Thursday, September 10, 2015

Had a fantastic Italian meal -- first one of the week!  Doesn't it look yummy?  Sadly, it wasn't in Italy...it was in Glen Allen.

Yes, our flight out of RIC was delayed so late that we would have missed the connection to Milan. Spending the night at JFK held no appeal so we opted to return home and set out again tomorrow.

Gotta roll with the punches!

Sept 9

The day was definitely up in the air ... tall ships, high domes, rooftop views.




We kicked off another beautifully atypical London day by taking the train to Greenwich, home of the Prime Meridian. This week it was also home to a Festival ... Tall ships. Before they started floating past we were able to go to the Royal Naval College (no longer in use), which was originally built by Christopher Wren. The very large dining room has a ceiling painted by James Thornhill that is the largest in England, and features King William & Queen Mary. We then scooted to the National Maritime Museum, before heading to the Queen's House next to it. The last remaining building of the Greenwich Palace, it now houses mostly art exhibits. We lunched on the waterat Trafalgar Tavern, sharing a pitcher of Pimms and watched over a dozen sailing ships (some nearly 200 years old) motor up the Thames, many in full sail. Everything came together in Greenwich, as the modern skyscrapers built across the river at Canary Wharf were framed by the older naval buildings as double decker busses and sailing ships could be seen.



A quick train ride back into old London got us to St. Paul's Cathedral by mid-afternoon. A church has stood on this location since 650 A.D., but the current Christopher Wren design was built after the London fire of 1666 destroyed the existing building. A very high ceiling in the nave, fabulous mosaic ceilings leading back to the high alter from an enormous painted center dome (also a James Thornhill artistry), the church is quite a sight. We took the 250+ steps up to the Whispering Chamber, a walkway around the dome looking down at the church. But why stop there? Another 120 or so steps gets you outside, on a walkway around the dome. But then, the next 150 circular steps, some with limited headroom, take you almost to the top of the dome. At 250 feet off the ground, the full views of London are unbeatable. 500+ steps back down didn't seem enough, so we went below ground to the crypts, where many of England's greatest countrymen are buried or memorialized. We finished our visit with a delightful Evensong service, sitting in the choir loft just down from the choristers.



Back at our hotel, we figured it was time to grab a drink at the 28th floor bar so we could compare views. The setting is quite nice, but doesn't beat the 360 views from the top of the cathedral. A relaxing Italian dinner just down from our hotel finished the day nicely. Not to give it away, but tomorrow is day three of touring the graves.


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Sept 13

Up this morning with the chickens...or possibly the grouses. We left our quaint Inn at 6 a.m. for the drive to Heathrow. For miles & miles, we met no one else on the road as we drove first through the village of Winchcombe, then the rural countryside. We were treated to a glorious sunrise across the fields, followed by tunnels of trees, then mysterious fog across the land.



Once we hit A40/M40 it was smooth sailing for the trip to Heathrow, followed by an easy car drop off, short security line, a spot of duty free shopping, and time for a sit down breakfast in the airport.

Flight departure looks to be on time so this will be our last post from jolly old England. It's been a lovely trip, full of castles, museums, art, pubs, excellent weather, walking, the Tube, but most of all time together to enjoy each other as well as new experiences.

Can't wait for our next adventure!



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Location:Heathrow, United Kingdom

Sept 12

We awoke to another beautiful day. Who spends 12 days in London and has no rain? The gods smiled upon us.



Winchcombe is a lovely little town, and we took some time to walk about after breakfast before heading out on our hike. Pastry shops and butchers and tea houses are all around town, and overnight parking for 1 pound British.



Our Cotswold hike took us first to Sudeley Castle, once owned by the royals but purchased by a private family around 200 years ago. Damaged by Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War, some of that damage has never been restored. However, many of the interior rooms have been remodeled with period pieces or furnishings that were bought with the house, and some present day furnishings. The current owner is a lady from Kentucky, whose present husband (the family heir died of a heart attack at 40) is a construction magnate, and her two children live in London and Hawaii and summer at the castle.



The highlight for Lynne was seeing the final resting place of Katherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII's six wives. On this trip she has now (almost) visited 5 of the 6. At Sudeley, the gardens have been fabulously rebuilt. There is also a pheasant area with various owls, peacocks, pheasants and other fowl. We can only guess what happens to these birds ultimately.



