Our adventure is continuing and for those not on Facebook I'm continuing to post every few days here on the blog for you to enjoy our journey.
October 28, 2016
We had rain off and on all day as we drove north for two hours to Cambridge.
First we went a bit further to visit Anglesey Abbey. Owned by Lord Fairhaven
who was born in America and had an American mother. The Queen Mum, Queen
Elizabeth's mother, was a favorite guest when she visited the nearby Newmarket
Race Course. Jim enjoyed a good selection of paintings. And we both enjoyed the
beautifully maintained house and gardens.
Soon we were headed into Cambridge to visit t
he
Fitzwilliam Museum and the Chapel at Kings College. One big issue...we should
have used the Park and Ride....we were in bumper to bumper traffic for an hour.
... did see the outside of the buildings ... see photos ... and finally cut out
loses and found a way out of town.
Not far away was another Manor House named Wimpole. Many people but it was
so huge it could hold a lot of people, and it was also out in the country
making parking a breeze; we thoroughly enjoyed the visit. They also had staff
playing musical instruments and dancing for us in period costumes. Not much in
the way of "famous" works of art but many other interesting libraries
and furniture. All in all a great time. Both homes had beautiful gardens and
acres of land.
Two hours of driving mostly wide roads and sometimes on their freeways. Rain
here and there but we made it back to Oxford before 6 pm and parked in the city
to have dinner before coming home for the evening. Another good day.
October 29, 2016
We decided to enjoy Oxford again today. Didn't leave the house until after
11 o'clock and slowly walked to the city center and found the Oxford Castle
that dates back to the year 1079. A young man that reminded us of our grandson
Ben, very tall and lean, gave us a wonderful hour long tour, keeping us
entertained and teaching us the history of this very old building that has been
used mostly for a prison from the early years up to 1996 when it was closed. It
was turned into a histori
cal site by the Queen in
2006. We both climbed over 100 steps to the top of the tower on very dangerous,
uneven, twisting steps. Coming down was harder!
From there we walked through the town passing many of the colleges that are
interspaced with very modern buildings. Soon we were at Magdalen College that
sits on the edge of the Cherwell River that branches off of the Thames River.
There we rented a flat bottomed boat called a punt that you push with a long
pole. We were very happy we rented one with a "chafferer" after
watching men with shaking knees trying to do the manly thing and guide their
own boats! I would imagine that several fall in occasionally and many tangled
with the riverbanks and other boats while Liam, our young man, expertly kept us
entertained with a running narrative as he expertly guided us on a relaxing
thirty minute cruise.
From there we continued to walk through the back streets that wind around
the 38 colleges that make up Oxford University, finding many treasures
including their own "bridge of sighs" that looks just like the one in
Venice. Italy except this one is over a street and not a canal. Also the Venice
one connects a prison and it was their last view of freedom.
We decided to save things for tomorrow and walked home clocking over six
miles for the day. We took the car and drove to Summertown to do some laundry
and shopping. Picked up a pizza and brought it home us for dinner before
playing a game of cards. Yes, Jim won but only by 500 points.
October 30, 2016
We were out the door by 9:30 this morning. After a brisk walk we arrived at
the Covered Market and enjoyed the wide variety of shops; especially the bakery
with a window full of tiny cakes with notes on them. A clever way to say thank
you or commerating a special occasion.
Arrived at the Bodleian Museum in Oxford University for the 10:30 tour.
First the history of Divinity Hall where Religion was taught...this was used
for various scenes in Harry Potter movies. I may have
to see some of these when we arrive home. And then next
door to see their own courtroom when they didn't feel that the town would treat
them justly. This building has also been used by the government for parliament
when there were problem in London.
We then had all of our bags locked in a large box
before we walked up the 65 steps to visit the ancient library. This has always
been a research library and at one point the books were chained to the shelves.
Not even the King was allowed to remove a book. This Library was the birthplace
of Oxford University.
We ventured across the street to the Weston Library that was built to store
books and has recently been remodeled to host exhibits on the ground level. We
enjoyed both exhibits and then hung around to watch the group of orange clad
gentlemen with one carrying a small statue come out after viewing the exhibit.
