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Post by roverpup on May 13, 2017 20:47:56 GMT
For the rest of the day we tooted around central London showing HAR and Marc some major sites (Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, The London Eye, etc) and ended up at Tower Bridge. There we found a bar serving happy hour drinks and settled in with a couple of bottles of wine and something to nosh on for sustenance. We then found our way back to our home base and rested for a bit and then went out for a end of the night drink at a local pub.
Tomorrow we will have to get up really early (6:30 am) to have breakfast and get on the tour bus for the Cotswolds.
I love seeing England for the first time through the eyes of sis and her hubby - they are just so thrilled to even be walking down the streets! It gives me a whole new appreciation for it.
Nightly-night!
:-))
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Post by roverpup on May 15, 2017 6:39:06 GMT
Day 13 -
The four of us went on a coach tour of the Cotswolds today. The kitchen is very small in this apartment ( really just a one person kitchen) so I elected to be the one to do the honours of cooking breakfast - bacon, eggs etc. and served it up in the dinning room.
After a quick clean up we walked down to the Victoria Coach Station, where we waited (although it probably wasn't that long it seemed like forever) until our tour number was called and we boarded. The weather was extremely cloudy in the early morning but by the time we left the sun had come out and it was beautiful.
It took about 2 hours to get to the Cotswolds and our first stop was in a tiny village called Bibury. Very picturesque with a lovely gardens and a brook running through it. We had to walk into the village proper over a small footbridge and the approach was almost postcard perfect.
We stayed just long enough to stretch our legs and buy a couple of trinkets - the rain started to falljust as we got back on the bus to leave but by the time we pulled out of the bus park it was finished.
Then we went on to a bit larger village - Burford. Gateway to the Cotswold as it is known as and an almost idyllic place to live according to Forbes magazine. It was lunch by this time so we were settled into a pub with a good size room at the back where we had a lovely meal (three of us had the beef and ale pie and HAR had the vegetarian lasagna). We sat beside a couple who were visiting from Greece and had a good chat with them during the meal. After touring around the town a bit (the guide took a number of us to an impressive church that was just off the Main Street) we did the shops and then were off on a bit longer drive to Burton-on-the-Water. Dan and I have been there before - 32 years ago - and thought it was one of the prettiest places to visit in England.
It still is although it was much more filled with tourists this time. Still beautiful and once you got off the Main Street, it was actually quiet and peaceful. We got some great pictures and wandered around through the streets until it was time to go.
The last town was Stow-on-the-Wold. This was a stop about teatime and we went to one of the many tea shops in the main square of this town. The tea service was exceptional and my sis was especially impressed with the chutney.
Then it was back on the bus for the drive back to London. We arrived shortly after 6 but were so stuffed from the scones, and tea that we put off having dinner until about 9 pm. HAR made a chicken stir fry which was delicious and I cleaned up the dishes. We both planned our day days. HAR and Marc are going to Liverpool (Marc being a musician is really pumped for this) and Dan and I are off to Dover for the day. We will be separated the whole day and won't be together for dinner either.
Can't wait for breakfast tomorrow to hear how their day went. It is calling for rain today so we will dress appropriately. We will be going to mainly visit the Castle and look around Dover. And then it is a train ride back to London in the evening.
Tuesday Dan and I will be spending the afternoon at "Downton Abbey" on the Literature and Landscapes lecture and tour. HAR and Marc will be visiting York.
:-))
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Post by queenzod on May 15, 2017 20:15:02 GMT
Oh, you are so lucky! I love the Cotswolds. Burton on the water is one of the prettiest villages anywhere. I also like Broadway. They all have those cute clusters of cottages with the yellow stone, a lovely, burbling stream meandering through the village, and gobs of flowers everywhere. If it wasn't for the tourists, it'd be heaven. 😃 I'm so jealous! How much longer do you have?
