17 April - Day 17

Our flight time of 12:05 pm allows us a faily leisurely morning for breakfast and the walk to the terminal...the Sofitel is attached to Terminal 5 the international terminal! Tom couldn't get over how you can't hear the planes but you can't!!! Heathrow is busy, of course , but we get through security and find a seat to wait. Our plane is on time and we're off! Fabulous trip, amazing weather, great fun...

16 April - Day 16

Our last full day! We start at the Bath Abbey and then the Roman Baths - fantastic displays with a great acoustic-guide accompaniment. The history of the baths is fascinating and I could certainly have spent more time there. We hopped on the city tour bus that makes a continuous loop. I love to do this and get the "lay of the land". We hopped off at the Crescent to see the Crescent Museum - a house decorated as it would have been in Georgian Bath...the dining room set for dessert with port and cigars in the Gentleman's Study. Downstairs a fascinating kitchen complete with a dog-powered appartus to turn the spit so the roast cooks evenly! Lunch at the Royal Crescent and then Peter, our last driver, arrives in his Audi Quattro (wins Best Car in my book!). The goals today are either Avebury or Stonehenge and then Salisbury Cathedral before ending at the Sofitel at Heathrow...Peter gives us a lovely tour through the countryside including a drive past Camilla's ex-husband's place (nice digs!). We get to both Avebury and Stonehenge! It is hard to get your mind around something that is 5,000 years old...Salisbury is lovely and the choir is practicing as we enter! About an hour further to Heathrow - the Sofitel is lovely...very European. A nice dinner and off to pack for the last time.

14 April - Day 14

Breakfast in the library then off to Cardiff, Caerphilly and then Bath. We are in the home stretch. You can’t go through the center of Wales – too mountainous so we go east toward Chester swinging back and forth over the England/Wales border. Mostly 2 lane road but for the most part we move right along. Driving through Marcher Lord country! I am frightening myself with my newly acquired knowledge of British history…Caerphilly is the best of the lot – absolutely astonishing engineering feat. IMMENSE - begun in 1268 by Gilbert de Clare, one of Henry III's most powerful barons, to defend against Llewellyn the Last. Three islands in the middle of a lake, castles on all three connected by drawbridges originally, wooden walkways now. Cardiff, on the other hand very confusing. Later additions and alterations have blurred the Roman/Saxon/Norman/18th/19th century changes. We make good time crossing over the Bristol Channel and arrive in Bath at the Royal Crescent at 5:30 PM. I feel like I am in a movie! No big check in desk just the suggestion that we wait in the drawing room. A charming staff member brings our keys and registration cards to us and then gives us a tour on our way to our rooms. Our rooms are in the Dower House out in the garden. The Royal Crescent Hotel is the combination of #’s 16 and 17 Crescent Circle. John Woods designed this 18th century masterpiece as a façade - individual townhouse owners would contract to build and finish their own unit behind the facade. Units were intended to be rented to the very wealthy who would come for the season – September to May. The Royal Crescent also includes a spa. Great room – wonderful bathroom, again! Nice dinner in their restaurant.

13 April - Day 13

We have decided to do a spa treatment this afternoon but this morning (begun 1283) Conwy Castle – Edward I - again! Conwy is a wonderful walled town giving it a very medieval feel. Conwy also boasts the smallest house in the world! A ride to Llandundo – seaside Victorian town beautifully preserved. Everyone on Easter bank holiday so lots of people strolling on this warm and sunny day. Lunch outdoors in front of the Stafford Hotel looking at the bay. Back at the Hall lovely walk in the garen through the woods. Sheep, sheep and more sheep on the hills immediately around the Hall...in fact you ride over sheep grates into the sheep pasture on your way to the hotel. Baby lambs sunning, romping - so cute! Head, neck and shoulder massage at 3 – a swim, whirlpool, steam room, sigh…dinner in the 1620 Room the new restaurant at Bodysgallen...a little more relaxed atmosphere and food...delicious.

