one more week in the continent and the Chatsworth House

I say continent because I won’t be in England for a day–Wednesday to Thursday Teja and I are heading to Ireland, my last attempt at seeing the entirety of the UK before I go back to the states.

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Today:

I woke up this morning (“and the sun was gone…”) and my eyes were still red. It was the reason I got little sleep last night, as I’m paranoid and perhaps something of a hypochondriac in addition to being a partial germophobe and suffering from OCD. Is this my hypochondriac-ism in play?

Anyway, I got up at around 10:40am (WOW, right? Everyone was shocked, just shocked. It was funny) and looked up the university health service. They’re closed, as is everywhere else in England on Sundays, so I called the NHS hotline that they recommended on the website. After answering a number of questions about my possible ailment, they told me to go to the pharmacist to get an over-the-counter drug. Encouraged (at the fact that they did not immediately have me set an appointment), I got dressed and walked to Boots, which was of course closed.

I bought, get ready for it…food. What else would make me feel a bit better? After going to Somerfield I came back. Frannie and I went to go get tickets for The Last Laugh, which plays in the Raynor Lounge in the union tonight, and then Amy and I watched Interview with the Vampire.

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Yesterday: Pemberly, Leadmill

oh, dear Mr. Darcy!

water cascade

i won the trophy from the maze in harry potter!

glorious estate

dueling in the labyrinth

Elizabeth, Melanie, Amy and I went to Pemberly for a day trip yesterday to see the Chatsworth House, where the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire live. It is a famously grand and enormous estate and via bus only takes 45 minutes to get to. It is also famous for being Mr. Darcy’s estate in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice with Matthew Macfayden and Keira Knightly. I LOVE that movie!

It was cloudy that morning and a bit chilly when we arrived, but it was still so exciting and exhillerating being on this glorious estate. The mansion was humongous and so stately-looking, exactly what I pictured a good old English mansion would look like! The grounds were so well-kepmt, neatly mowed without a trace of litter!

We got into the house and gardens for 8.25 pounds (with our student discount, a bus ticket and voucher). The house was humongous with countless rooms, and those were just the ones we were allowed to see. The furniture was classical-looking, the red carpet making it all seem so classy and expensive, and the wooden floors were so grand! The chandeliers were all very detailed, and one in particular was the cavendish one with the deer heads and antlers–fake of course, or so I hope. We now have a greater appreciation for our favorite bar down West Street, The Cavendish, where a deer head and antlers decorate the sign up front. We learned a bit more about the Cavendishes, as well as the Duke and Duchess.

There was also a room with statues, the white sculptures that are reminiscient of Greek or Roman ones, and in that room was Mr. Darcy’s bust. Lovely! I think that was my favorite part of the house, because I am a complete geek and love the movie and therefore love its props. The statue was only there because of the movie, but I think also because it makes me happy being there. We took a number of pictures with various poses of us looking up at him dreamily and pretending to kiss him, though after looking through pictures once again and reading comments, I believe I was in dire need of a stool to reach his face.

Afterwards we went into the gift shop where I was determined to purchase a copy of Pride and Prejudice, but the only copies available were with pictures of the film on the cover, which I didn’t want. I instead got postcards and fudge. Yum. We then picnicked on the lawn, did cartwheels and took silly pictures, and then we hiked up the water cascade. The water wasn’t too cold and it was gorgeous and slippery. Tons of fun!

Then we walked through the gardens in search of the labyrinth. On our way we saw the vast fountain beside the mansion, the setting in which the last scene of the movie took place. Absolutely breathtaking! It was funny because there was a duck who kept dunking the top half of its body into the water to eat something down there, and he apparently had a bit of trouble because he did it over and over again, his rear end sticking vertically up in the air and his legs almost coming out of the water! It was so hilarious!! I took a few pictures of that, though I wish I’d taken a video as it was so funny to watch him do over and over!

On the wayt ot he labyrinth, there was this humongous cup and, feeling like I was truly in England, I linked the cup with the trophy in the middle of the maze from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I ran to it and there are pictures to show that I WON!

We then made it to the labyrinth, got legitimately lost when we didn’t plan to do so as we had only 30 minutes left before our bus arrived, and finally figured out the trickiness of the landscape architects who designed it. We also pretended to be in Harry Potter again, gosh, that made me so happy haha! And found sticks to use as wands, pretended to duel in the middle of the maze, and made our way out.

Great times were had by all and it is now one of my favorite places in Europe :o)

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That night we went to the Leadmill, my first time there, and it was dead empty when we arrived, but it soon filled up with people and was lively, loud, stuffy and fun until early the next morning. :D Good times.