My trip to Netherfield

Since we arrived in Reading, going to Basildon Park has been on the list of things to do.  It’s a National Trust property in Berkshire County and there’s nothing too spectacular about it except that it was used as Netherfield Park in the 2005 production of Pride and Prejudice.  Naturally, having something to do with Jane Austen meant that we needed to go.

But, it took us more than a year to get there.  It’s not easily accessible by public transportation and so we waited, patiently, for an invitation from someone – which came last month.   A couple from our Bible study group invited us out for a late morning trip to Basildon and for lunch in the tea room there.

Can you even begin to imagine how excited I was?  I was going to have tea at Netherfield!  The Friday night before our big outing was spent watching the 2005 Pride and Prejudice and I do think that even my sweet Clark Kent was excited about it.

That Saturday in late October was one of those famous autumn rainy days England is infamous for.  I loved the weather and the rain did not disappointment me.  As we all were walking in from the car park, CK piped up with, “Maybe we’ll all catch a cold and have to stay a few days!”  Oh.My.Goodness!  Did I marry the most perfect man in the whole world?  YES, I did!  (For those of you who might not be familiar with P&P, Jane Bennet visits Netherfield and has to ride through a rain storm in order to get there.  She comes down with a cold and has to stay at Netherfield for a bit.)

We all trekked up hill through a wooded area to get to the house on the top of the hill.  When we came out of the woods and made our way to the road, catching our first glimpse of the house, all of us were horrified (even Tony and Tanya’s two little girls).  This is what was waiting for us:

 

Basildon Park under construction

In my silly, make-believe world, what I expected to find was this:

 

The Bennets at the Netherfield Ball

The green plastic was distracting and disappointing and I tried my best to smile and move on.  There was, after all, an exhibit on Pride and Prejudice and tea to look forward to, right?  So, we checked out the exhibit first.

Photographs weren’t allowed inside the (very small) exhibit and I did not care.  I was happy to break the no-photos-rule because of all the unexpected green plastic.  And this is what I have to share:

 

Items used in the Netherfield Ball scenes

self explanatory

 

Autographed letter from Darcy to his sister (penned at Netherfield Park)

The other parts of the exhibit included a looped video of all the P&P scenes set in Basildon Park, call sheets from the days spent filming at Basildon Park, and a video detailing how Basildon Park was transformed into Netherfield.

Photography was not allowed inside the house and as there were workers in every room whose purpose was to prevent people from taking pictures, I figured I had better follow the rules.  The P&P soundtrack was playing in the rooms as we (somewhat quickly) walked through.  I was a bit disappointed again because the octagonal drawing room featured in the movie, did not look like this:

In real life, the room drips with the color red.  For the movie, they brought in columns and new carpets and had false walls and just generally made the room look nothing like it does at Basildon Park.  Sigh….

Soon, we had seen all that there was to see inside the house and it was time to visit the tea room.  The English are a little too liberal with the use of “Tea Room.”  Basically, I would have used the word Cafeteria.  Another sigh….  We spent entirely too much on our hot lunches, though they were good, and for the ultimate splurge, we decided to split this huge cookie.

 

our huge, and disappointing, cookie

Before deciding to buy it, we confirmed that it was a shortbread cookie.  Imagine our great disappointment when we took our first bite: it was a very not-extraordinary sugar cookie.  Another BIG sigh….

We were home by 2 pm and then the sun came out.  Typical.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A healthy dose of pure magic just because

The trip to London came about quickly.  I found the London William Fitzsimmons date just two weeks before the show and with only mulling it over for about 30 minutes, I purchased the tickets.  That’s about as spontaneous as I’ve been in, oh, a really long time.  Sweet Clark Kent was immediately on board and so I worked a morning shift and shortly after 1 pm last Thursday, we were London bound.

Of course we listened to William Fitzsimmons en route.

I kept trying to remember the special occasion we were celebrating, but there wasn’t one.  In the entire (almost) 16 months we’ve been married, we haven’t ever done something special just because.  There has always been a reason: Linda visiting or the summer birthday and anniversary extravaganzas.  We have done some amazing things and have taken some amazing trips, but always because of something specific.  This, however, was just because.  It was absolutely delightful!

So, we had a few hours to kill before our 5 pm dinner reservations.  Our first stop?  The Hummingbird Bakery, an American style bakery that I’ve been anxious to try since March.  I was hoping that there would be some pumpkin flavored goodies, but we were there on a Thursday and the Sunday special was pumpkin and chocolate cupcakes.  Oh, well.

