Grand Tour #11

We are finally home from a long day of touring Bath. Our feet are tired and we are anxiously awaiting the results of the Britain’s Got Talent finals. Today was Jane Austen madness! I mean MADNESS! We slipped into Bath Abby for a few minutes before our Jane Austen walking tour began. The Abby was about to close for a wedding – we were lucky to sneak in just before. The Abby is so beautiful – even though I have been there before, I never get tired of touring it. We went on the walking tour – heard lots of stories, saw lots of buildings, saw lots of streets and learned lots about Jane Austen. I won’t give details – you would be asleep in ten minutes! We ended the tour at the Jane Austen Center and spent two hours there! First there was lunch. Daughter 1 ordered, of course, Tea with Mr. Darcy and the Jane Austen Blend tea. After lunch we went to listened to an introductory lecture about Jane Austen and then went on a self-guided tour around the center. Shopping was last on the list- we found Daughter 1 another old edition of Pride and Prejudice. We then proceeded on our own walking tour to finish up the rest of the Jane Austen sites – the Royal Crescent, the Circus, many streets where Jane would have been and some of the streets where they filmed both versions of Persuasion. The Fashion Museum was next on our list – we had a great time trying on corsets! We ended the day at Sally Lunn’s, the oldest house in Bath and a bakery for several hundreds years. Now to our hotel – it is wonderful. It is one of six gate houses for the nearby Farleigh Castle. So this mini-castle has been here for a long time. I really wanted to stay here when we lived in England, but the daughters were too young. One more thought for the night - I can’t help but take a stroll down memory lane, thinking of all the people we came to Bath with while we lived here. I have such good memories. But the past two days, I have thought so much about my visit here with my parents and grandfather. My grandfather was 86 and wanted to visit me in England, so my parents brought him over. Bath was one of the destinations we visited during his tour of the United Kingdom. Grandpa returned home and died within a week. He had two passport stamps in his passport – the USA and the United Kingdom. A dream he had his whole life. So here I am with my daughter living out her dream. Enough for tonight – goodnight to all. Mom and Dad – I love you!

Grand Tour #10

What a delightful day! And we actually slept in! Up at 8:00 and breakfast at 9:00 – boy were we happy! Today was all about Jane Austen in Bath, her home numerous times during her lifetime. We started the day at the Roman Baths. We fully enjoyed our self-guided audio tour and learning about the partially naked, muscular Roman soldiers. We decided we would love to be the slaves scraping the dirt off them after they came out of the steam rooms dripping in sweat. Just kidding! Just checking to see if you are still reading. After the baths, we roamed around town, looked in a couple of antique stores and strolled along the same streets Jane Austen walked down during her time in Bath. We stopped at the Victoria Art Gallery (because it was free) and viewed an exhibit of different architects’ visions of modernizing and updating Bath - from the late 1800’s up until the 1940’s. Bath would be a very different place if some of these changes would have been implemented. Upstairs there was an impressive gallery – we especially liked two Gainsborough portraits and two Duffield still lifes. After more shopping we headed to the Pump Rooms for afternoon tea. With beautiful surroundings, a string trio and delicious food, we had a wonderful time. The Pumps Rooms have been the center of social life in Bath for hundreds of years. Jane Austen visited and even wrote about The Pump Rooms in her novels Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Then we were off to the new Thermal Spa for a late afternoon treatment. We arrived at 4:00 and our time ended at 7:45. In that time period we: swam in two different pools, visited three giant steam rooms each with a different aromatherapy scent, had a light snack, soaked our feet in our own mini-foot spa, took cold showers, had a hot shower that was like a waterfall and each had a spa treatment. Daughter 1 had a neck, back and shoulder massage with a rejuvenating facial, and I had a neck, back and shoulder massage with a foot massage. The weirdest part – they made us wear paper thongs for our massages. Because they were cut so strangely, I was not sure which was the front and which was the back!! We stumbled out of the spa and found the town empty – which was wonderful. Unfortunately if you ask Daughter 1 how she would describe Bath, she would tell you “dirty and crowded.” At this point it was still dirty, but it wasn’t crowded! We hung out, called home, and headed to a concert. Right now is the middle of the Bath International Music Festival, so we jumped on the chance to see a harpsichord concert. The musician was very talented and we were in a small intimate venue. I am happy to report that I only fell asleep once! Tomorrow is another day filled with the life of Jane.