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Post by roverpup on May 15, 2017 22:39:30 GMT
We have until Saturday to be based in London but a lot of that time we will be traveling around the area. Then on Saturday the four of us will be traveling to the IOW to spend some time there. My sis and her husband will be with us for four more nights (then they will be going on their own to Scotland for 3 nights) and Dan and I will be spending one more day on our own on the IOW and then traveling back to London and flying out the next morning.
Today Dan and I spent the day on our own in Dover visiting Dover Castle. It was a great experience and since both of us are real history buffs it was loads of fun. Dan is very steeped in WWII history (a lot of his books he has written have centred around Canada's contribution to the war effort). We went all over the castle grounds and went through the tours of the WWII tunnels as well. Loved going through all the medieval tunnels as well. Fascinating history of the Castle.
After we got home we dropped our things off and went to the local pub to have a late dinner and a couple of beers.
Tomorrow we are off to Highclere Castle and Heather and Marc are away to York (or maybe they are going to Bath - they haven't decided yet). We have tickets to the Literature and Landscapes tour of Highclere with a private showing of the castle and gardens. As part of the package they are serving us lunch as well. There is also a lecture by a guest speaker. Sounds like a lot of fun.
Can't wait. Both of us are big fans of Downton Abbey!
:-))
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Post by mllemass on May 15, 2017 22:58:22 GMT
Here's a Benedict-related question for you! Is he popular there? I'm sure he wouldn't just come up in conversation, but with the Baftas yesterday, I was wondering whether people there talked about that kind of stuff.
When I was in Italy in 2002, people there kept asking me about George Clooney. They were crazy about him and figured he was even more popular in North America. I saw the look of disappointment on their faces when I said he was ok, so I had to pretend to be a big fan the whole time I was there.
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Post by dreamsincolour on May 15, 2017 23:17:44 GMT
Out of curiosity, why do you call your sister Heather "HAR", like that, in capital letters? Not my business, obviously, just curious.
But York and Bath are both wonderful in completely different ways, whichever your sister and her husband choose. The Roman baths and Georgian architecture v more varied architecture and the vikings, but both fantastic places. In truth, can't really imagine why anyone would go to Liverpool in preference to either one.
I've never been to Dover Castle or Highclere, but both are really interesting. And obviously more so re Highclere if you have the added connection re being really into "Downton" too. I'm not, but interesting regardless. I'm quite surprised I haven't ever actually been there when I do sometimes go to (or through) nearby Newbury. There's a really lovely little theatre in Newbury (or just outside) that I do go to sometimes called the Watermill (that is actually an adapted Watermill that still has the wheel).
Hope you have a lively time!
NB What has your husband written?
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Post by roverpup on May 16, 2017 5:26:52 GMT
I haven't talked to any "natives" about BC but I can tell you that I have noticed that he is well known enough that advertisers like to use his image in posters etc. to sell things. Madame Tussaauds uses him more than anyone else in their advertisements. He is always front and centre in their ads. And any of the stories about the BAFTAS in the newspapers - his picture was always there too. One paper had his image along with two of the winners - not even mentioning that he lost - it was just his pix there with two of the winners holding their hardware that they won. He is there I think because he is someone who will catch reader's eyes. As far as calling my sis HAR - it is an old habit from childhood. It stands for Heather Ann Roberts and I called her HAR from way back when we were kids. When she got divorced she returned to her maiden name (Roberts) even when her and Marc got married so I fell back in the habit of calling her that. It is just quicker to type out for me. My husband's books - he has written 9 books altogether. His publisher is based in Toronto and Halifax - James Lorimer Publishers/Formac Publishing. Here is a list of his books (some are listed twice because they are in hardcover as well as paperback) - www.lorimer.ca/adults/?page=results&lang=en&c=0&keyword=McCaffery+:-))
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Post by roverpup on May 16, 2017 22:17:34 GMT
Day 14 -
Today while my sister and her husband visited the city of York, Dan and I went to Highclere Castle. Both of us are big Downton Abbey fans so this was a particular pilgrimage that was pure pleasure.