12 April - Day 12

Happy Easter! Taxi to Dublin Port - no funny cabbie this ride. Fast ferry to Holyhead – club class - beautiful private cabin with a small complimentary buffet. Named the Jonathan Swift...of course! Powered by 4 large water jets that pump 60,000 tonnes (UK version) of sea water per second so we roll along at 39 knots/hour! Gorgeous day and great views! We cover the 60 nautical miles to Holyhead in just under two hours – very relaxing way to travel! Vickie Owen (driver Philip’s wife) waiting for us as Philip had a late night. Sheep, sheep and more sheep. Nice drive along the coast of Anglesey. Looking very rugged in the distance. Travel through the town with the world’s longest name - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch - really! No kidding! The Welsh call it LlanfairPG (the LL is pronounced like SH). It means "The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's of the red cave"...On our way to Beaumaris (1295 but never completed)– another one of Edward I’s castles. Philip meets us in Beaumaris. Quick lunch and off to Caenarfon Castle (first a Roman fort and then 1096 the first stone structure– Edward starts his castle in 1283. Caenarfon lies on the Menai Staits between Anlesey and mainland Wales. Impressive! A ride up through Llanberis toward Snowdonia. Incredible 11th century Conwy Castle from my window!! Bodysgallen is fabulous.

11 April - Day 11

Tom wanted to go to gym and stay in hotel. Kris and Ed to Irish National Stud. BMW today - nice! Oh the foals! Fields and fields of mares and foals. Three in Nursery paddocks. Immaculate barns and stalls. Paddocks for the stallions. Foaling stalls – straw piled so high it is unbelievable! The stud was estalished around 1900 by Colonel William Hall-Walker who had remarkable luck racing the horses he bred. He would have each foal's horoscope read and if it was deemed auspicious - a bad reading and the horse was sold! Lunch on the deck overlooking a pond complete with swan. Back to Dublin and the Guinness Storehouse. Great tour…better pint – now I understand! Back to the hotel. Wales tomorrow!

10 April - Day 10

Ed the driver – Lexus…sweet! Great orientation tour of Dublin – history, views, wonderful! Drive up the coast north of Dublin to Howth – gorgeous views. Narrow, narrow roads. Unexpected visit to Malahide Castle owned by the Talbot family 1185-1973. Ed thought we should see it due to our interest in castles and history. Lovely Irish furniture and accessories. Lots of legends about the house - One of the more poignant legends concerns the morning of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, when fourteen members of the family breakfasted together in the dining room, never to return, as all were dead by nightfall. Drive to Powerscourt. Mile long drive with 2000 beech trees! The house is being renovated again after a devastating fire. Nice lunch. Great garden! Gorgeous waterfall. Return via the coast south of Dublin. Killiney, Dalkey, etc. Dinner in The Vault!

9 April - Day 9

Up early to get to the airport. Aer Lingus to Dublin. Hillarious cabbie – brilliantly told story about England vs Ireland in the World Cup - "Got drunk. Missed the plane." It might have been a tall tale but it was a great tall tale! Welcome to Ireland! Exceptional hotel – converted bank - unbelieveable bathroom. Unpacked and walked across the street to Trinity College. Book of Kells and the Long Hall. Up to Dublin Castle but no tours left. Christ Church and the Dulblinia/Viking Exhibit. Lovely walk back to the hotel. Early dinner in the Atrium. Delicious!

8 April - Day 8

John arrives at 8. Off to Glamis (Glams) Castle home of the Queen Mum. Drive around Perth. Arrive Glamis...lovely kitchen for a little mid-morning snack! Medieval plus early 20th century. Off to St. Andrew’s . The Royal and Ancient Clubhouse. Pretty town – great cathedral ruin...and interesting though brief tour of the university. Drop Kris off at Edinburgh Castle. Tom back to the hotel. I have a wonderful self-guided tour of the Castle and then walk down the Royal Mall all the way to Holyrood House...another lovely day. When will all the rain arrive? So far very, very little!!

7 April - Day 7

John the driver picks us up at 9. A little orientation to Edinburgh – views from Calton Hill toward the Firth of Forth. A stop in Queen’s Ferry. St. Margaret and the pilgrims. Off to Linlithgow Castle first then Stirling Castle. St. Michael’s Church in Linthithgow. Doune Castle in the distance- Monty Python’s Holy Grail. Up into the Highands. A drive through the Trossachs around Loch Lomand. Lunch stop – Hammish the Highland Cow. The Royal Grouse. Scottish strawberries. A wee dram of Glennfydditch and some shortbread....A visit to Glenneagles Golf Club where the Ryder Cup will be played in 2014! It should be great...the mountains filled with gorse in brilliant yellow and dark patches of heather that will bloom in the fall... the light rain today seemed so appropriate for Scotland - broody and dramatic - interestingly the rain did not shroud the views - they were great! Dinner in the hotel - very nice. Lovely staff - true everywhere on this trip.