I ordered the day’s special, rhubarb with cream cheese icing, and a standard pink vanilla cupcake while CK went with a massive piece of of chocolate cake.  The vanilla cupcake was completely underwhelming and I could easily make a better cupcake (and have).  BUT, the rhubarb cream cheese cupcake was amazing.  I don’t even like cream cheese icing, but I could not get enough of it.  Overall, the bakery wasn’t stellar, but that one little cupcake sure was.  (Oh, and CK’s cake wasn’t all that amazing either.)

The Hummingbird Bakery was on Portobello Road … and guess what was right down the road?

Cath Kidston!  I have Kate to thank for introducing me to Cath Kidston and I also have my sweet husband to thank for being endlessly patient with me as I took my time selecting my treat.   It is definitely a fun store and as Linda said after visiting the website, “I’ll take one of everything!”  Realistically, though, I chose the gadget case over everything and I absolutely love it!  My camera has lived in bubble wrap for more than a year, so it was about time to upgrade.

After our Portobello Road stroll, it was time to hop across town to a crazy-busy shopping district where we had just under an hour to kill before our dinner reservation.  CK noticed a place of interest on the map in the Underground station, and so we set off to find FDR.  I was especially excitied about seeing the statue as I have recently finished reading Eleanor Roosevelt’s book, On My Own, in which she mentions traveling to London shortly after her husband’s death to be present for the unveiling of the statue.  There was a bit of controversy surrounding the statue to honor FDR: William Churchill argued that the architect should depict a seated FDR since he was wheelchair bound after contracting polio.  However, when the statue was unveiled to reveal a stately and standing FDR, Eleanor was happy with the architect’s choice.

FDR in Grosvenor Square

Finally, 5 pm rolled around and it was time to dine in style at Auberge Restaurant, a French restaurant in a great little alley off a main shopping drag.  I had a really nice pork dinner with potatoes and spinach.  And, I can’t believe I’m about to put this in writing, but: I enjoyed the spinach more than the potatoes.  Now, I LOVE potatoes so that just means the spinach was absolutely amazing.  It was.  CK ordered a very generous pot of mussels cooked in a coconut sauce.  Oh, and his mussels came with fries.

We shared creme brule for dessert and then were off, in the rain, to London’s Bush Hall.  We arrived at 7 pm, just as I had tried to plan, in time to camp out 5th and 6th in line, still in the rain, until the doors opened at 7:30 (thankfully, they were prompt.  It was raining, afterall).

See Matt? He's fifth in line!

The venue far exceeded my expectations.  It was BEAUTIFUL and intimate and perfect and all good things.

Doesn't the pink make it look magical?

The crowd was great.  Being the kind of person who is easily annoyed, I didn’t get annoyed with anyone the entire night!  This is a pretty unbelievable thing for me (just ask CK).  We had a great seat at a table right in front of the stage.  Concert goers crowded in front of the stage and sat in front of us, cross legged, and the concert was still perfect.  It was a special night.

Laura Jansen

Laura Jansen was the “support” and she took the stage a bit late, at about 8:20.  The highlight of her set was her cover of Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody.”  I wish it was available on iTunes, but there are several YouTube videos of her performing it (search it out sometime – after you’ve finished this very long post of mine!).  I had to delete all the videos and pictures (except the one above) of Laura because my camera’s card filled up way quicker than I expected.  Anyway, on to the main event…

He was simply amazing to hear and see live.  He played the first third of his set solo and I just am in awe of his guitar playing.  Laura joined him on stage at the keyboard and he had two other band members on percussion and banjo/mandolin duty.  I was a bit disappointed, at first, when I realized that the stage was set for a full band.  I just wanted it to be Bill and his guitar.  But, oh, I was not disappointed at all.  Going into the concert, I had two WISHES: that he’d play “Everything Has Changed” and that Laura would come on stage to sing backing vocals on “I Don’t Feel It Anymore (Song of the Sparrow).”  The fact that he played “Afterall” was a huge bonus AND I was absolutely delighted when he went right into “Everything Has Changed.”  So, I offer you some video footage of the highlight of the night for me.  It’s pure magic (unfortunate feed back and all):

The part that gets me every time, no matter how many times I’ve listened to “Everything Has Changed,” is when he sings, “Oh, father, can’t you see the pieces that have fallen on the ground when you and mom decided nothing could be saved inside this house?”  Every time.  Hearing him sing that live still took my breath away and just “got” me.  It is one of those heartbreakingly beautiful lyrics that I have a hard time shaking.  (In case you want to hear/see it yourself, it’s at 5 min, 52 sec in the above video.)

