The volcano gods smiled, then frowned. UK citizens endangered
May 26th, 2010, 07:45 AM
#41
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Sea Bream is just lovely.
My Best Ever Meal in My Whole Life was sea bream with dill in Oslo.
BTW, I am very pleased to see you've followed my advice (whether you read it or not) on another thread regarding castles - which is that they must be falling apart and it must be pouring down with rain when you visit for maximum medieval grimness
My Best Ever Meal in My Whole Life was sea bream with dill in Oslo.
BTW, I am very pleased to see you've followed my advice (whether you read it or not) on another thread regarding castles - which is that they must be falling apart and it must be pouring down with rain when you visit for maximum medieval grimness
May 30th, 2010, 04:04 PM
#45
Original Poster
I guess it is time I got back down to business and continue this TR. I've been spending much of my spare time gardening these past few days - those UK gardens inspired me - and working on my trip photos which should soon be ready for posting.
We reluctantly left the Cotswolds on a cold, blustery morning to head for our next stop, Stratford-upon-Avon with a stop at Blenheim Palace along the way. We arrived soon after it opened and our British Heritage pass allowed us to skip the already long ticket buying line. I've been to the usual suspects of "great palaces of Europe" and Blenheim ranks up with the very best - it is spectacular and the rooms rival Europe's finest. We particularly enjoyed the Churchill exhibit. The "Untold Story" exhibit was a multi-media presentation and although very reminiscent of something that Disney would do, was entertaining and informative. We did not spend as much time on the grounds as we would have liked because of the cold, wind and rain - the Pim's Cup concession was doing a very poor business.
Leaving Blenheim we drove on to SuA and had no trouble at all finding our B&B. Following is a description of the B&B taken from my earlier thread of B&B reviews. If you have already read it, skip on.
Woodstock B&B – This place is a gem. It is a beautiful home, with beautiful furnishings that is a short and pleasant walk to central Stratford-upon-Avon with some good restaurants along the way. There is ample off the street parking. The B&B is also directly across the street from a very nice park (Firs Garden) and stop #7 of the hop-on, hop-off bus is also across the street within 200 yards. It is on a street of B&Bs. Our room was beautiful and spacious with a bay window that had stained glass trim and overlooked the park and street. Everything about the place spoke quality. The location was not noisy and the price was very reasonable. Pictures on the web-site are accurate. Our room was the one with the bay window and 2 pink chairs. It was actually done up as a triple, with a double and single bed. The bath was modern and the shower had good pressure and plenty of hot water. There was a nice welcoming tray with a good assortment of biscuits and such. Linens and towels were first rate.
Our hosts Jackie and Dennis met us as we arrived and helped carry our luggage to our first floor room. They were friendly and helpful throughout our too short stay with some good recommendations for restaurants (We particularly enjoyed the nearby Windmill Pub). The breakfast room was also very attractive, in keeping with rest of the place and the breakfasts were very nice, with a good variety.
Jackie recommended we lunch at the nearby Windmill Pub that is in one of the oldest buildings in a town of old buildings. The Windmill was also on my own list of restaurants to try so the suggestion was a confirmation of that. They do serve a very good pub lunch. I had the recommended Fish & Chips. The fish was enormous and perfectly done - the best I have had before or since. DW had a gigantic baked potato with some sort of cheesy filling. We then walked into town, saw the Guild Hall and decided to do the hop-on, hop-off bus, first to just ride the entire loop and listen to the audio. We would use the 24 hour ticket the next day to actually hop on and off. The audio tour was OK, but not nearly as good as the next day when we had a live guide on most of the buses.
Dinner was at the Dirty Duck, a well known pub next to the Court Yard Theater. We were both in the mood for something light so we both ordered the tomato soup - delicious and I had a cheese plate that was outstanding. It had large wedges of 3 types of cheese - a cheddar, shropshire blue (my new favorite cheese) and some crumbly something or other. The cheese was served with a carmelized onion chutney, oatcakes and grapes. With a half pint of bitter it was really a fine dinner. DW had another shandy following her soup - also a fine dinner or so she said.
