Blenheim and Birthday

Yesterday I took the bus to beautiful Blenheim Palace, home of the Spencer-Churchills, birthplace of Winston Churchill, and current home of the Duke of Marlborough. The palace was very nice, I took a short guided tour of the state rooms, then spent most of the rest of my time wandering the grounds. I was there for over 5 hours, trying to see everything I could on the immense grounds, from the Water Terrace where I had lunch, to the Rose gardens, by the lake to the Cacades, then to the Secret Garden, across the bridge to the Column of Victory, and back to the Pleasure Gardens for the Marlborough Maze (2nd largest hedge maze in the world). I walked through Woodstock, a quaint town, afterwards. When I got back, I dressed in a "costume" (a piece of paper and some fake glasses that Brie loaned me) as an essay crisis (the impending horror of a paper due...). I then went to a costumed surprise birthday party for Brendan, one of my friends who is also studying abroad. The party was fun.