Exploring Our Backyard

The past couple of weeks we've stayed close to Oxford, exploring some interesting places in our own backyard. We returned to Blenheim Palace (Churchill's birthplace) on Valentine's Day. We toured the palace (which hadn't been open for the season when we were there before), and afterward had a rather elegant afternoon tea in the orangerie at the palace. An orangerie is typically a large room with lots of windows in which such plants as citrus trees could be kept in the winter; this one is now a beautiful restaurant. We also took a long walk around Oxford, and found a pub with delightful vegetarian food.


Waterperry Gardens

We made a visit to the Waterperry Gardens. Waterperry is not far from Oxford, probably 8 or 10 miles, but getting there was a bit of an adventure. We had been told that a local bus would stop to drop us at a village within walking distance; however, this turned out not to be the case, so we left the bus at the village of Wheatley, then called a taxi from there. This turned out just fine, and we simply called the taxi to pick us up later in the day when we were ready to return to the village to catch the bus.


Snowdrops

Waterperry is known for its snowdrops--small bulbs that produce beautiful white blossoms very early, and they are in bloom now at Waterperry. We took a walking tour with a knowledgeable staffer who showed us several varieties of snowdrops, and talked about how the garden plans and plants them. It was a cold day, so we had tea in the garden cafe before the tour, and a lovely hot lunch there afterward.

The past weekend our friend Jonathan came to visit from London. We walked around the city, sharing the views and history of Oxford with Jonathan, and visiting a couple of museums. We also had fine meals at some of our favorite places. As Jonathan summed it up, "3 pubs in 24 hours isn't bad." We'll return the visit next month, when we go to London for some special theatre and museum presentations, and to see Jonathan again.


Oxford Natural History Museum


Connie and Jonathon on Holywell Street, Oxford

On the weekend we actually had two consecutive sunny days--a first since our arrival. But this morning we were surprised to wake up to another snowfall. By noon it was melting, but it was a reminder that perhaps winter is not yet finished with us.