Morning saw breakfast in the Woodstock's lovely dining room and we then crossed the street to the nearby hop-on and off bus stop #7, doing all of the Shakespeare tourist things and wandering SuA - a fine town to wander. Our day was to culminate with a pre-theater dinner and then Romeo and Juliet at the Court Yard Theater. We had planned on Lamb's for dinner but liked the menu at Vintner much better so went there instead and a very good choice it was. DW had salad with broiled pollock and veggies and I had the butternut squash soup and a lamb casserole both were excellent and the pre-theater dinner prices were very reasonable. If in SuA check out all 3 places mentioned, you will not be disappointed. Dinner done, we walked over to the theater and picked up our tickets at the will call window. We ordered them while back in the states. The Royal Shakespeare company has a user friendly web-site that was easy to use. Our seats were in the front row gallery and we had good sight lines.
The production was an interesting combination of traditional and contemporary and for us was a bit off-putting. The language was traditional and followed the original pretty closely. In the way of costumes, all were in traditional dress, except for R&J who wore modern clothing. The play opened with R coming on stage with a digital camera taking pictures of the audience. One of Mercucio's entrances was on a bicycle. At he very end, all are in modern garb. We also did not find J convincing as a 14 year old. If pressed, I would have to say that in balance I liked it - DW and I certainly had plenty to discuss on our walk back to the B&B.
Morning brought another fine breakfast and then an easy drive out of SuA to the M4 and on to York.
Next: York is in Shambles
We reluctantly left the Cotswolds on a cold, blustery morning to head for our next stop, Stratford-upon-Avon with a stop at Blenheim Palace along the way. We arrived soon after it opened and our British Heritage pass allowed us to skip the already long ticket buying line. I've been to the usual suspects of "great palaces of Europe" and Blenheim ranks up with the very best - it is spectacular and the rooms rival Europe's finest. We particularly enjoyed the Churchill exhibit. The "Untold Story" exhibit was a multi-media presentation and although very reminiscent of something that Disney would do, was entertaining and informative. We did not spend as much time on the grounds as we would have liked because of the cold, wind and rain - the Pim's Cup concession was doing a very poor business.
Leaving Blenheim we drove on to SuA and had no trouble at all finding our B&B. Following is a description of the B&B taken from my earlier thread of B&B reviews. If you have already read it, skip on.
Woodstock B&B – This place is a gem. It is a beautiful home, with beautiful furnishings that is a short and pleasant walk to central Stratford-upon-Avon with some good restaurants along the way. There is ample off the street parking. The B&B is also directly across the street from a very nice park (Firs Garden) and stop #7 of the hop-on, hop-off bus is also across the street within 200 yards. It is on a street of B&Bs. Our room was beautiful and spacious with a bay window that had stained glass trim and overlooked the park and street. Everything about the place spoke quality. The location was not noisy and the price was very reasonable. Pictures on the web-site are accurate. Our room was the one with the bay window and 2 pink chairs. It was actually done up as a triple, with a double and single bed. The bath was modern and the shower had good pressure and plenty of hot water. There was a nice welcoming tray with a good assortment of biscuits and such. Linens and towels were first rate.
Our hosts Jackie and Dennis met us as we arrived and helped carry our luggage to our first floor room. They were friendly and helpful throughout our too short stay with some good recommendations for restaurants (We particularly enjoyed the nearby Windmill Pub). The breakfast room was also very attractive, in keeping with rest of the place and the breakfasts were very nice, with a good variety.
