Midwest to Midlands

Road Trip To Cuenca

2012-02-01T21:09:00.001Z

Once upon a time on a rainy day in the normally sunny Costa Blanca, an Englishman and his American wife ventured off on a road trip across Spain. As they say -all work and no play is no fun, for anyone! The lemon groves and the seaside disappeared in their rear view mirror as they headed for the mountains.

As they proceeded on their adventure they passed many a fairy tale castle.

They marveled at all of these beautiful fortresses along the roadway. If only they had time to explore them. (They did not even take time to stop and take a decent photograph.)

Keeping their focus they continued to their destination. And that’s no bull.

Further along they caught a brief sight of workers in the fields attending the grape vines.

They passed more flat open fields with patches of green.

But soon the landscaped changed. Where were they heading? Had they taken a wrong turn as they passed through a section of…snow! Did they make a mistake leaving the warm sunny coast??? Would this be another of their MIS-adventures?

Thank goodness they left the snow behind and found themselves at the end of the road.

With their carriage safely parked, they stepped inside The Parador de Cuenca and walked down the grand hallway.

Filled with curiosity and wonder they navigated through the corridors of the former convent until they reached their chambers.

Anxiously they flung open the shutters to see the view beyond the window. The weather was dreary and rainy but that did not dampen their mood. After all they had something to celebrate. Five years of marriage. And that’s no fairy tale! (or is it?)

Will Rapunzel let her hair down, will Sleeping Beauty sleep, where are the seven dwarfs?

But first they had to find something to eat before she turned into the evil step mother. (to be continued.)

The Casa Results

2012-01-30T22:03:00.001Z

As promised the results of our painting and other efforts at the Casa in Spain.

The neighborhood is a lovely quiet area with friendly residents.

The front porch. (I have a better picture, but not sure where it is right now.) It is a wonderful place to relax, read or enjoy an outdoor meal at the table.

And here we are inside the front door. I didn’t take the time to do much styling so to speak, as Guess What? I was just kind of really happy to have it straightened up and put back together and we were ready to go out and enjoy the nice weather before coming back to the UK. (I should have straightened that throw though.) So that is why you will see some of the same items show up in pictures in more than one room, I just moved them around while I took the pictures.

From the other direction. The chairs we had at home in the UK and took with us in the car last time we drove down. It was a pretty packed car let me tell you. They came from IKEA and never quite fit in at home but I like the way they look here.

This is a property my husband has owned with a partner for about 12 years. They bought it back in the time when there was a big building boom in Torrevieja and the Pound was much stronger against the Euro. However the property and the area have held up well and we have redone it with the idea of trying to rent it out some of the year. That is why we have kept the furnishings and décor as we have. There are still some things to do, but we saved that for the next time.

The kitchen is small but very workable. Note there is a washing machine to the right of the sink.

The twin bedroom. We painted the stripes on the wall this time and some more wall décor will be added. (see next picture.)

We couldn’t decide where to hang this picture as it looked really good in here, but we chose to put it in the living room because we liked it there too and it tied in with the other pictures. We used the existing bedding as I am not sure what will really be needed. These are all things that can be decided as time goes on and things need to be replaced. There are different aspects to consider when you are trying to make it renter and child friendly. I can say we have gotten some good feedback and advice so far.

Here are a couple of before shots. These were taken when we went in October to replace the shower.

I like the dishes as they are colorful and fun and some of them went in the kitchen cupboard for dining use. The big cabinet was moved into the double bedroom, a shelf taken out and used as a TV cabinet.

And again the after. (We painted the light fixtures too.)

A close up of the chest of drawers. The blue rustic look was kind of a happy experiment and we decided to leave it that way for a casual feel. Also if it gets nicked or bumped it will only add to the charm.

In October I painted the nightstands white in the bedroom, sanded some of the white off to let the wood show through and then gave them a coat of wax. The picture frame , the mirror in the living room and a few other pieces I picked up on sale at Zara Home, a lucky find. Love that store.

Back outside, the tri-level pool for use by the residents. The beach is less than a mile away.

So many beautiful flowers around the grounds.

So tell me what do you think? Any suggestions, ideas, hints, or what about booking a week or two? We are starting out with a very reasonable rate of 30 Pounds/night for 2 people (plus air conditioning and cleaning charges). Sunshine included free!

Telling Tales from Spain

2012-01-29T23:26:00.001Z

OK here we go! Tales from Spain, Day Uno. This is along the south Costa Blanca at La Zenia Beach near Torrevieja. Approximately where the red pushpin is on the map below.

This time we flew and were there in 2 hours, as we landed 40 minutes early. We soon discovered almost everything was closed on Friday Jan 6. We didn’t realize or know that it was Three King’s Day which is a major holiday in Spain. They observe Christmas, but Three King’s Day is the day it is said the Three Wise Men reached the stable bearing their gifts, and in Spain it is the day that families gather for their meals and exchange gifts.

With it being a beautiful day and with the stores closed we couldn’t get our supplies (oh isn’t that sad?) so we went to the beach. As you can see it was not very busy. They have done a lot in the past few years to improve the walkways along the front and you can walk for miles on paths like this one below.

This area of Spain is said to have over 320 days of sunshine per year and one of the best climates in Europe.

Below is information from Spain for Life website:

“The Costa Blanca in Spain is renowned for its beautiful coastline, 212 kilometers of Mediterranean coastline and as one of the healthiest places in the sun to live.

The World Health Organization has confirmed what many people had believed for years, namely that the Costa Blanca is one of the healthiest areas of the world in which to live. This isn't surprising to those people who know the region. The Costa Blanca has an excellent year round climate. The humidity is relatively low, and therefore ideal for sufferers of arthritis and other climatically influenced health problems.

The region in and around Torrevieja has been voted by the World Health Organization as one of the healthiest places in the world to live. The stunning Crevillente mountain range helps to create the areas unique climate where the average temperature ranges from 18-28 degrees Celsius.”

For me personally I agree with fact that the light is some of the clearest and brightest in Spain. In the photo below in the distance you can see the narrow strip of land called La Manga which forms a natural lagoon called the Mar Menor at the south east corner of the country.

Some fishermen enjoying the afternoon.

A place for a rest and to enjoy the view along the way.

The tower at Cabo Roig.

And the old cannon looking over the marina.

You can’t see it very well in the picture but we met these people walking along and the lady had made a crown from Christmas cards which I thought was very clever.

When we got back to the car the outdoor temperature read 24 Celsius. (75 F). The winter weather this year has been the best in years we have been told. It does cool off quickly as the sun goes down in the evening.

Another nice thing about Spain? Renting a car I get to drive on the right side of the road again and with a right side driving car!

The view from our front terrace at the apartment. It is about a mile from the sea but from the edge of the porch you can sea the Med in the distance.

It was nice we had that afternoon on the beach because we spent a lot of time doing this – painting furniture. I’ll show you the results tomorrow.

Hi Guys and Happy New Year (Chinese)

2012-01-24T17:02:00.001Z

Hi or I should say Hola from Spain. Just want to say a quick hello and I will be back with blog posts next week. We have been working at the apartment in Spain and finally are getting near the end of the changes, at least for now. I will try to post some pictures next week. (when it will be easier and I am not at a McDonalds using the free WiFi.) Spain is an amazing country and the weather has been warm during the day and cool at night. Night before last we celebrated Chinese New Year (in Spain) at an Asian restaurant. We got a kick out of it as most of the patrons were British with a British singer singing many country western songs. Today for a little break we went to a town that features a Moroccan bazaar. It was actually siesta time, but we I just wanted to check it out for another time. Hope you are doing well and will be “talking” to you soon.

Our Favorite (Mis)Adventure of 2011

2012-01-03T23:03:00.001Z

Our favorite (mis)adventure of 2011. I’m not sure if I should be embarrassed or proud to share this story. But hopefully at the very least you might find it entertaining and learn what not to do when hiking.

The first 2 pics show the scenery as we are driving in the Peak District to *Kinder Scout*.

We decided we had some time for an unplanned getaway in August and were able to get a campsite booked at Chatsworth Park. It is a busy campsite and we were glad we could get in even though the weather forecast was for rain. We took plenty of books and assorted games fully prepared to spend a lot of time in the caravan. Fortunately the weather was better than expected and Day 1 and 2 we got in some nice walks at Longshaw Estate and Froggatt Edge. We had our OS (hiking map) but didn’t need it on those 2 walks as the paths were well travelled and well marked. On the 3rd day we got a late start as it had rained heavily the night before and we were wondering if it would be nice enough to venture out for a country walk again.

The two arrows in the lower right are the location of our first two walks and the one that says “here” is the location of this walk, which I might mention is the highest point in the Peak District.

Feeling confident from our walks the previous two days we did not come prepared. And we were a little hasty having gotten a late start. (Understatement!!!) And kids, let this be a lesson to you, DO NOT EVER EVER do what we did.

We had an OS map but it’s coverage ended just before this area. Instead I took a picture of this map below for reference that was posted where we parked the car. Good idea in theory but in reality not so great. There is no reference to scale and not enough detail. But we weren’t too concerned as we thought today would be like the other 2 days where the path was well marked.

As we set off on our walk we had a nice little chat with the farmer as he was mending his fence.

Next landmark was this red phone box by the campground.

It was a quiet day, we didn’t see any other hikers just the local sheep.

But then we did not take the conventional route up.

You know the saying “Make Your Own Path”? I don’t think this was the time to follow it! The way up was steeper than it looks in this picture. Urged on by sayings of “No Pain No Gain” and other sayings motivational and perhaps not motivational we made our way along the fence line.

Every other day we took plenty of snacks but this day just 2 pieces of zucchini bread and one bottle of water between us. Here we stopped for a rest and to eat our little lunch.

We finally made it up the first big hill. But……. I heard gunshots. We could see hunters in the distance but they were not coming our way…yet!

The grouse hunters then turned in our direction and were headed straight for us! What do we do now??? Thank heavens they saw us followed by some shouting in our direction. “What were we doing up here? this area is closed! How did we get up here?” Me in my sweetest American accent (as in foreigner) “I am sorry we don’t want to be in your way either. I don’t know how we got up here, you don’t even want to know!”

We ended up going past them and it was not easy walking on the uneven boggy ground. We wanted to get the heck out of their way and put some distance between us. Below a shot (what a choice of words) once we were well past them.

No wonder there weren’t any people around. And that was not the scariest part!

Once we made it to the top we were then on a path following the ridge to go down a different way. So let’s review, no map, no compass, no plan, no food, one bottle of water in Mr. H’s backpack mostly gone. Everything you should not do.

Some unusual rocks and beautiful scenery along the way.

At this point we started to go down.

Mr. H chose this path to the valley. I said “No Way”. Too steep and rocky for me so I headed for a path nearby.

I put my camera away to concentrate as that path didn’t pan out. So when I say we went a different direction, we really did, he went one way and I went another way. I ended going back up the path to try to find the main route again. What I found as I was up there on my own, late in the day trying to figure out how the heck I was going to get down and back to the car, was an angry grouse. It was scary up there all alone in the vast expanse of landscape, and out of the brush came a grouse. And she was not happy. She was squawking loudly and coming at my with a vengeance. It sounds funny but I am not joking. (that was the scariest part) I tried to shoo her away with my back pack but she just kept coming at me. I thought – Oh great I am going to be attacked by a grouse and left up here injured all night. She must have been protecting her young or upset from the hunters. I thought, honey you are lucky to be alive, now go away!

Finally she gave up and left me alone but I was slightly freaked out. I turned and took the next path down which was probably a sheep path. On the top you can really lose your sense of perception and scale. I ended up coming down the hill above somewhere between the two arrows. I dug around in my backpack and found a lone Mentos and kept repeating “Keep Calm and Carry On.” As if I didn’t have enough problems I was following what I thought was a dry waterway. I sat down for a minute to collect my thoughts and soon realized the waterway wasn’t totally dry as the seat of my pants was now completely wet. At least I wasn’t scared of the sheep. I had a cell phone but who would I call? as the other half did not have his.

Above looking back up the hill I just came down. It reminded me of those challenges they take people on to build their confidence.

Back down in the valley it was still a little rough going but I made it!

Finally I passed the red phone box and back to the farmer who was still mending his fence. He said - your husband is looking for you. He asked me what route I came down. To which I said, “I’m not really sure.” as Mr. H pulled up in the car.

I got taken out to eat that night. We did not have grouse.

At Peace

2012-01-02T18:51:00.001Z

These pictures were taken by me at the Kinder Scout area of the Peak District in England. This post is dedicated to my Aunt Jean, but it is for anyone who has lost someone special in their life. Tomorrow I will lighten things up and tell you a funny, although it wasn’t at the time, story about our climb up Kinder Scout and a lesson in respect for Mother Nature. (poem by Mary Frye).

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

As the Sun Sets on 2011

2011-12-31T18:40:00.001Z

I had better get this post done quickly as it is already the New Year in parts of the world. Above is a chapel up in the hills in Spain. We did not know we were going there, and that is the fun of taking a wrong turn sometimes.

Life is full of amazing experiences and people. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad. As the paper said today, and as we know, for many people it has been a difficult year. It is a sad time for my family as my Dear Aunt passed away this week. Family and friends are gathering in Iowa to share and honor her memory of a long life (95) well lived, setting an example for many.

What a beautiful setting for the chapel with views at sunset of the surrounding countryside covered with orange groves.

We would have never have seen this if we hadn’t ventured off the main road and then taken a wrong turn. So maybe if things in life aren’t going the right direction, maybe that is OK? It is not always the destination, as they say, but the journey.

