Castles and Cobblestones – My Journey to Europe – Part Seven

Sometimes, you just have to move on. The pic attached here is the wrong date. I’m very technically challenged and, after way too long a time spent trying to fix it, I left it alone. Suffice it to say a table, a menu and me is enough of a visual for a post about eating. After spending the afternoon at the Tower of London, dinner was a welcome event.

Our tour package included several meals which is a big help when in unfamiliar cities. Dinner this particular evening was a choice of four places/styles.  We could have Asian, Italian, Lebanese or an English Pub. Our small group chose the Princess Victoria Bar and Kitchen (the pub). Princess Victoria B&K is a place for locals to go after work or just out for an evening cocktail or coffee.

We were given a menu specifically for Collette Vacations groups. They offered three courses and I’ve listed them below. Quick Travel Tip: In the UK and Europe, the gratuity is often included in the price, so there is no need to leave more on the table.

STARTERS

Scottish Smokehouse Salmon with rocket salad horseradish olive oil dressing

Soup of the day with toasted granary bread

Duck & Pork Pate with Orange liqueur and Cognac Red Onion Marmalade, Cornish Sea Salt, Bread

MAINS

Pork and Old Mount Cider Pot Pie with Apple and Dijon Mustard Mash Potato

Classic Caesar Salad with Parmesan Cheese and Croutons

Beer Battered Atlantic Cod Fish & Chips with Mushy Peas and Tartar Sauce

DESSERTS

Cambridge Burnt Cream Dessert with Strawberry Coulis

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Cheese Board with Selection of Finest British Cheese and Water Biscuits

If you look at this menu, it really is comparable to the food you would find at a nice place in the United States. Because I was in England, I really did try to experience different foods throughout the trip. For my starter, I went with the duck pate – bad choice, folks, very bad choice. I wanted to like pate – really, I did. It always sounds so fancy-schmancy to have pate. I can’t do it. One taste and I knew. This little girl from the Midwestern village of Panama is never going to develop a taste for duck, especially duck pate. It just makes me want to gag.  Blech. The bread was good. 🙂

A pilsner of ale and I was ready for the main course. All three sounded good, but since I hadn’t eaten in about seven hours and the pate turned my stomach, I played it safe and went with the fish and chips. No mushy peas for me, though. I knew enough to ask for my peas to remain whole. More bread, a starving girl’s best dinner companion.

Then came dessert. How does one choose between the three listed? The words toffee and caramel are like laser beams to my brain – cannot resist either. Dear God, they did not disappoint. It was like a spongy pudding with sauce. To.Die.For.

By the end of dessert, I was stuffed with food and ale and ready to walk off that full feeling. The walk back to the hotel was balmy and filled with little shops along the way. We wandered in and out, perusing the card shops and what we call a drugstore here. These drugstores are noticeable by the green neon cross on the sign above the stores. They have pretty much anything one would need from OTC meds to food, batteries, books and beyond.

One last nightcap in the bar at our hotel and I was more than ready for a bath and my nice cool bed. Only one more full day in England. Next, we’ll go to Windsor Castle.

Castles and Cobblestones – My Journey to Europe, Part Six

For those following my travel series – now you know my number one fault – procrastination.  Part five of this series was posted October 12, 2014.  Today is January 20, 2015.  Shame on me.  My friends know this about me and still love me.  Whew!  Now, let’s get back to Europe.  We still have several days to enjoy starting with a trip to the Tower of London. Our tour began at the main entrance where we crossed a bridge to the Yeoman Warder, who explained the 888,246 ceramic poppies that filled the moat around the entrance.  An incredible sight to behold, the poppies were created by artists Paul Cummins and Tom Piper.  Each poppy symbolized a British soldier who lost his life during World War I.  The poppies were amazing!  A sea of bright red flowers just below the bridge that seemed to go on forever.  Can you even imagine that many flowers in one place?  In hindsight, I wish I had ordered one to have as a keepsake.

Our Yeoman Warder, like all others, was an active guard in the Queen’s service.  He was not only knowledgeable, but he had us in stitches with his historical humor.  By the way, I’m very nosy.  After a couple of days of seeing EIIR anywhere from carved into stone to pieces of clothing, I asked someone what it meant.  It stands for Elizabeth II Regina (Regina pronounced with a long i). 