The trip on the train to Newbury (the closest community of any size to Highclere) was fast and without incident. We caught a cab at the train station (shared it with a couple from Georgia) and got to the castle with about a half hour to spare before our scheduled time for the day's events were to begin. That gave us plenty of time for pictures of the exterior of the structure (photography inside the castle is strictly forbidden). It was a bit cloudy but actually quite bright out so perfect for pictures.
The first event was the guest lecturer who spoke about the connection between writers and the importance of visiting gardens in literature. She didn't exclusively focus on Jane Austen, but since Austen did have a connection to Highclere Castle, that particular author was predominantly mentioned throughout the presentation. It was also a rare treat to be welcomed to the castle by Lady Carnarvon herself. She doesn't always do this but since it was a small number of visitors present (about 60 of us were in this tour) she made us all feel very welcome indeed.
When the lecture was over they divided us up into small groups of about 20 apiece and the guides took us on an hour long tour of the castle. This was absolutely wonderful - no crowds and we had loads of time to explore all the rooms with a very personalized guide to explain any questions we had.
After the tour of the castle we were taken to a large tented area and served lunch (part of the ticket).
Then, those who were interested were to gather for a tour of the gardens. About 30 people stayed for this and this group was split into 2 smaller groups and taken around by a guide to all the gardens. The Monk's garden was the most impressive but I also liked the Secret Garden as well.
That ended the day and we caught another cab back to the train station and got home to London about 6:30 pm.
HAR and Marc were still in York so Dan and I made dinner for ourselves and relaxed with a bottle of red wine afterwards.
Tomorrow will be much more relaxed - it is supposed to be exceptionally rain tomorrow so we might just stay in and sleep in, do some laundry and then we have a play to go to in the afternoon at the Criterion theatre. We have lots of groceries so we can make dinner in and plenty of wine so it can be a laid back day.
:-))
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Post by roverpup on May 17, 2017 20:45:29 GMT
Day 16 - I don't know where Day 15 went I will have to review things over to see if I mislabeled something but I counted it up and this should be Day 16 so wwe will go from there. Today was a planning, laid back day in which we only had one event planned and that was to go to a play at the Criterion Theatre. Marc came down with a really bad cold so he stayed in bed for most of the day and HAR, Dan and I went to the play without him. It was called The Comedy about a Bank Robbery and it was classic British farce theatre and hilarious! Here's a review of the play from the Guardian... www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/apr/22/the-comedy-about-a-bank-robbery-review-criterion-theatre-londonIt was everything the review said and more! Ambitious it was - with a jawdropping set design that would left you gasping at how they were ever to pull off the mechanics of it! I have never in my days of going to the theatre ever seen a staging like this one. The perspective was totally unique and the timing of the actors on stage to co-ordinate all the moves was mightily impressive. The writing was fast and furious and certainly fell into the category of comedy that was based on "if you don't like that jumourous bit, there is another coming right now!". And the Criterion! What a grand old theatre. Just exactly as Dan and I remembered it from 32 years ago when we saw Run for Your Wife and nearly died from laughter. Opened in 1874 and beautifully restored it is truly a gem of London's West end. We came back home to report the laughter to Marc - who was feeing better and spent the evening in and having a dinner which HAR cooked. We did other chores today too - washed two loads of laundry, did a load of dishes and bought some groceries. Tomorrow the four of us are off to Bletchley Park by train to see the famous Enigma machine from WWII as well as immerse ourselves in the fascinating history of Alan Turning. Got to get up fairly early for that because we have to be back home to go to see David Tennant in Don Juan in Soho in the evening. All of that promises to add up to a really top drawer kind of a day tomorrow! Tah for now! :-))
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Post by roverpup on May 17, 2017 20:45:42 GMT
Double post - have deleted it now!
:-))
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