Ye Olde Cheese Farm--Day 51

We had another gorgeous weather day for our tour of Chiswick House and its grounds. The area surrounding the manor is also called Chiswick and is home to many celebrities. As such, it is just as posh (if not more posh--is "posher" a word?) as the Kensington-Chelsea area. The grounds of Chiswick House used to be a cheese farm, which is where the very clever title for this blog post comes from. I almost wish it still were a cheese farm; that would be delicious! A fun fact about the word "ye" is that it just means "the." In Old English, the "th" sound was written as a "y," so it's not really as interesting as we all think it is.

We took the Tube from Gloucester Road to Turnham Green, then we walked the 25 minutes to Chiswick House, which was very nice because we had such good weather. It was very pleasant to stroll along the streets while families and elderly people walked around us going about their business. Chiswick is renowned for its position next to the A4 motorway, which leads directly to Heathrow Airport and makes it a very convenient place to live. Some of the most expensive properties in London are in Chiswick and sit along the Thames. Strangely enough, the roads in front of these houses are extremely susceptible to flooding. It makes me wonder how the properties can be so expensive! But lovely brick retaining walls help to guard the houses from water damage, and it's hard to argue with their riverfront locality. These are the houses in London that still have cool names--like they did in the 1800s. I can't specifically remember any of them right now, but it took me back to an earlier time and place.

Chiswick House is a great place to visit because just as we were passing alongside the A4, we came to the gate of the manor and a cute tree-lined walkway. As we continued down the path, the sound of cars receded, and we were enveloped in the tranquility of rustling leaves and twittering birds. Our first stop was the Conservatory, which holds the largest collection of camellia bushes that I have ever seen. The camellias don't bloom until February or March (it seems odd, but camellias are native to Asia, and the hothouses in which they are grown provide them with enough warmth to stimulate blooming at the right time of the year). However, we were lucky enough to glimpse a flower here and there among the mostly dormant branches, like this beautiful white camellia. I didn't get down and sniff it, so I don't know how much of an odor they have. It is often the case that the most beautiful flowers have very little aroma. But anyway, that was a cool part of the tour.

A little glen off to the side of the main entrance to Chiswick House.

The white camellia (it sounds like the title to a cheesy novel).

Then, we stopped to see Chiswick House from the side. It has lovely statues in the yard surrounding it as well as a nice variety of trees, including the two young cedars of Lebanon. Josh showed us a picture of the Beatles standing in almost exactly the same spot as we were, so we decided to do a spoof on the picture ourselves! It was silly but fun.

The Fab Four!

Pretending we are the Beatles. Elizabeth is my favorite. :)

I'm supposed to be Paul (notice the awkward attempt at a left-handed air guitar).

Another section of the park.

The statues and trees behind Chiswick House.

One of the cedars of Lebanon behind Chiswick House.

Chiswick House from the back; note the "piano nobile" style of architecture--the stairs draw the eye up to the level of the windows.

We spent most of the rest of our time wandering through the gardens and grounds of Chiswick House, including a nice secluded wooded area, a pond, and a waterfall called The Grotto. We ended up at the front of the house, which I thought was really cool. There were barriers preventing us from walking up the stairs, so Josh suggested that he should move the barriers aside, run away, and let the six of us explore the upper floor on our own. Such a bad role model! Afterward, we found ourselves near the cafe, so Josh was nice enough (again!) to give us each 5 pounds toward lunch. I had a nice roasted butternut squash and feta salad. Since there were so few of us, we all sat at the same table and talked and ate together. When we were all finished, we left the grounds and walked to the heart of Chiswick to see the Fuller's Brewery and the Brewery shop. Not too exciting. Then, we made our way back to the Tube stop along a riverfront walkway. It was very picturesque and enjoyable because of the warm sunshine and cool breeze. We passed a lot of cute pubs and old-style wharf buildings as well as an attractive bridge across the Thames.

The pond at Chiswick House.

Another view of the pond from the other side of the bridge.

A pretty tree-lined pathway. The grounds have a lot of these pathways, which are often arranged in a radiating pattern called a "goose's foot," in which the pathways converge at a common structure--be it building, statue, or obelisk.

The Grotto.

The front of Chiswick House, which was built in 1729. Look familiar? This style is also found in our own White House! Notable visitors were John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and even Queen Victoria (presumably not at the same time).

A riverside garden in Chiswick.

Another riverside garden.

The London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham as viewed from Chiswick.

All in all, today was a great day. We got to pet a few dogs at Chiswick because a lot of people bring them there so they can run around and enjoy themselves. It made us all miss our own dogs back home. I'm not sure what's on the docket for tomorrow. Probably homework, mostly. But, then again, my friends and I are really good with spur-of-the-moment stuff, so (especially since tomorrow is Saturday) I'm sure we will find something interesting to do. You just never know...

Before I leave you for today, I wanted to share with you the picture of me, Sarah, Lauren, and Elizabeth at tea yesterday. :)