6 April - Day 6

We wheel our bags into the station –find a porter to help load the bags on the train (thank goodness). Hundreds of bicycles parked a the station –fascinating! Train on time, bags loaded. Up the coast we go! Great views of the seacoast – I see Lindisfarne in the distance! Arrive Edinburgh Station. Royal Terrace Hotel lovely with views toward the Calton Hill one way and the Firth of Forth the other! Holyrood House – terrific! Mary Queen of Scots – Italian secretary Ritzio murderd by her husband, great stuff! Lovely furnishings

5 April - Day 5

Taxi to Kings Cross Rail Station – train to York at 9AM! Figured out which coach was first class…managed to get super heavy luggage stowed and we’re off! English countryside passes by…what a nice way to travel. Sheep! Sheep! More sheep! However…no help available for getting bags OFF the train. Somehow we manage. Where is the taxi? Our hotel is supposed o be close to the station but no way are we going to make it any further schleppng all of this luggage. We walk out of the station toward what would logically be where the taxis are but no taxis! Panic!! I look about in abject desperation. Oh no! What will we do?! Suddenly I focus and realize that the door I have been staring at literally 6 feet away says “Royal York Hotel”…our hotel!
Rooms not ready so we leave bags with bellman and off to see York Minster, largest Gothic church north of the Alps with more stained glass then any other church in Great Britain. Amazing – exploration of the lower level reveals Norman church foundation layered on an Anglo-Saxon church foundation layered on a Roman garrison foundation. Nice lunch just off The Shambles. A little more walking but a good idea to make it a fairly early day. I can see the Minster from my room!

4 April - Day 4

.Marcus arrived early today, at our request - off to Canterbury, Sandwich and Leeds Castle. After some polite, non-controversial pleasantries the Phase II of the English history challenge began again in earnest! A little drippy today - nothing too serious. Drive through Kent very nice. Marcus had in mind a new place to park near the cathedral right along the city's Roman wall rebuilt in the 14th century. Short walk to the cathedral through the town -wonderful! Layers of history - 1,400 years more or less. Stt. Augustine, Chaucer...Tom claimed that the stain on the floor was really from Thomas Becket's blood but Marcus and I were skeptical. On to Sandwich to see the Hunt Gallery owned by Winterthur licensees Rosemary and Michael Hunt and Michael's paintings of Winterthur - 112 paintings done to date moving toward a goal of 175...the gallery is on a narrow little street that contains the longest row of half-timber houses in England- the Hunt Gallery dates to 1297!!! We arrive - no English reserve - lots of hugs and, to my astonishment they have rehung the entire gallery with all Winterthur (one room reserved for Wynkoop House owned by Gary Tinterro, MMA curator)!!!! Absolutely stunning to see these in person - seriously stunning. Rosemary and her son Philip show me the rest of the paintings for which there was no room on the walls! I took photos but they could not possibly do the display justice or the individual paintings justice. What a treat! Leeds next...love at first sight! Lunch first on the terrace of their lovely restaurant. Beautiful day, gorgeous views but I am sensing a prescnce..HF had to have visited there. So many similarities - colors, arrangements, room proportions, accessories - delighful. A walk back through the garden. Spring in England! Back to London...many thanks to Marcus!

Day 3 Footnote

I love the new lighting system for hotel rooms! You place our room key in a dock right inside the door where a master switch turns on all the lights. You can still operate each individual light but all lights are extinguished when you remove your key as you leave the room. Sweet.

