Hello Friends and Family!
Today was a colder day here in England. We actually got a full night’s rest of sleep and it was quite refreshing. I was pretty much ready to go this morning when my alarm sounded but I must admit I did sleep fifteen minutes past when my alarm went off. This morning we met with the Principal of Harlaxton, Dr. Gordon Kingsley. He was very kind and gave us a warm welcome as well as a little history of the college. Next we had a class session with Dr. Edward Bujak who told us a vast amount of information on Neo-Elizabethan, Gothic and Victorian architecture. Then after we got our lunch we ventured onto our mini-bus and off into Grantham and Denton which finally led us to the grand Belvoir Castle which the locals pronounced Beaver like the animal. They say it Beaver because the Anglo-Saxons were unable to master the French pronunciation of the castle.
The Belvoir castle dates back to the Norman times. It is the fourth castle to stand on these grounds and is a working castle. It also houses the Duke and Duchess of Rutland as well as their five children. The castle contained many pieces of art of the family and other royalty. When walking through the castle you noticed all of the marble and stone built to create this grand castle. It was quite breathtaking as you saw all of the English history unfold right in front of you as you walk through the castle. When we first arrived at the castle we saw the gardens to our right which were quite large and full of beautiful statues as well as striking flowers.
Another kindness the English provided for us was that we were the only ones in the castle. This was because that day it was closed to the public. We were the only public allowed in which I thought was nice that they would open their doors and have someone come in to work in the book shop just for our group of twelve.
After our feet were tired and we were all a little frightened from being on the left side of the road there were several gasps on the way there and back we finally made our way back to the castle to eat dinner.
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