Castles, Palaces and Houses

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I've been in England for 2 weeks now, and have managed to do a fair bit, despite sleeping in every day of the first week !! In London I've been staying with friends (Matt and Viktoria) - they are awesome hosts and make it really easy to just keep staying - I have an air matress set up in the living room, a cell phone, Oyster card (to load up and use on the tube and buses - about half price to paying cash), a key to their apartment, wireless internet I can get on my ipod, and use of their home computer (a travellers dream set up!!). We even had champagne with dinner last night, just because it was Sunday !
I still love London and it remains my favorite city, I am happy to just wander around for hours, stroll through the parks (Hyde park, St. james park, Regent park, Kensington Garden and many of the other greens dotted in every borough of the city), I love all the old buildings, the hectic pace in some areas (like oxford street and picadilly circus), or the leisurly pace to others. i love the whole style of London, riding on the tube or buses, and that you find a pub not too far down any one street! Some new places that I checked out on this trip to London were Regents Park (really lovely with lots of gardens in full bloom), Aspley house (on hyde park corner, was the London home of the 1st duke of Wellington, the current duke continues to use part of the house), Victoria and Albert Museum (too big to see everything, but its free, beautiful building, and interesting exhibits), and the Portobello market (lots of vintage stuff).
Last week I headed out of London about an hour or so by train to Sussex. First stop was Petworth house, a beautiful /huge country house and park run by the National Trust. I was speaking to one of the volunteers at the house and commented that I wish visitors were allowed to see even more of the rooms, like to top floors that were the servants quarters - he indicated that you really wouldn't want to as none of those rooms had ever been maintained and many of them didn't even have floor boards any more (so much for that idea).
After Petworth house it was Arundel castle. My mom and I tried to go there a couple of years ago, but it was the off season so the castle had been closed. This time it was definitely open, and worth the trip. It is a beautiful castle and estate belonging to the duke of Norfolk (yes the current duke does live in the castle with his family - one of their many homes I'm sure). The castle dates back to the Norman times I believe (1100) and the old circular castle keep is still intact and can be toured. The newer sections of the castle have been extremely well maintained and do feel quite homey. Apparently there is a new movie on Queen Victoria that is coming out, much of which was shot here.

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