Back to Gallivanting!

Looking at the date of my last post, I must admit that I've been remiss in documenting my gallivanting adventures, and it certainly feels great to be back!  I surely hope you express the same sentiments!

Not to lead you astray, as I have not been traveling the world during my hiatus.  But I certainly have had quite a bit of adventure in its own right in the United States.  But you'll just have to take my word for that.

We presently find ourself in Great Britain. Now you might be curious as to the reason behind our visit, and let me not make you wonder for long.  Well, last summer, Marty's brother and his family came for a visit, and we learned that our niece, Suzie, was studying abroad this semester in London.  That was all the incentive Marty needed to schedule a trip.  

Ok, let me clarify that statement: Marty was on board for trying to make a trip happen, and this gallivanting woman was responsible for making it work. So, as the time approached and we realized that it was now or never, and once Marty cleared the vacation time, I went to work setting up this trip.

Now, you might be wondering why a 19 year old girl would want to hang out with two 60+ relatives, but no worries there.  To keep things exciting and fun, we invited Amy to tag along!   She managed to make it work regarding vacation days, tickets were purchased, and here we are!

We have a few days to enjoy the countryside ourselves before meeting up with Suzie, so we scheduled flights so that we could rendezvous at Heathrow airport this morning to begin our adventure.

Marty and I were scheduled to land at 9:30 am with Amy's flight landing at 9:50.  Can't get much better than that!

But before you get too excited, let me just say that things don't always go as planned.  You knew that....right?

We actually landed at 9:15, which seemed a plus at the time, headed to passport control, and soon found ourselves remembering just why we try to avoid Heathrow airport.

Honestly, this must be the one place on earth that takes pleasure in seeing if they can simulate sardines in respect to people and see just how many they can squeeze into a can.  A very large can.  Hundreds of people huddled together in numerous rows, just waiting for the opportunity to finally make it to the interrogation that determines whether their passport will finally be stamped. 

So, just how long do you suppose such a feat would take?     

One hour 30 minutes.   Yep.  We landed at 9:15, made our way to border patrol, and finally managed to make it through the customs door and into the body of the airport by 11:00.

It was an exciting moment for us!   

In the meantime, Amy landed at 9:50 am.  She, too, headed to border patrol, and guess how long it took her to get that stamp in her passport?

You guessed it:  One hour 30 minutes.  Well, actually, more like one hour 45 minutes, but who's counting? 

It was nearly noon before we managed to board the Avis rent a car van to drive us to our scheduled rental car.  Luckily, the van driver was quite amusing, and that set the stage for some laughs to begin this adventure.

When I was setting up the trip, Amy had expressed an interest in visiting Bath, so I set about finding accommodations and things to do there. Bath has a strong link with Jane Austen, who used this city as a location in her novel, Persuasion. Since Amy is a huge fan of Jane Austin, I knew that she would be excited about all things Jane Austen.  So, it made perfect sense to stop in Chawton, which was really only a slight detour from Heathrow to Bath.

Chawton is where Jane lived when she was actively writing many of her novels, including Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility as well as Mansford Park. 

We didn't arrive in Chawton until nearly 1:30, and my original plan had us in town by noon, but we still decided to see how much ground we could cover in short time, as the B&B was expecting us around 5:00 pm, and it was nearly a two hour drive to get there. 

Once in town, we parked the car and headed to Chawton House, primarily because I knew that it had a tea room, and by now, we really needed some sustenance.

Amy and I wasted no time ordering cream teas.

We enjoyed our treat outside, which was a pleasant respite from the hot, stuffy airport that we had left earlier.

The scones were delicious, and got us in the mood for discovering life in the early 1800's when Jane Austen would have been writing her novels.

The village is really quite charming, and what a treat it was to see daffodils in bloom!

Chawton house was well worth the stop in itself, as you can see from the grandiose entrance.

Jane's brother, Edward inherited this estate from the Knight family, who had kind of adopted him when he was a youngster.   The couple died childless, and actually passed several estates onto Edward.

Jane spent quite a bit of time here, visiting with her brother and his family.

We were able to tour the interior of this grand home, parts of which were built as early as the late 1500's.  

Included among the artifacts were several original copies of Jane's books as well as family personal items that had been saved over the years.

There was a library devoted to books written primarily by women, all before 1830.