Not sure what religion but very unusual.
Continuing our walk we visited the round theatre designed by Christopher
Wren known as The Sheldonian, next door to the Bodleian Library. Wren taught
Astronomy at Oxford prior to becoming an architect and had them cut a special
door so that people could walk directly from the Divinity Hall to his new
Theater.
We walked up the 114 steps to
the cupola at the top for wonderful views of the city.
Walks through the museums of Science and Natural History completed our day.
The later had Dinosaurs which came from America. Outside there was a Sequoia
Giganteum planted in 1860 and for the children....molded Dinosaurs footprints
they could step in.
Tired and foot weary.... nearly a five mile day... we continued our walk
home on a different street and discovered a new college named Keple College.
All red brick and so lovely; we asked at the entry and they allowed us to walk
inside the quad and take some photos. A perfect way to end our final day of
walking in Oxford. Tomorrow we drive to Highclere Castle where they filmed
Downton Abbey. Then one more night in Oxford before moving to Salisbury on
Thursday. We're resting and then walking to a nearby restaurant or dinner soon.
October 31, 2016
Today we left at 9 am and returned at 5 pm. Long day of driving and visiting
two country estates connected with the filming of Downton Abbey.
Our first visit was to Highclere Castle... We were not allowed to take
photos inside of the home. We first went into the Egyptian Museum that is there
because Lord Carnarvon provided the funding and worked with Howard Carter for
over 16 years and they ultimately discovered a very famous Egyptian tomb known
as the Tomb of Tutankhamu
n in 1920. He was the 5th
Earl of Carnarvon; the family has been here for over 300 years. The museum is
located in the basement of the castle. Then we had to stand in line to wait our
turn to walk through the house, it was a self-guided tour and very well
monitored with many guides in each of the rooms. There are many large photographs of the
Downton Abbey cast in various rooms of the castle.
Leaving the castle we walked through the gift shop, The Secret Gardens, and out
to what's known as the jackdaws. This is more for the eye to see from the
windows of the castle rather than something they actually walked out and used.
On the road out we passed another piece of eye candy known as the temple of
Diana and finally out the main gate. We'd entered the property this morning
through the back gate; the same one we could not get through last year on our
visit to England.
Soon we were on the road and out to look for our next place which is called
Basildon Park, part of the National Trust, and used regularly for filming of
Downton Abbey; especially inside shots. It took us twice as long to get there
as it should have because we kept hitting Country Roads and I mean very narrow
Country Roads. You’ll see in the photos we got caught behind a large tractor of
some sort and couldn't go around him and how he had to get up on the sides of
the roads for the other people to get past him going the opposite direction.
We had light sprinkles off and on most of the day and only one short period
of very heavy rain while we were on the road; but while we were out of the car,
not a drop. We were so glad we'd taken the effort to get to Basildon because it
was really beautiful and we could take all the photos we wanted inside and the
guides were really great to talk to. It was a wonderful experience.
Home to Oxford by 5 o'clock we enjoyed returning to our favorite restaurant
for an early dinner at Gee's Restaurant before calling it a day and climbing up
to our attic room for the last time. Tomorrow we go to Salisbury which is very
near to Stonehenge.
September 1, 2016
Moving day...we said goodbye to our hostess
Liz
Hodgkinson,
a published author and journalist, after breakfast and headed south to
Salisbury. She was a suburb hostess and we so enjoyed our chats with her at
breakfast.
We stopped along the way and spent several hours visiting Stonehenge. A
circle of stones from the Druid Age around 3000 BC. Fascinating but we did ride
the bus out from the visitor center rather than walk. Then everyone walks
around a circle to view the sto
nes. One can no
longer chip off a piece for a souvenir. The site is owned by the English Heritage
Society but the ground surrounding it is owned by the National Trust. So we gladly paid the fees for the privilege
of seeing this great historical site from ancient times.
Then on to the city of Salisbury, our first visit here. We are less than a
10 minute walk from the city Centre in a very modern self-contained unit. It is
part of a building behind a large Victorian style home with 5 units. We have a
small kitchen and we're on ground level. No stairs. Not sure why but we have
two bathrooms I think one was too small and so they added another larger one.
