Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Ultimate Parade of Homes: Castle Howard

Castle Howard is the personal residence of the Howard family, and the estate has been in their family since the 1700's. Mr. Howard, his wife, and two kids still live at this palatial abode. A few of their current family pictures are sprinkled about this stately home.

The first view as we drove onto the Howard estate

I was getting excited about going in!
You might recognize Castle Howard as the location where Brideshead Revisited was filmed.







These aren't just any statues -- most are from Roman times. Can you imagine having Roman artifacts place about your home?


Yes- those pictures in the above photo are their personal family photographs, amongst their personal family Roman statues.








A random black & white photo thrown in for good measure.







The estate is so opulent, it has peacocks roaming about. I had to throw my foot in this picture so you could see how close these peacocks get to people.




It was so lovely and warm, MBA decided no shoes and socks were required for this leisurely afternoon constitution.





We even walked through a few acres of forest on the Howard footpaths. MBA loved this. I didn't like getting rocks and such in my sandals. Shocked?



We stopped for an afternoon tea break, but I decided the warm summer afternoon called for Elderflower juice -- one of my favorite drinks in Britain. You must try some!


The Rose Garden






This statute was first in the possession of the Medici's in Florence. Un.Be.Liev.Able. I couldn't get over this statute -- once in the hands of the Medici's -- now out in the elements in the Rose Garden.
This residence is one of the 1001 places in 1001 Places To See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List - a book I purchased for MBA when we first started dating in 2004. At that time, I had no idea we'd be using the book while living abroad in Europe!

7 comments:

  1. JennJune 18, 2009 at 5:23 AM

    So glad that you were able to visit Castle Howard. I visited there in 1997 and absolutely loved it! Enjoy your last few weeks of England/Scotland before venturing to Paris!

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  2. HeatherJune 18, 2009 at 6:52 AM

    Those Medici's got around. Wait until you're in the Loire Valley...more Medici artifacts :)

    These pictures are gorgeous. xo

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  3. AnonymousJune 19, 2009 at 7:18 AM

    This makes the Biltmore look like a bungalow! Mom

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  4. mary carolineJune 19, 2009 at 12:09 PM

    What a fabulous tour! I'm pretty fascinated with the Roman artifacts amongst a private home too...what a life. I do love the b&w picture thrown in too, and the peacocks on the property, and the massive china cabinet display...that's my fave :)

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  5. Laura JoJune 20, 2009 at 12:00 PM

    So incredible! And neat the family still lives there! Loved the photos.

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  6. GingerLandJuly 7, 2009 at 5:41 AM

    Hey, Ashli! Enjoying all these accounts of your adventures. Have you seen the 1981 version of Brideshead? It's so so much better than the more recent one.

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  7. AshliJuly 7, 2009 at 5:48 AM

    Hey Ginger!!! I actually have not seen either of the two but will definitely keep my eye peeled for the older one. Thanks for the recommendation!

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