This particular Yeoman is also a Ravenmaster.  There are now eight ravens on the grounds who are free to flit around during the day and are called back in at night by the Ravenmasters. 

Currently, there are fourteen towers open to the public, a museum, a restaurant, various ruins and my favorite, the Crown Jewels.  Dear God, the Crown Jewels!  I truly wish I could describe them to you.  It would be impossible.  They are heavily guarded, but they are up close and personal, too.  The crowns are all encased within glass and on pedestals in the center of the room.  It is very dark with spotlights on the jewels and crowns themselves.  Besides the actual crowns, there are swords/sabers and shields encrusted with precious gems and jewels, too.  All of these pieces are gleaming gold and silver.  Exquisite eye candy for a girl who loves Bling – that would be me, Miss Marly.  No cameras are allowed inside, more’s the pity.  All I could get was a picture of the door. A tourist could easily spend an entire day or more at the Tower of London.  There is so much to see, old official documents to read and just incredible knowledge to be gained from the staff members inside and outside the towers.  Since I had to choose due to a knee injury, the Bloody Tower was at the top of my list.  I love all things Tudor, and I wanted to see where all the soon-to-be beheaded folks went.  Narrow stairs, chilly walls, gloomy, dank stones – it felt like the weight of all the trauma from hundreds of years ago settled on my shoulders as I walked around. It’s one thing to read about it in a book, quite another to actually stand in the place where it occurred.

I couldn’t leave the Tower of London without a souvenir, and since I’ve already admitted I love bling, my treasure from the Tower is a lovely silver charm – a crown, what else?  😉

The Tower of London in my opinion is a must see piece of England’s history and well worth the $27 entrance fee.  Go, enjoy and try not to let visions of the guillotine stalk your dreams.

Next post?  Shall we dine at Victoria’s Pub?

Cobblestons and Castles – My Journey to Europe, Part Four

Highclere Castle, better known as Downton Abbey here in the United States.  The primary reason for my trip to Europe.  The cast of Downton Abbey is as real to me as my own family.  The real inhabitants of Highclere, Lord and Lady Carnarvon, are the eighth Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, with Highclere being the seat of the Carnarvon family for over 300 years.  The grounds of Highclere have actually had some type of buildings and/or inhabitants pre history.  The current castle was designed in 1842 by Sir Charles Barry.

No cameras are allowed inside the castle.  Fans of Downton Abbey will be happy to know the interior is exactly as it appears on the TV show.  I wish I could post pictures for you in this post, but I don’t want to be sued over a copyright.

The Library has over 5,560 books, many of them ancient-looking.  Dark wood and deep red curtains give a rich, regal look to the room.  I imagined one of the servants using a duster along the rows of books just before the arrival of weekend guests.

If you enjoy large tapestries, the Music Room will make you swoon.  They cover the walls and are over 400 years old.  Beautiful designs made rich with gold thread.  I would love to describe the furniture in this room for you, but I was so awed by the walls I don’t remember the furniture.

If I could choose one room at Highclere as my favorite, it would be the Drawing Room.  Dear God, I fell in love!  The walls are covered in bolts of green French silk given to Lady Almina in 1895.  The chandelier was a wedding gift and took my breath away.  The “rococo revival” style of this room includes furnishings dating back to 1730, lots of gilt – you know Miss Marly – I love that gold bling!  The arched gilded doors lead from the Drawing Room to the Smoking Room, where the rugged, aged leather furniture is perfect for the gentlemen guests at Highclere.

The Saloon is perhaps the most famous and most popular room in the castle.  The fireplace has a large iron facing which puts out a tremendous amount of radiant heat according to one of the guides.  Rose colored tufted easy chairs flank the fireplace in a cozy seating area, while tables and straight chairs make up a few other conversation areas.

Thick, ornate arched columns hold up the gallery balustrade, while the coats of arms of Highclere’s occupants from years past line the walls between the two.  Staff members are required to know each coat of arms – I can’t imagine learning that much history!