The outside gardens were just beginning to blossom, and scattered throughout were these cute plaques, each representing a different quote attributed to one of Jane's books:

We took a quick look around

Climbed to the upper garden to capture a view of the back of the house

and began our trek back into the village to check out the Jane Austen house.

There was certainly some very interesting scenery along the way.

The thatched roofs upon the houses were especially unique.

Jane's brother, Edward, was responsible for setting up Jane, and her sister Clarissa, in the home in Chawton.  After they died, the house eventually became home to tenements, and in 1949, the house was purchased by Thomas Edward Carpenter, who dedicated it as a museum to Jane Austen's works in memory of his son, Lt Philip John Carpenter who was killed in action in Italy in 1944. 

Today, there is a historical foundation that is dedicated to collecting and preserving articles that belonged to the Austen family, as well as the house itself.

As you can see, Amy was quite excited to add this to today's adventures.

I didn't take many interior photos, but the rooms contained first editions of Jane's books that were published in Philadelphia in 1930,  original letters that she had written, a blue turquoise ring that had been handed down with verification to several generations, with the latest donating it to the library as part of their collection.

The outside featured some lovely gardens, just beginning to sport some blooms.

We really could have spent a lot more time delving into the items, but it was getting late and we needed to make our way to Bath to check into our B&B.

So, we hopped in the car and began the drive to Bath with Marty behind the wheel.   

About an hour into the drive, Amy spotted Stonehenge looming before us, and she managed to capture a photo from the front seat of the car.

Pretty cool, don't you think?

We easily found our B&B on the outskirts of Bath, and checked into Villa Claudia.  We are on the top floor of the building, which is in a very quiet neighborhood, and only about a block from the River Avon.

Our B&B hostess arranged dinner reservations for us at 6:30 at the 

It was a charming place, located right on the edge of the river.

And we couldn't have asked for a better meal!  

Now it's off to bed to get some much needed rest!  Bath is calling our name for tomorrow!

Playing Catch Up

Well...we arrived safely in Newark, just over a week ago, to hot humid weather.  What's with that? And the mugginess had the nerve to linger for the entire week, which, to be quite frank, was a bit of an adjustment upon our return.

But I'm happy to say that the weekend welcomed true Fall temperatures, and today....well, today, with the chilly wind and the drizzly rain, I'd say it looks pretty much like Scotland!   I should actually make a disclaimer here:  we actually didn't see much rain on this past trip....just one day when we decided to walk out to see a lighthouse, and that day the wind was whipping up a storm along with the rain.  But other than that, there were cloudy days, but plenty of bright sunshine and blue skies to add to our adventure.  And very welcomed cool temperatures which makes gallivanting so much nicer.

My last post was late, in a cramped hotel room near the airport, (more about that later), and I just didn't have the energy or enthusiasm to finish the details of our last day in Scotland.

But now I do, and, hopefully, I'll recall most of the details that helped to make the day special.

We had begun the day at Dumfries house, which, as I had mentioned, was a Palladian Mansion that was rescued by Prince Charles in 2007.  The house was designed by the famous Adams brothers, and built in the Rococo style by the Earl, William Crichton-Dalrymple.   He had picked the furniture from Scottish carpenters Peter, Brodie and Mathie, as well as some of the finest pieces from Chippendale's workshop in London.  The authenticity of the items could be established from the original receipts which were maintained among the accounts of the house.  So, there was no doubt that the house was a real treasure worth preserving.

 The preservation was such a success, that profits have been used to upgrade the local town hall and swimming pool, as well as to offer courses in hospitality to students who might desire to make a future in that field.   And what is really appealing here, is that the grounds are free to anyone who would like to just come and have a look around.

The estate covers 2000 acres of land, has over 650 sheep complete with a shepherdess who tends them with her 3 dogs

as well a complete list of farm animals that one would expect on an estate.   One could well spend the day just walking around and enjoying the beauty of the surrounds.

There are several gardens worth seeking out,  but the one of most interest is a 5 acre walled garden, that had previously been used as a dumping ground on the estate.    What a magnificent transformation!

What I found particularly clever was how the gardener has used everyday foods to create a decorative border.

Different types of lettuces were planted to give the garden a custom, layered look. 

I think I'd like to try that next year at home!  Although I do think it would lose some of the visual appeal when the lettuce is picked. 