Another sunset in France at the Pont Du Gard bridge.

The bridge was built in 50 AD by the Romans as an aqueduct to carry water from the spring near Uzes to the city of Nimes. It was in use until the 6th century.

Some of the arches at the end were removed for other building projects over the years, but for the most part the bridge remains intact and you can still walk across the bridge. Quite a feat of engineering and a lasting legacy.

Crossing the Rhone river on a foggy morning. What lies ahead, what will be our history, our legacy for 2012?

Adventures await, scary and exciting at the same time.

Thank you for reading this blog in 2011! and wishing you the best as we cross the bridge into the new year!

Looking Back Through the 2011 England Photo Files

2011-12-28T10:32:00.001Z

Hi from England. I have been looking back through some pictures this week and thinking about trying to put together a calendar for 2012. Also making a New Years resolution or two about how to better organize my pictures in the future. Randomly here are a few photos from England last year.

From the village near Althorp above and below.

The Round Oval and the Diana Memorial at Althorp.

At the start of a walk up Kinder Scout in the Peak District, a very friendly farmer fixing his fence.

Swan Green in the New Forest.

The streets of Broadway. (England not New York!)

Looking at Broadway in the Cotswolds.

From a walk near Broadway, the church is not in Broadway but a few miles out. I can tell you to the right there is a steep hill that goes up to the Broadway Tower.

At Mary Arden’s farm near Stratford Upon Avon.

From a pub in the same village.

And lastly a picture from London. I have no idea how or why I did the writing in yellow. (I am not in London now.)

Traditions, Decorations, Food and Most of All Merry Christmas

2011-12-20T22:21:00.001Z

When you move to a country other than your own you learn about all kinds of things, including what kind of Christmas traditions they celebrate. In England visits to Santa, sometimes called Father Christmas, are in a grotto. I don’t know why Santa lives in a grotto. But I can understand why Santa wants to get out and fly around on Christmas Eve after being in a grotto all year! From the UK you can also book a day trip to Lapland to see Santa Claus there.

If you don’t want to read all this just skip to the bottom for the message

Living in a different country married to a “local” you get to decide what traditions to follow, make new ones or not to follow tradition at all. We are still trying to figure that out but we are getting closer to what feels right. This year it’s a little American, a little English, a touch of German and a big dose of Norwegian. Our tree above has ornaments I have collected over the years, a few I’ve made, the tree skirt and stocking are ones mom made years ago and the tree, why that is from China. The poinsettia is in an old flour tin because here they do not come wrapped in colorful foil as in the USA. (And Mr. H has a stocking too, however there is nothing in either of them!)

In the back garden the berries are the best they have ever been. We have a small holly plant growing but I didn’t take any cuttings from it this year. It looks pretty where it is.

These branches were cut from our neighbors tree ~~in the dark of night~~ with permission.

The greens cut from hedges in the back yard.

I had fun putting the greens and berries around the house. Here are pictures of some of the finished décor.

About Christmas card traditions. The American way as I know it is to send a card with a letter, (or the letter can be the card) and the letter recaps what you and your family have been doing in the past year. In England, at least around these parts there is no recap letter, but cards are an important part of Christmas. The card doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but I like the way they do it here too. Usually the cards are delivered in person or dropped through your letter slot in the door. Saves postage but also delivering the card in person you get have a visit with the recipient and you might have a cup of tea and a mini mince pie.

Some around a candle holder. Note the Hardanger (Norwegian embroidery) in the corner.

People then like to display the cards in their home in a prominent place which adds to the decoration of their home. This year I was feeling bad that I didn’t get my cards done and in the mail to the USA soon enough. Then I took the five I did get finished(the ones without e-mail addresses) and I didn’t feel so bad for not sending more when the postage on one card was 1.65 pounds! Instead I sent e-cards, which will now be a new tradition. Check out Jacquie Lawson e-cards if you are interested. There is an awesome London interactive advent calendar you can get with hours of entertainment for young and old. Mr. H did the UK cards the old fashioned way.

A vase in the front entry.

About Christmas food in England. Yes mini mince pies are a big tradition here. Instead of big stacks of chocolate chips, marshmallow cream and things for candy making I am used to seeing at Christmas time, the grocery stores are stacked with mince pies, brussel sprouts, parsnips, and Christmas pudding just to name a few.

In a brass container by the fireplace and on the mantle.

On the food front, I started out with one batch of easy sugar cookies, the ones you use a spool to press.

I didn’t have any colored sugar for sprinkles. Later I looked in the store, but no red or green sprinkles.

I was excited to find “American” peanut butter for the peanut butter kisses in the middle. No Hershey’s kisses so I used Cadbury buttons.

For Norwegian food I will make rice pudding if I can remember how to make it Got my lingonberries at IKEA but they don’t carry Swedish fish any more which used to be a stocking stuffer. I got some tortilla wraps to use in place of lefse. We are having meatballs instead of lutefisk on Christmas Eve, but we do have butter!

I also made some mini butterhorn rolls and mini cinnamon rolls. Thursday I am going to try to make sausage rolls for a get together we are having here Friday night.

How interesting and timely. I just watched Ina Garten (Food Network) where she went to London and then came back home and put an American twist on some of the foods she saw in London.

Speaking of TV, another British Christmas tradition is the Queen’s speech on Christmas Day and then there are several TV specials at night. One being the 2 hour Downton Abbey Christmas special which we are looking forward to watching.

On Christmas Eve most of the church services are held at 11 pm or midnight.

It feels like Christmas in the house but outside not so much. We had this little sprinkling of snow, but other than that we still have some flowers. In fact that azalea plant is still in bloom.

And we have a name - Aiden John.

An early present a soft bear that needed a home. ( Nana couldn’t wait to give it to him.)

Whether you say Merry Christmas or Happy Christmas, whatever traditions you celebrate, whatever you do, here’s sending you Big Hugs and the best of wishes to you and your family.

The Pyrenees Part 2

2011-12-17T23:31:00.001Z

Chateau de Queribus. One of the benefits of not really having a specific travel plan is that sometimes you come across some amazing sights such as this.

We didn’t know we would be driving by here and at first drove up to the parking lot and were just going to look at it from the car. But it was too interesting and we bundled up against the strong winds and climbed the path to the top.

A bit of info direct from Wikipedia if you would like to learn more about the castle.

Queribus is one of the "Five Sons of Carcassonne", along with Aguilar, Peyrepertuse, Termes and Puilaurens: five castles strategically placed to defend the French border against the Spanish, until the border was moved in 1659.

It is sometimes regarded as the last Cathar stronghold. After the fall of Montségur in 1244 surviving Cathars gathered together in another mountain-top stronghold on the border of Aragon (the present border between the Aude and the Pyrénées-Orientales).

In 1255 a French army was dispatched to deal with these remaining Cathars, but they slipped away without a fight, probably to Aragon or Piedmont - both regions where Cathar beliefs were still common, and where the Occitan language was spoken.

Quéribus is high and isolated. It stands on top of the highest peak for miles around. In 1951 restoration work on the turret began, and between 1998-2002 a complete restoration of the castle was undertaken: the castle is now accessible to visitors.

The views alone were worth the admission. We didn’t expect to see this type of detail inside.

Looking back down at the car park and across the countryside.

You can see another castle on the far hilltop.

A map of the castle or chateau in the area. The one circled at the bottom was where we were.

Back on the road.

Queribus from the other side looking across the vineyards. There are many vineyards in the area and plenty of opportunity for wine tasting if you wish.

Finally we are in Spain. One of the disadvantages of traveling without a specific plan as we approach Barcelona at rush hour, in the rain, getting dark, without a map of this area Hey but at least we got to see Sagrada Familia from a distance. (the building with the cranes.)

Now as you know it is just one week until Christmas. Are you ready? I will suspend these travel posts for a bit but may be back with something current. Wishing you a great week ahead.

The Pyrenees Part 1

2011-12-15T23:53:00.001Z

The last leg of France before we get to Spain driving to and through the Pyrenees. Mostly pictures today.

The road is in the middle around the curve.

The village of Cucugnan with it’s windmill at the top.

Chateau de Queribus in the distance.

On the path walking up to the castle. More explanation in the next post.

Carcassonne

2011-12-14T23:37:00.001Z

At the entrance to the Medieval Carcassonne, a walled city which has been classified as a World Heritage sight.

Since the pre-Roman period, a fortified settlement has existed on the hill where Carcassonne now stands. In its present form it is an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town, with its massive defences encircling the castle and the surrounding buildings, its streets and its fine Gothic cathedral. Carcassonne is also of exceptional importance because of the lengthy restoration campaign undertaken by Viollet-le-Duc, one of the founders of the modern science of conservation. (from UNESCO).

We got there late in the day with just enough time for a walk around before it got dark. You first enter into a narrow street full of shops and eateries. You can opt for a wagon ride if you wish, showing the rest of the city beyond the wall.

The weather was changeable on the afternoon, a little rain with some sun here and there.

It is an interesting mix walking around as there are historic sections and then areas where modern tourism is more apparent.

The cathedral within the walls.

A picturesque chocolate shop on the corner.

Hello chocolate! Have you ever seen such a sight, great big huge chunks of all varieties of chocolate.

It was just before Halloween when we were there, that’s not me sitting down for a rest

Posing with the locals

There was a wide variety of eating places and most were starting to close up for the day.

One last look at the walled city from the hill above.

Toulouse and Lautrec

2011-12-13T23:22:00.001Z

Before leaving Albi the next morning I made a visit to the Toulouse – Lautrec Museum and I was so glad I did. The museum is in the former Bishop’s Palace next to the Albi Cathedral. Toulouse-Lautrec was born in Albi and the museum contains the world’s largest collection of his work.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec pictured on the left, and one of his posters is pictured on the right. It was fascinating and inspirational to see the variety and talent of his work. Lautrec suffered with disabilities and health problems throughout his life and died at the age of 36 having lived a short and colorful life. Via Wikipedia: Throughout his career, which spanned fewer than 20 years, Toulouse-Lautrec created 737 canvases, 275 watercolours, 363 prints and posters, 5,084 drawings, some ceramic and stained glass work, and an unknown number of lost works. One of his early paintings set a record when it sold for over 22 million dollars at auction in New York in 2005.

On the building outside of the museum.

After leaving Albi we headed for the village of Lautrec.

Lautrec has been classified as one of the beautiful villages of France.

Some scenes around the village. (Bottom right above) the pink garlic of Lautrec.

I lightened this picture (below) so it would show better the wooden ramparts.

We slowly made our way through the village and up to the top of the hill.

Great views at the top even though it was late fall and the fields were no longer green. A very enjoyable visit but time to make our way back down and onto Carcassonne.

Albi and the Cathedral

2011-12-12T23:08:00.001Z

The Cathedral of St. Cecilia in Albi was built as a defensive fortress and statement of strength after the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229), a holy war waged by the Catholic Church against the heretical Cathars and the count of Toulouse.

As the largest brick building in the world the mission to make it impressive and a statement was definitely achieved.

The fortress like exterior is a complete contrast to the decoration found inside. We have been in many cathedrals and have never seen anything like this. The blue Renaissance vaulted ceiling was painted in the 16th century.

The rounded west wall of the nave depicts the Last Judgment (Blessed on the left, Damned on the right) considered to be one of the most important works of art of the Late Middle Ages.

The organ case was carved in the early 1700’s.

At the other end of the cathedral (to the right below) is the choir with it’s ornate and intricate screen.

Behind the cathedral the gardens with the long row of hydrangeas next to the wall.

Looking down over the River Tarn and the bridges from the gardens.

We walked up to the first bridge and crossed over the river as the sun was setting.

Looking back at the cathedral from the opposite side of the river.

Monpazier to Albi

2011-12-11T23:01:00.001Z

Hello and greetings. I know everyone is in the midst of Christmas or Holiday preparations and looking at pictures from France might not be on the top of your priority list. (yeah, really!) But never the less I will continue with the posts as I still have some amazing sights coming up to share this week and maybe it will provide a bit of a break from whatever is happening in your life right now.

We did visit several medieval villages south of the Dordogne River on our second day, which were all amazing in their own way, but I am going to move on to the trip further south or I will never get us to Spain!

On our way out of the Dordogne area we stopped at Monpazier which the Market is pictured above and below the arches around the Market Square.

Monpazier is another one of the most beautiful villages of France. It is considered to be one of the best preserved fortified towns of it’s time in the central area of France.

Some random snaps about town.

The town hall.

Back on the road as we leave.Monpazier.

When I talk about a village being listed as one of the most beautiful of France, this is the sign that will be at the entrance to the village. If you ever see one of these it is definitely worth exploring the village if you can.

The bridge at Cahors.

Driving around Cahors which looked like another fascinating city.

Countryside.

Photographic studio in a village driving by. Funny how context is everything, meaning how an “aged” building can look charming and full of character in one place such as this, but if you put it somewhere else people might complain that it looked run down. (Personally I love the look of it.)

A stop by the river at St. Antonin Noble Val.

A close-up of the camouflage of the plane trees that were plentiful throughout France, many times lining the roadway on both sides.

A gorgeous view taken from the bridge.

Signs like these as you leave a town so you know where you have been, which believe it or not is quite helpful sometimes.

Driving down the road with a village on the hill above. Love sights like this, but can’t stop at everything

Approaching Albi. That giant building in the middle is the cathedral which will be the next stop.

