Rutland

So, another gem found in the English countryside! The home of the Marquise of Exeter was definitely worth the visit. We got there right as it opened, no sleeping in today (except it opened at 11 am which was perfect for this group!). It took us a little bit to get our bearings and to make sure we were going the right way. You’d think everything was in a different language as often as we all look at each other with - “do you know what to do” look! The grounds around the house were slowly filling up but for the most part, it was a perfect visit. The house itself was built by Elizabeth the first’s finance minister. He never really lived at the house, but the rooms in how they went from Elizabethan to Victorian era decorations was very cool. Taylor really liked the bell room, she felt that she could get through all her Netflix shows if she could get the boys to listen and fulfill their supposed duties! Like Blenheim, the current Marquise still lives here in the lower private rooms, but all the main floor estate rooms are open to view. There were so many cool stories, like the fact that it has one of the best maintained Japanese/Chinese porcelain collection in the western world - the funny thing is that most of the pieces were hidden behind sealed up walls or being used as doorstops. There is also a massive collection of 1600 and 1700’s paintings - why? Well, first, they had the money to buy them, duh! But even better is that when the Marquise got into massive debt in the 1800’s, he had to sell a lot of his assets. Funny thing is that most of the older paintings were out of style and no one would buy them so he sold all the 1800’s paintings. A simple thing like that has left the estate with a crazy collection by today’s standards! Another funny story is that it was the 9th Marquise I think, that was won gold at the 1928 Olympics and was featured in Chariots of Fire (A whole new reason to go back and watch now Doc! Saw his medal and his shoes!). Finally, hearing stories from the guides about how one of the daughters during Queen Victoria joked about how her and Albert never came to breakfast and very rarely made it out of bed!!! Good ole Victoria! It’s good to be the Queen!

This is another great place to stop, and mom, you’d be so proud, after paying for 4 entrances to Blenheim, I found a coupon that allowed for us to get a buy 1 get 1 at Burghley and Castle Howard, our destination tomorrow. Woohoo, it’s the small victories!Read more