Grand Tour #9

We waved goodbye to our cute cottage and headed south to start the day’s journey. Our first stop? A classic Daughter 1 move – I know the town but have no address. But we were cheering and yelling when we found it with no problem. Well, there was the nice man on the bike that stopped to help us with directions when we were stopped in the middle of a tiny country road! Edgecote was so little we passed it on the road. Edgecote House is a private home, but we had no problem taking pictures through the gate. It was Mr. Bingley’s home, Netherfield, in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. Once we had our pictures we headed to Blenheim Palace! Wow, is this place massive and advertised as the grandest palace in England! When we entered the palace for a look around, we were told that the Duke was not in today and had given permission to tour his private wing of the house – something he does not do often. We really enjoyed the private tour. The family rooms are still very grand, but have more family photos and personal artwork on the walls. We saw the family entryway, offices, the kitchen, laundry room, other areas used by the 14 staff members and then the families’ living area. However, we were not taken to the bedrooms. I think this area was much different than what we thought it was going to be! We had a nice lunch in the Water Terrace Gardens then headed back in to see the house. It was very nice, but the inside was not as opulent as the façade on the outside. We loved the Winston Churchill exhibit - this is the house where he was born! We took a 1 mile walk around the grounds before heading out. We still had several things left to explore at the palace – but the next stop was demanding our time. Today we reached an all time low – a second classic Daughter 1 move – another town, another church and house but no address. After the biggest fiasco – even I was getting grumpy – we found the church and house. Luckington Court was the Bennet family home in Pride and Prejudice 1995. They also filmed at the church next door. We had no problem getting into the church yard. However, Luckington Court is a private residence and there were signs posted that it was private and no one was allowed in the areas around the house. Unfortunately for us, there were people out and we couldn’t sneak closer. Daughter 1 was soooo disappointed. “We didn’t come all this way to not get a picture,” was her direct quote. So back to the churchyard we went, up on to a 300 year old stone wall she went and a picture she took!! She is a woman possessed! Castle Combe, the best example of a Cotswold village, was our last stop of the day. We took pictures and then headed to The Castle Inn for dinner. It was beautiful when we went in for dinner and pouring rain when we came out! No worries, we made it just fine to our next lodging – The Bath Lodge Hotel. I will give you more details about our hotel another day! We are in a wonderful room, with a huge bathtub and we have internet!! For 3 nights our life will be easy – then we are back out into the country!

Woman on The Move driving Daughter 1 all over England!

Windy in the Peak District

I was not kidding - it was a very windy day in the Peak District! I was toooo scared to go out any further on the rocks!

