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| An ecard by Smilebox |
Friday, December 23, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
To the North - A weekend in York
Last weekend S and I ventured north to York. We happened to choose the exact weekend that the real Winter finally decided to show its face and let me tell you the closer you get to Scotland, the more unforgiving the weather. It was positively freezing but the mulled wine kept me warm (drunk even, a rather strange feeling when you are sightseeing in the middle of the day. S found it amusing. I was just warm and tingling!).
York is a gorgeous town with a fascinating history. At various points in history it was dominated by the Romans, the Normans and the Vikings! Constantine was even declared Roman Emperor in York. Historically, York has always played an important role in England. It was once the second largest city in England and has always been the heart of religion in this country (until of course Henry VIII arrived on the scene). Even now, the second born son of the sovereign is titled the Duke of York.
The town had a lovely old world feel about it. It was full of narrow winding streets (called Snickleways), tea houses and antique shops. We loved walking down The Shambles (one of the oldest market streets in England dating back to medieval days and even noted in the Domesday Book). We also loved having lunch and afternoon tea at Betty's, a Victorian tea house which was very cultured indeed. Real tea leaves, silverware and freshly baked scones = heaven.
The star of the town is clearly its Minster - a massive Gothic cathedral with the largest stain glass window in the world. It is the headquarters for the second highest archbishop in England. We were lucky enough to attend a carol service inside the Minster along with the town's entire grey haired population. It was lovely and the organ was impressive.
On Sunday, we ventured even further north to the magnificent Castle Howard. The castle is set on 100,000 acres of land and was used in one of our favourite films/book - Brideshead Revisited. It is still lived in to this day by Lady Howard, her husband and children (Octavia and Merlin - what cool names). Each of the rooms were decorated for Christmas, were lit by candlelight and had real wood fires!
Some family on my dad's side originally come from Whitby in Yorkshire so it was really lovely to see that part of the country. We had yet another lovely, relaxing weekend away.
E&S
xoxox
The dining room set for Christmas lunch at Castle Howard.
York is a gorgeous town with a fascinating history. At various points in history it was dominated by the Romans, the Normans and the Vikings! Constantine was even declared Roman Emperor in York. Historically, York has always played an important role in England. It was once the second largest city in England and has always been the heart of religion in this country (until of course Henry VIII arrived on the scene). Even now, the second born son of the sovereign is titled the Duke of York.
The town had a lovely old world feel about it. It was full of narrow winding streets (called Snickleways), tea houses and antique shops. We loved walking down The Shambles (one of the oldest market streets in England dating back to medieval days and even noted in the Domesday Book). We also loved having lunch and afternoon tea at Betty's, a Victorian tea house which was very cultured indeed. Real tea leaves, silverware and freshly baked scones = heaven.
The star of the town is clearly its Minster - a massive Gothic cathedral with the largest stain glass window in the world. It is the headquarters for the second highest archbishop in England. We were lucky enough to attend a carol service inside the Minster along with the town's entire grey haired population. It was lovely and the organ was impressive.
On Sunday, we ventured even further north to the magnificent Castle Howard. The castle is set on 100,000 acres of land and was used in one of our favourite films/book - Brideshead Revisited. It is still lived in to this day by Lady Howard, her husband and children (Octavia and Merlin - what cool names). Each of the rooms were decorated for Christmas, were lit by candlelight and had real wood fires!
Some family on my dad's side originally come from Whitby in Yorkshire so it was really lovely to see that part of the country. We had yet another lovely, relaxing weekend away.
E&S
xoxox
Clifton Tower - Part of the old York Castle
Hot mulled wine - yum!
York Minster
Ice sculputres doted through the tiny streets which were part of the Angels Festival at Christmas which also had snow machine spit snow off the roofs.
The foyer at Castle Howard
Soooo cold!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Autumnal Adventures
It's been a while since we posted anything so we thought that we would check in and say hello and give everyone an update on what we have been up to.
Autumn still stands as E's favourite season so far. The leaves and trees just got prettier and prettier the deeper we got into Autumn. There are now blankets of leaves all over the ground. Some piles are even knee deep! The squirrels are out in force stocking up on food sources for the winter (or at least that's what we think). Now it's November - where did this year go?
We still make full use of our weekends in London. So, what have we been up to lately:
- Failed miserably at riding bikes around Regents Park but walked it instead. Every time we visit a new park we inevitably say "this is my favorite" but Regents Park is definitely a special place. Rose Gardens, rowing lakes, Queens Gardens, tennis courts that feel like their straight out of the movie Wimbledon and swans - such a lovely way to spend a crisp Autumn day.