Limeuil Day and Night

2011-12-08T22:23:00.001Z

Limeuil, another lovely village classified as one of the prettiest in France. We started out and ended here on our second day in the Dordogne. I would have been perfectly happy to join the group below, but it was not meant to be

Some various scenes around the village. It was once a walled town where some of the gateways can still be seen.

Sign at a glass blowers.

There were once 80 artisans out of 800 inhabitants during the 19th century and the village was an important part of river transport.

There are now around 300 inhabitants that live in the village and of course this increases in the summer tourist season.

Entrance to the church of St. Catherine. Which we later learned follows the Church of England forms of worship and services are conducted in English.

I didn’t take any pictures inside as there were some ladies (one English speaking) getting flowers ready for a wedding the next day.

The church from the upper side.

There is a chateau with a garden at the very top of the hill. We walked up to it but didn’t pay to go in.

A café window near the top of the hill.

On the way back down these school boys in the front asked me a question. Of course not knowing what they said, I said, “Sorry American.” Well you know how school kids are, so I could hear them saying “Sorry American” and laughing a ways along until they came to Mr. H. They asked him “American?” Of course he said “No, English.” which gave them more laughter. We weren’t offended we just thought it was funny too.

We came back at the end of the day for a view over the river at sunset. It wasn’t quite a sunset picture, but still a nice view. (The map we had shows a little sign where there is a viewpoint, that is how we knew to stop at this point.)

Back at the river’s edge of Limeuil where two rivers meet.

We stopped in here for our evening meal. We each had a great omelet with cepes, a type of mushroom.

Company (black cat) at the table next to us on the chair who felt tired just as we did after a long, yet interesting day.

Medieval Domme and Sarlat in the Dordogne

2011-12-08T00:20:00.001Z

At the viewpoint in Domme for a fantastic look over the valley. It was also a good spot for an evening chat on the bench as these two locals were doing.

This was the road leading up the hill to the village.

Around the market square this area of France is especially known for it’s Foie Gras.

Underneath the market square of the town is a large cave open for touring.

Domme is a walled medieval town with several gateways in the town walls.

It is a very popular tourist spot with a little train for touring around the village.

One restaurant on the way up to Domme earlier in the afternoon, offering something other than Foie Gras.

We weren’t able to spend much time in either Domme or Sarlat but both left a great impression from what we saw. Below are some brief views around the medieval area of Sarlat.

Honestly we could not believe how amazing it was walking around the tall medieval buildings with the narrow alleyways.

Place aux Oies (Goose Square) with three three bronze goose statues in the center of the square which was once the location of the fowl market.

The restaurants all looked so inviting. Many restaurants close between 2 and 7 or 8 when they open up again. With the tables all prepared it was almost like a film set waiting for the action.

Sarlat is famously known for it’s Saturday Market held throughout several areas of the town. It can be extremely busy especially in the summer months. There is an evening market on Thursdays which we were hoping to catch but there were just a few stalls as it was late in the season.

Actually it was rather nice to be able to walk around the area at a quiet time.

One last bit of light before the end of our visit to Sarlat.

A beautiful sunset on the way back after a day of amazing sights in the Dordogne.

The Gardens of Marqueyssac and La Roque-Gageac

2011-12-06T00:07:00.001Z

The gardens at Marqueyssac are built on the cliffs overlooking the Dordogne Valley. The chateau was built in the 17th century and the gardens added in the 1860’s. The are over 4 miles of paths and 150,000 hand pruned boxwoods.

The gardens were fully restored and reopened to the public in 1996. Personally I don’t know which was more stunning, the gardens or the views. There are also some evenings where the paths are lit by candlelight which must be magical.

The front of the terrace and the valley beyond.

There is a small chapel to the side of the gardens.

Again the beautiful countryside.

Back down on the road and approaching the village of La Roque-Gageac.

A closer look at the village built along the cliffs.

Gabares Norbert is a boat company which travels a 4 mile loop up and down the Dordogne beginning at the village. We would have loved to have taken the 55 minute boat ride but couldn’t fit it in the schedule this time.

It was still fun to watch it move along the river.

The beautiful weather definitely added to the stunning view. Next up - Domme and Sarlat.

The Dordogne Continues

2011-12-04T23:37:00.001Z

Continuing the Dordogne adventure with a short stop beside the river, first looking to the right and below looking to the left.

These pictures could be sharper, but still - HELLO! what a view. That is Beynac which unfortunately we only had a chance to admire from a distance. The picture below is taken from a different vantage point a little later.

Just up the road before crossing the river is Castelnaud, another wonderful chateau and village.

Our next stop was up the hill to Marqueyssac Gardens.

Beynac and the countryside from the terrace.

The house is currently seeking funding in order to be restored. For now the peacocks are comfortable in a corner of a room.

How do I look darling?

We saved the formal gardens for the end and followed this path, not sure where it would lead us.

This is the ridge we walked along with the house being back at the far end.

Along the way we saw views like this.

On the river you can see one of the tourists boats going by.

What a bonus, we came to see the gardens but we had no idea there was such a fantastic view at the other end.

Looking over La Roque-Gageac, classified as one of the prettiest villages in France. We would definitely agree with that! We took some time to be amazed and take in the view before walking back to the gardens, which I will show in the next post.

Just a Little Rest

2011-12-02T23:24:00.001Z

Not sure why I thought making a challenge to myself to blog everyday for 30 days would be a good idea??? For today a little rest. (From a beach in Spain.)

Beautiful Belves

2011-12-01T23:54:00.001Z

This is what greeted us when we got out of the car after a short walk up the hill in front of the town hall at Belves. Amazing and colorful Belves is classified as one of the beautiful villages of France. It is a medieval village and each year in August holds a medieval festival which, although I can’t verify it, these colorful decorations must have been a part of that celebration. We have never seen anything like it and it was such a total surprise it was just awesome walking around.

The town square below and the 15th century covered market on the right of the picture.

I did not know it until looking up information for this post that there are medieval caves dwellings that can be viewed underneath the town square. Belves is also known as the Town of Seven Bells as there are seven bell towers in the town.

There are cars parked under the clock tower but on the clock you can tell that it is midday so it was very quiet about town.

Underneath the market square.

At the entrance to one of the shopping side streets of the main square.

The merchandise is left outside while everyone goes to their lunch break.

Walnuts are a specialty of the area with many walnut groves around the countryside.

Duck and goose products are also a specialty of the Perigord.

Walking up the hill to the church of Notre Dame. (The one man is Mr. Midwest to Midlands!)

It was very interesting inside the church as it is in the process of being renovated.

When the paneling was taken off these original paintings were discovered.

Some more views around the village.

Back at the town square, one lone cat.

Who was nice enough to stop and pose for a photo.

A fascinating town and then some. Now back to the countryside to see what else we could discover for the day.

A Foggy Morning in France

2011-11-30T17:46:00.001Z

It was a foggy morning as we headed out for our first full, and I do mean full day in the Dordogne. We made a few wrong turns but this led to some nice discoveries such as the little building below.

I wish I would have taken more time with these pictures as I later saw it on a postcard.

We crossed the Dordogne River at Lalinde and here we did stop for a few photos.

To the left the fog was starting to lift which showed a beautiful blue sky and river.

A closer view looking at the village.

And to the right of the bridge the church reflected in the river.

We could have stayed and enjoyed this view for a long time, but we wanted to see what was beyond the fog.

Another quick stop for a few photos. You can see it turned out to be one gorgeous day.

A castle up on the hill.

Further along this is where I said to turn left, but the driver turned right and that turned out to be a great decision by him.

Heading up the hill towards the village of Belves with some colorful surprises in store for the next post.

Visiting the Dordogne

2011-11-29T20:19:00.001Z

Our first stop in the Dordogne was at our home for the next three nights, the wonderful La Millasserie B and B. Located on a quiet country road halfway between Bergerac and Sarlat we couldn’t have been happier with our choice. I found it through Alastair Sawday’s Special Places (the website) and special it was! The manor house is at the far end in the picture and the purpose added rooms are along the side. The open door welcomes us to our room.

What can I say it was like a palace, especially after a few nights in budget hotels. We were very fortunate to get an end of the season rate which was an added bonus. The room and the setting in the country would have been enough, but none of that compared to the exceptional hospitality we received here. (This was the B and B I mentioned in an earlier post about using the good silverware.)

Plenty of room to relax with a private patio overlooking the woods just beyond the French door.

In the morning I had a walk by the pool with the main house in the background. It was a little too chilly to use the pool, but you could stay here and never leave the property and be very happy. We had a wonderful continental breakfast served in the main house each morning. And by the way, the décor in the main house –magnifique! magazine worthy for sure.

(A pomegranate in the back yard.) We were the only ones staying here as it was the end of the season but I’m sure we are not the only ones who have been treated well during our stay as all the reviews on Trip Advisor for the property are excellent. You can tell the hosts love what they do and they are exactly the type of people who should be running a place like this.

Alain and Byrne are experts on the area and the first night they made dinner reservations for us in this charming little village below.

The Bistro in Tremolat. If any of you are watching Little England, which is a current UK TV show about British people who have moved to an area of France very near here, a picture similar to this was shown in the opening scenes last night.

We ate at 7pm which as you can see was early for dining. We were almost over charmed and overfed so back to the B and B for a restful night.

Ready to be out the road exploring the next morning.

A Post With No Name

2011-11-27T23:34:00.001Z

Our new grandson taken the night he was born. ( I thought the pictures were too dark but think this one is OK.) Precious is he not?

Below was taken on Saturday at 5 days old. He has been sleeping a lot and all is going well. He has yet to be named.

His older brother helping to decorate the tree.

Happiness.

There was a big crowd at the German Market today.

Sorry wrong picture, this was the real crowd at the market.

Lots of food stands. (We didn’t eat there as we were invited to Mr. H’s youngest sons for dinner and it was great.)

The Beer Bear stand.

The sign at the Bear Beer stand.

The singing moose at the outdoor pub. Hope you all had a good weekend.

One More Chateau

2011-11-27T00:16:00.001Z

Chateau Chenonceau was my favorite chateau on this visit to the Loire Valley. Not just for it’s fantastic setting spanning the River Cher but I really loved the special present day touches they made with the beautiful floral arrangements throughout the chateau. I showed some of them earlier on my Happy Thanksgiving post.

Chenonceau was created by a series of aristocratic women. Catherine Briconnet, wife of the first owner built the turreted pavilion to the right between 1513 and 1521 over the foundations of an old water mill.

Diane de Poitiers, (her bedroom below) mistress of Henry ll added the arched bridge over the river. Catherine de’ Medici transformed the bridge into an Italian style gallery having evicted Diane after her husband’s death in 1559. An intriguing history you can tell and it makes me want to learn more about their stories.

Louise de Lorraine bereaved wife of Henry lll inherited the chateau in 1590. Madame Dupin saved the chateau from destruction during the French Revolution and a complete restoration was carried out in 1863 by Madame Pelouze. Today the chateau is owned by the Menier family, who bought it in 1913 and still own it today.

This is the gallery that was created over the bridge.

Looking out over the river from inside the chateau.

There was a series of kitchen rooms on the lower level.

Another view of this kitchen room that I showed earlier in the Thanksgiving post.

Looking from the turreted section over the water.

Some scenes from the garden. Next post we will move on from the Loire Valley to the equally wonderful Dordogne area.

Menu of Choice

2011-11-25T22:58:00.001Z

There are so many chateaux on the menu of the Loire Valley, each one rich with architecture and history. Sometimes spiced with stories of romance, mystery and a hint of fairytales. With much of the Valley having UNESCO World Heritage status you really can’t make a wrong choice when choosing which chateau, village or town to visit.

But like choosing what to eat from a menu, or even what to have for Thanksgiving dinner you can’t have it all. (Even if you do try.) Sometimes just a taste here or there will be enough. Other times you have to just eat with your eyes and admire without tasting as we did with some of these chateau.

Above is Blois and below Amboise. Amboise is a charming village on the banks of the Loire and if given the chance it would be a great place to revisit. The weather was a little dull while we were there, but I think you can still see the greatness.

Off the beaten path was the village of Montrichard with the chateau pictured in the middle below.

A delightful place we had a quick sample walking around, making us want a second helping another time.

Office of Tourism looked fabulous.

As we admired these two beauties an elderly Frenchman came up and started talking away with us. He was pointing at the buildings and up at the castle as we just smiled and nodded, having no idea what he said.

Sorry France but I have to give England the prize for the best phone booths. But I do like your faded signage on the buildings.

Advertising a winery (les caves) below. We didn’t look at the extensive wine menu this time.

Now for some real food on the menu we walk down the street in Blois one evening. (Yes it was that quiet.) There was not a lot open, maybe it was a Monday night, I don’t remember.

One server in the restaurant and he was fairly busy with about 10 tables. I thought I could read a French menu –wrong! I had a translator book, but either the words I wanted to look up weren’t in there, or I just didn’t want to take the time to look up half the menu. This was a 3 course menu for a set price. The first course choices below. I chose the second one down because I read salad – vinegar and balsamic, thinking it would be safe and by process of elimination. I sort of skipped over the de gesiers part. Ha, ha, when I finally looked it up on the internet later I found out it was gizzards! still not sure if it was duck, goose or chicken, but it was interesting eating something I didn’t know what it was. They tasted good but I was trying to figure out what they were. I kept sneaking them onto Mr. H’s plate. Actually I think the man right behind us at the bar could speak English when I went to pay. I bet he was trying not to laugh.