For those of you who don’t know William Fitzsimmons (and I realize that’s probably just about everyone I know), the short story is: he’s the youngest of two sons born to blind parents.  His parents divorced when he was young and it had a profound and devastating effect on him – so much so that he wrote an entire album about it.  In a horrible twist of fate, he ended up getting divorced too (and from what I can gather from lyrics and his pretty open concert small talk, his divorce was his fault due to infidelity) – which also had a profound and devastating effect on him, so much so that he wrote another whole album about it.  His musical peers have dubbed his music “divorce rock” and he is a bit self-deprecating and makes fun of the depressing nature of his music from the stage.  A lot.   But, it’s honest and gut wrenching and maybe I love it so much because I’m a child of divorce, too.  I’m sad for him though – truly sad.  Divorce is tragic, no matter the circumstances, but I think his divorce is *that* much more tragic.  If you listen to his first album, it’s easy to see: he didn’t want to end up like his father.  And, he hasn’t really.  His most recent album (written in the wake of his own divorce) does have hope scattered throughout and he even talks about the power of forgiveness from the stage.

Anyway, the concert was amazing.  I loved every minute of it, but as it got closer and closer to 10:30, I was getting more and more anxious.  You see, we’re slaves to the public transportation here.  We had to make sure we left enough time to travel on the Underground back to Paddington to catch our train back to Reading.  So, we dipped out after the “last” song and made our way through the thick crowd.  It really wasn’t his last song as he did a two song encore (we only stayed for most of the first song of the encore and stood at the back of the room – which was kind of neat), but we had to go!

We had the Underground car to ourselves and made it back to Paddington just in time to catch the 11 pm train back to Reading.  Even though we had a pretty not awesome train ride home (complete with a 30 minute stop due to “technical problems” and having no seats for part of the journey), it was still a day of pure magic.  And, I’m eternally grateful for my little camera because we can relive the concert for years to come!

 

Eating our way through Paris – Day 3

What could be more quintessentially French than baguettes and brie and escargot?!  Well, maybe creme brule, but three out of four isn’t too bad and that’s exactly what we enjoyed on our third day of eating our way through Paris.

 

On our last full day in France, we went on an absolutely lovely and amazing excursion to Giverny where we explored Monet’s home and gardens and the sweetest little town we’ve ever seen.  It also was where we had a delicious lunch and where one of Matt’s desires was met.  Before heading to France, I asked Matt what he hoped to do and see.  He was pretty simple and said, “I’d like to go to the Louvre, see the Eiffel Tower, eat in a typical French bistro, and try some good French wine.  Oh, and have a true French baguette with some delicious cheese.”  Well, day one accomplished the Louvre and Eiffel Tower.  Day two, with Kate’s help, accomplished the French bistro and French wine.  And, little did we know when we set out for Giverny, but day three was going to take care of the baguette and cheese.

This little outdoor cafe with seating for only about twelve is just up the hill from Monet’s home and gardens.  Giverny, small as it is, is teeming with tourists practically all year – and so is this cafe!  We were so lucky to arrive just in time to grab the last cafe table tucked away in the corner with a great view of the street.  I read over the menu and my heart did a little dance because I knew Matt was going to get what he so wanted: a half baguette FILLED with camembert cheese.  I decided on the three cheese panini, which was good (especially when I got to the brie part), but was no where near as delicious as Matt’s camembert baguette.  This lunch taught me a very important lesson: Never be afraid to order the same thing.  I think in my heart of hearts I wanted the baguette with camembert, too, but I thought I was being clever by ordering the second best thing on the menu in order to sample two things.  Again, while my panini was tasty, it just didn’t compare to the baguette!  How about those cute little bags they were served in?  Though we loved our Giverny lunch, we had no idea what delicacies were awaiting us when arrived back in Paris.

 

That’s right, a Laduree tea party was in order!  When we arrived back in Paris from our Giverny excursion, we had a short two hour window of time to fill before heading on our evening excursion to Montmarte.  In case you’re wondering what to do if you have two hours to kill in Paris, go to the Laduree on the Champs!

When we arrived, there was a very long line that was even out the door.  I was getting very nervous about the time.  Matt would joke later that the theme of our trip was me being nervous (I get very nervous when it comes to departure times).  We soon realized that the line we were standing in was just for the bakery case (no doubt for macarons specifically) and there was no one waiting to be seated.

We were first taken to a table for two by a window in the downstairs area.  This simply would not do.  I excused myself to the upstairs bathroom in order to check out the upstairs seating.  I was happy to find two open tables upstairs so I returned to the hostess and asked her if we could move upstairs.  She didn’t mind at all and led us to a lovely table right in front of a fireplace in the library room.  The atmosphere does make all the difference in the world!  In the downstairs area, there were countless tables.  In our library room?  Only four!

