October 21-24
Rick and I spent three lovely days in an area of England know as the Cotswolds. This is a range of limestone hills covering an area of over 700 square miles and encompassing hundreds of ancient villages each with an individual character. The typical features are:
· Buildings made of Cotswold stone: yellow/gold toned limestone that is soft and easily carved when first quarried but grows harder with age as it turns darker and sometimes grey
· The typical Cotswold cottage has split stone tiles covering the steeply pitched roof and a timber door
· Drystone walls crisscross the fields of grazing sheep
· Sheep dominate the landscape as the economy of the area was originally based on the medieval wool trade and this wealth was responsible for the building of the many churches known as “wool churches”
It is impossible to describe the beauty of this area so the pictures will tell the story….
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/alysehirsekorn/TheCotswolds?authkey=Gv1sRgCJzV4e_N6ZHkRw&feat=directlink
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
October Travels
October 15-17 we traveled by train to Bruges, Belgium which is just an hour further than Brussels and has a famed historical centre that is listed as a World Heritage site. The medieval city streets are filled with cobblestones and lined with landmarks, monuments, and basilicas dating from the 12th century.
This was such an easy trip to plan…for the first time we used a company that combines rail travel and hotel accommodations into one inclusive package. We were able to book online and have all of our travel documents delivered to our flat. We had a choice of hotels and were advised to choose a boutique hotel with only 20 beautiful rooms and a warm and friendly staff. There was a cozy lounge where we had coffee each evening, a beautiful and snug bar, and the fabulous Restaurant Le Mystique where we had quite probably the best dinner we have ever eaten!!!
Our hotel was just a short walk from the city centre so we went there immediately after checking in to our room. While it rained softly, we sat under a canopy at one of the many cafés surrounding the market square and shared a late dinner of Moules & Frites (mussels and fries), looked across the square at the famous belfry, and sipped our wine.
Saturday, following breakfast in our hotel we returned to the Grote Markt to see all the sights, enjoy a canal ride, and explore all of the churches, basilicas, and the famous cathedral all the while sampling Belgium chocolates. After lunch we had a great walk to the outskirts of the historic center to The Minnewater, a lake surrounded by parkland which was once the city harbor and is the source of the canals which run through the city. There are breathtaking views and a refuge for the city’s numerous swans. Sunday we walked to the edge of the historic centre to get a close-up view of the windmills lining the canal. We explored all the remaining streets and enjoyed the architecture of this quaint city. We returned to our favorite café, this time to sit in the sun and enjoy a lunch of traditional Flemish stew. Too soon, we were back at our hotel having coffee and chocolates in front of the fire for one last time before heading to the train station and back to London.
http://picasaweb.google.com/alysehirsekorn/Brugges?authkey=Gv1sRgCKHkpeWQiqy_YA&feat=directlink
This was such an easy trip to plan…for the first time we used a company that combines rail travel and hotel accommodations into one inclusive package. We were able to book online and have all of our travel documents delivered to our flat. We had a choice of hotels and were advised to choose a boutique hotel with only 20 beautiful rooms and a warm and friendly staff. There was a cozy lounge where we had coffee each evening, a beautiful and snug bar, and the fabulous Restaurant Le Mystique where we had quite probably the best dinner we have ever eaten!!!
Our hotel was just a short walk from the city centre so we went there immediately after checking in to our room. While it rained softly, we sat under a canopy at one of the many cafés surrounding the market square and shared a late dinner of Moules & Frites (mussels and fries), looked across the square at the famous belfry, and sipped our wine.
Saturday, following breakfast in our hotel we returned to the Grote Markt to see all the sights, enjoy a canal ride, and explore all of the churches, basilicas, and the famous cathedral all the while sampling Belgium chocolates. After lunch we had a great walk to the outskirts of the historic center to The Minnewater, a lake surrounded by parkland which was once the city harbor and is the source of the canals which run through the city. There are breathtaking views and a refuge for the city’s numerous swans. Sunday we walked to the edge of the historic centre to get a close-up view of the windmills lining the canal. We explored all the remaining streets and enjoyed the architecture of this quaint city. We returned to our favorite café, this time to sit in the sun and enjoy a lunch of traditional Flemish stew. Too soon, we were back at our hotel having coffee and chocolates in front of the fire for one last time before heading to the train station and back to London.
http://picasaweb.google.com/alysehirsekorn/Brugges?authkey=Gv1sRgCKHkpeWQiqy_YA&feat=directlink
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
September Sightseeing
September 17-25
September was a memorable month in our London Adventure. First of all, I returned to Atlanta for 3 weeks in August and this marked my first return to my London home. I found that as great as it was to be in my Atlanta home, London now feels like home too!!!
