London Museums

The first three days of our trip were spent in London, and we toured one museum each day.

We began with the British Museum, which houses the treasures Britain has accumulated from around the globe.

The building itself is the largest glass-ceilinged building in the world, and the fascinating architecture continually draws your eye upward.

One of the greatest treasures of the British Museum, and definitely a highlight for me, is the Rosetta Stone. It is the stone that enabled mankind to crack the code of Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Rameses II.

This is one of the earliest known libraries. It belonged to King Ashurbanipal of Assyria. The placard next to this library said, "Ashurbanipal was always proud of being literate and boasted of his learnedness. Some of these texts were written in his own hand. His sister and his wife also learned to write." Amazing!

There is one large room devoted to the Parthenon frieze and sculptures. While the Parthenon still stands in Greece, these pieces once adorned its sides and crowned its top.

The Greek emphasis on their flowing textiles really caught my eye at this museum. Such beautiful work. You can almost feel the folds and drapes in the fabric.

In the galleries not devoted to ancient art, these two items caught my eye. The first is an early, Celtic shield.

And this is an early automaton (c. 1585). The placard read, "This spectacular machine, in the form of a medieval galleon, was intended to announce banquets at court. The entertainment began with music from a miniature organ inside the hull, drumming and a procession. Afterwards, the ship would travel across the table. When it stopped, as a grand finale, the front cannon would automatically fire, lighting a fuse that would fire the other guns."

The next day, we explored the many rooms of the National Portrait Gallery. 

Among my favorites of the day were these well-known portraits of: Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, and John Bunyan.

And this painting, which spanned nearly the width of a large room, just made me gasp. So beautifully captured! The artist may surprise you. It did me! It was painted by John Singer Sargent, probably better known for painting elegantly attired, late-Victorian women than military leaders.

Another of my favorites was this life-size sculpture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Such devotion captured in stone!

And on our third day, we visited the Victoria & Albert Museum. It is a museum to the decorative arts, or, as I've heard it described...one Martha Stewart-types will enjoy. Oh yes. I'll take that! It's mostly known for its extensive textile collection. However, I will be sharing the textile pictures in another posting.

A Raphael.

A fascinating small item that piqued my interest.

And lastly, this parade shield from Florence, Italy struck me as so beautiful. What workmanship!

Next posting: Textile Touring.

Distinctive Lodgings in the UK and Paris

I have so much to share with you about our trip to England, Scotland, and Paris! I've decided the best way to do this is not chronologically, but topically. The trip took months of planning...consumed nearly all my free time for about three months. It was the trip of a lifetime, and since I'd anticipated it for...oh...ALL my life(!), I really wanted it to be exactly as I'd envisioned. Since so much planning and thought went into our trip, I've decided to share all the links to the places we stayed, ate, visited, toured, etc., in hopes that it might help someone else planning a similar trip.

Since all my postings will be topical in nature, if you need a framework of an itinerary, here's the basics of ours:

-depart Boston Logan Airport on a red-eye (very pleased with Norwegian Airlines)
-arrive Gatwick Airport (London) - three nights in London
-depart London and arrive in Paris - three nights in Paris
-depart Paris and arrive in Edinburgh, Scotland - one night
-depart Edinburgh and arrive in Scottish Highlands - two nights
-depart Scottish Highlands and arrive in Yorkshire Dales/Lake District - three nights
-depart Yorkshire Dales and arrive in Cotswolds - three nights
-depart Cotswolds and arrive in London - two nights
-depart Gatwick Airport (London)
-arrive Boston Logan Airport

The most time-consuming part of the planning process was finding lodgings that: fit the budget, were large enough to accommodate three people, were clean and safe, and were distinctive and gave us the feel of really being in that particular locale. I must say that all the hard work paid off, because we were 100% pleased with each one!

London Hotel

The first hotel we stayed in was the London House Hotel (click here for their website). I found this place through Rick Steves' London 2017 guide. It's located in the Bayswater area of London, sufficiently close to a Tube station and restaurants, yet a couple blocks removed from busyness on a quiet street. The room was super clean, which is very important to me. And the breakfast buffet offered a nice variety of choices. I booked the hotel directly. We would not hesitate to stay here again!

