haven't gotten out on the bikes much.  This proved to be a very good decision, because in spite of the fact that it is only early January the weather was very fine.

Our destination of choice was Blenheim Palace, Woodstock.  For those unfamiliar with Oxford, it's about seven miles from where we live on the north side of the city to Woodstock.  We took the canal path for about a mile and a half, which was a pleasant discovery.  We've been on the canal path before, but only in toward the city, so going out of the city on it was a surprise.  It's actually quite nice up there for walking, and there was the additional surprise of finding a house with no roads to it, but a canal boat parked out front and water on three sides.

It was a relatively easy ride, and a nice way of getting out of Oxford to see some of the countryside immediately around.  What surprised us both was realising how close Blenheim Palace actually is -- we thought it was farther away than an easy 45 minute cycle.

Upon arrival in Woodstock, we stopped for lunch in a cafe restaurant before going to the palace and getting our day passes, which you can, for very little trouble, convert into year-long passes for no extra charge!  So considering the easiness of the ride and the beauty of the palace, Joel and I will certainly be making our way back a few times this year.

Blenheim Palace amazes me in all sorts of ways.  First of all, there's the house, which is both enormous and architecturally beautiful.  Colonnades, balconies, columns, all coming together to create a massive building that seems to reach out on both sides to envelop you completely in 18th century elegance.  In a haze of amazement, I kept asking Joel, "Can you imagine what it would be like to live there?" and interrogating him about who on earth the Duke of Marlborough was to have deserved something like this (in case you didn't know, he's considered by many to be the greatest British military commander in history).  Between the massive house, the even more massive gardens, and the impressive history written on the column found on the grounds, it is certainly a place to visit.  Really, the grounds are massive.  The grounds at Blenheim Palace are to your garden at home like a Stradivarius violin to a ukelele.  Or like a skyscraper to a treehouse.  Or both.

Here's Joel and I, looking adorable outside the gate of the formal gardens.

And me, looking stylish and safe in a brand new dayglo orange safety jacket!  Just the thing for cyclists in Oxfordshire during winter!