Burghley!

Today was a good day! The start of it was a little bit rough! I didn’t sleep well last night because I was worried that I would be late and the bus would leave without me! Well that caused to to be very very tied at 6:30 when my alarm did in fact go off and that caused me to lay in bed way too long. I got up 5 minutes before I wanted to leave which meant I left 15 minutes later than I wanted. Granted I was still 15 minutes early to the bus.. but I was STRESSED! I did get to the bus though and was able to go on the field trip!

I sat with Freya and I really like her. We ended up being bus buddies the entre day and hung out most of the day! (except for the tour. We werent in the same group!) We did eat lunch together and tour the grounds alone so I am hoping for a friend! :)

The house was AMAZING. Ill post pictures I promise. We literally went around a curve and my jaw just dropped. It was HUGE. (I forgot! Right outside of the house in the little town is a Cummins plant! What a small world!) They host wedding there… I wish I lived in England! Anyways.. we pulled up and had a meeting with the curator of the house who gave a little talk. It was a good introduction to the house. We then split into 3 groups to tour. We wer e the second group and got stuck with the man who gave us the silver lecture yesterday. Don’t get me wrong.. he KNOWS his stuff! But he is so LONG WINDED! Oh my goodness. We spent 20 minutes in every single room and the group of Christies behind us had to keep waiting for us. It was incredibly interesting though! The best part for me…. We were in this CRAZY awesome dining room. The guy told us that the room was used for the filming of the 2004 Pride and Prejudice (the one with Keira Knightly!) It is Ms. DeBourgh’s dining room. I need to go home and watch that scene!

I don’t know really what to tell you ll about it. I just can not fathom ever having that much money to build this house and buy ALL the things to go in it! Oh speaking of things… I saw the bed that Princess Victoria used when she stayed at the house (the future Queen Victoria!) and the bed that her and Prince Albert came when she was Queen. I wanted to leap across the rope and fall on to the bed, but I refrained! ( I did touch a lava stone compostie table… shhhh! Don’t tell anyone!)

We were walking through and someone asked why the paintings didn’t have labels. Its because the house is a house that is open to the public, not a museum. So to keep it a house they don’t put labels on it. Our tutor Rebecca said that she forgets that all of us havent grown up going on field trips to tour English Country houses. No… at Panama you just went bowling (and actually I didn’t even go on that. I sat and ate candy with Mr. Morgante. Thanks for that fun filled day mom and dad! I do now understand why you didn’t sign the fieldtrip form.) Im so jealous that English kids get to tour English houses. Another reason I should have gone to boarding school. Another thing I love about England.. they actually have history here. The house today was 1500’s, at home its old if it is pre-Revolutionary war. Nothing against Iroquis longhouses but I would rather go to a English Prodigy Country house.

So basically my day was full of jaw droppng sites. Oh and everyone was making fun of the one guy who put the estate into 34,000 pounds worth a debt by going on 4 world tours and buying art eveywhere. Not going to lie.. I understand him. If I had that kind of money I would buy whatever art I wanted to too and go into 34,000 pounds of debt that my tenants would eventually pay in rent. I would be an obsessive collector. I admit it. And honestly his stuff were great investments. His painting he bought for a few hundred pounds are worth thousands now! Smart man. It must be nice to be that rich just because you are born and not because you have done anything worthwhile in your life. Mom and Dad… you really messed that up for me! I wont be a heiress! :)

We saw a wine cooler made of solid silver, the second biggest known and it was 320 pounds of silver. The going rate of silver is 15.90 pounds per troy-ounce. There are 12 troy ounces in a pound. A girl and I got that it is worth 61,056 pounds just in the silver content alone.(that’s $97,513) Not to mention the craftsmanship and unique nature of the piece.

After the tour I got lunch (mushroom risotto. I had brought my lunch and I ate that and was still hungry so I bought lunch too) and Freya and I walked around the grounds and made friends with some deer. (Some looked moose like so I thought of mom and our failed mission to see a Canadian moose!)

Then we were off to the strangest thing I have ever seen. It’s a trianglar lodge that a guy used to raise rabbits in. If that isnt weird enough its FULL of symbolism of the Trinity (3 sided building, three floors, 3 windows on each floor cut into 3 parts) it goes on and on. It was weird and we couldn’t break all the codes that were on it. When Andrew was explaining it to us it sounded way different than what it actaully was. (check out facebook for pictures)

Im so tired and tomorrow is presentation day. I think Ill be ok and at least hold my own. Im actaully more worried about Tuesday’s now than tomorrows! Off to read my other article for tomorrow (Kant. Im still on Kant because I have no clue what he is saying) shower, and BEDTIME! I cant wait for the weekend!