OMG! I published this post and then decided to look up what the other items were on the menu below for sure to see if they were what I thought they were. The fourth one down I had no idea and when I looked it up I about died! The translation included eggs, poached, donkey testicle, red wine, bacon. Yep that’s what the translation said. I knew the last bit (au vin rouge et lardons) but again OMG. I thought, a lot of things but glad I didn’t order that! Well from what I could tell with further research is that it is just an expression, it is called that because it looks like donkey testicles, but the recipe has eggs poached in red wine with bacon, no actual donkey parts involved.

Anybody out there had any interesting translation or travel tales to share?

Let the Shopping Begin

2011-11-24T21:33:00.001Z

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and had a chance to put your feet up.

I was trying to decide what post tonight (one that would be easy). I thought I’d show a few shops in the Loire Valley as “the shopping” begins tomorrow.

Chateau de Cheverny

2011-11-23T23:52:00.001Z

Thank you for the congrats on our new grandson. Amazing as mother and baby were back home by 6 pm the same day! and we got to hold him last night. He has lots of dark hair. I took some pictures but the light was a little too low. Will try again in the daylight.

Back to France and the Loire Valley. Walking through the village to Chateau Cheverny. It seems like whenever we were in a village everything was closed.

Village details.

The gift shop was open at the entrance to the chateau. Nougat for sale in the gift shop, there is another area of France more to the east that is very well known for this type of thing.

Chateau Cheverny was built between 1604 – 1634 by the Hurault family. The present generation, which is the 6th, lives in a private area of the chateau.

The front façade is decorated with sculpted Roman style busts. Inspired by the Luxembourg Palace in Paris the overall design of Cheverny was very new at the time it was built and is now considered typical of French architecture.

Interestingly the other side of the chateau is built in a different type of stone.

Inside, the Arms Rooms is the largest room. You can see some of the decorative painting around the tapestry and on the door.

A few other snapshots inside. Cheverny has more furnishings than many of the other chateaux and thus a warmer more welcoming feeling.

There are grounds to explore and I liked this sign although we did not have time for a pique-nique.

In the gardens. An interesting feature is that in blank areas they put a strip of colored stone as you can see in the two blue sections.

Next to the gardens is the dog kennel. Cheverny is well known for it’s many hunting dogs. Here they are patiently waiting to be fed.

It was quite a sight when the trainer opened the gate and the dogs were let in to chow down. (If you want to see a video of it you can go to You Tube and type in Cheverny dogs.)

Cheverny was used a a model for Marlinspike Hall by the famous comic book writer Herge’. There is a special exhibit on the grounds which we didn’t see, about the Adventures of Tintin. I wasn’t familiar with the comics but they were the most popular European comic books of the 20th century.

OK. that is it for today enjoy the weekend!

A Thanksgiving Surprise!

2011-11-22T12:59:00.001Z

Greetings! Wow, just wow is about all I could say and think early this morning and even now. At 3:14 am our new grandson was born! His due date was Dec.3. We all thought he would be early, but not this early, just wow. Oliver now has a baby brother. Mother and new baby are doing great and should be home this evening. They haven’t chosen a name yet but I’m sure they will soon. (See note at bottom of post.)

For those of you who will be celebrating Thanksgiving this Thursday:

Whether you are cooking up a storm at home……

Or going to someone else’s house……..

Or maybe you are just relaxing……

However you spend the day here’s wishing you a great and bountiful Thanksgiving!

Pictures taken at Chateau de Chenonceau. They had the most beautiful floral arrangements there. Just stunning.

When we are not spending time getting to know our new grandson I will continue with my personal challenge of blogging everyday for 30 days and get back to my posts about France and Spain. So stop back if you need a break from the Thanksgiving action. To everyone just have a great week!!

Evolution of Memories with Love

2011-11-21T11:42:00.001Z

There were many times in France that I was reminded of Iowa. The crops in the big huge and seemingly endless fields being harvested. The sight of many grain elevators growing up out of the flat land around it.

There were also many things that reminded me of my mom or Mum as they say in the UK. Not that I need any reminders, but still a few come to mind.

These decorative painted ceilings at Chateau Cheverny reminded me of the Norwegian rosemaling (decorative painting) my mom used to do.

When we stayed at a B and B in the Dordogne I looked at the silverware we used at breakfast and made the comment it was the same silver pattern as my Mom’s. The owner said it had been his Mom’s silver too and here we were using it at the B and B. I said “Wow and you’re using it for your B and B guests.” Both owners responded - of course, you can’t put it in a drawer and just use it for special occasions. We all agreed, life is short, you should eat off the good china or use the good silverware in this case! I love that philosophy, and decided right then I need to start following it more.

Every year as part of a tradition carried on from his dad, “The Gardener” aka Mr. H grows mums to place on the graves Nov.1. The photo above was taken just before we left home.

These flowers were picked just after we got home nearly a month later. The mums last and last it seems just as memories do.

“Memory of Violet” on a bag seen in a French village. Today would have been mom’s 90th birthday whose name was Violet. I can’t believe it has already been three years since she passed away. I’m not sure what we would have done for her birthday 90th but it probably would have been something with family and friends and she would have loved every minute of it. And of course she would have gone to the party with her hair just done and a perfectly matched outfit looking beautiful. Afterwards she would have wanted to talk and recount every detail of the day.

Other years I would have been and have been very sad on this day. But slowly those sad memories are turning to happy and cherished memories. When we were in Spain, Nov. 1 was All Saint’s Day, a National Holiday and everything was closed. In addition to decorating the graves we were told that sometimes the Spanish have picnics at the graves to celebrate the life of the deceased. I can’t verify if that is true because we didn’t go out on that day. Even though I have heard the term celebration of life many times before something about hearing about the picnics at the gravesites really helped changed my thought process.

I guess that is Evolution.

I feel blessed to have had my Mom as a mother. Tonight we are having friends over to eat. We won’t be having a fancy meal, we will be having beef stew and watching football on the telly. But we will use Mom’s good china, (which can you believe it was made in France? )and use the good silverware, and served with love and memories.

On the Baguette and Chateau Trail

2011-11-20T22:24:00.001Z

As we motored on towards the Loire Valley we stopped at a little village along the way. We almost wondered if it was a holiday as we did not see many people or signs of activity.

We walked through the village noticing the little details that make being off the beaten track so wonderful.

Near the church they were starting to set up a small fruit and veg market for the day.

We saw a few people coming back from the local patisserie with their baguette for the day.

We followed the trail of the baguette and got a small quiche for ourselves and were soon back on the road to the Chateau of Chambord.

We almost thought Chambord was closed for the day too as it was so quiet around the grounds, but as we ventured towards the entrance we were glad to learn it was open.

Chambord is the largest of the French Renaissance Chateaux and one of the most well known. It has a wonderful setting in the French countryside.

I had been inside once before so I sent my camera with John and the following photos are by him.

Excerpts from the official website of Chambord about the chateau.

At the heart of a game-filled forest, the Château of Chambord, highly symbolic of French Renaissance, looms up from the Sologne swamp land. Chambord is born from the dream of François I, King of France , who brought back from his battles in Italy numerous artists, in particular Leonardo da Vinci. No-one knows who the architect of Chambord was, but this masterpiece seems to have been inspired by the sketches of this great Italian master, especially the famous double staircase.

Chambord was not designed to be a permanent residence, just a hunting lodge. François I enjoyed retiring here, to indulge in his love for hunting, reserved at that time to nobility. He spent very little time at the château, leaving it empty of furniture and of inhabitants after each visit and, as a result it remained unfinished…
Over the centuries, other historical figures and kings of France stayed here continuing works of embellishment on the château, among whom the famous ‘Sun King’, Louis XIV.

One of the well known features in addition to the intricate roof line is the double helix staircase where one person can be going up and another down at the same time without ever seeing each other.

Fortunately the Mister and I met up again and were on the road to visit the next chateau.

I Got a Kick Out of This

2011-11-19T22:18:00.001Z

We hated to leave Versailles but we figured we “better get the heck out of Dodge” and get on down the road a piece ways so we could see some more of this here French country.

We drove a couple of hours on the trail and then found us a place to bunk up for the night. It might have been a budget room but it was clean and comfortable. The gal at the check in spoke no English and my French includes about 10 words. Yet we got the job done and were safe and sound for the night. But before we rested our weary bones, we were hungry so we moseyed on over to the restaurant next door to get us some grub.

It was the Buffalo Grill where dern if they didn’t serve up some Kentucky Chicken right there in the heart of France.

Now on the dessert menu they offered up some of them there American Profiteroles. (really?)

And shur nuf there was that dang donut with some ice cream plopped right dag nab in the middle. So I totally got a kick out of this here resteraunt in the middle of France serving up American food.

They rounded them up some of them Charlay cattle to serve for them there burgers. We both had us a burger along with some of them French fries and darn it if those burgers weren’t some mighty tasty ones too, by George. We liked our food and the service was downright friendly even if we couldn’t talk with the servers. The atmosphere was cozy and comfy too and we would sure nuff go back if’n we had the chance.

But I really had to laugh as we ate our burgers in the heart of France when I looked across from our table and saw this sign below which said - Omaha, Nebraska! which is not more than a long stone’s throw from where I grew up. On the edge of Iowa right there in the Midwest. So I guess it really is true, “No Matter Where You Go, There You Are” .

Grand and Petit Trianon

2011-11-18T23:48:00.001Z

Approaching the Grand Trianon at Versailles which is about a 30-45 minute walk from the main palace. There are little trains you can ride if you wish not to walk.

The Grand Trianon was built in 1687-1688 as an Italianate Palace for Louis XIV as an escape from the more rigid formality of the court life.

In 1749 Louis XV had the French style ornate garden added to the estate which was abloom with flowers when we visited.

Below looking towards the Petit Trianon from the Temple of Love on Marie Antoinette’s Estate.

A few scenes inside the Petite Trianon. There of course are many stories behind the estate and it is best known as the favorite place of Marie-Antoinette which was given to her by Louis XVI in 1774. It was fully restored in 2008 and reopened to the public.

We went through these 2 buildings of the estate rather quickly so I am afraid we did not learn as much as we could have. I think you can appreciate that after a certain point it’s like “overload” and even now I still feel it is so much to cover I’m kind of at the saturation point. Doesn’t mean I don’t still enjoy it though and the estate of Marie-Antoinette is very popular with visitors.

Beyond the Petit Trianon was the Hamlet of Marie-Antoinette, built to remind her of her home country of Austria.

A wonderful and charming place to walk around.

I have been thinking as I write this post, if I were to build an area to remind me of my home country of America, what type of buildings would it have? Of course this would not be a reality, but what do you think it would include or suggestions? I think it would have a little red barn, a mini Hickory Park, a mini Fareway grocery store, a Norwegian cabin with a grass roof, or something similar and a little corn field. Maybe a natural prairie and a corn dog stand! I don’t know but fun to think about! Oh I know a Dairy Queen in the summer. Oh and a Maid Rite stand for when my cousins come to visit.

Time to head back to the car as we walk down the path from the Petit Trianon.

A stop at the ice cream kiosk for the best cherry cone ever! after a fantastic day out at Versailles. Hope you enjoyed the tour. Time to put our feet up before we head to the Loire Valley.

Versailles– the Gardens

2011-11-17T22:13:00.001Z

The Gardens at Versailles, (again a great big sigh – so amazing!!) Looking out at the gardens from the palace window, the grounds extend as far as you can see down the middle.

I just did some research online and the gardens, which really are a series of formal groves, statues and fountains cover 800 hectares. That is the equivalent of 2000 acres. Or in Iowa farm terms that would be about 3 1/8 sections with a section being 640 acres or 1 square mile. So that is why we barely felt like we were able to see it all.

I was asked if we had the chance to walk around the village of Versailles. We would have loved to but just couldn’t manage it in the time frame.

Looking back at the palace. Within the gardens there are 50 fountains and 200,000 trees. We didn’t see many flowers but I think maybe because it was in October and after the main season.

One fortunate thing is that we were there on a day that there was music in the gardens and the fountains were in operation for an hour in the morning and an hour and 1/2 in the afternoon.

Mr. H was unhappy that the fountains weren’t going more. But I said I thought it was amazing that they were operational at all and if we were over 300 years old we wouldn’t want to work all the time either! (Maybe it’s because I remember the small fountains we used to sell at Cracker Barrel and what a pain it was to keep them going.)

Part of the gardens are within the paying area and the rest are free to the public and are one of the most visited public places in France. It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon when we were there and many families were enjoying the day at the gardens too.

I saw some little ponies (aah, cute!) for rides, and boats can be rented to take on the grand canal. There was at least one restaurant and I think more.

We walked down to The Fountain of Apollo’s Chariot. Sorry it wasn’t going, but still what a sight.

And then through one of the many tree lined pathways to the Grand Trianon and Marie Antoinette’s Estate, which I will cover tomorrow.

Versailles–The Palace

2011-11-16T21:08:00.001Z

Blogger tells me that this is my 400th post. I had my doubts that I would continue at some points, but here we are! I want to say a great big thank you! to those of you who read this blog. Especially with my big inconsistencies in my posting schedule I really appreciate your encouragement. I love hearing from you readers and learning more about you too.

Again thank you and now let’s go look at Versailles.

The Palace of Versailles – (sigh!) Also referred to as the Chateau de Versailles originally began as a hunting lodge. As you can see it has moved on slightly since then! Above are the gates at the entrance which gives an indication of the grandeur beyond. We spent from 10 am- 4pm there and feel like there is so much of the grounds we didn’t have time to see. Fortunately the crowds were not as big as they are in the summertime as I had read about long waits to enter. However it was busier than it looks in the pictures and I’m sorry some of these pictures could have been better as it was not always easy to get good interior shots. At least you will get a brief view of the elegance and attention to detail if you have not been to the palace.