Matt had his heart set on a glass of champagne and chose the Laduree Rose rather quickly.  I spent a few minutes trying to choose between the rose, violet, or Laduree blend of tea before choosing the house blend.  And then came the pastry picking!  The mini macarons were a given and we chose four to share: rose (my favorite), vanilla (Matt’s favorite), orange blossom (a close second for us both), and caramel with salt (which was good, but we would definitely choose coconut next time).  Our individual pastries were a bit more difficult to decide upon.  I ended up selecting a rose cream and raspberry puff pastry (very similar to the St. Honore that I always get at the location in Harrod’s) and Matt picked a passionfruit and raspberry tart (that was amazing!).

 

We paid our bill, used the extremely swanky bathrooms, and then left Laduree just in time for a light drizzle.  It was lovely to walk huddled underneath one umbrella, Matt’s arm around my waist, strolling down the Champs.  We made it back to our bus promptly at 5:30 and then were whisked away to the Montmarte district of Paris.

 

Montmarte is a famous part of Paris, set on a hill with a lovely view of the city below.  I know it because it’s where Amelie worked, in a little cafe frequented by a bunch of eccentrics.  The guide book we took with us from the library AND our amazing tour guide, Mansel, both warned us about the many restaurants in the village square that loved nothing more than to rip tourists off.  So, we set off on the task of finding somewhere decent to eat, and oh, were we lucky?

 

After wandering by a strolling accordionist playing “La Vie en Rose,” we arrived in the village square, the artists’ hub.  There were so many restaurants, so many choices, and only two hours – so, the pressure was on to make up our minds quickly.  One thing I love about Paris is how 99% of cafes and restaurants post their menus outside so that you can look at the menu before you decide to ask for a table.  This would work more to our advantage if we spoke French as some of the menus are only in French, but since we don’t speak French, the posted menus serve as a good weeding tool.  If a menu is only in French, we pass.  We finally came upon La Cremaillere and all its English description glory!  Another thing about Parisian restaurants is their prix fixe menu: a set price which often includes a starter, main, and dessert.  My eye was immediately drawn to La Cremaillere’s Degas menu (aptly named for an artist since Montmarte is known for its artists, too) at €26.  I was pleased to see escargot as a starter option and while I was disappointed that creme brule was not listed as a dessert option, I did spy a delicious salmon main.  After little discussion, we decided to ask for a table.

 

We had such a friendly waiter.  Matt kept an eye on him and felt like our waiter was friendliest to us!  The two phrases of French I know must’ve charmed him.  Since the escargot was one of the deciding factors in our restaurant choice, my starter was a no-brainer.   Never having tried escargot before, Matt was a bit hesitant to order it as well and opted for the Italian salad instead.  I loved the little dish the escargot was served in.  Matt and I each had three and to his delight, he loved them!  His Italian salad was equally delicious and he very generously shared his fresh parmesan and mozzarella with me.

 

Oh, yeah!  I almost forgot to mention our drinks!  Since it was our farewell to Paris dinner, we thought it fitting to celebrate with a bit of wine for him and a practically-all-fruit-juice drink for me.  (I really don’t like the smell or taste of anything alcoholic, so in order for me to be able to drink more than a sip, the drink mustn’t resemble alcohol at all.  The Tropical fit the bill: coconut rum with lots of banana and orange juice!)  We also got a bottomless basket of French baguette pieces which was a big hit with Matt!

 

Our main dishes were absolutely delicious and in fact, perfect (even though I had misread the menu and expected salmon and scallops instead of the salmon and scalloped potatoes).  When our meals were served, the couple next to us kept looking at my dish.  A few minutes later, the man sitting next to Matt motioned for their waiter, mumbled something, and pointed at my plate.  When their food was served, guess what the woman sitting next to me had?  That’s right, the same thing as me!  Matt’s lamb was super tender and he (and me, too) loved it.  The mashed potatoes weren’t anywhere near as good as the previous night’s, but they were still pretty amazing.

 

Now, the food and drink weren’t the only amazing things La Cremaillere had to offer.  It had atmosphere and location as well!  The restaurant had three parts to it: the spacious inside seating complete with bar and live music, an outside garden terrace that they tried to sell us on by describing it as very romantic, and the outside cafe right in the middle of the square with a great view of all the action and that’s where we asked to sit.  Artists and their easels were set up all around the square and we could actually see a few artists sketching the portraits of fellow tourists.  It takes about 20 minutes to sit for a portrait and if Matt and I ever find ourselves back in Paris and in Montmarte, we will have our portrait drawn.  We’ll probably also choose to dine at La Cremaillere.

 

I haven’t mentioned the dessert yet!  Our third and final course was just as spectacular as the first two.  I didn’t know what I was in for when I picked the Chocolate and Pear Charlotte but it seemed the best of the options.  Oh, wasn’t I in for a treat?!  It was so refreshing and delicious.  It was a chocolate-mousse-and-pears with sponge-cake-and-cream-and-chocolate-sauce thing.  By the time dessert was served, I was already so full, but I was not going to let a bite go to waste!  Matt was very full, too, and decided it was a good thing he went with the lightest dessert among the selections: fresh pineapple slices with a scoop of raspberry sorbet and some raspberry sauce.  