We have a shower in one, and we have a tub in the other.
Settled in and then walked to town to see the sights and spent most of the
time in the Cathedral which reminded me of Canterbury Cathedral with the large
campus that shuts the gate at 11 pm. On exhibit is their prized
possession....the best of only four remaining original copies of the Magna
Carta. The second best is in Lincoln Castle....saw that one last year....and
the other two are slightly burned and reside in the British Museum in
London...yes...We've seen those also. It was one of the major documents that
the U.S. based it's constitution on when it was written. It basically states
that no man, including the King, is above the law.
Walking back towards our new home we stopped at Mark & Spencer's for
their grocery section and picked up breakfast items and food to cook for
dinner. Oh yes, we have a television again!
To our friends in the southwest...stay safe tonight and tomorrow as the
storms pass through your areas. Prayers are with you all.
September 2, 2016
It is sooo hard to pick thirty out of several hundred photos I snap every
day! But it does make me think about the story I want to tell.
We left about 10 am this morning, Jim had cooked breakfast while I did some
bookkeeping that was long overdue. Overcast and a few sprinkles during the day
but a relatively nice day. Cooler but comfortable. We headed north for an hour
and enjoyed visiting the former Abbey at Mottisfont that traces its roots back
to the 13th Century.
Though
t you'd enjoy my daydreaming with the
photo of the beautiful Royals Royce that I pictured myself touring these
English Manor Homes in on our adventure. Mottisfont Abbey had beautiful grounds
complete with a swan on the creek and English visitors enjoying lunch picnics
on the lawns. They bring their own tables and chairs and enjoy the day. Nothing too fancy but we did enjoy seeing the
maids rooms in the attic and a special exhibit of the original drawings by
Beatrix Potter that were used to illustrate her children's books. A film talked
about her life and her work in the Lake Country in the North on behalf of the
National Trust.
Back on the roads we enjoyed seeing many thatched roofs and traffic jams on
the narrow roads.
Soon we arrived in the busy old city of Winchester.
No, bells did not ring for us and the organ
was silent while we were in the cathedral. Our first challenge was to find
parking. Once we'd accomplished that; we enjoyed walking through the old city
to the cathedral. The grounds are also full of very old graves and tombs. We
enjoyed a guided tour for nearly an hour by a guide that knew all the stories
of this very old lady that dates back to the seventh century. One very modern
huge window is actually over three hundred years old and created from the
shards from all of the windows in the Cathedral when Cromwell destroyed them
during the Civil War in the 17th century. Another story is about the man who
spent six years in a deep sea diving suit at the beginning of the 20th century
to reconstruct the foundation when the cathedral began to sink. They found it
was built in water with logs on a peat foundation.
The author Jane Austin is buried here in the Cathedral and there was a very
interesting tribute to her as a great English novelist.
Soon we were back on the highway headed home for an evening of cards after
the delicious dinner by Chef Jim.
September 3, 2016
Jim enjoyed a sleep in morning…until 10 am!
I enjoyed finishing the work on my
bookkeeping and then began to cut and paste my entries from Facebook into a
word document that I corrected and expanded.
I’ve tried to send photos other than just on Facebook but with little
success.
I have been cutting and pasting
my photos from my phone into my computer.
It helps make space on the phone data and also allows me to use them in
other ways.
Jim is out walking; he took his cane, umbrella…it’s raining off and on….and
his phone to explore the city on his own.
I’m also enjoying some space alone for an hour or so.
Traveling together is a 24/7 job and there
are times when we try to do some different things to give each other space.
Our plan is to stay within the city today; there are several places to visit
and then attend church tonight.
Tomorrow
we’re driving south to visit our friend Jane at her home near Ringwood.
She is a friend of our friend in Florida
named Bonnie and I traveled with her in 2013 with Bonnie and my sister Mary at
the end of our trip to Russia.
Jim left
me in Paris where I met up with the girls and we enjoyed touring Paris and
Italy together for several weeks.