September was also the month when Erin and Matt visited us for a week and we got to celebrate Erin’s birthday at Nobu where Matt ate sushi for the first time and proclaimed it “not too bad!!!”
Enjoying all the London sights only gets better when the experience is shared with family and friends. Rick worked many of the days during Erin and Matt’s visit so I got to see all the usual attractions with them and when Rick was able to join us we explored many new sights. On a day trip to Cambridge we experienced the two “must do” events that this city offers. First we took a guided Punting Tour on the River Cam where we saw the famous Cambridge College “Backs” from a traditional Cambridge Punt. Our guide, a 20 year old college student, talked about the college landmarks as we leisurely passed by them. The punt is a flat-bottomed boat which is propelled by pushing against the river bed with a pole. Many tourists choose to rent a punt and navigate the river on their own but I am not sure why you would want to do that…it looked neither relaxing nor safe to us especially as we passed a woman, holding a baby, while attempting to punt and was actually traveling down the river sideways (there is so much wrong with that picture…I can’t even comment)!!! We also took a guided walking tour of Cambridge College where we saw all the famous buildings and several chapels while hearing stories of the notable people connected to this historic university.
Another highlight of Erin and Matt’s visit was our tour of the Buckingham Palace State Rooms. Buckingham Palace is only open for tours during August and September when the Queen is on vacation at Balmoral so we were excited that we were able to share this experience with them. There is really no way to describe the interior of a working royal palace!!! It is beautiful and grand and everywhere there are treasures of furniture, porcelain, and painting by masters.
For a totally different experience, we visited The Churchill War Rooms. Again, this is a unique museum housed in the underground complex that was the British government command centre throughout the Second World War. The complex, located beneath the Treasury building in the Whitehall area, became operational in August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of war in Europe. The War Rooms remained in operation throughout the Second World War and were abandoned in August 1945 after the surrender of Japan. The rooms have been restored to the state they would have been in during their period of use and this is one of those museums where “history comes alive.”
Of course their visit ended much too soon! Since then Rick and I have been making plans to see as much as possible in October when the weather is still nice enough to enjoy! Stay tuned for the next blog when I describe our trips to Brugges, The Cotswolds, and Rome!!!
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/alysehirsekorn/ErinAndMattInLondon?authkey=Gv1sRgCN7_0cbs1YDz6gE&feat=directlink
September was a memorable month in our London Adventure. First of all, I returned to Atlanta for 3 weeks in August and this marked my first return to my London home. I found that as great as it was to be in my Atlanta home, London now feels like home too!!!
September was also the month when Erin and Matt visited us for a week and we got to celebrate Erin’s birthday at Nobu where Matt ate sushi for the first time and proclaimed it “not too bad!!!”
Enjoying all the London sights only gets better when the experience is shared with family and friends. Rick worked many of the days during Erin and Matt’s visit so I got to see all the usual attractions with them and when Rick was able to join us we explored many new sights. On a day trip to Cambridge we experienced the two “must do” events that this city offers. First we took a guided Punting Tour on the River Cam where we saw the famous Cambridge College “Backs” from a traditional Cambridge Punt. Our guide, a 20 year old college student, talked about the college landmarks as we leisurely passed by them. The punt is a flat-bottomed boat which is propelled by pushing against the river bed with a pole. Many tourists choose to rent a punt and navigate the river on their own but I am not sure why you would want to do that…it looked neither relaxing nor safe to us especially as we passed a woman, holding a baby, while attempting to punt and was actually traveling down the river sideways (there is so much wrong with that picture…I can’t even comment)!!! We also took a guided walking tour of Cambridge College where we saw all the famous buildings and several chapels while hearing stories of the notable people connected to this historic university.
Another highlight of Erin and Matt’s visit was our tour of the Buckingham Palace State Rooms. Buckingham Palace is only open for tours during August and September when the Queen is on vacation at Balmoral so we were excited that we were able to share this experience with them. There is really no way to describe the interior of a working royal palace!!! It is beautiful and grand and everywhere there are treasures of furniture, porcelain, and painting by masters.
