Visiting Downton

 I should be going to bed, but I'm up waiting for pumpkin muffins to finish baking.  There's a lot of complaining going on around here when it comes to breakfast lately.  EVERY morning, actually.  I'm hoping muffins will get us off to a better start tomorrow.  For a certain picky 6 year-old, eating something simple like cereal is nothing short of slow and painful torture.  Drives me nuts sometimes!  I don't get it.  Anyhow, while I wait for them to bake, I'll blog about our Labor Day visit to Highclere Castle... home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon and the filming location for Downton Abbey.    The kitchen here has been updated since the Carnarvons still live here part of the year, so some of the rooms in the TV series are filmed at a studio location (the kitchen and servants quarters).

I had been wanting to visit this place since Jake and I finished the first season of Downton last spring.  Kristen recommended the series to help get my mind off of some weird ultrasound findings (turned out to be a false alarm... I'll have to blog about that another time) and Jake and I were hooked.  Visiting this place is a little tricky, though.  The days that tickets were available were few and far between.  We bought tickets for one of the last days it was open this year- Labor Day.

It was fun seeing so many familiar rooms and staircases from the TV series.  Inside, there are people that tell you the real history of the rooms and of the house.  There are signs posted to let you know which areas are used in Downton Abbey.  Most rooms looked pretty much just like they do in the show.  No pictures were allowed inside, but we took a lot outside on the grounds!