Jackie recommended we lunch at the nearby Windmill Pub that is in one of the oldest buildings in a town of old buildings. The Windmill was also on my own list of restaurants to try so the suggestion was a confirmation of that. They do serve a very good pub lunch. I had the recommended Fish & Chips. The fish was enormous and perfectly done - the best I have had before or since. DW had a gigantic baked potato with some sort of cheesy filling. We then walked into town, saw the Guild Hall and decided to do the hop-on, hop-off bus, first to just ride the entire loop and listen to the audio. We would use the 24 hour ticket the next day to actually hop on and off. The audio tour was OK, but not nearly as good as the next day when we had a live guide on most of the buses.
Dinner was at the Dirty Duck, a well known pub next to the Court Yard Theater. We were both in the mood for something light so we both ordered the tomato soup - delicious and I had a cheese plate that was outstanding. It had large wedges of 3 types of cheese - a cheddar, shropshire blue (my new favorite cheese) and some crumbly something or other. The cheese was served with a carmelized onion chutney, oatcakes and grapes. With a half pint of bitter it was really a fine dinner. DW had another shandy following her soup - also a fine dinner or so she said.
Morning saw breakfast in the Woodstock's lovely dining room and we then crossed the street to the nearby hop-on and off bus stop #7, doing all of the Shakespeare tourist things and wandering SuA - a fine town to wander. Our day was to culminate with a pre-theater dinner and then Romeo and Juliet at the Court Yard Theater. We had planned on Lamb's for dinner but liked the menu at Vintner much better so went there instead and a very good choice it was. DW had salad with broiled pollock and veggies and I had the butternut squash soup and a lamb casserole both were excellent and the pre-theater dinner prices were very reasonable. If in SuA check out all 3 places mentioned, you will not be disappointed. Dinner done, we walked over to the theater and picked up our tickets at the will call window. We ordered them while back in the states. The Royal Shakespeare company has a user friendly web-site that was easy to use. Our seats were in the front row gallery and we had good sight lines.
The production was an interesting combination of traditional and contemporary and for us was a bit off-putting. The language was traditional and followed the original pretty closely. In the way of costumes, all were in traditional dress, except for R&J who wore modern clothing. The play opened with R coming on stage with a digital camera taking pictures of the audience. One of Mercucio's entrances was on a bicycle. At he very end, all are in modern garb. We also did not find J convincing as a 14 year old. If pressed, I would have to say that in balance I liked it - DW and I certainly had plenty to discuss on our walk back to the B&B.
Morning brought another fine breakfast and then an easy drive out of SuA to the M4 and on to York.
Next: York is in Shambles
May 30th, 2010, 04:39 PM
#46
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Glad you've had a chance to get back to us basingstoke! Your comments about the Courtyard Theater performance are interesting. We had the same experience when we saw the Merchant of Venice, so it must be the way they often do it. The actors were in more modern dress; the scenery was almost Art Deco or Art Nouveau; but the language was traditional Shakespearean. After our initial surprise, we found we really enjoyed it.
May 31st, 2010, 06:21 AM
#49
Original Poster
Thanks TD and SB - I neglected to mention that Ann Hathaway's house had docents in most rooms, dressed in period costume and Mary Arden's farm had working exhibits as well as a falconry demonstration. If you are traveling with kids, they will surely enjoy that. At the farm in the kitchen exhibit, the women doing the cooking demonstration asked the woodcutter to bring her some fagots. An older American woman asked "what is a fagot?" To her credit, the docent gave the straight answer (sorry, couldn't help that. I was tempted to call out "a bassoon" (fagott in most languages).
May 31st, 2010, 05:22 PM
#51
Original Poster
I did not know that about the meat-ball, I learned something new today. Along a similar vein, DW is foreign born and although not spelled the same, the pronunciation of her given name is the same as UK and Aussie slang for an intimate part of the female anatomy. I informed her before we left that if I had to call out her name in a public place, in the interest of not being arrested as a public pervert, she would be "Fiona" until our return.