Grand Tour #8

I would love to tell you that we took Stratford-upon-Avon by storm. But unfortunately I have to report that Stratford took us by storm – literally. We started the day with rain showers and by 4:30 we were soaked to the bone – even with an umbrella and rain coats. Lucky for us, we had a bit of time that was rain-free and were able to snap a few pictures. We had a great time exploring the town and seeing the many Shakespeare sites. I have traveled to Stratford before with Sir and the daughters, but have never taken the time to explore like we did today. We started the day at The Shakespeare Center and Birthplace. There was a great exhibit, beautiful gardens and various actors walking the grounds entertaining visitors as characters from some of Shakespeare’s plays. The house was interesting too - we enjoyed the comparison of the middle class to the upper class, a theme we have been seeing. We continued through town to Nash House & New Place. New Place was one of the biggest houses in Stratford when Shakespeare bought it. Unfortunately, it was torn down in protest when the owner didn’t want to pay taxes on the house. Part of the foundation still exists today, right next to Nash House – the house owned and lived in by Shakespeare’s granddaughter Elizabeth. The gardens were really pretty and quite large for being in the middle of town. Our next stop was Hall’s Croft – the home of Shakespeare’s daughter Elizabeth and her husband Dr. John Hall. This was a great house for the time period. At the house we even enjoyed a short interlude while watching a short scene from Macbeth. We marched on to Holy Trinity Church to see where Shakespeare is buried (along with all the other crazy tourists). Such tourists have been coming here for hundreds of years. Due to Shakespeare’s enormous influence on literature, crowds have flocked to Stratford to see the sites of Shakespeare’s life. Thanks to his devoted fans in the late 1800’s, Shakespeare’s properties were acquired and rebuilt so that future generations could enjoy the history of a great writer. Then we made our way back to the car and found Anne Hathaway’s cottage, the place where Shakespeare’s wife grew up. We learned that Shakespeare was only 18 (legally underage at the time) when he married Anne who was 26 – and she was three months pregnant with their first child. What a scandal! It is interesting that 15 generations of Hathaways lived in the Cottage - this was very uncommon for the middle class. During Anne’s life time, the Hathaways were well to do – later generations lost their wealth. We did love the gardens but once again we were the last ones out of the attraction. We went back into Stratford to enjoy the cinema. I know, you would think that we would see a play; but it is mid-term break and school groups are here from all over Europe. So unless we wanted to straddle a pole, they were sold out. While seeing the new Indiana Jones film we dried out, had popcorn for dinner, bit a couple of nails off, but enjoyed the movie immensely. Just an FYI: We have renamed our adventure. We are no longer on the England Adventure, but rather we are on our Grand Tour. You see, starting in the 1700’s young ladies would be accompanied by their mothers or other female chaperones on a grand tour of Europe, usually France or Italy. We have been told that Daughter 1 is of the age when this would have happened! There is a big difference - the girls would tour and then get ready for marriage. Daughter 1 will tour and then get ready for university! Tomorrow we are off again. Our hope is that we find wireless internet connection and pray that our phone has service!

England Adventure #7

We left early this morning to head south towards Shakespeare Country. I will spare you the details of driving in the rain on the motorway at 80mph one minute and then stopped bumper to bumper the next! I will only say that we were happy to arrive at Stoneleigh Abby alive, safe and without the rain! We arrived in time for a tour of the house, thanks to Daughter 1’s research. Stoneleigh was the home of Jane Austen’s uncle on her mother’s side. When Jane and her mother were visiting her uncle at his parish (he was a parson), the owner of Stoneleigh died with no heirs. With three possible heirs in a different branch of the family, Jane’s uncle (being a potential heir) rushed to Stoneleigh to take possession, bringing Jane and her mother with him. We toured rooms where Jane Austen slept, hung out and ate breakfast everyday. It is said that she drew inspiration from her experience at Stoneleigh to include in her books, most prominently Mansfield Park. This house just reopened to the public in 2003 after a 5 year restoration. It is a great example of how a house suffers when the families’ wealth decreases due to inheritance taxes and no trusts are established to preserve the house. When the last Lord Leigh died he had not done any financial planning so his exquisite possessions were sold from the house to pay for inheritance taxes. So now the house is practically bare. The English Heritage Society is now a partial owner, trying to buy back original furniture from Stoneleigh when it goes on auction at Christie’s. There was a fire at Stoneleigh around 1980 and in order to raise enough money to restore the house they had to convert some of the rooms into flats and a portion of the old Abby into houses. What a crying shame! We left and headed to Kenilworth – where we were told we could get internet service and a laundromat! They were right! We threw the afternoon plans out the window just so we could get some clean clothes! So later we drove by Kenilworth Castle for a picture, found our way to Warwick, didn’t go to the castle but went to Lord Leycester Hospital, where they filmed exterior shots for the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. With three maps in hand, we laughed the whole way through the countryside as we got lost, made wrong turns, drove through a flood (with the help of a fine gentleman driving by) and finally made our way to the next B&B, Tudor Rose Cottage. We are staying in an old Tudor cottage in a little village ten minutes from Stratford-Upon-Avon. We walked through the village to the local pub for dinner. The village is a mixture of old Tudor houses, old stone houses and a few rebuilt houses trying to look old. Tomorrow will be our first complete non-Jane Austen day. Don’t tell Daughter 1, but I am ready for a break!

Picture from Adventure #6

Shelly and Daughter 1 in front of Kedleston Hall.

Daughter 1 at The Roaches, filming site of Pride and Prejudice 1995.