The courtyard at the entrance below. On the right they even made an effort to make the scaffolding blend in with the buildings. Those cobblestones are not easy to walk on by the way.

A brief history of the Palace from the official website.

The Château de Versailles, which has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List for 30 years, is one of the most beautiful achievements of 18th-century French art. The site began as Louis XIII’s hunting lodge before his son Louis XIV transformed and expanded it, moving the court and government of France to Versailles in 1682. Each of the three French kings who lived there until the French Revolution added improvements to make it more beautiful.

The pictures above and below are looking inside the chapel which was completed in 1710.

One of the many beautifully painted ceilings throughout the palace below.

I first visited Versailles in 1973 when I was on a People to People tour of Europe with 42 other young adults. My 18 year old self would never have imagined that I would be returning 38 years later with my English husband. I might have changed more than the palace in that time!

At that young age I’m afraid I did not fully appreciate what I was seeing at the time. However I was very happy to return now and still it was overwhelming to take it all in in one visit. I do remember the Hall of Mirrors pictured below. The glass square in the middle encases the desk that was used to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

Golden statues (taller than a person) line one side of the hall. Just a small little adornment - LOL!

Hmm, sorry about this, I’m not sure how a picture of our house got in here. (ah, not!)

I have been thinking, what buildings are being built in today’s times that will be here hundreds of years from now that people will want to tour? The fact that this palace has survived intact all those years is amazing in itself. The craftsmanship, workmanship, artistry, not to mention expense is hard to comprehend.

The dining room in the State Apartments. The table with the serving ware protected in the glass case, is where the King and Queen would eat their dinner about 10 pm. The benches are there because an audience would gather to watch them dine.

Entry to the palace does include an audio guide which is very informative. Below shows some of the detail in the King’s Chamber.

Inside the Queen’s Chamber.

The door to the left is where the Queen fled when the palace was being stormed. From my previous visit I never forgot the smaller doors, sometimes decorated to be unnoticeable, and was always intrigued by what was behind the secret doors.

The Gallery at the top floor of the palace through which the King attempted to escape.

Now I must go as our dinner is ready, (audience not included.) We shall look around the gardens tomorrow.

To France and Spain and Back Again

2011-11-15T12:09:00.001Z

Our journey to France and Spain started out above – crossing the channel on the ferry and thinking of our adventures ahead…..and ended up like this below…… as soon as we returned the channel crossing back into the UK at Dover!

The car is now fixed and wasn’t as serious as we thought, just caused a lot of stress on the way home. Wheel bearing needed to be replaced but sounded like a freight train as we drove back. More on the that in future posts as now I will challenge myself to blog everyday for the next 30 days. As you can tell I have abandoned my idea of 5 picture posts, that was an idea to get me through while we were getting ready to go away. I might return to it in the future, but now….. let’s get on with the story.

Our first stop of the trip was south of Paris to see Versailles. You can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance as we approach Paris at sunset. A helpful hint, if you ever go to Paris, don’t drive! I had reserved a hotel south of Versailles, near the National Golf because I found a great rate on Expedia. But finding the place was not easy and in the dark and rush hour. We have prided ourselves on not having sat-nav because we like to travel the old fashioned way with a map. But after having gotten lost in Paris, Barcelona and Valencia, maybe we will reconsider! Of course there is more to that story too – as in maybe if Mr. H would follow my directions and not go rogue we might have better luck! Yet to be fair, on the other side of the story is that going astray we most often end up seeing some great sights we wouldn’t have seen otherwise, and at the least creates some interesting memories

Anywhooo, we had a great trip really, saw some wonderful sights, had some interesting situations amongst some hard work in the middle. Our purpose in going was to take out a bath (had a hole in it) and put in a shower at the property Mr. H co-owns in Torrevieja, Spain. Yes stories to tell!

It was completely dark by the time we found the Novotel Hotel National Golf south of Versailles after a long day of travel. There are advantages and disadvantages to pre-booking hotels so you take the gamble sometimes.

The next morning we woke up to stunning views of the golf course at sunrise. This hole looks a little challenging don’t you think?

These views prompted me to get up and walk around the edge of the course in the morning. It was so beautiful and peaceful with the morning fog.

We booked the room in advance for 52 euros/night. We had inquired about staying a second night and the going rate was then 129 euros so we definitely got a good deal.

I really enjoyed this early morning walk but time to get back to the room.

The view below out of our hotel room window. Next stop, the Palace of Versailles, which was much easier to find in the daylight.

Remembrance Sunday

2011-11-13T22:08:00.001Z

As we pay tribute to our Veterans this week and as it is Remembrance Sunday here in the UK I wanted to do this post about the village of Oradour-sur-Glane also know as the Martyr Village. Oradour is located about 15 miles NW of Limoges, France. (The above picture is looking at the new village which was built next to the old village.)

It was a beautiful fall day when we visited here last month which made it even more difficult to imagine the horrors that happened in the village and to it’s residents on June 10, 1944. A sign inside the Memorial Building at the entrance to the village:

The men were gathered and taken to places around the village and executed. There are some varying opinions as to why this massacre happened, but there is no one definitive answer.

The women and children were taken to the church where they were also killed.

The village ruins have been left as a memorial to the murdered residents. I have read that De Gaulle wanted the village to remain untouched as a reminder that a tragedy like this should never happen again.

So that is why I chose to do this post as a remembrance to our Veterans past and present who continue to defend our countries, our people and protect our freedoms.

A tribute to a family whose lives ended on June 10, 1944.

The road leading to the cemetery of the village.

A ceremony on Veteran’s Day in a village in the Rhone Valley. You do not have to know the language to understand what is happening. A speech was beginning just after the moments of silence.

One of the Veteran’s cemeteries we drove by in northern France.

A Statue of Liberty in the town of Lunel, France.

Thank you Veterans.

Pictures from the Peak

2011-10-12T21:30:00.001+01:00

Going back to August when we had a few days camping at Chatsworth Park. The first night we were there in time to see “rush hour traffic” at Edensor village. This guy below was watching with me.

The bridge and it’s reflection near the entrance to the house. (The house exterior was under renovation with scaffolding and screening in front, so I didn’t include a picture of the house.)

From a walk the next day on Longshaw Estate. Looking towards the hill in the distance which is seen from the other side in the picture below.

The heather was in full color and it was absolutely beautiful.

Winchester Cathedral

2011-10-11T20:52:00.001+01:00

Winchester Cathedral has so much to see inside. It is very helpful that with admission you are given a brochure with a map highlighting 10 points of interest. Even then it is overwhelming trying to take it all in. Here are a few of the features.

The West Window which was destroyed during the English Civil War. Rebuilt in 1660 using shattered glass from around the cathedral.

The memorial brass marker of Jane Austen. There is also a nice mural like display near the marker telling about her life and places she lived.

This is the grave of Jane Austen and at the time of her burial giving no indication that she was a great English writer.

Quire – the brochure says it is the oldest of the great medieval quires in England to survive substantially unaltered.

High Altar and the intricate carvings.

Crypt – the oldest part of the Cathedral with the sculpture “Sound II” by Anthony Gormley reflecting the stillness.

Tiles from the 13th century, the largest and oldest of tiling to survive in England.

The grave of Isaac Walton in one of the small chapels.

A portion of the Holy Sepulchre Chapel containing 12th and 13th century wall paintings.

I went over my five picture post on this one, and there is so much I didn’t cover, but I think you can see it is an amazing cathedral and well deserving of a visit if you have the opportunity to do so.

Winchester Did Not Let Us Down

2011-10-10T11:32:00.001+01:00

We went to Winchester to see the cathedral but found so much more than expected on our visit. Above is “The Westgate” an ancient entrance to the city. Those arches at the top are not just decorative, they also provide and opening in which missiles could be dropped down on anyone attacking the gates. Fortunately we were friendly visitors. The gatehouse now contains a museum and you can view the city from the roof walk.

At the far end above is the entrance to the Great Hall. Built between 1222 and 1236 for Henry III, it is considered to be the first and the finest of 13th century halls in England.

Inside an amazing treasure we were unaware of it’s existence. High on the wall displayed inside the Great Hall is “King Arthur’s Round Table”.

Eighteen feet in diameter and made of oak the table is believed to have been painted for the visit of Henry VIII to Winchester in 1522. The robed King Arthur at the top and two names to the right Sir Lancelot amongst the names of the other knights of the round table.

We then made out way down to Winchester Cathedral, yes with the song “Winchester Cathedral”, playing in my head. Inside the cathedral in the next post.

A Bewitching Tale from the New Forest

2011-10-08T11:31:00.001+01:00

Back to posts from the New Forest – where the horses roam free and in this case a couple are hangin’ out in the car park in the village of Burley. Across the fence the donkeys too are making friends.

Shirley, or Surely! –Burley looks like a small quiet village.

But wait, what is that? an “Odd Spot”?

An “Old Shed”.

Old Farmhouse Tea Rooms with a witches hat as part of the sign? Yes this village seems to have a witchcraft theme that dates back to the 1950’s. This not just for Halloween either.

A further explanation from a book about the New Forest our friend got from the library. (Sorry I don’t know the name of the book.)

The bottom part that got cut off said “Coven of Witches” and here it is pictured below.

When we first drove through this village early one evening, I saw this shop and thought or said “Whoa, what is going on here?” It is not something you normally see so I had to investigate and we went back for further inspection. On a side note we also walked around the cemetery here because I thought this was where Florence Nightingale was buried, but I had read it wrong it is in the cemetery at Wellow instead.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice across the street.

In addition to the witchcraft theme there are other attractions and reasons to enjoy the old world charm of Burley which includes a nearby cider farm.

Later that same day we stopped by Swan Green where the horses were on the cricket field across from this thatched cottage. Do you suppose the horses had a game of cricket at night?

The Lincolnshire Wrap Up Post

2011-10-06T17:53:00.001+01:00

After our visit to Tattershall Castle we were ready for something to eat and drink. There was not a tea room at the NT site as there often is, but there was one next door at the church. The Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity is the largest parish church in the county and part of the year they operate the Heritage Center which runs a tea room with homemade cakes and treats among other things. They also have some things for sale and I got 10 magazines for one pound! It is a beautiful church with of course years of history. Something else that is different about the church is that bats have nested there and as they are an endangered species and can’t be moved the people of the church have made adjustments to protect the bats as well as the church. As in putting up a barrier to the organ loft and protective coverings over the brass markers (bottom right.) It was definitely an interesting church to look around and the lunch was great.

One other interesting fact that we learned on a TV show last night is that most churches in England face to the east, having the altar on the east end. I had never thought of that before but I can think of many that do, and a few of the larger cathedrals that face to the north. Something I will be noticing in the future.

Back on the road on the way home, (not a very good picture), a big pile of potatoes that had just been harvested. There was a lot of field work going on as it is a farming area and I love seeing the farmers at work and the tractors in the fields.

This is the back of Belton House which is near Grantham and right across the road from where Mr. H was golfing. I had some time to look around this NT property before I picked him up earlier in the week. We had been here before, but I at least, can never get enough of these country houses and their surrounding grounds.

Another part of the gardens on the property. The church is not part of the NT grounds, but it does face east!

Tattershall Castle

2011-10-04T23:08:00.001+01:00

On our way back home from Lincolnshire last month we stopped at Tattershall Castle in the village also named Tattershall. The red brick castle was built in 1434 by Ralph Cromwell the Lord Treasurer of England.

At the entrance to the castle there was an information board telling about the connections of the people of the area and the founding of America. Captain John Smith who established Jamestown the first British Colony in America was from the area.(Willoughby). Other Lincolnshire residents were also some of the early settlers to America supported by funds from an owner of Tattershall Castle and other investors.

In the 1900’s the fireplaces had been removed from the castle and were on a ship at a London dock to be sent to America. At the last moment Lord Curzon located the fireplaces, got possession of them and had them reinstalled in the castle.

Here’s a little more from the National Trust website:

George Nathaniel, Lord Curzon of Kedleston was instrumental in saving Tattershall Castle from ruin. A former Viceroy of India, he became interested in the Castle in 1911 when the sale and removal of its famous fireplaces caused a public outcry.

Lord Curzon stepped in, buying the Castle and having all the ports watched so that the fireplaces could not leave the country. When they were finally discovered at Tilbury docks, Curzon saved them with the help of an appeal raising £5,155 and returned them to the Castle in May 1912.

Curzon's efforts didn't end there. He masterminded repair work on the site, taking a close personal interest at every stage. He opened the Castle to the public on 8 August 1914 and it was given to the National Trust on his death in 1925.

There are 6 floors of the castle from the basement up the 150 stairs to the top.

The views were well worth the climb. That little spot under the C is Lincoln Cathedral, 17 miles away.

Five Cotswold Cottages (plus 2)

2011-10-03T20:04:00.001+01:00

Five (plus 2) stone cottages from our Broadway Tower walk. The golden stone is so pretty when the sun is shining.

Wouldn’t you just love to see how these are decorated inside?

I love when these vines turn a deep red in the fall.

When we came around the corner and I saw this, I was in awe to say the least. Across the road was a private garden that I couldn’t see in, but knew it had to be nice as I could hear the running water of a fountain on the other side of the wall.

This cottage was in a charming setting with a colorful flower garden and stone path.

On the edge of the village, we were joking as we walked along –“Some poor sucker has to live there.” (LOL!)