 

It was a fabulous farewell to France full of good eats!  And now I leave you with a little video of our tea party in Laduree and our dinner in Montmarte.

 

Eating our way through Paris – Day 1

I think both Clark Kent and I agree that our favorite part of our wonderful Parisian vacation was the food!   We spent €1.50 on some post cards and another €2 for a water color-esque print of the Eiffel Tower and the rest of our budgeted money was most happily spent on food (Oh, and the audio guides at the Louvre.  If you ever find yourselves in the Louvre, spring for the €6 audio guide!).  There were several people on our coach who were clearly in Paris to shop – a mother with her two daughters came back to the bus each evening with handfuls of shopping bags and two elderly women were hoping to catch another handbag sale at Galeries Lafayette – but we were in Paris to eat!

 

In fact, as soon as the coach dropped us off at the Place de la Concorde, a very central location as well as the guillotine’s home during the Revolution, after a two hour sightseeing bus tour, CK and I practically ran down Rue de Rivoli to Angelina, home of the best hot chocolate in the entire world.  Sure, I’m prone to hyperbole every now and then, but I do not exaggerate.  If you’ve never been to Angelina, you will have to take my word for it.

 

Angelina has an absolutely beautiful interior.  The restaurant is nestled in between a swanky hotel and upscale clothing stores, a fancy bookstore – and a few tacky-ish souvenir stores.  As we walked in around 11:30 am on our first full day, the reality of being in Paris with my sweet Clark Kent began to sink in.  We were really here!  I was getting to show him something that I love about this city, Angelina hot chocolate.  (As silly as it sounds, this hot chocolate is important to me.  Not only is it super delicious, it also just represents something that I experienced before CK and something that I wanted him to experience with me.)

 

And so, we were seated in the practically empty downstairs – right in the middle.  To my left was a huge and beautiful painting and to my right was a huge and beautiful mirror (that we ended up taking our pictures in).  As I struggled to get situated around the very tiny marble-topped table, I giggled and giggled – just bubbling over with excitement!  I just knew that even with my best descriptions of the hot chocolate, it was still going to blow CK away!  Also, I couldn’t wait to drink some myself!  

 

We decided pretty quickly on our desserts.  I went with something called Olympe and was pleasantly surprised when it came to the table looking so pretty!  The fact that there was violet cream and a macaron involved sold me and the generous amount of raspberries were a definite bonus.  CK consulted my opinion and I advised him to go with the lime cheesecake.  Never did we imagine it would arrive at our table looking like a magnificent white chocolate encased bomb!  I had a few (very tiny) bites of his lime cheesecake and it was out of this world!  But, then there’s the chocolate!

 

At nearly €15 for hot chocolate for two, it’s definitely the most expensive hot chocolate either one of us have ever enjoyed; with every sip, we were reminded over and over that the experience and taste was worth every penny (whether you’re talking about dollars, pounds, or euros!).  Their hot chocolate is so thick a spoon can nearly stand upright in it!  It is so velvety creamy and coats your mouth!  It was so fun to enjoy hot chocolate in the breathtaking Angelina with my sweet husband and I savored every minute of the hour we spent sipping and nibbling on the pure decadence of it all.  Before we arrived, we were both so hungry – like, lunch-hungry not little-pastries-hungry.  After our hot chocolate and pastries, though, we were pleasantly full and ready to tackle a three hour, fast paced tour of the Louvre (another post).  

 

Before CK, I had been been to Paris three tines with Linda (in fact, when I got back from my last Christmas in Paris, I raced to hang out with CK for the New Year…never would I have imagined that the next time I would go to Paris, I would go with him, my husband!!).  Anyway, there were three main things Linda and I would gush and gush about: Laduree and their macarons, Angelina and their hot chocolate, and the Latin Quarter and their gyros.  Now, I was able to introduce CK to Laduree and their macarons at Christmas time thanks to Harrod’s and the London location of Laduree.  Our first hour alone in Paris I was able to introduce him to Angelina and the heavenly hot chocolate.  So, that left only one thing: the Latin Quarter!  I was thrilled that our first day in Paris included some time in the Latin Quarter to explore (we ended up going to Notre Dame and Shakespeare and Company, a bookstore) AND enjoy dinner (which meant, glorious gyros!).

