"It Will Rain Tomorrow." England Weathers The MaiTai Four.
Dec 7th, 2013, 10:00 AM
#261
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Wonderful, funny, detailed report. Thank you. Looking forward to the Epilogue! I'm making a note of some of your Cotswolds visits. Recently re-watched Samantha Brown's England. She does pronounce the American and then the British pronunciation of Snowshill.
Dec 7th, 2013, 10:41 AM
#262
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The samurai armor room at Snowshill Manor scared the heck out of me! To this day, that's all I remember about the place.
Or should I say, to this day I haven't been able to forget it, try as I might.
Or should I say, to this day I haven't been able to forget it, try as I might.
Dec 8th, 2013, 10:56 AM
#268
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TDudette, as a Gloucestershire (aka Cotswold) lass born and bred,I can tell you that from birth I have been brought up knowing that Snowshill is pronounced Snozzle
(not sure where the 'sch' comes into it though, I've never heard it called schnozzle)
I did mention this in an early email to Tom, along with the correct local pronunciations for Chavenage and Berkeley.
Whatever you all like to call it inb the safety of your own homes in the US, please speak it properly when you come to England! When in Rome and all that, ie when in The Cotswolds...
Hope the sticky toffee pudding is enjoyable Tom and Tracy!
(not sure where the 'sch' comes into it though, I've never heard it called schnozzle)
I did mention this in an early email to Tom, along with the correct local pronunciations for Chavenage and Berkeley.
Whatever you all like to call it inb the safety of your own homes in the US, please speak it properly when you come to England! When in Rome and all that, ie when in The Cotswolds...
Hope the sticky toffee pudding is enjoyable Tom and Tracy!
Dec 8th, 2013, 12:10 PM
#269
Original Poster
It always sounded like Schnozzle to me, but then again, I had a lot of Ubus, Guinness and other assorted ales & beers on this trip. Either way, I like Snows Hill better.
Julia, the Sticky Toffee Pudding we made last night was not up to Eight Bells standard. We are going to try your recipe and one from the Barefoot Contessa. You can never have enough Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Julia, the Sticky Toffee Pudding we made last night was not up to Eight Bells standard. We are going to try your recipe and one from the Barefoot Contessa. You can never have enough Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Dec 8th, 2013, 03:30 PM
#270
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All this talk of sticky toffee pudding really got to me…. so I ordered some online from
an English woman who has a small business in Texas. REviews sound good… I hope I'm
not disappointed. Was thinking of serving it with creme fraiche….or would that be
overkill??
an English woman who has a small business in Texas. REviews sound good… I hope I'm
not disappointed. Was thinking of serving it with creme fraiche….or would that be
overkill??
Dec 16th, 2013, 12:00 PM
#279
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EPILOGUE - Why I Don't Blog & Our Final (and Somewhat Surprising) Final Impressions Of England...Especially London
Our 16-day trip through England is the perfect example of why I don’t, and can never see myself, doing a daily vacation blog (for those of you who like to blog, as George Costanza said in Seinfeld, “It’s me, not you”).
For one thing, the thought of sitting in a restaurant or on a park bench in the middle of the day pounding on an iPad writing about what I just saw or ate does not sound like fun (too much to do and see). Neither does sitting in a hotel room at night ruminating about the day’s events (plus, I’m sure my wine drinking would cause even more spelling errors).
But the main reason I wait and write a trip report is because I think when I return home and put my thoughts (and Tracy’s) together, I get a much better overall perspective of the place I just visited and the events that transpired. Never has this been truer than on our recent trip.
Nearing the end of our stay in London, Tracy said, “You know, I guess I like London enough, but it’s not really a place I care to return to in the future.” At that time, I concurred with her opinion. Kim and Mary had similar thoughts about London that we all talked about as we drove to Winchester Cathedral a couple of days later.
For me, it was love at first sight for Paris, Prague, Florence and a number of other cities and regions throughout Europe. I could fly to Croatia tomorrow just to walk around beautiful Plitvice or go to the Buza Bar in Dubrovnik. I sometimes sit back and dream of Switzerland and those breathtaking views. I could plop myself down at an outside table at a Paris bistro in a heartbeat with a glass of wine and be in heaven.
Maybe because those other places are so “magical” (at least to us), London hadn’t “wowed” us. We’re a tough group. It could have been that there was so much construction going on (seemingly with a crane and workmen at every street corner), that nothing was resonating with us very much. Perhaps it was the fact that we’d walk by a beautiful historic building, only to have it situated next to some 1960s or 1970s monstrosity of architecture. Heck, maybe it was just because they spoke English there. I don’t know, but it just wasn’t talking to us.
It had noting to do with the British. The people we met were all very nice. It certainly wasn’t the food. As I’ve stated, the food in Britain was, for the most part, surprisingly good. I also didn’t start the trip in the best of moods thanks to our apartment fiasco, so maybe that colored our perception at this point in time.
Had I been blogging, I probably would have put all those thoughts down and been relatively negative about London from Day One. Upon further review, I would have been, for the most part, incorrect.
Last week, when Tracy read the last chapter (as she corrected my numerous spelling errors), she said, “I’m so sad, our trip is over. Maybe we can attach a few extra days for London on a future trip to see what we missed on this one.” So much for knocking London off the travel agenda, eh?
Looking back, it’s true that London was not the favorite spot we’ve ever visited, but pouring over our notes and sifting through photos (and with some time to reflect) London certainly was a worthwhile adventure (well, except for that damned “staring horse” event…aka The Royal Horse Guard).