As it was late September, the majority of the blooms had disappeared, but there were still enough to add ambiance to the environment. 

 The gardens not only included varieties of wild flowers

poppies

 and roses (most having lost their blooms), but there was also a 1 1/2 acre educational garden that included all sorts of vegetables

and even a pumpkin patch.

Many of the vegetables were available for purchase at the garden gate if one chose to bring some home, but, believe me, it was quite some distance to be lugging a pumpkin to the car.  Better come with a sturdy bag in hand!

The Queen was present to open these magnificent gardens in 2014, and an engraved tribute is a reminder to all who visit. 

It lies at the foot of this sculpture, just outside one of the central greenhouses. 

I think one of the best features of this garden is the thought that was put into allowing one to rest and enjoy the beauty. 

There were many such benches situated within the grounds.

I can only imagine how glorious this garden must look during the summer months. But let's face it, it surely looked quite magical during our visit, and that brilliant blue sky couldn't help but add to the experience. 

As I had mentioned in my last blog, we had a most enthusiastic tour guide named Roger who thoroughly entertained us as he directed us through the many rooms.   The tour was an hour and a half long, but certainly didn't seem nearly that long!    We were actually fortunate that I had decided to book the tour the day prior, as all seats were filled when we arrived, and the afternoon tour was not available due to a Saturday wedding that was scheduled to take place in one of the rooms that we had toured.

As we were leaving, we spied some of the wedding guests arriving, all dressed in their finery, which included lovely hats.  And, what a spectacular day for a wedding!  

But, for us, it was time to make the trip across the country as we were scheduled to fly out of Edinburgh airport in the morning.  The drive was quite lovely, with the bright blue skies and sheep everywhere along the way.  The road takes you through several villages, but most of the drive really is country viewing and on a Saturday afternoon, it was really quite relaxing with no surprises.  How's that for lucky?

Our last planned sight for the trip was Malleny Gardens, which was located relatively close to our hotel.  It was a little tricky finding the parking lot, but once there, the entrance was easy to find.

The garden is run by the National Trust, but there is no fee required for entry.

Next to the parking lot stands the original Malleny Mansion, built in 1637 by Sir James Murray of Kilbaberton.  It is not available for touring, and I do believe that it is privately rented.

Upon walking through a gate, one is surprisingly treated to landscaping that has existed as such for the last one hundred years.   Among the hedges stand two yew trees that are believed to have been planted in the 17th century.  They were among 8 originals planted, but in 1961, the owners cut down six of them.  This garden is lucky to have two still standing from that time period! 

There was an interesting tree unlike any that I've seen, standing next to a glass house.  I'm not sure, but I think it might be a Persimmon tree.

You can't tell by the photo, but the fruit is much larger than a crab apple, but significantly smaller than an apple.   And the tree was bursting with fruit!

In the glasshouse, there were grape vines, loaded with grapes, hanging from the ceiling.  Ripe and for the picking.  Only the door was locked so we couldn't get a closer look.

Here are the two Yew trees that I mentioned. They are trimmed every year by a hydraulic lift to reach the top.

In the back of the property stands another walled garden.  This one is actually filled with about 150 different varieties of roses, but sadly, the blooms were all spent.  I'd imagine that this is quite spectacular in the summer months.

There is supposedly a dovecot on the grounds as well, but by this time, we were ready to make our way to our hotel and get settled in.  In retrospect....it probably would have been better to stay out later!

Although we were only a few miles away, the trip to the hotel was actually extremely stressful.  We had decided to fill the rental car with petrol, since there was a station near the hotel, but we couldn't figure out how to get into the station.  It  kind of reminded me of that Chevy Chase movie where he is driving around the round-a-bout, over and over, trying to figure out how to exit.

There were motorists rushing by, and there was also a large Morrison's store in that area, which seems to be where all of the locals go on a Saturday for their family needs.   Kind of what I would liken to a Super Wal-Mart here in the United States, which, by the way, I tend to stay clear of.  

So, after driving through the parking lot looking for an entrance, we were back out in the 3 lane round about, and, this time, I spotted the entrance to the petrol station.  Upon exiting, we were back in that crazy roundabout, but managed to get the right exit for our hotel.  