For a totally different experience, we visited The Churchill War Rooms. Again, this is a unique museum housed in the underground complex that was the British government command centre throughout the Second World War. The complex, located beneath the Treasury building in the Whitehall area, became operational in August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of war in Europe. The War Rooms remained in operation throughout the Second World War and were abandoned in August 1945 after the surrender of Japan. The rooms have been restored to the state they would have been in during their period of use and this is one of those museums where “history comes alive.”
Of course their visit ended much too soon! Since then Rick and I have been making plans to see as much as possible in October when the weather is still nice enough to enjoy! Stay tuned for the next blog when I describe our trips to Brugges, The Cotswolds, and Rome!!!
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/alysehirsekorn/ErinAndMattInLondon?authkey=Gv1sRgCN7_0cbs1YDz6gE&feat=directlink
Monday, 4 October 2010
Housekeeping
August
August is the month that I will call “housekeeping!”
Rick and I moved into our new flat and organized our closets…yes, I did say closets although technically they are called wardrobes in London…but whatever, we now have five of them...we are practically giddy!!! We also have a proper kitchen and a garden…it’s really just a small enclosed patio on the lower ground level and a deck on the ground level but here they like to call any outdoor space a garden.
I flew to Atlanta two weeks ahead of Rick and after just a few days at home my ground floor air conditioner was struck by lighting taking with it the garage door openers, telephones, and cable modem. So the next several days were spent with the insurance adjuster and the installers.
Meanwhile, we were conducting a covert operation to put the final touches on our plans for Erin’s surprise party celebrating the end of her year of Breast Cancer treatment. This was actually the highlight of our time in Atlanta and the reason we chose to be there in the scorching month of August. Erin was surprised as 75 of her family and friends gathered to remind her once again just how much we all love, admire, and support her.
Another of my tasks was to meet with the movers and packers and gather and organize the additional goods that would be our one and only shipment of stuff from the US to the UK.
There was time to visit with family and friends although not nearly enough as I do miss you with all my heart.
Returning to London in September, I got to meet the movers and unpackers and get the rest of our stuff situated in our flat then spent the better part of a day having a satellite dish installed.
I purchased a few necessary items to make our guest room comfortable for our first visitors (Erin and Matt arrived just 8 days later) and added a few items to my list of “things you should not carry home on a 13 block walk”…these include a floor lamp and lamp shade, linens for two bedrooms, and 6 bottles of wine when you already have 3 bags of groceries!!!
Finally, Rick and I purchased 25 plants to fill the containers in our garden. Rick is obviously the ‘brains” of this operation as he hailed a taxi for our trip home from the garden center. This activity was worth all the effort as our garden is now neat and tidy with lovely plants that remind us of home while embracing our new environment....camelias, hydrangeas, ferns, lavender, and herbs.
August is the month that I will call “housekeeping!”
Rick and I moved into our new flat and organized our closets…yes, I did say closets although technically they are called wardrobes in London…but whatever, we now have five of them...we are practically giddy!!! We also have a proper kitchen and a garden…it’s really just a small enclosed patio on the lower ground level and a deck on the ground level but here they like to call any outdoor space a garden.
I flew to Atlanta two weeks ahead of Rick and after just a few days at home my ground floor air conditioner was struck by lighting taking with it the garage door openers, telephones, and cable modem. So the next several days were spent with the insurance adjuster and the installers.
Meanwhile, we were conducting a covert operation to put the final touches on our plans for Erin’s surprise party celebrating the end of her year of Breast Cancer treatment. This was actually the highlight of our time in Atlanta and the reason we chose to be there in the scorching month of August. Erin was surprised as 75 of her family and friends gathered to remind her once again just how much we all love, admire, and support her.
Another of my tasks was to meet with the movers and packers and gather and organize the additional goods that would be our one and only shipment of stuff from the US to the UK.
There was time to visit with family and friends although not nearly enough as I do miss you with all my heart.
Returning to London in September, I got to meet the movers and unpackers and get the rest of our stuff situated in our flat then spent the better part of a day having a satellite dish installed.
I purchased a few necessary items to make our guest room comfortable for our first visitors (Erin and Matt arrived just 8 days later) and added a few items to my list of “things you should not carry home on a 13 block walk”…these include a floor lamp and lamp shade, linens for two bedrooms, and 6 bottles of wine when you already have 3 bags of groceries!!!
Finally, Rick and I purchased 25 plants to fill the containers in our garden. Rick is obviously the ‘brains” of this operation as he hailed a taxi for our trip home from the garden center. This activity was worth all the effort as our garden is now neat and tidy with lovely plants that remind us of home while embracing our new environment....camelias, hydrangeas, ferns, lavender, and herbs.
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