- Eating out...so many good restaurants...so little time.
- Catching up with friends. We all spent the summer travelling or entertaining. Now it's just us and London and Autumn and Winter are the perfect time to go to a cosy pub or a bar for a hearty meal or a nice wine.
- Jules and Alex (friends from Oz) came to stay with us on their route back home after 18 months in Cheltenham. We saw some hilarious comedy for a tenner at the Amused Moose, went to Camden Markets (where S picked up a vintage Dior tweed blazer which he didn't realize was Dior) and had a lovely afternoon tea in Primrose Hill.
- Saw a silent film at the Barbican with a live jazz band which was a tribute to the life of Louis Armstrong. It was so fantastic. We love a bit of trumpet!
- Took a glimpse at some original Hollywood glamour shoots of famous actors and actresses from the 1920's to the 1960's at the National Portrait Gallery.
- Eating lots of soup. We think we might turn orange from all the pumpkin soup.
Until next time, we hope everyone back in Oz is enjoying the sunshine whilst we get cozy and enjoy the Christmas festivities. Open air ice skating and mulled wine here we come. Photos below.
xoxo
E&S
Autumn still stands as E's favourite season so far. The leaves and trees just got prettier and prettier the deeper we got into Autumn. There are now blankets of leaves all over the ground. Some piles are even knee deep! The squirrels are out in force stocking up on food sources for the winter (or at least that's what we think). Now it's November - where did this year go?
We still make full use of our weekends in London. So, what have we been up to lately:
- Failed miserably at riding bikes around Regents Park but walked it instead. Every time we visit a new park we inevitably say "this is my favorite" but Regents Park is definitely a special place. Rose Gardens, rowing lakes, Queens Gardens, tennis courts that feel like their straight out of the movie Wimbledon and swans - such a lovely way to spend a crisp Autumn day.
- Eating out...so many good restaurants...so little time.
- Catching up with friends. We all spent the summer travelling or entertaining. Now it's just us and London and Autumn and Winter are the perfect time to go to a cosy pub or a bar for a hearty meal or a nice wine.
- Jules and Alex (friends from Oz) came to stay with us on their route back home after 18 months in Cheltenham. We saw some hilarious comedy for a tenner at the Amused Moose, went to Camden Markets (where S picked up a vintage Dior tweed blazer which he didn't realize was Dior) and had a lovely afternoon tea in Primrose Hill.
- Saw a silent film at the Barbican with a live jazz band which was a tribute to the life of Louis Armstrong. It was so fantastic. We love a bit of trumpet!
- Took a glimpse at some original Hollywood glamour shoots of famous actors and actresses from the 1920's to the 1960's at the National Portrait Gallery.
- Eating lots of soup. We think we might turn orange from all the pumpkin soup.
Until next time, we hope everyone back in Oz is enjoying the sunshine whilst we get cozy and enjoy the Christmas festivities. Open air ice skating and mulled wine here we come. Photos below.
xoxo
E&S
Regents Park - Queens Gardens
How many noses smell these roses?
Primose Hill - pretty trees
Into the darkness....
Ever since the clocks went back an hour at the end of October, it now gets dark at 4.30pm. Yep you read correctly...four thirty p.m... and we haven't even officially entered winter yet. Don't be fooled either that during the limited amount of daytime we get that it is all sunshine. Some days it is just grey or "white cloud" (as BBC weather authoritatively tells me).
It's not the cold that makes the British depressed little bunnies in Winter...it's the blooming dark.
This November we have had fairly mild temperatures. It surprisingly is not that cold - roughly around 10 degrees (I know I'm acclimatizing aren't I!).
I'm getting used to the dark. My next step is to get used to the grey-ness, the mist that is so low it isn't raining but the air feels wet, the days without sunshine. Layering and un-layering. Everyone looking scary with their hoodies on...how are we going to tell who the rioters are?
It's not all that bad. S and I are really loving:
- hot soup.
- cosy pubs with real fire places.
- open air ice skating rinks.
- yummy, hearty food like pies and sticky date pudding and porridge.
- boots, scarves, hats and gloves.
- skiing at Christmas.
- winter Christmas markets.
- mulled hot wine.
- Christmas decorations in the London shops that make it feel like Christmas. In fact there is a definite Christmas vibe here.
- booking in theater shows and going to museums to keep us indoors.
- the nutcracker ballet and pantomime.
- feeling cosy.