3 April - Day 3

Day 3 – One more gorgeous day - perfect for a new crisis du jour - mine! I had tried to make reservations on line for our trip to York. Not having used the British rail system I was nervous about just showing up. The concierge did his best to help but it seemed we would have to go to a station to make the reservation. Of course, I assumed the worst - the rail passes weren't valid, blah, blah blah...Tom and I walked the short distance to Victoria Station, waited in the wrong line (long, wrong line), were politely told to get in the other line and once there effortelssly reserved our seats for the trip. Euphoric we hopped in a cab up to the British Museum where I fulfilled a long time dream to see the Elgin Marbles. You could spend days in there. Then off to the Tate Britain to see the Turner’s…sigh. The current exhibit draws parallels between Turner’s so-called “unfinished” works and those of the 20th century abstract expressionist, Mark Rothko. I’m not sure I’m buying all that but it was very thought provoking t0 think that Turner purposely played with light and paint in a very abstract way. The two Tates (Britain and Modern) have a Thames shuttle between them! Named, of course, drum roll….Tate a Tate! How cool! Another perspective on London! We didn’t go in the T-Modern or do the Globe Theater tour (the lobby was bedlam) so we opted for lunch OUTDOORS at a little pub on the southern bank of the Thames. Our view was looking over at St. Paul’s. From there a walk across the Millennium bridge. The bridge, if you will remember, wobbled like mad and had to be rebuilt so when Sophie and I were there 04-05 you could only walk out a short distance as the center was removed! We are on a roll so why not one more museum? OK – the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Wow! On display was just a modest sampling of the art works acquired by the royal family. The current exhibit is “Bruegel to Rubens” – superb! A walk across the street to our hotel. Such a great day we decide to walk up to Sloane Square to a restaurant Tom remembers fondly - Oriel. Nice walk. Great restaurant - table by the window to people watch. Tomorrow - another installment of Tom vs. Marcus so tune in again!

2 April - Day 2

Day 2 – Marcus, the driver, picked us up at 9 just prior to which Tom had revealed that he couldn’t find his medicine…The front desk suggested that the pharmacy next to Victoria Station would fill the prescription without a doctor’s appointment. Marcus took all of this in stride and we all brainstormed as he drove around our area of London (no where to just sit and think). We found a Boot’s (UK Happy Harry’s) near Victoria. Tom and I jumped out after exchanging mobile numbers (so British!) with Marcus. Lovely people in Boot’s, but it was revealed that what the front desk really meant was for Tom to visit the NHS (National Health Service) next to Victoria. We hot footed it up 2+ blocks to the NHS where Tom got his name on the list and sat down to wait. I hot footed it back 2+ blocks to meet Marcus then he drove me back to the NHS now knowing where we were with the understanding that he would wait to hear from us. Shortly Tom was seen and came out in 20 minutes with all 3 prescriptions!!! For FREE!!!!!! We hot footed it back 2+ blocks to Boots to get the ‘scripts filled. Called Marcus. Now 10:30…day begins. First stop Windsor! The accoustiguides are a nice addition as was Marcus’ background material as we drove there. Tom played “Stump Marcus on His Knowledge of the Succession of the English Crown”. Amazingly enough Marcus proved a worthy opponent…I called it a draw! After our castle tour Marcus drove us out to see the Long Walk which I had not done before – lovely! Marcus then dropped us off at the bridge over the Thames to Eaton. We only had time to walk over and back but such a treat to see Eaton. Another amazing day of sunshine! Off to EAT in the Windsor train station to buy sandwiches for the road (super yummy!) and then off to Oxford! Marcus again gave us great background on the way there while Tom continued the game periodically shifting the emphasis to the Royal succession as it relates to Oxford. Marcus again held up well. Marcus gave me walking tour while Tom spent time in his favorite book store. We saw many of the beautiful aspects of the university including Brasenose College http://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/ - I took some great pictures of the courtyards, the chapel, the flowers…then off to Blenheim! OHMYGOODNESS! What a sight as Blenheim comes in to view. It is hard to imagine its size even when you are standing in front of it –spectacular! The new exhibit on the 2nd floor gives visitors a glimpse into …the rest of the story…animatronics depicting Lady Sarah Churchill and others use technology including digital video to tell the “back” stories – fascinating stories and fascinating technology used to really engage the visitor…Mr. du Pont in Port Royal welcoming visitors?!!!!! Back to the hotel – we ate in The Library at the hotel this time – fabulous.

Stay tuned for more! We are off with a driver to see Stirling Castle and play “Stump the Driver on His Knowledge of the Succession of the Scottish and British Crowns”!

1 April - Day 1

Smooth, uneventful British Air flight to Heathrow – the new Philly Intl terminal is awesome BTW! Taxi to the hotel – Rubens at the Palace…it looks across the road at the Palace’s wall! Lovely hotel, room staff, amenities. I would heartily recommend. Rooms ready, bags unpacked off to Fortnum and Mason and a walk around Piccadilly. We visited Tom’s tailor on Saville Row – Denge and somebody – very interesting. We also shopped the Burlington Arcade – love those Beadles! Then it was off to Harrod’s followed by Kensington Palace. 60 degrees and sunny! Flowers everywhere and all of the fruit trees blooming. Who knew the British have leaned how to cook? Lovely dinner at the hotel.