 

We happened up on THE street, home of Linda’s and my favorite gyro dealer, quite by accident.  I giggled and bubbled with excitement once again and made CK pose for a picture!  (How funny that we come to Paris to have dinner in the Latin Quarter at a Greek restaurant run by Indians/Pakistanis – and, the section is called the Latin Quarter because it is where the Sorbonne was founded and everyone used to speak Latin there.)  I think that the meat in these famous gyros tends to be shaved lamb and beef, but maybe it’s pork?  I’m not sure, but it’s absolutely delicious and it’s hanging in the window!  I love it!  I think CK loved it just as much!  

 

I ordered two “Pitta Extra” and two Cokes very enthusiastically and I think we were shown to the best table in the colorful joint!  So, for €4.50, a gyro is a pita filled with generous helpings of: the shaved mystery meat, lettuce and tomatoes, salt (they actually dump it in there :: I love it!), and…French fries.  I relished every bite and was definitely sad when I had finished it.  

The restaurant had its other charms, too.  The food wasn’t the only thing that was amazing!  First of all, the floor was covered in salt.  Maybe you don’t know this about me, I happen to love salt.  In fact, the salt shaker lives on the shelf next to where I sit on the couch and I have been known to sprinkle salt in my hand and lick it.  Yes, like a deer would do with a salt lick.  I don’t care who knows – I love salt.  So, I love a restaurant that not only dumps salt in the food, but has the actual canister of salt (not a measly shaker) on each table.  Second of all, I love the decor.  I didn’t take any photos of the crazy, border line garish (I love how Merriam-Webster defines garish as “excessively or disturbingly vivid, offensively or distressingly bright, and tastelessly showy”) interior (though I did take a video of it and it does, in a small way, come across).  The walls dripped with color and pictures of Greece.  Next, the public bathroom is great.  You have to get to it by walking down a twisting staircase that leads to their downstairs seating, which is very cool.  

 

See how cool the downstairs is?

 

 

I just love it.  And the men who work there are so friendly!  After dinner, we wandered through the bustling streets of the Latin Quarter.  We looked in the tacky souvenir shops (which is where we bought our 12 postcards for €1.50) and politely declined the offers to dine at one of the many restaurants that had a hostess/host type person beckoning to passers-by.  But when we came upon an ice cream stand, I couldn’t refuse.  I enjoyed every bit of my violet ice cream cone!

 

It was a fabulous first day of eating our way through Paris.  And now, I leave you with a little video of the interior of the Maison de Gyros.  If you ever find yourselves in the Latin Quarter wondering where to eat, go have yourself a gyro!

 

 

Last of the Spring Break recaps in video

Today I offer, for your viewing pleasure, a few videos from Linda’s visit.

 

Here is brief video tour of Jane Austen’s room, one she shared with her sister, Cassandra, in Chawton Cottage.  Though the wallpaper, of course, is new, the creaky floorboards are not!  So charming!

In this video, you can see the beautiful quilt that Jane, Cassandra, and their mother made.  I thought it was absolutely beautiful.  Also of note is the lace collar hanging on the wall – made by Jane.

We went to the first half of the Evensong service at Winchester Cathedral.  I think Clark Kent was mortified that Linda and I made him scoot out after the Apostles’ Creed.  It was a good thing that we ducked out early as it gave us plenty of time to get to the train station to make an earlier train back to Reading AND it afforded the opportunity to film a little bit of the cathedral and get the choir’s singing on video, too (something I couldn’t have done if we were back in the special section of the cathedral where Evensong was going on).

 

These next two videos are rather lengthy.  They’re of two different walks Linda and I took around Whiteknights Lake – the lake that is on campus and pretty much in our backyard (as our flat is on campus, too).  The birds are always chirping!  Yesterday, Clark Kent and I went on a walk around the lake and I was kicking myself for not having my camera with me because there were BABY waterfowl EVERYWHERE!  Hopefully, I will soon capture it on video and put it up, too:

 

There were tea parties and sweet treats! And, lots of them.

Matt flew to Florida on a Wednesday and Linda and I rode the train to London.   The day was dubbed my Unbirthday.  Since Linda won’t be here for my thirtieth, she wanted to celebrate with me now – and, I certainly didn’t object!  It meant three mother/daughter tea parties in London town!  I was totally on board!

 

The first stop was Laduree, in Harrod’s.  If I’m counting correctly, this was our 8th tea party together in Laduree.  (I’m pretty sure we went twice in Paris in 2002, four times in Paris in 2005, once in London over Christmas, and now this time in April.)  It never disappoints.  The London location doesn’t have as vast a selection of pastries as the Paris locations do – but, they have my lusted for rose and raspberry St. Honore!  It was delicious.  My violet tea was delicious.  It was perfect!  After tea, we went to the cuddly toy and children’s book section and looked around a bit.  We were both absolutely amazed at how different the atmosphere was in Harrod’s.  At Christmas, we went on the Saturday before Christmas and it was a nightmare.  Absolutely miserable crowds moving through the place like cattle.  But on a Wednesday late morning in April?  Lovely.  No crowds.  No pushing.  You could take you time and meander through the immense food halls, which we did, and actually get to see and look at things.