Now, let me clarify something here.  Marty has driven through countless round-abouts in various sizes and traffic conditions. But this particular one was really hectic, with shoppers obviously anxious to get on their way, zipping by at much higher speeds than was posted....just saying.

But, we made it to the parking lot with a sigh of relief, and headed to the Ibis hotel which is only about 2 miles from the airport.  I had picked this strictly for the convenience to the airport.  It was a brand new hotel, looked like lovely rooms on the website, wasn't expensive, seemed handy to the train station, so why not give it a try?

About the one redeeming feature was that there was an elevator to take us to the 3rd floor room.

Once we opened the door, Marty couldn't stop laughing.  We had just come from an awesome B&B with all of the bells and whistles (which, by the way, had only been $8.00 more a night and included breakfast, unlike this one. Oh, and let me just say a FABulous breakfast!)  The room held a double bed with a perpendicular bunk overhead.  There was just about enough room for me to walk along the wall with my suitcase to get to the other side of the bed.

Opposite my side, one could hop out of bed and brush one's teeth, because a tiny sink was right there, along with the shower next to it.  The toilet was in its own closet near the front door.  Thank goodness for small favors!

We were each given one measly excuse for a towel and one tiny bar of soap.  Honestly, if this were my first impression as a tourist from America,  I would have been quite worried about what was in store for the rest of the trip!

Obviously, this wasn't exactly the last-night-in-Scotland experience that I had been expecting.  And, I surely did NOT want to have to go out in a car and face that ridiculous round-a-bout again.  But, as I had noted when I booked, we were within reasonable distance of the train station.  So, we walked out to the highway which, luckily, had two sets of crossing lights or else we would never have dared even try to cross. On the other side there was a relatively new tram system that we took to the train station, where we then transferred to a train to Dalmeny and made the walk down to the pier in South Queensferry where we enjoyed a delightful dinner, and as I noted previously, an awesome view of the Bridge over the Firth of Forth.

We then began the near mile trek back up the hill to the train station to repeat everything in reverse.

And that, in combination with cramped quarters, is an adequate explanation as to why I could not complete this blog on our final day.

So, there you have it....the not so perfect ending to a fabulous trip.   But no worries, the ending will soon be a distant memory. 

And right now, thinking back on this adventure, 60 really isn't so bad.    I might still have a few years of gallivanting ahead of me....who knows?

Guess you'll just have to wait and see.    Thanks for following along!

Blue Skies On This Last Day in Scotland

We were sad to leave the Burnside Guest House as it was probably one of the best B&B's that we've encountered!  The hostess was a sheer delight!

And, as I mentioned, the view from the room was pretty spectacular.

And breakfast was quite tasty.

But, the reality is that we leave early in the morning, and I like to set up a place to stay near the airport to make our stress a bit lower, so we bid fond farewell, and began working our way across the country.

But not before stopping in Dumfries house.

Awhile back, I recall watching a documentary that featured Prince Charles establishing a foundation in order to "rescue" the contents of this house to avoid the items being sold off in bits in pieces.

It was  2007 when the house and its contents were scheduled to go to auction.  Somehow, Charles was made aware and he stepped in and pretty much saved the day.  Since that time, the estate employees over 200 people and it has offered all kinds of opportunities for local young people to expand their futures through learning various trades.

The compelling factor that caused Charles to step in was the fact that the house held an amazing amount of Chippendale furniture and adornments.  There are over 64 pieces attributed to Chippendale in that house, many of them sets, and Charles just hated to see them broken up.

Our tour included seeing many of those outstanding and unusual pieces, and hearing the story of the owners as well.  Roger, our guide, was entertaining as well as informative,  and although the tour was a complete hour and a half, we never felt bored or wishing he would end.  He really was excellent at keeping our attention. 

Photos of the interior were not permitted, but you can rest assured that its as truly outstanding.

In the meantime, let me show you some photos of the grounds.

That's Marty standing in a middle of a maze in the front.  You might not have recognized him with his new hat.

Actually, there are so many other photos that I'd love to share, but it's getting late, we have an early flight, and i'll have very limited wi-fi. 

So, I'm going to catch up on things sometime later, but in the meantime, on our last night here, we headed into South Queensferry for dinner, and just look at what we spied!

Wasn't it nice of Scotland to turn the rainbow on for us?
We had a magnificent trip, and I certainly hope that you enjoyed our adventures as well!

Until next time!