A WEEKEND IN OXFORDSHIRE

We stayed in a charming stable cottage at College House (pictured above) in Staton St. Johns, a small village about 4 miles outside of Oxford. I really wanted to experience the English countryside and this placed looked absolutely beautiful and it wasn't too far for us to drive to other villages. 

We spent our first afternoon/night mostly walking around the village. It's quite small and there is not much to do, which is what we wanted. We walked to the village pub and had supper, then walked back to our cottage passing through the graveyard, church, and a big open field where sheep were grazing the next morning. 

The next morning we woke up early and our host, Nicola, had provided fresh eggs from her chickens and a bundle of asparagus from her allotment. I made a simple breakfast of eggs, toast, and asparagus with fresh butter. And naturally we had classic English tea to go with all of it!

I was wearing one of my favorite vintage dresses for a day exploring Oxford and other nearby villages (one of these days I'll recreate this dress for my clothing line, Atelette) and of course I am never without a trusty straw hat during our travels.

We drove the short distance to a big parking lot where buses would pick us up to bring us into Oxford (driving in the narrow countryside streets on the other side of the road and other side of the car was quite a terrifying experience!) so we opted to walk through Oxford instead of drive around (my feet were aching terribly at the end of this day, but I was so content, I don't even think I realized it until we were back in the cottage)

When we arrived in Oxford, we were already hungry again, so we sat down for SECOND BREAKFAST! I was so delighted to have Second Breakfast because our main reason for going to Oxford was so I could visit The Eagle and Child where J. R. R. Tolkien and his literary friends, the Inklings, would often gather. We also took the bus to Wolvercote Cemetary where I placed wildflowers on Tolkien and Edith's grave.

We spent most of our day in Oxford walking around the university and window shopping in quaint shops. As a souvenir I got a small leather bound book that can fit in my pocket and I pressed wildflowers I picked at Wolvercote. 

II am always going to be a country girl at heart having spent parts of my childhood on my grandfather's farm in the Philippines feeding chickens and pigs and helping in our small garden. We were very small scale farmers like most of our neighbors, growing enough food for our families (though Filipino families tend to be quite large and extended!) 

Someday, I know I would like for my husband and I to purchase a bit of land and do small scale farming, enough for us to have seasonal fruits and veggies for ourselves and make our own jams and jellies and other preserves. I know I do not have the patience or know-how to do larger scale farming to be able to sell produce at a farmer's market... but something small and sustainable for a family of 2...and all the guests we will host in our country home of course!

The afternoon was spent riding around the property in a cart while Silas' new puppy, Jutta, ran alongside us. I could not get over how freaking cute she was! I love puppies, they're so wriggly and curious about everything. She was particularly drawn to all my bundle of dried stems! We got to feed apples to some of the sheep and got a little lesson on how cider was made with the big apple press machine and how the racks and cloths were assembled for the apples. Sorry, I can't get too technical, I was just all "Oh, wow, ok..." I mean I know nothing about making cider! LOL!

“It’s when the apples ripen in the fall that I come to realize what the trees have been up to all summer. And when the fall of my life comes, will I have apples?” - Craig D. Lounsbrough

What I Wore...

In these photos I am wearing jeans from Mother Denim, a vintage 1990s J. Crew cream knit top, and a vintage silk scarf in my hair. All sweaters and cardigans are from the shop!

 { Shop Knits & Sweaters featured in these photos }

I had always wanted to visit Versailles and when we went to France for our honeymoon a couple of years ago, we didn't have time to visit Versailles, so this time I made a point to make time for it...and well, I STILL haven't been to Versailles because my friends, it is a MASSIVE place and we were heading out to Versailles on our very last day in France. 

We had been averaging about 8-9 hours of walking a day in Paris. Do you know HOW MUCH walking that is and how painful it can be when you're a gal like me that refuses to wear sneakers whilst in Paris...or anywhere really unless I'm exercising? So, as you can imagine, I was not very keen on walking the massive grounds of Versailles...

Travel Tip: Versailles, the main palace and grounds, is VERY crowded and attracts so very many tourists. Opt to go to the smaller palaces, Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon and there are moments you can even have a room all to yourself.

We arrived at Versailles around 11 AM and had previously purchased our tickets online. There wasn't a big crowd at Grand Trianon so we were able to waltz in rather quickly after a brief Security check. Grand Trianon is very luxurious and features a lot of pink marble. Also, the rooms all featured different colored drapes in luminous silks and the furniture varied in color too. Some of it was a bit too garish for my taste (I have a strong dislike for fuschia, any green that resembles lime, and any yellow that looks like orange-ish brass... three rooms featured some hues and it made my skin crawl a little...)

This one room had beautiful off white curtains... oh these curtains were luscious. I wanted so very badly to reach out and touch it, wrap myself in it... but the docent of the palace (is that what they're called?) was eyeing me and so I have one photo of me near the curtains that my husband snapped but my face clearly looks like "I'm PISSED I can't be enveloped in these curtains!"

We didn't spend too long at Grand Trianon, because like I said, bit too gaudy for me. I did quite enjoy the gardens and took notes of which flowers were planted there..(lots of cosmos!) to inspire a future garden bed for our home.

Afterwards we walked to Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette's little palace that was gifted to her. Must be nice. Here was where Marie Antoinette could escape from the pressures of court life (I know...so tough!) and apparently no one else could go here unless you were invited by her majesty. 

Petit Trianon I much preferred over Grand Trianon since the style was much more simplistic, less gold details. The detail photos above are from Petit Trianon and I was so inspired by many of the colors here. Marie Antoinette's bedroom had a wonderful view of the fountain outside and I really loved the floral print on her bed. I kept thinking that would be a lovely print for a vintage inspired dress...

Travel Tip: You can walk from the train station to Versailles if you really want to. It is about a 25-30 minute walk or otherwise you can take an Uber (about 7-8 euros), however, cars are not allowed through a certain point without having to pay 3 euros... so an Uber will only take you to the main front gate and you have to walk the remainder 15 minutes to get to Grand Trianon itself or pay the additional 3 euros. The walk is lovely and lined with trees, so if the weather is nice and you're up for a long stroll... by all means, walk the walk!

Did you know at Petit Trianon, the Queen had her own theater? And also this charming little place called "The Cooling Room" which was where her and her friends would dine on hot summer days. It featured beautiful green latticework on the outside. I wish I had taken more photos here, but my camera battery was dying...so there are some photos on my i-phone... by the way, the pot above with the little daisy looking flowers I was SO OBSESSED with. I have about 6 photos of it on my camera front different angles. I really want one of these for the up and coming mypiggywiggy brick & mortar shop!

A short walk away from Petit Trianon (the photo above is the back of it) is Le Hameau de la Reine... The Queen's Hamlet. Ahhh, this is what I was WAITING to go see. I'm not really drawn to the palatial life... I wanted to see the country inspired goodness!

Oh...and may I be honest with you? Of course, of course! We are friends, oui? 

Oh my dears, I was so disappointed with The Queen's Hamlet! Is it charming? Yes... but it felt so much like Disneyland that I felt so let down! I think I had built it up so much in my head... and well, in all fairness, the last time I was in France for our honeymoon, we had visited REAL, AUTHENTIC beautiful old villages from the 13th-16th century in the Midi-Pyrénées so naturally this fabricated village built for Marie Antoinette just felt...well fake. Because it was FAKE even during her time. It felt like a movie set almost...or a giant village playground for a naive young Queen of France to play "Peasant Life" in...

Ahh...le sigh. I still do recommend going, but I suggest visiting ACTUAL old villages in France if you can instead!