 

After Harrod’s, we walked right across the street to Richoux Tea Rooms!  No, it was not too early for another tea party!  We shared a cream tea with four baby scones.  They were wonderfully delicious.  Our Egyptian waiter was super nice.  He was fascinated that we were from Florida and asked if we were for Mr. Obama (for our London visit coincided with Obama’s, so he was everywhere in the news and in people’s minds).  I had rose hip and hibiscus tea for round two, Linda had chamomile.

 

The tea party finale was on the grounds of Kensington Palace, The Orangery.  The atmosphere and surroundings were worth top dollar (or pound), but the food wasn’t quite up to snuff.  No matter, we still had a lovely time eating our Debutaunte’s Tea.  We ordered a scone to share, as our tea didn’t come with a scone, and it was absolutely delicious.  Warm and soft and not biscuit like or crumbly at all.  It was a very lovely thirtieth birthday.  

 

All the London pictures are here. 

 

There were lots of tea parties and sweeties to eat outside of London (though the top right and middle left were our cakes from The Orangery tea party).  Whilst in London, Linda and I got some wonderful take away treats: twelve macarons from Laduree and a pastry from La Patisserie Valerie, a French bakery Linda discovered on the internet.  This meant we had two delicious tea parties the next day – at breakfast and at afternoon tea time (3:30).

 

We enjoyed hot chocolate and treats in Reading’s Boswell’s Cafe, chocolate cake in Henley’s Tea Rooms, and homemade cinnamon rolls right here in Flat One.

 

There Was A Country Walk

Along with the Wind in the Willows exhibit at the River and Rowing Museum, a country walk topped Linda’s agenda.  She did extensive research on nearby country walks and I chanced upon a book in the library that detailed all sorts of walks along the Thames.  So, on the day after she arrived, we packed a delicious picnic and headed out, guidebook in hand, to embark on our Thames Path walk.

 

We rode the train to Pangbourne, a 9 minute ride from Reading.  Kenneth Grahame (author of The Wind in the Willows) lived the last several years of his life in Pangbourne in the Church Cottage right next to the town’s lock up and St James the Less Church (which is where his funeral was held).  So, once we arrived in Pangbourne, we made certain to visit the church and photograph the old town Lock Up.

 

Though the book that detailed the 4 mile walk from Pangbourne to Goring (where the next train station is) was very helpful, there were little signs everywhere indicating the Thames Path – so it would have been very difficult to get lost or off track.  Crossing the bridge in Pangbourne to get to the other side of the Thames (which is where the Path was) afforded the first view of a willow.  Linda was VERY excited!  Willow branches were used to decorate the church for Grahame’s funeral so many years ago and it was neat to imagine that the branches came from the very willows we found.

 

I think I probably tired the quickest along our walk!  I mean, four miles is a lot – isn’t it?!  Anyway, how happy we were all to rest on the “earthen stairs” and enjoy a picnic of egg salad sandwiches, ham and stilton potato chips, and shortbread cookies with belgian chocolate chunks.  We saved our apples for another stop along the path.  And while the Thames Path might infer a path along the river, you are not always in sight of the water.  The path twists and turns through the country and woods, so we got to see lots of interesting sights – cows and horses, bunnies and sheep!

 

The following is video footage from our country walk.  Linda and I have the same camera, so I taught her how to use the video function and she videoed part of the Thames Path walking up on a church along the way (not the church of St. James the Less).  Clark Kent, endlessly obsessed with bumble bees, videoed a “gigantic British bumble bee” in the church yard.  And I tried to capture a bit of the path.

 

All the pictures from the day’s walking adventure can be seen here.

 

And, today marks the ninth month since we became Mr & Mrs.  Yesterday was a wonderful reunion for us.  Clark Kent left on the 8th to go to FL for a week.  He was due to fly home on the 15th.  When he arrived at the airport, he was informed that his flight had been cancelled and he was subsequently rescheduled on a flight for the 17th, getting him in just yesterday.  The reason only one of us went home was the money.  Plane tickets are so expensive!  However, after this excruciating separation in our first year, we have decided that we both go, or we both stay.  We will not voluntarily separate again!  So, our day was spent relaxing, unpacking, talking and catching up on the last ten days of our lives, and relishing each other’s company!  More of the same is on the agenda for today – as soon as he wakes up!  I think I’ll give him till 11 am before I wake him up.  My stomach has been growling for at least an hour and I can’t wait much longer!  And, as we do on the 19th of every month, we’ll talk about the wedding and the honeymoon and smile till our faces hurt.

