Alnwick Castle

Today, we took a bus to Alnwick with other students and faculty from the palace.  Alnwich is a quaint little town in northern England (Northumbria) with a spectacular castle that is still lived in six months out of the year by the Duke of Northumbria.  Here we are crossing the border into England.

The castle is spectacular and has been used for a setting for many movies including Harry Potter, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, and Becket.

Though I could not take any pictures of them, the state rooms within, which were redesigned in the middle of the 19th Century, were absolutely opulent.  Gilded ceilings, marble carved fireplaces, the most beautiful library I've ever seen, and great paintings by the likes of Titian, Van Dyck, and Velasquez.  Amazing.  There is also a spectacular garden on the grounds.  Here are Aidan and Emma in a labyrinth of bamboo.

Here are some other views of the gardens.

Emma contemplating the surface tension of water.

Here I am trying to process all of the amazing things we saw today.