I promise that that is my rant. No more mention of weather. Except for the fact that S and I are thinking of getting an alarm that lets off simulated sun light to prevent SAD (seasonal adjustment disorder)...is that going too far or do you think the North Face jackets are enough???
Xoxo
E
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Posh it up in Chelsea
S's previous opinion was that Chelsea was a snobby and pretentious part of London. That still rings true about the local residents but a few weeks back we scratched the surface and found some pretty amazing things. Our opinions have changed and for the better. We now love that part of London known as SW3.
Kings Road is a great place to shop (albeit quite a popular part of town). We were lucky enough to stumble across some markets in Duke of York Square filled with fresh food and yummy sweets. The weather was glorious and the sky was a crisp blue so we sat and basked in the sun with our Moroccan lunch. We also had a little look around the famous Saatchi Gallery. What we found was a very interesting assortment of sculptures - see below.
We used one of our walking cards and followed it strictly. We found the most beautiful garden -Ranleigh Gardens- with some pretty, colorful autumnal trees. We felt like the only ones in the gardens and wondered why more people weren't enjoying it. Everyone raves about Hyde Park but this was something else - like a secret little forest. We walked through the amazing grounds of the Chelsea Private Soldiers Hospital which is still a home for retired soldiers. It's filled with handsome manicured gardens and impressive architecture that reminded us of the Invalides building in Paris. We then walked down Chelsea Embankment on the banks of the Thames and weaved our way through the gorgeous streets of Chelsea. We saw the street that once housed the likes of Mick Jagger and famous English writers. "Redbrick", the term denoting expensive property, springs to mind.
Our visit proved to us that there is more to Chelsea than pretension and Louis Vuitton clad trust fund babies. It's full of history and culture - our favourite things!!
Kings Road is a great place to shop (albeit quite a popular part of town). We were lucky enough to stumble across some markets in Duke of York Square filled with fresh food and yummy sweets. The weather was glorious and the sky was a crisp blue so we sat and basked in the sun with our Moroccan lunch. We also had a little look around the famous Saatchi Gallery. What we found was a very interesting assortment of sculptures - see below.
We used one of our walking cards and followed it strictly. We found the most beautiful garden -Ranleigh Gardens- with some pretty, colorful autumnal trees. We felt like the only ones in the gardens and wondered why more people weren't enjoying it. Everyone raves about Hyde Park but this was something else - like a secret little forest. We walked through the amazing grounds of the Chelsea Private Soldiers Hospital which is still a home for retired soldiers. It's filled with handsome manicured gardens and impressive architecture that reminded us of the Invalides building in Paris. We then walked down Chelsea Embankment on the banks of the Thames and weaved our way through the gorgeous streets of Chelsea. We saw the street that once housed the likes of Mick Jagger and famous English writers. "Redbrick", the term denoting expensive property, springs to mind.
Our visit proved to us that there is more to Chelsea than pretension and Louis Vuitton clad trust fund babies. It's full of history and culture - our favourite things!!
Some rather interesting art at the Saatchi Gallery - I liked the pretty colours until we got up close!
For the love of Jimmy Choo
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Aquae Sulis (a.k.a Bath)
S and I just enjoyed a lovely long weekend in Bath, South West England. We had been meaning to visit Bath for some time. Mainly because of E's obsession with Jane Austen. Persuasion is E's favorite Austen novel and it was written by her whilst she was living in Bath.
What we didn't realize was that Bath is full of history that we never knew nor expected. We both learnt an awful lot that weekend.
Possibly the most impressive sight we saw was Bath's namesake - the Roman Baths. The Romans found the hot springs in 43AD and then used it as a spa resort and temple to the goddess, Sulis Minerva (who they thought warmed the hot springs) for 400 years. When the Romans left, the hot springs were "lost". How one loses a hot spring is beyond us. They were refound by the Georgians who thought that the hot baths also had healing qualities.
We learnt an incredible amount about Roman history by visiting the structure that they built around the hot springs. A large majority of the site and associated temples are below ground and historians believe it could sprawl for many more miles. The Romans were so advanced - beside each of the swimming bath were steam rooms, massage parlours and drains.
We took a great walking tour that showed us all of the other sites we wanted to see in Bath. Extremely informative, the walk took us to the Royal Crescent, the Circus, the Pump Room and Bath Cathedral. It also taught us about the iconic Bath sandstone (used to rebuild the city).