Five Picture Posts

2011-10-02T11:53:00.001+01:00

These pictures are from a walk we took on Friday starting from Broadway Tower in the Cotswolds. The weather here this week has been wonderful, even nicer than in the summertime, so ya gotta enjoy it! I have decided to take the easy way out on this blog, meaning doing a real post with lots of details or history seems like more than I have the attention for lately. It seems overwhelming to sort out the pictures and do the research so I end up not doing a post. Therefore I have decided to try something called 5 Picture Posts. Meaning each post will have 5 pictures with a short explanation. I’ll give it a try anyway, break it down into manageable pieces, isn’t that what they say to do to get a project done?

As you might know and I have shown pictures from Broadway before, but it is one of my very favorite places in England. Above the main street and below walking out of the village looking back at the church. The leaves are just starting to change.

This is looking back walking out of the village of Buckland.

Another church in the valley outside of Broadway. Here I was thinking what a great day to be alive, such a beautiful walk.

The last leg of the walk was a 2 mile jaunt back up to the tower, which we had to rush in order to get back before they locked the gates at the car park. We made it in time and after that figured we deserved a treat when we got home – fresh blackberry sundaes from berries we had picked on the walk.

There ya go, 5 pictures for today and more soon! Happy October by the way!!

Variety Post

2011-09-27T22:46:00.001+01:00

Part of the time while we were staying at Sutton on Sea I was on my own, and not just having the beach to myself with a magazine. The plot now revealed as Mr. H had a golf weekend away in Grantham, which was about an hour or so away on some not so direct roads. I can’t complain about the once a year golfing weekend as that is when we met originally when he was in Wales with a golf group and I was with a friend in Llandudno. (short version.) We met at the hotel they were staying at. Now I joke because when they go away on the yearly outing they keep the golfers separated from the general public –ha, ha! Just coincidence but it gives me a laugh anyway.

On my own when I wasn’t beach combing I had entertainment options. (I may or may not done some of the following things.)

Did some shopping at Uncle Sam’s Trading Post.

Hit the local buffet. (thinking Vegas anyone?)

Followed by some local sweets.

Then a wild ride on the river.

Stopped by the Garden City Pub. (Not everyone will understand the reference, but also the name of a very small town near where I grew up.) Had a game of bingo and then moved on.

At night I went out with the girls and danced to the left…

And then to the right.

And before you know it Mr. H and I were back together again and feeding the birds.

Three Churches–Crooked, Thatched and Quaint

2011-09-27T00:00:00.001+01:00

Today a three churches post. The first one – the crooked or leaning tower church at Sutton on the Sea (located on Church Lane.)

Second church – the only thatched roof church in Lincolnshire, located a few miles outside of Sutton in the country – St. Peter’s, Markby.

I love the simplicity inside the church and it has the square pews.

A close up of the front door to the church.

A quaint church in the countryside nearby, St. Andrew’s Church, Hannah.

Inside the church again with the square pew boxes.

I don’t have a lot to say on this post other than the fact that if you read this blog at all by now you know we go in a lot of churches from small rural ones to the large city cathedrals. It is nice they keep them open for visitors and there is so much history in them and each has an interesting story of some kind.

Hut Two, Three, Four and more (beach hut that is)

2011-09-25T23:55:00.001+01:00

While Flash waits patiently for his next passenger I will show you some huts along the beach. Or for another type of ride there is the beach train below.

The Bathing Beauties Festival was on while we were there. In this case Bathing Beauties is about Beach Huts as explained below.

This is the Round and Round Beach Hut which is now a bird hide at Anderby Creek area of beach. My fav beach by the way.

This one is called “Eyes Wide sHut”. A glamorous picture frame hut designed to frame the landscape when open and give privacy to the occupants when closed by the way of a special one way viewing mirror.

“Come Up and See Me”. Inspired by a gin and tonic, perfect for cocktail sipping at sunset.

“The Mablethorpe Camera Obscura.” An amazing new Bathing Beauty based on the popular Victorian attraction; a darkened chamber through which live images of the coast are projected onto a viewing surface. Ideal for photographic enthusiasts, or just the plain curious.

(I didn’t see the images as described, but still a colorful hut.)

“A Hut for Gazing and Canoodling.” A beach hut for all romantics! Conceived as a piece of furniture as an addition to the terraces of the coast this inconspicuous black hideaway houses and indulgent interior with Canoodling Bench and Gazing Seat inviting hours spent in the company of intimate companion.

Inside the hut (no canoodlers in sight.)

Lots of regular huts lining the beaches too.

Some scenes during the festival.

And festival participants.

Mickey and Minnie are a long ways from home aren’t they?

I liked this art installation on the beach.

Making sand pictures.

I thought this was a good idea - making a bunting out of pictures.

And a beach hut made out of pictures.

The beautiful wide beaches were the best attraction.

A Day at the Beach with Donkeys and Donuts

2011-09-22T22:05:00.001+01:00

Hey there, here I am again! This time bringing a few pictures from our most recent caravan outing to the east of England, near Sutton on Sea. The weather could have been warmer but there were some wonderful wide expansive beaches for walking. I will just start with some random pictures and work my way through as we will be home for a little while.

Most of the pictures in this post were from an afternoon spent at Skegness.

A view of the pier from the beach. I love this picture of the gal with the bright red hair approaching the pier.

On the pier, random act of knitting on the light poles.

Buckets of water for the donkeys. In these pictures you can slightly see the wind farm out in the sea.

I have heard of the donkey rides on the beach before, but this is the first time I have seen it in action.

Plenty of food stands along the beach.

Ice cream and donuts were popular items, but seriously have you ever seen the two of them together? With hot chocolate dip no less, as ice cream and donuts alone are not sweet enough!

A wide variety of amusements on the beachfront including this one.

As you can tell the A is missing from Adventure on the building sign.

When I first looked at it I thought it said “Children’s Denture Centre”. (Too many donuts and ice cream?)

Further up the beach at Sandilands a colorful beach hut.

I was happy to see this beach hut. It won the award for Best Beach Hut of the Year in the country previously.

When we came up to the hut the owner immediately said hi and asked us if we would like a cuppa (tea).

We didn’t have tea but it was fun to talk with her. She said this was her first attempt at painting anything.

As you can see she did a great job and so creative.

Here she is inside her beach hut with her award signage.

Another beach hut a little further along.

Outside an Antiques/Knick knack shop in Sutton on Sea. It was a very interesting shop inside with many treasures. Hope you enjoyed this little tour and I’ll have some more pics this week.

Motoring Along at Beulieu

2011-09-12T23:32:00.001+01:00

Continuing with the visit at Beaulieu, inside the National Motor Museum. There are many and all types of vehicles but here are just a few. Above a 1971 Reliant Regal Supervan. The story below about this particular vehicle associated with a BBC show “Only Fools and Horses”. The things I would like to point out are that first of all it is a 3 wheeled vehicle, with one wheel in the front. At the time these, or so I have been told, were popular because a driver’s license was not needed to drive it. Also these Reliant’s were made in the Midlands at a factory in Tamworth. There are still some around and I see one every once in a while.

The car on the right – the 1966 Ford Anglia Flying Car from Harry Potter. This is the same model as the first car Mr. H had. I don’t think his was a flying one though. Price new 495 pounds. I think the petrol would cost that much about now!

The red car is a 1937 Cord Westchester made in Auburn, Indiana. (Midwest USA)

Below the little story about the Cord and why you may never have heard of it.

There are over 250 vehicles in the museum in addition to several auto related displays.

The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car.

Vroom, vroom the fast cars.

Another angle from above shows the old time garage on the left.

The Blue Bird in which Donald Campbell set a new World Land Speed record of 403.10 mph on July 17, 1964.

The Sunbeam the first car to reach over 200 mph in 1927 at Daytona Beach, Florida.

There were all types of motorcycles and vintage vehicles as well as the novelty type below. Orange you glad I showed you this one?

A 1924 Daimler Bottle Lorry.

Part of the vintage display.

Built for speed.

As the brochure states, Beaulieu is much more than a Motor Museum. You pay one admission price that let’s you into the grounds and all the attractions. This is inside the Palace House the home of the Montagu family since 1538. The house was once the Gatehouse of Beaulieu Abbey. On certain days for an extra pound you can get a guided tour of the private living quarters of the family. It just happened to be the afternoon we were there and it was very interesting to see behind the scenes.

Part of the remaining Abbey. It was getting cold and was raining and the end of the day so we didn’t spend a lot of time exploring this area.

The double decker bus that you can ride to get around, there is also a monorail for transport on the grounds. There is more to the property such as a Secret Army Exhibit and other features so if you go you can easily spend a day here.

On the way back for the night another form of transportation!

As the sun sets on the New Forest.

I’m not sure when I will be posting again to finish up about the New Forest outing. The gardener always takes me places without internet connection, last time no TV connection either. The first day you miss the TV, then after that you get used to it. We did have the radio and music and plenty of reading material. Until next time…

Jim - This One’s For You

2011-09-10T16:39:00.001+01:00

(picture from card bought at National Motor Museum)

Running away with the gardener has been an adventure! We just came back from a few days in the New Forest in Hampshire where animals roam free within the 200 square miles of woodland.

The weather was a mix, and one wet and cool day we went to Beaulieu and The National Motor Museum. Outside the museum were two special exhibits – James Bond and the World of Top Gear which features cars from the popular UK TV show.

This exhibit below really got me in the mood to blog again because I knew my brother Jim would get a kick out of these vehicles and stories. Of course it’s for anyone to enjoy!

We are not Top Gear watchers, but I must admit we had a few laughs and really enjoyed these exhibits.

The boys of Top Gear were out to prove a combine, as expensive as they are, could do more than harvest crops. Thus they made the Snowbine and took it to Norway to test it out.

The Snowbine at rest.

There may be times in life you get frustrated with a car and would like to send it into space and that is just what they tried to do with this Reliant Robin.

Ready for take off.

Maybe you prefer a calmer, yet customized vehicle. However if you read the story below what happened was not the expected outcome at all. Good thing they did not include a thatched roof too.

It looked so peaceful before they started it up and the wood stove set fire to everything.

Have you been wanting a boat, but have nothing but an old camper? Solution maybe? The Dampervan.

The Dampervan in dry dock.

I rarely see a pick up over here let alone one floating on the water.

Here she is on dry land.

There were videos of the challenges to go with each display. If you would like to see any of the videos you can go to the Top Gear website and search the videos to watch. They are plenty of fun videos to watch if you don’t see these.

Mercedes with a Bowling Lane.

This exhibit below, especially the video was so funny. I was laughing so hard I was crying. I might be watching Top Gear in the future now!

The foot pedals were in the bottom car operated by one person and the steering wheel was in the top car driven by another person. And if you can read the story above, in the British car, the driver had a false arm which came off during the race!

The double deckers in action. (We won’t be trying this at home.)

Next door at the James Bond exhibit.

The actual car pictured above.

Also on display was the original Lotus Submarine Car used in the 1977 film “The Spy Who Loved Me.”

Plenty more cars inside the National Motor Museum and I’ll show some of those next post. Happy motoring!

Recipes and Flowers

2011-08-21T17:47:00.001+01:00

Continuing from the previous post here are a few pictures of some of the flowers at our “local market”. I thought I would add them so I would have some pictures to go with the recipes from the last post. This makes for a rather mixed up post, but oh well here we go! Just consider it fruit basket upset, only with vegetables and flowers!

Rather harsh sunlight on the geraniums below, but they are looking nice right now and I love looking at them out of my kitchen window.

“The Gardener” likes to grow fuchsias so we have many of them as well.

About the recipes! Here is the original recipe for the Zucchini Stuffed Tomatoes in the previous post, and following my version. I know a while back I said I was only going to stick to tried and true recipes, but as you can see I have now ventured back into experimenting.

Zucchini Stuffed Tomatoes
6 firm ripe tomatoes about 2 ½ inches in diam.
¼ cup butter
2 cups thinly sliced zucchini
2 T. finely chopped onion
1 ½ tsp. garlic salt
½ tsp. dried dill weed
1 T. flour
1 cup drained corn
Wash and dry tomatoes and cut ¼ inch slice from stem end. Remove pulp with spoon. In large skillet melt butter. Stir in zucchini, onion, garlic salt and dill. Cook and stir about 5 min. until zucchini s tender but firm. Stir in flour, corn and ½ cup of the tomato pulp. Stir over low heat until mixture is thickened. Lightly salt tomato shells and fill each with 1/3 cup mixture. Place in baking dish and bake at 350 for 12 - 15 minutes until tomatoes are heated through.

My Version of the Above
Same basic directions with these changes.
Cut zucchini smaller, at least cut slices again into halves.
1 clove garlic chopped instead of garlic salt.
½ onion chopped
Used dill weed and added some Italian seasoning too.
Used cut up mushrooms, did not use the corn.
Added some dried bread crumbs to mixture and did not use flour.
Added a few bread crumbs on top and some grated cheese.
Other than that it is exactly the same!

The same head gardener here also grows “chrysanths” a tradition he has carried on from his father for many years. My suggestion was adding lavender plants, we don’t have many, but I cut them back yesterday and tied them up in little bundles with twine.

Here they are laid out on the lawn. (You can see we are in need of rain here.)

Now the recipe for the Swiss Chard Crustless Quiche.