I could envision coming back and staying in one of those neighborhoods (like Marylebone) that looked so inviting. There were also a number of sites we had wanted to see, but just ran out of time. Hell, I could go back just for the sticky toffee pudding that I’m now addicted to. It took us a couple of visits to warm to Rome, so London…it looks like you’ll see us sometime in the future.
As for the rest of the trip, we very much enjoyed roaming the English countryside from the wrong side of the road. From Salisbury Cathedral, up through Bath and the Cotswolds, it was everything we had hoped for. The last three bed and breakfast establishments were as good or better than any we have stayed at in Europe or the U.S. Don’t miss the gardens at Berkeley Castle.
So, even after a rocky start, our trip to England was another wonderful adventure, so my mantra, thankfully, can continue:
“Enjoy The Journey! Attitude Is Everything!”
(and be sure to book your apartment through a reputable agency)
Our 16-day trip through England is the perfect example of why I don’t, and can never see myself, doing a daily vacation blog (for those of you who like to blog, as George Costanza said in Seinfeld, “It’s me, not you”).
For one thing, the thought of sitting in a restaurant or on a park bench in the middle of the day pounding on an iPad writing about what I just saw or ate does not sound like fun (too much to do and see). Neither does sitting in a hotel room at night ruminating about the day’s events (plus, I’m sure my wine drinking would cause even more spelling errors).
But the main reason I wait and write a trip report is because I think when I return home and put my thoughts (and Tracy’s) together, I get a much better overall perspective of the place I just visited and the events that transpired. Never has this been truer than on our recent trip.
Nearing the end of our stay in London, Tracy said, “You know, I guess I like London enough, but it’s not really a place I care to return to in the future.” At that time, I concurred with her opinion. Kim and Mary had similar thoughts about London that we all talked about as we drove to Winchester Cathedral a couple of days later.
For me, it was love at first sight for Paris, Prague, Florence and a number of other cities and regions throughout Europe. I could fly to Croatia tomorrow just to walk around beautiful Plitvice or go to the Buza Bar in Dubrovnik. I sometimes sit back and dream of Switzerland and those breathtaking views. I could plop myself down at an outside table at a Paris bistro in a heartbeat with a glass of wine and be in heaven.
Maybe because those other places are so “magical” (at least to us), London hadn’t “wowed” us. We’re a tough group. It could have been that there was so much construction going on (seemingly with a crane and workmen at every street corner), that nothing was resonating with us very much. Perhaps it was the fact that we’d walk by a beautiful historic building, only to have it situated next to some 1960s or 1970s monstrosity of architecture. Heck, maybe it was just because they spoke English there. I don’t know, but it just wasn’t talking to us.
It had noting to do with the British. The people we met were all very nice. It certainly wasn’t the food. As I’ve stated, the food in Britain was, for the most part, surprisingly good. I also didn’t start the trip in the best of moods thanks to our apartment fiasco, so maybe that colored our perception at this point in time.
Had I been blogging, I probably would have put all those thoughts down and been relatively negative about London from Day One. Upon further review, I would have been, for the most part, incorrect.
Last week, when Tracy read the last chapter (as she corrected my numerous spelling errors), she said, “I’m so sad, our trip is over. Maybe we can attach a few extra days for London on a future trip to see what we missed on this one.” So much for knocking London off the travel agenda, eh?
Looking back, it’s true that London was not the favorite spot we’ve ever visited, but pouring over our notes and sifting through photos (and with some time to reflect) London certainly was a worthwhile adventure (well, except for that damned “staring horse” event…aka The Royal Horse Guard).
I could envision coming back and staying in one of those neighborhoods (like Marylebone) that looked so inviting. There were also a number of sites we had wanted to see, but just ran out of time. Hell, I could go back just for the sticky toffee pudding that I’m now addicted to. It took us a couple of visits to warm to Rome, so London…it looks like you’ll see us sometime in the future.
As for the rest of the trip, we very much enjoyed roaming the English countryside from the wrong side of the road. From Salisbury Cathedral, up through Bath and the Cotswolds, it was everything we had hoped for. The last three bed and breakfast establishments were as good or better than any we have stayed at in Europe or the U.S. Don’t miss the gardens at Berkeley Castle.
So, even after a rocky start, our trip to England was another wonderful adventure, so my mantra, thankfully, can continue:
“Enjoy The Journey! Attitude Is Everything!”
(and be sure to book your apartment through a reputable agency)
Dec 16th, 2013, 12:20 PM
#280
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Hi maitaitom, and thanks for another great, entertaining TR!
Even when DH was alive, I took every opportunity to jot down what we'd done--a poor memory is a terrible thing. And thank goodness for digital cameras and taking a shot of the street sign, the item on the menu or the bottle of wine! Now that I'm traveling single, I still hand-write notes--people think I'm a food critic so I get great service!
I "hear" ya about your response to London. Our London visit was a partially guided tour so the tickets/rides/hotel/restos schlepping were taken care of. And we had ample time to return to things of interest. I'll be going back solo in April so will see how that colors my perception.
Please say hello to the maitai group from your DC GTG virtual friend.
Even when DH was alive, I took every opportunity to jot down what we'd done--a poor memory is a terrible thing. And thank goodness for digital cameras and taking a shot of the street sign, the item on the menu or the bottle of wine! Now that I'm traveling single, I still hand-write notes--people think I'm a food critic so I get great service!
I "hear" ya about your response to London. Our London visit was a partially guided tour so the tickets/rides/hotel/restos schlepping were taken care of. And we had ample time to return to things of interest. I'll be going back solo in April so will see how that colors my perception.
Please say hello to the maitai group from your DC GTG virtual friend.