After lunch, we headed into the English countryside, armed only with a map and some lightly worn paths. We crossed fields (some recently plowed), climbed fences, and worked around mud bogs. We saw wild and domestic animals ... deer, rabbits, squirrels and several grouse (could have been


partridges, certainly not pheasants), and cows and sheep that we walked right by, including the largest cow we ever had a close encounter with! We visited an ancient Roman villa, and saw a floor built 2000 years ago. It was a lovely afternoon, but didn't seem that different than a walk through Goochland, except that walking through private properties was encouraged.



We showered and changed, and headed back to a pub we passed on our way into town. We had the pleasure of talking with a couple of locals, both in construction, who spoke glowingly of the business opportunities. We then returned to the Lion for our farewell dinner. Tomorrow ... Heathrow!



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Location:Back Lane,Cheltenham,United Kingdom

Sept 11

(written by Farley except paragraphs as noted)

Can't help but think of how so many lives were changed 13 years ago. Our day was marred by some just misses, minor in comparison ... just missed the train, just missed the rental car shuttle, just missed the start of a tour ...

Our trip from London to the Cotswolds took an unexpected turn, as we headed to Bath instead, a decision driven by overcast skies and slow transfers from the hotel to the train station to the rental car counter. It was good to get out of the city, and see sheep, cattle, rolling hills, and speed limits limited only by the safety of your car.




We arrived in Bath right at lunch, and made Liz Shiner smile as we ate at Sally Lunn's house, and I had Welsh Rarebit. We then moved on to the Roman
Baths, rediscovered over a hundred years ago after being covered up by "progress" as Bath grew as a city. The natural hot spring baths (the only hot spring in England) opened in 75 A.D., and provided healing powers to queens
and countrymen alike throughout history. We then made haste to Jane Austen's commemorative house, which detailed her time in the area and her life, including her six books.




Lynne: Yes,I had no idea that Jane Austen spent considerable time in Bath. Once I realized that, of course, we had to go to the Jane Austen center. Kudos to Farley for going with the flow. Sadly, time crunch meant we missed touring #1 Royal Crescent Circle, supposedly a beautifully furnished Georgian house. I decided we had seen plenty of gorgeously furnished houses (palaces) so Jane Austen took precedence.




Back on the road again, we gazed one last time at the charming rows of town houses lining the Bath streets before running smack into unexpected traffic.
First rush hour, and then a disabled vehicle, added an hour to our expected hour and a half trip. Along the way we saw hot air balloons and more countryside, which we agreed was just not as pretty as Scotland or Italy.

Lynne: This was a total surprise. I thought The Cotswolds were going to be unbelievably beautiful. Having visited Cornwall a few years ago, I thought that was much prettier. But the Scottish Highlands and the Italian Tuscany countryside were even more picturesque. We'll see what vistas we encounter tomorrow in our walk-about.

Arriving in Winchcombe just at dusk, we unpacked quickly and freshened up, deciding to eat at the restaurant of The Lion Inn. It was a great choice. Baked Brie with poached pears got us started, followed by stone bass and braised beef, all of which was outstanding! Tomorrow, hiking and, most likely, another Lion Inn dinner.



Lynne: Our inn is absolutely charming and our room, albeit small, is lovely! We had a scrumptious dinner, one of our best yet!






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Location:Back Lane,Cheltenham,United Kingdom

Sept 10

Another sunny day today -- we have been so very lucky and enjoyed beautiful weather! A few overcast days, but the temperature has been perfect for walking-around.


We caught the Tube to Paddington, then an overland train to Windsor Castle. The crowds were sparse so we easily toured the State Rooms and St. George's chapel in a couple of hours. The castle is the Queen's weekend house when she is in London, but as she and family (sans Will & Kate) are in Balmoral, Scotland, on summer holiday, a bit more of the castle/grounds were open to public viewing.

Inside the castle we saw a special display of Queen Mary's dollhouse --


standing 8' wide x 4' deep x 5' high --- yes, those are "feet" wide. It is incredibly detailed -- apparently she collected miniatures as a hobby -- and quite a sight to behold. The State Rooms (NO PHOTOGRAPHY) were regal, as you would expect.