Recipe for Swiss Chard Quiche

Ingredients

olive oil for pan
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 bunch swiss chard
2 1/2 cups shredded cheese
4 eggs
1 cup skim milk
salt
pepper
nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Wash and dry Swiss chard. Cut off the very ends of the stems. Roughly chop (leaving stems intact) the chard.
Add onion and chard to the oil and sauté until stems are tender (do not overcook). Add salt & pepper to taste.
Grate your choice of 2 1/2 cups cheese.
Wisk eggs. Add milk and cheese. Fold in the onion/chard mixture. Add salt & pepper to taste, and nutmeg.
Pour into a pie dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and knife comes out clean.

Sachets I made with some of the lavender flowers. I bought the little bags at one of the hobby stores here, I think they were in the wedding section.

When I came back from London earlier this month there was a big bowl of cut up rhubarb waiting for me. I took that as a hint that cake was to be made! You might recall a Big Crumb Rhubarb Cake I posted a while back. Still love that cake but here is a simpler and easier version if you are interested. (Of course you can use whatever fruit you would like. )

Rhubarb Cake
Ingredients

1 1/2 cup sugar, 2/3 cup oil, 1 egg, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1 tsp. ea. of soda, salt and vanilla, 2 C. chopped rhubarb and 1/2 cup nuts, optional.

Topping

1/4 cup butter melted, stir in 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2/3 cup flour and cinnamon.

Directions

Heat oven to 325 . Grease 13 x 9 pan. Mix together sugars, oil and egg and vanilla. Mix in flour, soda and salt alternatively with sour cream ending with the flour mixture. Stir in cut up rhubarb and nuts and pour into pan. Topping - melt butter and add to it the brown sugar and flour. Crumble mixture on top of cake. The topping can be double if you wish for more. Bake 30 - 40 minutes until done.

You know the saying, “Take time to stop and smell the flowers.” Well that is just what I have decided to do, at least for the next few months. I won’t say I am going to stop blogging completely, because as soon as I say that I know I will want to blog. But for now I just want to enjoy the rest of the nice weather while we have it. Oh heck, I might as well tell you. I’m going to runaway with the gardener!!

The Local Market

2011-08-20T00:15:00.001+01:00

Whenever we go somewhere I love going to the market to see what they have to offer.

But I must admit I LOVE our local market most of all.

You see this market is very close to us and it is open any time of the day or night. Sometimes I go there and sometimes the man who runs the market delivers the produce. In fact at times he even cleans the veggies or cuts them up, and leaves them right inside the house on the kitchen counter.

At this market you can also pick your own if you wish. The tomatoes (Money Makers) are plentiful. And this picture is after 5 bags have just been picked!

Loads of cherry tomatoes starting to ripen too.

An abundance of runner beans among the variety of produce available. The man who runs the veggie patch gives a lot of his produce away to people he knows, but he saves some aside for me.

But he is kind of protective about the potatoes and tends to hang on to those.

In case you haven’t guessed by now, these are pictures of “our” garden. I say “ours” in quotes because I don’t have much to do with the growing of the veggies.

My job is to take care of them once they are grown. But hey I do share the cooked food with the man from the local market!!

Here are a few things I have cooked lately, or at least taken picture of.

Cherry tomatoes heated on the grill to bring out the juices, a dash of Italian dressing and fresh basil. Great on it’s own, or could be added to a salad, or as we had it ,on cooked Swiss chard greens.

I wanted something different to do with zucchini as I have made a gazillion batches of zucchini bread. Zucchini-Mushroom Stuffed Tomatoes. These turned out really great. I will try to follow up with a recipe next post as I made some adjustments to the original one.

We have an abundance of Swiss chard and although it was not something I was familiar with, I am learning how to use it. I found a recipe for Crustless Swiss Chard Quiche, which I will post that recipe next too. Those are the cooked chard greens to the right.

Another made-up recipe with coleslaw and cranberry sauce.

Fish wrapped in cabbage leaves with potatoes, tomatoes and basil. Next time I would wait and add the basil towards the end of the cooking time, but still a tasty dish. The main thing is I am just trying to have fun and be creative at the same time enjoying the fresh “local” produce.

Now you know why I love the local market. Grown with love and cooked with love. Ahhh aint that sweet?

Country and 3 Churches Walk

2011-08-15T20:48:00.001+01:00

Our walk started from Burford as we crossed over the river on the way out of town.

I guess this sign means we were on the right path. Although maybe not, as the 4-5 miles walk ended up being about 7-8, but well worth every step and some very interesting churches as you will see.

Looking back at the village of Burford. At this point I was thinking, “I wish I had my zoom lens back.” The last I saw it I took it to the Jessops in Birmingham to be repaired. That is one of the businesses that was raided last week. I can only hope my lens was at a repair center and is not now in the possession of a looter.

These pictures were taken inside the church pictured above (in Burford) before we started our walk.

Further along was this country church, St. Oswald’s. There was a wedding in progress (lots of hats) as we walked by the first time.

We took a side jaunt and came back when the church was empty. This church dates from the 11th and 13th century and has a rustic charm. Some of the original paintings on the wall are from the 14th century, and part of the floor covers Roman mosaics. The box pews are from the 19th century. The car was parked outside the church on our first pass by, and the greens from the wedding decorations. They also had a retro bus parked for the wedding guests. Wonder what interesting place they held the reception?

The third church in a village nearby, St. Mary’s of Swinbrook.

The church was charming as many of these small historic churches are. However, at the front off to the side I almost missed seeing these unusual tombs.

Countryside views along the way.

Friends met in passing.

Cottages and I do not know what is in the bottom left. A big house with a big chimney? All said and done, a great corner of Oxfordshire.

Calmer Signs of England

2011-08-14T22:59:00.001+01:00

Saturday we randomly picked to go for a country walk around Burford in Oxfordshire. It was a great day and a comforting assurance of the calmer side of England. Above, milk delivery on the front step. Below, Cotswolds – Area of Outstanding Beauty –yes it is!

As we entered Burford, something you don’t see often but FREE parking (sign on the pole).

Entering the town, a sign that it looks to be a promising day.

Baskets for sale.

Craft Fair Today.

Welcome sign at the craft fair, and everyone inside was very friendly too.

Near the car park - open gardens.

In the countryside.

Old fence and new fence and Caution.

We went in three very interesting churches on our walk and these signs are from one of the churches.

Heart pattern in the cobblestone street.

Inside another church.

Two bells, must mean you really can’t afford it

Outside another craft fair.

Taken from the car on the way home. Tomorrow the rest of the story.

The Rest of the Day in London

2011-08-13T00:05:00.001+01:00

I would have posted this earlier in the week, but my computer was having “issues.” Seems to be working OK for now.

As much as I enjoyed the tour of Buckingham Palace, the rest of the day I was wishing I was at home considering the circumstances. Obviously I wouldn’t have gone if I hadn’t already bought my ticket. Once I left the Palace area there were a lot less people out and about than usual. As for me I went places I thought would be the safest and ended up going back to the train station about 3 hours early and waiting there until my 10 pm train. It seems unbelievable that such destruction could happen in the same country where there are honesty boxes put out for fruits and veggies for sale (as I have shown pictures of here on the blog.) And I believe there still are places like that and there is a lot of good in this country and that is what I will choose to concentrate on. So here we go, some pictures of London.

I like walking through these type of neighborhoods below. The Catherine Walker sign above – I just happened to be walking along the street and looked up and there it was. As you might know she was a favorite designer of Diana.

I saw these “For Sale” ads in a window.

Six bedroom house in Belgravia 15,000,000 Pounds

Split level maisonette 1,850,000 Pounds. (What is a maisonette anyway?)

The winner of the give away is Joy! Thanks to those who left a comment or e-mail. (I thought it would be fun to have a give away but now I feel bad there is only one winner )

I do like to hear from readers and enjoy reading your input and experiences about the UK.

PS – I see Iowa was in the news this week too. I just happened to turn on a US news channel and there they were at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and then talking about the debate in Ames!

A Trip To Buckingham Palace and a Give Away

2011-08-10T17:37:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I took the train to London to ~~have tea with the Queen~~ tour the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace. The State Rooms are open for tours July 23 – October 3. Tickets can be purchased and more information can be found at The Royal Collection.

There are also combination tickets you can buy to see The Queen’s Gallery and The Royal Mews on the same visit.

From the Euston train station I took the tube to Victoria Station and walked from there. I quickly discovered I much prefer approaching the Palace from the Green Park stop and walking through the park, but nevertheless, I followed the crowds.

Since I was plenty early for my tour time I walked to the front of Buckingham Palace, which is further than the tour entry but thought maybe there would be something going on before the Changing of the Guard at 11:30. This was the crowd about 45 minutes before hand. My advice - if you want to get a good spot for the Changing of the Guard ceremony - you need to get there about 10:30, an hour ahead of time. People watching will keep you entertained while you wait.

In the morning, I did wonder to myself “What am I doing?” with the crowds and the riot situation. But once we went through security and into the Palace, it was awesome. For some reason, I don’t remember where exactly, but I had heard that the inside of Buckingham Palace was not that great. I do not know where that came from, because I thought it was absolutely stunning.

There were a lot of people going through, but it is very well organized and you get an audio tour when you enter. I didn’t feel rushed to get through. (Sorry, no pictures allowed inside the Palace.)

In addition to seeing the State Rooms there was also a Royal Faberge special exhibition of over 100 Faberge masterpieces. Beautiful.

As you may know The Duchess of Cambridge’s Wedding Dress is on display in the ballroom in addition to the veil and the tiara. There is a seating area where you can watch a video of Sarah Burton the designer, talking about the dress and how it was made. The wedding shoes, earrings and a replica of the bridal bouquet were also on display.

In the next room was the wedding cake. The amount of detail and work that went into the cake was amazingly impressive too. The icing decoration, as in the dress, included the national emblems of the rose, thistle, shamrock and daffodil.

Seeing inside the Palace was wonderful and when you add in the extra exhibits WOW, just super WOW!

If you are thinking of going, don’t hesitate to do so. Also if you buy your ticket from The Royal Collection (link above) you can get it stamped at the exit which is good for a free return visit. (oh yes, I got my ticket stamped.)

The exit is into the gardens in the back where there is a tea room set up under those awnings. With all the activity out front and with all that is going on in the country right now it was a calm oasis in the garden.

Before you walk past the lake upon exiting the Palace there is also a wonderful gift shop set up.

About the Give Away

You didn’t think I’d go to Buckingham Palace and not get you something did you? There were so many nice gifts there, but I was looking for something lightweight that wouldn’t cost a fortune to ship, or wouldn’t be breakable.

This is what I chose, a waffle weave tea towel engraved with a lion and unicorn and Buckingham Palace. You could use it in the kitchen or as a hand towel in the bath perhaps when you are receiving guests in your residence

Actually I have 2 gifts to give away. I have a CD of the Royal Wedding. (Not from the Palace gift shop) and it is slightly used (once or twice) and if you copy it on to your computer the writing is in Chinese, but I will include that too. I know my Dears, I do so hope you don’t think it is at all tacky that I might be giving away something which has been used but it does come with the towel directly from Buckingham Palace.

To put your name in the drawing leave a comment or send me an e-mail answering this question:

What is your favorite part or thing about England? or if you have never been to England, what would you like to see most?

Entries open until 12 noon on Friday. Thank you for reading!

How Many Cotswold Cottages Do You Want to See?

2011-08-08T20:28:00.001+01:00

Broadway, my favorite Cotswold village of the ones I have seen, but I love them all.

Cottages for sale in the area. Do you ever dream decorate?

The top of a sign post and it just so happened that a flock of birds flew over as I took the picture.

Someone left the light on, but it aint no Motel 6!

I have shown this village before but you don’t mind if I show it again do you?

There are some wonderful shops, eating places and hotels in Broadway too, just in case you were wondering. Also the Cotswold Way walking path goes right through part of the village.

Red, Mellow and Green.

Santa is in town. (Christmas Store.) Have you been good?

Wisteria with many years of experience!

A colorful place to sit by the Christmas Store.

I scream, you scream we all scream for pink and white striped ice cream carts!

I don’t know. Which do you think is better, the villages or the countryside?

Surprise! A Birthday Party

2011-08-05T22:30:00.001+01:00

About a week ago I said in a post that we were working on some “projects” around home. What that meant was that we were getting ready for a surprise birthday party at our house last Sunday.

Here’s Oliver setting things up! LOL!

Watching Oliver at work Two grandsons, Will and George, their mom, Sarah (daughter-in-law) and Mr. H.

(Actually everyone pitched in and did their share which was great.)

Here’s Oliver with his Mom. We let him have a couple of breaks since he is a youngster and it was a hot day

The real person behind the party was Erika on the left pictured with her friend the day of the party.

(The tomatoes and the basil, fresh out of our garden.)

The party was a surprise for this guy –her husband aka Mr. H’s youngest son. It was a challenge but we managed to keep it a secret from him and he was completely surprised.

We had a theme of the 70’s since he was born in 1971 and you can see a reflection of the “Don’t Worry Be Happy” poster I had put up on the garage. (found it upstairs) His older brother had taken him for an overnight golf outing which really helped for us to prepare at the last minute knowing he was out of town.

The party in progress. How cute are those 4 little girls?

Meanwhile back in the kitchen…this is only part of the desserts. My biggest challenge of the day was trying to find refrigerator space for everything.

There was plenty of other food too, I just didn’t have a chance to get photos of it.

This is after the fact and the charcoal grill Mr. H and Will put together.

Table décor with childhood photos of the birthday boy and trivia from 1971. (flowers from the garden.)

A party wouldn’t be a party without a decorated clothesline.

Confetti and Happy Birthday time. (FYI they have confetti canons at the stores here.)