Paris Airbnb

In Paris, we opted to try out Airbnb for the first time ever, because we wanted to stay in a classic Paris apartment (find it by clicking here). It was in the St. Germain area of Paris (6th arrondisement). It had: one bedroom and a sofa bed, nicely sized rooms, two balconies, and the best shower of the entire trip. Best part of this apartment was the view! Worst part was that it was on the 4th floor, and there was no elevator. But the view made it all worth it! The management company was stellar and made us feel ever so welcome!

View from the living room balcony:

Looking hard right at night (zoomed in), we had a view of the sunset and a partial Eiffel Tower view!

And a slightly grainy cell phone shot of the Eiffel Tower at night from the balcony.

Edinburgh (Scotland) Hotel

I wanted to stay in a former country house estate at least once, and so we chose the Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club on the outskirts of Edinburgh (click here for the link). It was built in the 18th century and converted to a hotel in the 1920's. The grounds are beautiful and we enjoyed walking about them. The rooms are all located in the newer addition (not pictured) and ours was nicely spacious. The breakfast buffet is more than generous with omelettes made to order, fixings for a full English breakfast, pastries, fruit, yogurt, cereals, and more!

The light-filled restaurant is where breakfast is served, with views to the golf course, tartan upholstered chairs, and attentive staff.

Scottish Highland Hotel

I will admit that I had my doubts about this hotel when I booked it. Its location was quite remote, and I was dubious. But the Bridge of Orchy Hotel won our hearts (click here for the link)! The staff was exceptional! And check out the restaurant menu! Seriously, some of the most consistently delicious and elegantly served food of the entire trip! Would stay here again in a heartbeat! (That's me on the steps and our rental car on the far right.)

Yorkshire Dales Farmhouse

Although all our lodgings were superb, my hands-down favorite was the Farmhouse at A Corner of Eden in the Yorkshire Dales (in northern England), which Colette gifted to us last Christmas (what a sweetie!). Click here for the link. If you're looking for that classic, English country house feel, this is IT! It feels earthy, yet elegant. And everything you could possibly need to live well is included...right down to the Wellies and Barbour coats for the borrowing. Lots of pictures of this location, because it was just fabulous! Very hard to leave this one, and I'd be most happy to go back and stay a week. And I should mention that it's in the lovely countryside surrounded by green fields filled with sheep and lambs, which you can hear baa-ing from the house. A walk across the fields will get you to the local pub, or cook your own food in the kitchen and serve fireside in the dining room. All just TOO wonderful!

The formal dining room where a fire was already set in the fireplace. 

The cupboards flanking the dining room fireplace were filled with essentials, all nicely labeled with hang tags. This one's tag read "Crockery", and it contained dishes and glassware.

The "dairy" of the house, historically used for keeping food cold, now housed an honesty bar and the Wellies.

The cozy kitchen came provisioned with high-quality cookware and all the essentials for cooking. The owner, who lives in a building next to the Farmhouse, stocked the kitchen with farm fresh eggs, a welcome hamper of treats, homemade bread, and a Victoria Sponge cake! Yum!

Colette chose this bedroom:

And the room Hubby and I chose, and the view from our bedroom window. Bliss!

And a bathroom with a view!

Cotswold Cottage

In the Cotswolds, we stayed at Rambling Rose Cottage (click here for the link). Utterly charming! And the cutest kitchen EVER! And I got to cook on an Aga cooker, which felt so incredibly British! We loved its location, which was close to Stow-on-the-Wold, mere minutes from Daylesford Farm (for a restaurant and healthy groceries), and near other key destinations in the Cotswolds.

London Hotel

And for our last two days, we stayed at The Grosvenor hotel in London, built in the reign of Queen Victoria (click here for the link). Never underestimate the value of Expedia for scoring a great deal! Yes! It was our most spacious accommodation of the trip, had wonderful staff, and was centrally located to Victoria Station, Buckingham Palace, and many other London sites.

Next posting: London Museums!