It was intriguing to learn that after years of neglect, Bath was effectively remodelled and rebuilt in the Georgian times so that the Royals (and high society that followed) could use Bath as a resort town. It was a bustling city full of prosperity, society and wealth. People would bring their daughters in order to find them a suitable and wealthy husband. Characters like Beau Nash dictated social etiquette (some of which we still use today). Three men were charged with rebuilding Bath (Beau Nash included) and E was particularly interested in the one responsible for architecture - his style was based around the notion that everyone should live in a palace. The Royal Crescent and the Circus were E's favourites (and indeed very palatial in style).
We treated ourselves to a posh lunch in the Pump Room and also drank some of the "healing" hot spring water. In the Georgian times, the Pump Room was used by society who travelled to Bath especially to drink the healing water.
Since we were so close to Stonehenge we decided to also visit the 5000 year old rock formation. Who knows who built it and for what purpose. All we know is that you can definitely feel the importance of the rock structure as you walk around it. Usually when you travel and site see you get the answers but this site left us with a lot of questions about what this site was used for and by whom. We're sure that whoever they were, they were more advanced than we think...it is no coincidence that the rocks aligned with the sun's positioning at different times of the year, month or day.
We spent Sunday afternoon relaxing in the Thermae Spa (the modern day version of the baths) which has a rooftop heated pool with an impressive view. Our favorite part was the scented steam rooms. Especially the one that was mint and eucalyptus scented.
We stayed in a lovely little Manor Cottage just outside of the centre of town and enjoyed some very lovely meals (including a Jamie Oliver restaurant). It was a deeply relaxing holiday - walking, seeing, eating and spa-ing. We left Bath feeling revitalised and recharged...just how the Romans and Georgians planned it!!
E&S
xoxox
What we didn't realize was that Bath is full of history that we never knew nor expected. We both learnt an awful lot that weekend.
Possibly the most impressive sight we saw was Bath's namesake - the Roman Baths. The Romans found the hot springs in 43AD and then used it as a spa resort and temple to the goddess, Sulis Minerva (who they thought warmed the hot springs) for 400 years. When the Romans left, the hot springs were "lost". How one loses a hot spring is beyond us. They were refound by the Georgians who thought that the hot baths also had healing qualities.
We learnt an incredible amount about Roman history by visiting the structure that they built around the hot springs. A large majority of the site and associated temples are below ground and historians believe it could sprawl for many more miles. The Romans were so advanced - beside each of the swimming bath were steam rooms, massage parlours and drains.
We took a great walking tour that showed us all of the other sites we wanted to see in Bath. Extremely informative, the walk took us to the Royal Crescent, the Circus, the Pump Room and Bath Cathedral. It also taught us about the iconic Bath sandstone (used to rebuild the city).
It was intriguing to learn that after years of neglect, Bath was effectively remodelled and rebuilt in the Georgian times so that the Royals (and high society that followed) could use Bath as a resort town. It was a bustling city full of prosperity, society and wealth. People would bring their daughters in order to find them a suitable and wealthy husband. Characters like Beau Nash dictated social etiquette (some of which we still use today). Three men were charged with rebuilding Bath (Beau Nash included) and E was particularly interested in the one responsible for architecture - his style was based around the notion that everyone should live in a palace. The Royal Crescent and the Circus were E's favourites (and indeed very palatial in style).
We treated ourselves to a posh lunch in the Pump Room and also drank some of the "healing" hot spring water. In the Georgian times, the Pump Room was used by society who travelled to Bath especially to drink the healing water.
Since we were so close to Stonehenge we decided to also visit the 5000 year old rock formation. Who knows who built it and for what purpose. All we know is that you can definitely feel the importance of the rock structure as you walk around it. Usually when you travel and site see you get the answers but this site left us with a lot of questions about what this site was used for and by whom. We're sure that whoever they were, they were more advanced than we think...it is no coincidence that the rocks aligned with the sun's positioning at different times of the year, month or day.
We spent Sunday afternoon relaxing in the Thermae Spa (the modern day version of the baths) which has a rooftop heated pool with an impressive view. Our favorite part was the scented steam rooms. Especially the one that was mint and eucalyptus scented.
We stayed in a lovely little Manor Cottage just outside of the centre of town and enjoyed some very lovely meals (including a Jamie Oliver restaurant). It was a deeply relaxing holiday - walking, seeing, eating and spa-ing. We left Bath feeling revitalised and recharged...just how the Romans and Georgians planned it!!
E&S
xoxox
The Royal Crescent
The Circus
The River Avon
One of only three bridges in the world that doubles as a shopping street (the others are in Italy)
Inside Bath Cathedral
Cute little Tea Shops everywhere
S the French man
Stonehenge
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