Jun 1st, 2010, 08:47 AM
#55
Original Poster
stokeb - It appears that the tea pot was always a display item and not used for tea in more than 150 years, which would explain its pristine condition. It does have glazing inside that would make it appropriate for tea, although I wonder that the glazing might contain lead. In any case, my intentions are to keep it in its pristine condition on display. It really one of the finest examples I have seen of a jasperware teapot, not only for its condition and age, but also because the figures and decorations seem more detailed and finer than more modern pieces.
It is a shame that Wedgwood Jasperware is no longer made in the UK but I believe in Malasia and the difference in quality can easily be seen.
It is a shame that Wedgwood Jasperware is no longer made in the UK but I believe in Malasia and the difference in quality can easily be seen.
Jun 2nd, 2010, 04:24 PM
#57
Original Poster
SB - You would really love this piece then - it's really special.
On with the trip report.
We found our way to the M4 pretty easily. It was our first "M" highway drive, and other than the lanes being in reverse order, it was much the same as driving on a good interstate in the US. The trip took about 3 hours including a stop for coffee along the way. Entering York, our GPS brought us directly to our B&B.
Following is a description of the B&B copied from my recent "basingstoke's review of some UK B&Bs" thread. Go ahead and skip the next paragraph if you have already read it.
Chelmsford Place B&B – Of the B&Bs we visited, I am a bit conflicted about this one, because of its location. It took easily a half hour to walk to Central York and about 45 minutes to Exhibition Square. The B&B itself was fine – it was a little more worn than the others, but still it was perfectly clean and acceptable. Our room was somewhat unusual. It was on the top floor but our host Nigel took care of the luggage, so that was not a problem. The room itself, a twin, was a bit on the small side, but that was made up for with a large dressing room with chair and vanity. The shower was located in the dressing room. The toilet was in a separated small room that was part of the suite. It was a convenient set-up. Breakfasts were good although by this time I was beginning to tire of “Full English.” There were other options though and special diets are attended to. Parking was in a designated area that was on the street and a parking permit, supplied by the B&B at no cost was supplied. Chelmsford Place had free wi-fi.
Having parked and settled into our room we saw that there was still time to walk to Exhibition Square and catch the 2:30 free walk hosted by volunteers. We made it with about 10 minutes to spare after a 45 minute walk. Again, our guide was engaging and had a deep knowledge of local history. The walk concentrated on the Roman and Norman aspects of York. Especially interesting learning how tell Roman walls from Norman by the type of stonework and the walk through the Shambles. The walk did not go into York Minster but there were explanations of outer features and ended with a long narrated walk along the top of wall surrounding York followed by the Shambles walk. Wending our way back to Exhibition Square we decided to do another hop on-off bus tour (the buses leave from there) to see some more of the city while resting our feet. We just rode the entire circuit and listened to the audio guide. Dinner time - where to eat?? Our guide highly recommended a place called Russell's Carvery. A carvery for a vegetarian? As a well known Alaskan would say, "you betcha." They had several vegetarian items on the menu, and best of all for DW, ordering an entree brought with it a visit to the hot veggie part of the carvery where there was a delicious variety to choose from. We liked it so much that we ate there again the following evening. I had the usual carvery dinner and it was very good, I thought their Yorkshire pudding was terrific, but what do I know of Yorkshire pudding? Following dinner we wandered around York for several hours but were a bit disappointed at the early closing time of the shops. I swear they have to be losing a lot of trade. We did stop by Betty's Tea Room to see what might be a good time to drop by for lunch or tea the next day without the long lines that we saw earlier in the day. More wandering about window shopping and it was back to the B&B, this time we figured how to walk part way along the river and it was pleasant. Emerging from our river walk, we were standing at an intersection near Clifford's Tower studying our map when a cyclist stopped and gave us accurate directions to our address - another example of the kindness of strangers that we found so common in the UK.
Next: Fat Rascal. Me??? Yes, Me.
On with the trip report.