Some guests came dressed in 70’s fashion. I had fun ahead of the party thinking of some of the things we used to wear back then and some of the sayings we had. Sort of scary how so many of the styles are out in the stores now. Far out man!

Right on! Keep on trucking! How about this one? – Takestn’ a break! (Might have been just our school, but that one got used a lot.)

Will came up with the brilliant idea to have a photo area. Each family or group came over to the bench to have a picture taken with Glenn.

The next morning was the actual birthday with a champagne breakfast.

(Buck’s Fizz - champagne and orange juice.)

And cake too!

Oliver did good don’t you think? We gave him a day of rest!!

A Ride to Coughton Court

2011-08-04T22:05:00.001+01:00

Tuesday Mr. H broke out the MG and we went for a ride in the country (top optional! –car only). We packed a picnic lunch and had a stroll around the beautiful gardens at Coughton Court. Here’s a few glimpses.

Beautiful Day and Gardens, But Where?

2011-08-03T22:58:00.001+01:00

Greetings out there in blogland. I shall see if I can remember how to do this!

These pictures were taken today and the sun was shining!

First a walk through the colorful floral labyrinth.

The Italian Gardens. Where can this be?

Have we gone to Italy?

After all August is holiday month here in the UK.

Maybe someday, but for now these pictures are from Trentham Gardens near Stoke on Trent. I have been to the adjoining shopping village and garden center several times, but never enjoyed the gardens until today.

It is much more extensive than I thought as there is a large children’s play area, café’s, concept gardens and it adjoins the Trentham Monkey Forest. There is an admission charge to the gardens but it is well worth seeing.

Once you have walked through the gardens, you can take the woodland path around the lake.

Row boats can be rented or you can be transported on the ferry.

A picnic can be enjoyed out in the Rivers of Grass.

A great day out at Trentham Gardens, and on the way home I had to take this picture. After an afternoon in Italy, I was quickly transported back to thoughts of the Midwest.

Now that I remember how to do this I think I will be back tomorrow in blogland. See you then!

More Pictures from the “England Tour”

2011-07-29T00:33:00.001+01:00

Hello there. Sorry I know posts are coming slow with little narrative right now. We have some projects we are working on around home, but after this weekend I should have more time to do work on this here blog. Also since I changed the blog template the e-mailed posts are not coming out in alignment. Hopefully I can fix that next week and get around to visit some of your blogs out there:) I know promises, promises.

Today I have a few more random pictures from “The England Tour”.

Above are flowers for sale in Lacock Village which is also pictured below.

Navigating the “busy” streets.

Friends resting outside the wool shop on the edge of the village.

One of the white horses carved into the hillside.

Outside the Cotswold Motoring Museum at Bourton on the Water.

Bourton on the Water is a popular Cotswold village. Very scenic with the stream running through it and great little shops and restaurants.

A stop at the lavender fields near Snowshill.

There is a gift shop across the road selling all types of lavender products and of course a tea room. I love the lavender fields and we are trying to grow a few lavender plants at home.

Just thought I’d throw in this picture of the Tower Bridge in London. Have a great weekend, stay cool if you can and see you next week.

A Few Random Pictures

2011-07-27T00:04:00.001+01:00

I didn’t have the time to do the post I had planned to do for tonight. So instead here are a few random photos from our little English tour. I think I have covered all of these places more in depth before on this blog. Above is from Lavenham.

Below is the river in Cambridge.

King’s College Cambridge. There sure was a difference (increase) in the amount of people in July than there was when we went earlier in the year.

Looking over the gardens by the river in Bath.

Graduation ceremony about to start at the Abbey in Bath.

Taken from the bus ride around Bath. I liked the cutout looking out the window.

Again in Bath at the Royal Crescent.

Staying at Great Chalfield Manor

2011-07-25T23:45:00.001+01:00

Staying at Great Chalfield Manor Checklist

Historic Moated Manor House Completed in 1480 – check

Lovely setting in remote Wiltshire countryside –check

National Trust Property – check

Beautiful restored gardens (7 acres) – check

Wooden Carved Four Poster Bed (comfy) – check

Fresh cut flowers from the garden in every room (smelled wonderful) – check

Authentic bath with roll top tub – check

Delicious locally sourced breakfast - check

I could continue telling you how staying at Great Chalfield Manor checked all the boxes. But what really made our too brief overnight stay an “out of the box” experience was the hospitality shown us by our hosts, Robert and Patsy Floyd. Our stay there was one of the favorite experiences for each of us on our week long tour with my American relatives and we all just loved it.

Our stay started with Robert giving us a private tour of the adjoining Parish Church and Great Hall and other rooms that are open to the public. The National Trust gives tours of these rooms, but of course it had much more meaning and interest being given the tour by Robert whose grandfather donated the property to the Trust. Great Chalfield is their family home and they are the resident tenants who manage the property, and what a great job they do.

Patsy describes staying at Great Chalfield as “An Experience”. Which I love that term, it is now my new favorite saying. If you want to stay at a place with all the latest modern conveniences such as TV and Wi-Fi in your room and high pressure showers then staying here is not for you. But if you want an experience of what it is like to stay in a historic manor house then you will not find any better hosts than these two.

There were all kinds of interesting books and magazines about to read, but we didn’t have the time to do any reading. Plus, the gardens! Need I say more.

(Looking out the upstairs window.)

Inside the church.

Ancient roses outside the church. I wish I could remember how old they were, at least hundreds of years.

Their gardener has been there over 20 years and was super friendly and kind enough to stop what he was doing and pose for a picture.

The wonderful smell of bacon cooking on the AGA in the morning lured us downstairs for breakfast. Fresh strawberries and blueberries, homemade cereal,delicious scrambled eggs (the girls had requested) and to finish the meal warm croissants served with homemade jam.

We could have easily stayed here a few more nights, but it was time to move on.

Even Ming the dog has her own blog found here.

(not her below obviously!)

More about Great Chalfield Manor on this link.

You can check the National Trust website for opening times to visit the house and gardens.

Cambridge American Cemetery

2011-07-19T21:59:00.001+01:00

Just a few miles outside of Cambridge, England in the beautiful countryside is The American Military Cemetery and Memorial. The 30.5 acre site was donated by the University of Cambridge and was first established in 1943.

It is part of the American Battle Monuments Commission and is the only WW II American burial ground in England. It seemed fitting that we visited there on the 3rd of July. I know, not quite the 4th, but close enough.

The cemetery was dedicated on July 16, 1956 and has the graves of 3812 American military men and women. The Tablets of the Missing has engraved 5,127 of names missing in action.

This of course is all impressive, overwhelming and emotional. In addition what really enhanced the experience for our group was the tour we were given. This is available to anyone who visits the site and was free of charge. Our guide was more than willing to show us around and his pride and enthusiasm for the grounds was obvious. He told us facts along with personal stories and pictures of the missing soldiers as he talked about them.

In the middle of the tablet below you will notice Joseph P Kennedy Jr. – JFK’s oldest brother. Also listed among the missing was Glenn Miller, the Big Band leader born in Clarinda, Iowa.

At the end of the reflecting pool is the chapel.

The beautiful and intricate mosaics inside the chapel.

Each state is represented on a window.

Looking back toward the entrance and the American flag. I might add that some of the missing are still being identified and when the testing is done and confirmed a rosette is put next to their name on the wall.

Here is a video of the Glenn Miller Orchestra playing one of my favorites - “In the Mood.”

Glenn Miller Orchestra “In the Mood”

Stopping to Smell the Flowers (or at least take a picture)

2011-07-11T22:37:00.001+01:00

Last week when we saw this cottage in the Cambridgeshire countryside we asked Mr. H, who was driving at the time, if he would pull over to the side of the road so we could get out and take some pictures. Or it might have been that we all yelled STOP! in unison. However it happened it was just one of those scenes you couldn’t drive by and not take a picture. The light was a little harsh for the best photo, but how can you complain when the sun is shining in England?

This week the weather continues to be great , at least today was and it looks promising for the rest of the week. So I hate to blog and run – but I will be back next week to share more tales from the road.

The Whistle Stop Tour of England

2011-07-10T21:57:00.001+01:00

We successfully completed the Whistle Stop Tour of Central England last week with 3 American cousins and Aunt. They have now made it back home to the USA safely, after we terrorized them on the roads of England! There were a few adjustments to the original itinerary due to unforeseen circumstances, such as a big race in the center of Cambridge when we were planning to be there, a college graduation ceremony in the middle of Bath and the Harry Potter Premiere in the middle of London. I guess everyone just wanted to be where we were!

The pictures in this post are from Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Mary Arden’s Farm near Stratford Upon Avon.

Just to test my memory and if you are wondering what we covered last week here is a brief recap.

Friday – A brief rest at our house after an overnight flight. Then the local sights such as the castle, City Center, Lichfield Cathedral, Roman ruins of Wall and an early 4th of July B-B-Q at home.

Saturday – Stratford Upon Avon, including an open top bus tour, Shakespeare’s Home, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and fantastic garden and Mary Arden’s farm. At night a pub meal in Kenilworth at the foot of the castle remains.

Sunday – American Cemetery at Cambridge (wonderful guide and tour) To the village of Swaffem Bulbeck for a nice afternoon lunch outdoors at a historic pub. This is the village that one of their Great Great Grandfathers immigrated from so it was one of the reasons for their visit. We saw the grave of some of their relatives in the cemetery and in the church yard. Then a drive through the back roads to historic village of Lavenham and a night at a B and B in Linton with wonderful gardens and and interesting English home. (We were going to Cambridge in the afternoon, but had to make adjustments due to the race.)

Monday – Open top tour of Cambridge and a brief walk around, then off to Althorp to visit the home and the Diana Memorial and exhibits. Back home for the night.

Tuesday – Back on the road to Bath for a tour of the city and the Roman Baths. Then to one of the highlights of the trip for our stay at Great Chalfield Manor. More on this later.

Wednesday – Lacock Village, Avebury and the stone circle, White Horses in the hillside and then a drive back through the Cotswolds stopping at the Lavender Farm, and Bourton on the Water.

Thursday – Just for fun we took the train to London for the day. Pouring down rain in the morning but luckily it cleared up in the afternoon. Another double decker bus tour, (hop on hop off) Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, a great boat trip down the Thames. Dinner at an American Diner and the train back home.

Friday – Morning flight back to the USA, 3 to Iowa and one back to Alaska. The week went by fast and I can’t believe they were here, so great to have you come ladies!!

Before their departure we got another “houseguest” who will be here for 3 weeks. Rent-a-dog is back!

In the meantime the garden is going strong and we are enjoying lots of fresh produce.

Hope you guys are doing well and enjoying your July!

Dyrham Park and Tetbury

2011-06-30T00:10:00.001+01:00

The walk to the house at Dyrham Park. I had to laugh at the sign –does this mean the livestock should drive slowly? This is another National Trust property.

One unique aspect of the property was their early use of Dummy Boards first used about 1700. It is not sure if these boards were used as a fireplace screen, a surprise for someone entering a room, or to make the house look occupied. Dummy boards originated in Holland at the end of the 1500’s and most often were made of oak.

A “resident” on the stairs.

Another trick to fool the eye as the doorway with the dog is painted on the wall.

In the kitchen.

The old spit used to cook the meat in front of the fire.

The church on the property.

The gardens were originally much more elaborate. Below is a drawing of the landscape plan. They must have had a lot of gardeners on staff!

Now onto Tetbury and the Market Hall below.

Tetbury is a wonderful village.

The Highgrove Shop. The description of the website says – Home and lifestyle products inspired by the beautiful gardens at Highgrove. Highgrove as you may know is the estate of Prince Charles. The gardens of Highgrove (from what I have read) are wonderful and after seeing pictures I would love to go there someday. The gardens can be toured in groups of 25 and individuals can join a group, but the earliest opening for this year is not until October.

Inside the Highgrove Shop. Profits generated are paid to the Prince’s Charity Foundation.

Window shopping at one of the other stores in town. As you might imagine there were some wonderful shops and restaurants in this village.

The annual Woolsack Races are held here in the spring.

That is the brief tour for today.

I had some more fun things to share from the visit to the Cotswolds but I think it will have to wait.

For all you Americans have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!!!

Painswick Village

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Painswick Village has been referred to as “The Queen of the Cotswolds”. It is a well preserved village surrounded by the rolling hills of the Gloucestershire countryside. You won’t be able to tell it from these pictures as it was about to rain, lightly raining or misting, but hopefully you can see the character of this historic wool town.

We first enter into the churchyard of the church of St. Mary’s well known for it’s 99 yew trees surrounding the church. Legend has it that the 100th one will not grow.

Inside the church, I think it’s the first time we have seen a cat in residence, but he/she looked right at home.

The unusual “table top” graves are another interesting aspect of the churchyard.

In the village I went in one of the little gift shops and the lady watching it was an American filling in for the shop owner. Just one more reason I need to go in the gift shops, ha!

The door to the left, below, was a donkey door, wide enough for the donkeys to get through carrying wool from the mills by the river, at the bottom of the hill.

The Weavers Cottage – wasn’t as crooked as it looked, just my crooked camera angle.

A modern touch inside the Cotswold 88 Hotel.

On New Street (love that it is called New Street), the oldest known building, dated from 1428, which contains a Post Office in Britain.

One of the oldest, if not the oldest bowling green in the country.

Rain or no rain it was an enjoyable visit to Painswick, but thought we better leave before they put one of us in the stocks. Actually these stocks are unusual because they hold the legs rather than the arms or the head. Either way glad we escaped their capture and glad for the chance to visit Painswick.