We were allowed to walk around the castle to the Royal family's private garden in the front, usually closed off when they are in residence (though State Rooms are still open). It was really beautiful; I wonder how much time they really spend enjoying that greenery? Farley was taken by the golf course (links?) just past the gardens -- a guard told us it was only 8 holes and for the exclusive use of staff and Royals.


My favorite was St. George's Chapel. Many royals are buried there -- in fact, since George III, MOST royals are buried here (possibly aided by the fact that Westminster Abbey is full). Of course, for me, Tudor fan that I am, the slab marking Henry VIII and Jane Seymour was the most meaningful. I was surprised to see Charles Brandon buried very close to Henry, fitting because they were such close friends (most of the time) and he married Henry's sister. If anyone is keeping count (Nancy), on this trip we've seen Anne of Cleves vault (Westminster), been oh-so-close to Anne Boleyn's and Catherine Howard's graves (at the Tower), now Jane and Henry. And we'll see Katherine Parr's tomorrow. A clean sweep except for Catherine of Aragon! I realize probably only Nancy realizes the significance of this paragraph. I'm saving that last gravesite for when we do our tour of Tudor/Stuart sites in England, D'Under!


We had our best lunch (so far) of the trip at a restaurant in Windsor: Sebastian's Italian Restaurant. Courgette carpaccio with shaved parmesan, green peppercorns, lemon juice & olive oil, accompanied by a smoked seafood sampler. Oh and two glasses of wine of course! Delicious!

An afternoon train ride back to the city left us just a small window of time to


visit the London Transportation Museum. A great facility; we wish we could have spent longer there. We saw personal conveyances (carried by two unfortunate handlers), early horse drawn buses, read about the construction of the Underground and sat in early Tube cars. A very nice museum with lots of displays.

After a quick French dinner, it was back to the hotel. We hauled out our suit cases and prepared to say goodbye to the hustle-bustle of the big city and spend the next two nights in the countryside. Winchcombe in The Cotswolds to be precise.
We head out early to Heathrow to rent a car -- wish Farley luck and he copes with manual transmission AND drives on the wrong side of the road!



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Location:Park Lane,London,United Kingdom

Sept 8

A major change in today's weather, we awoke to blue skies and sunshine which stayed with us all day. A rare London day it would seem.

After a quick breakfast it was off to tour Buck House on a day when Will and Kate announced another little one would be roaming the halls soon. Buck House is the local's name for Buckingham Palace I am told, as the queen was kind enough to spend a couple of months in Scotland (maybe soon an independent country) so we could take a tour. Now a full quadrangle, we soon learned of the numerous renovations and expansions that were performed to give it today's look. We entered as ambassadors would, and then wandered the halls of the state rooms, awestruck by old masters paintings, sculptures, decorations, thrones and royal gifts. Highlighted were the children's lives, with toys, clothes, and a film of Little House, a gift to Elizabeth & Margaret from the people of Wales & played with by generations of royals. Also highlighted was NO PHOTOGRAPHY, so this is all we have to show. This is the back side as we exited.






After lunch we toured Westminster Abbey, described as a coronation church yet still offering daily services. The tour quickly showed that it is also very much a burial church. And again, NO PHOTOGRAPHY. We took a verger-led tour where we viewed the coronation chair (last used in 1953), the tomb of the unknown soldier, and the crypts of numerous kings and queens, and famous scientists and writers, among others. We also sat in a pew only a few feet from where Kate and Will recessed after becoming man and wife, as many royals have done before them in this same church. We also visited the chapter house (a beautiful round room surrounded in stained glass used for church or political meetings) before having afternoon tea.



The last planned stop of the day was the Dennis Severs house in Bishopsgate. We were told at the front door that we should sense the tour at our own speed, and were asked not to talk at all as we wandered through the 8 rooms plus a basement spread across 5 floors. It was ... different. An eclectic combinations of furnishings, it was left to look as if someone had just left the room, even though the room looked centuries old. Lynne seemed to get a bit more out of it, and lots of Trip Advisor guests seemed to love it. Not my cup of tea.



A quick stop at Hamley's, England's version of FAO Schwarz, and then we headed in search of a pub. We found a charming one surrounded on all four sides by progress, but it was a bit too small. A quick dinner of pie and prawns at Henry's just down Piccadilly Ave from our hotel, and we called it a day.



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