We found our way to the M4 pretty easily. It was our first "M" highway drive, and other than the lanes being in reverse order, it was much the same as driving on a good interstate in the US. The trip took about 3 hours including a stop for coffee along the way. Entering York, our GPS brought us directly to our B&B.
Following is a description of the B&B copied from my recent "basingstoke's review of some UK B&Bs" thread. Go ahead and skip the next paragraph if you have already read it.
Chelmsford Place B&B – Of the B&Bs we visited, I am a bit conflicted about this one, because of its location. It took easily a half hour to walk to Central York and about 45 minutes to Exhibition Square. The B&B itself was fine – it was a little more worn than the others, but still it was perfectly clean and acceptable. Our room was somewhat unusual. It was on the top floor but our host Nigel took care of the luggage, so that was not a problem. The room itself, a twin, was a bit on the small side, but that was made up for with a large dressing room with chair and vanity. The shower was located in the dressing room. The toilet was in a separated small room that was part of the suite. It was a convenient set-up. Breakfasts were good although by this time I was beginning to tire of “Full English.” There were other options though and special diets are attended to. Parking was in a designated area that was on the street and a parking permit, supplied by the B&B at no cost was supplied. Chelmsford Place had free wi-fi.
Having parked and settled into our room we saw that there was still time to walk to Exhibition Square and catch the 2:30 free walk hosted by volunteers. We made it with about 10 minutes to spare after a 45 minute walk. Again, our guide was engaging and had a deep knowledge of local history. The walk concentrated on the Roman and Norman aspects of York. Especially interesting learning how tell Roman walls from Norman by the type of stonework and the walk through the Shambles. The walk did not go into York Minster but there were explanations of outer features and ended with a long narrated walk along the top of wall surrounding York followed by the Shambles walk. Wending our way back to Exhibition Square we decided to do another hop on-off bus tour (the buses leave from there) to see some more of the city while resting our feet. We just rode the entire circuit and listened to the audio guide. Dinner time - where to eat?? Our guide highly recommended a place called Russell's Carvery. A carvery for a vegetarian? As a well known Alaskan would say, "you betcha." They had several vegetarian items on the menu, and best of all for DW, ordering an entree brought with it a visit to the hot veggie part of the carvery where there was a delicious variety to choose from. We liked it so much that we ate there again the following evening. I had the usual carvery dinner and it was very good, I thought their Yorkshire pudding was terrific, but what do I know of Yorkshire pudding? Following dinner we wandered around York for several hours but were a bit disappointed at the early closing time of the shops. I swear they have to be losing a lot of trade. We did stop by Betty's Tea Room to see what might be a good time to drop by for lunch or tea the next day without the long lines that we saw earlier in the day. More wandering about window shopping and it was back to the B&B, this time we figured how to walk part way along the river and it was pleasant. Emerging from our river walk, we were standing at an intersection near Clifford's Tower studying our map when a cyclist stopped and gave us accurate directions to our address - another example of the kindness of strangers that we found so common in the UK.
Next: Fat Rascal. Me??? Yes, Me.
Jun 2nd, 2010, 07:36 PM
#59
Original Poster
Maudie, there are 2 each day in York. I think the morning one is at 10 but I could well be wrong. The best thing about all of the free tours other than the price is that the leaders are local volunteers with real enthusiasm and knowledge about their city's history and buildings who enjoy sharing that knowledge and it shows. The ones in York leave from Exhibition Square just opposite the tourist info office. The ones in Bath leave from just outside the Pump Room. Reservation are not taken, just show up on time. The London Walk was very good too but although not free, they only cost a fiver.
Jun 3rd, 2010, 04:30 AM
#60
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Enjoying your report! We will be in England in a couple months, so I'm still working on possible-but-will-be-rather-flexible itineraries for each day. We will be in York on a Sunday. Was the walk you took a 2-hour-one and did it begin and end at the same place? Was Russell's crowded? (My DD is a vegetarian so I was interested in their menu after I read your post.)