 

There Were Lots of Willows

One of the “must-dos” on Linda’s list for this spring visit was a trip to the River and Rowing Museum on Henley-on-Thames.  At first, this sounded incredibly boring to me.  I don’t love museums.  I certainly like a museum, or an exhibit, if it’s something I’m interested in or familiar with.  And even then, I’m not too keen on spending too much time in a museum.  When I heard of a river and rowing museum…well, I am neither familiar with nor interested in rivers or rowing.  BUT, she wanted to go to this museum because she discovered that it had a Wind in the Willows exhibit.  All right, I could get behind that – especially since Henley-on-Thames was a very cheap (we’re talking less that £3 roundtrip) train ride and a very quick train ride (close to 20 minutes).  

 

Henley-on-Thames is a nice little town.  There is a beautiful park right along the Thames where the museum is also situated.  We had a delicious snack in their cafe before going through the exhibit.  It was wonderful and both Clark Kent and I were happy that Linda discovered the exhibit, the museum, and the town – right in Reading’s backyard.  Also, you buy a ticket for the museum for the day, but it gains you admission for one whole year!  So, we can most certainly go again.

 

But, the willows…that’s what I was mainly going to write about.  The willows along the Thames are beautiful.  It is no wonder that Kenneth Grahame was so inspired by this very scenery (as he lived in Berkshire, this county).   We saw our first willow as we were about to cross the Thames on one of the only two toll bridges over the Thames.  (Walkers, though, do not have to pay the toll.)  Linda was extremely excited to see the first willow of this trip, as was I.  They really are beautiful and charming and perfect and sweet.  We saw many more along our country walk and in Henley-on-Thames. 

 

And in case any reader wants to experience the Wind in the Willows exhibit, I offer you this video (in which I hate my narration as I have always been one of those people who cringe at the sound of her own voice):

 

There was Jane Austen

It’s 2:45 pm and so far I have watched both Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility so I figured a good starting place for recapping Linda’s visit would be Jane Austen.

 

I cannot imagine a more perfect day than we had two Saturdays ago.  The train to Winchester was pleasant, our cream tea breakfast at the Forte Tea Rooms was tasty, and the bus ride through the country to the village of Chawton was scenic and lovely.  On the x64 bus from Winchester to Chawton, my excitement built steadily during the 30 minute ride.  I think it began to hit me on the bus: WE WERE GOING TO JANE AUSTEN’S HOUSE.  WHERE SHE LIVED.  WHERE SHE REVISED HER NOVELS.  WHERE SHE PLANTED OAK TREES!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

 

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the spring flowers were blooming – it could not have been more perfect.  And then near tragedy struck.  Right in front of Jane’s house Linda fell down a hole that engulfed her right leg completely!  A pile of leaves obscured a deep hole – a hole that we would learn in the moment after Linda’s fall was from the roots of an oak tree that was pulled up in 1985.  An oak tree that Jane Austen planted.  Fortunately, Linda wasn’t hurt badly – a little bruise and a little shaken up, but nothing major.  

 

The floor boards were creaky and the house dripped with charm.  The gardens were beautiful and overflowing with spring flowers.  All the flowers that adorned the different rooms in Jane’s house, in fact, came directly from Jane’s garden.  Oh, it was beautiful.  

 

We saw the amber crosses that Jane’s brother bought for both Jane and her sister, Cassandra.  We saw a pianoforte from 1800, though not Jane’s original one.  There was a lace collar made by Jane, a quilt made by the three Austen women, and a handkerchief Jane embroidered for Cassandra.  Of course there was THE DESK.  It is hard to believe that such tremendous contributions to literature (and film and culture!) started at that little table. 

 

As always, through it all, Clark Kent was such a good sport.  He endured our squeals and oohhs and aaahhhs and “Oh, look at this!” with great enthusiasm and interest.  He seemed genuinely excited for both Linda and me as we experienced it all.  

 

After spending lots of time soaking it all in – the house and the gardens – all three of us were in need of some refreshment.  Right across the street was a quaint place called Cassandra’s Cup where we enjoyed sandwiches and tea before making our journey back to Winchester.  It was a most fabulous day.

 

Back in Winchester, we enjoyed a bakery treat and a successful afternoon in a second hand bookshop and charity shop (yielding a hand made lace tablecloth, walking stick, hedgehog, and several Wind in the Willows inspired books).  We visited Jane’s “grave” in Winchester Cathedral and heard the beautiful choir sing Even Song before heading back to Reading where we enjoyed SubWay for dinner

 

If you want to see all the pictures from our day in Winchester and Chawton, they can be seen here.