Beautiful wall sconces and table lamps give the Saloon a lovely soft ambience even during the day.  A good book, a cup of strong hot tea and a chenille throw in front of the fireplace would make up a perfect autumn day.

The grand staircase rises to the galleried bedrooms on the second floor.  The stone balustrade is quite impressive and I believe is at least a foot across the top.  Tourists are allowed to climb the staircase and follow the balustrade around three sides. The view from the gallery into the saloon below is lovely.  Can’t you just imagine Carson up there surveying his kingdom?  Downton could not run without Carson and Mrs. Hughes.

More sconces and paintings line the walls of the second floor.  I wonder just how many lightbulbs it takes for the castle to function in a year’s time?

Lady Sybil, Lady Edith, and Lady Cora’s rooms are all open for viewing.  We did not see Lady Mary’s bedroom.  Their dressing rooms adjoin the bedrooms and predate our modern closets.  The bedrooms are large enough but, surprisingly, they are not lavishly furnished.

I follow Lady Carnarvon’s blog at http://www.ladycarnarvon.com and just read this week that the going in and out of each others’ bedrooms on the show would not be necessary, but certainly adds to the show.  The bedrooms have connecting doors, which would have come in handy when the gentleman had the audacity to die in Lady’s Mary’s bed, don’t you think?  Poor Mary, always in a drama with the men in her life.

The tour leads from the gallery back down and out through the lower level.  Tourists are not allowed in Mrs. Patmore’s domain, but we did see the servants’ stairs and the hallways.  My mind’s eye saw Daisy and Anna, along with Bates and the dreadful Thomas scurrying along the lower level attending to their duties.

Outside, the Carnarvon’s have beautiful grounds, tea rooms and a gift shop.  The grounds are still lovely in September and many flowers are still in bloom. 

I encourage you to include Highclere in your plans.  The tour is reasonable at less than $25 U.S. dollars.  The drive from London to Highclere takes about an hour and is a nice ride through the English countryside.

Would I go back?  Absolutely!  Was it worth the expense of the trip to Europe?  Yes, yes, yes!

Next up:  Lunch in an English Pub and on to Stonehenge.  I hope you will join me!

Cobblestones and Castles — My Journey to Europe, Part Three

  Let’s Rock and Roll across Abbey Road!  We may have looked ridiculous as we walked across the famous Abbey Road, but it was a memory maker.  With Phyllis in the lead, Miss Marly, Jan, Diane and Vern made the famous walk across the street and back to which houses Abbey Road Studios, home of the Beatles’ record label and still in use today.  We added our messages to the wall in front of the studio like millions of others before us.  This wall is filled with signatures, then painted over for the next round of tourists.

Our black taxi and knowledgeable driver took us all over London for 3-1/2 hours.  It’s a good thing we weren’t aware of all the times the driver stopped the taxi to take us on a short walk for a history lesson.  By this time, we had been up since Sunday morning – it was now Monday evening.  I should have counted how many times I crawled out of that taxi and back in again.  My poor bad knee was screaming at me to stay put.  In the end, I’d do it all over again.  How many times does one get to see and experience things like Paul McCartney’s offices?  The staircase in this building is beautiful, as is the wooden door and trim on the outside.  Sir Paul still uses this office today. I guess if you are not interested in doing business with him, you could always drop by his house and see if anyone will open the gate for you.  According to our driver, Paul has been known to take his granddaughter trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.  I don’t know about you, but if Paul McCartney knocked on my door, I would not be thinking of the kid he had with him or of the candy I had on the table.  Whew!  Makes Miss Marly hot just thinking about it.  Love, Love Me Do, oh yeah, baby!

The Beatles are only a small piece of the rock and roll history of England.  Our driver took us to the Royal Albert Hall where all the famous bands played.  Many concerts were recorded live inside this beautiful old building.  When vinyl record albums were at their peak, I had several that were recorded at Royal Albert Hall.

First generation Beatles fans will remember their manager, Brian Epstein, who lived and died at #57 in this building.  The arched wooden door was the entrance to his apartment.

The blue medallions seen in the pictures below are all over London.  They denote famous people or places.  Once our driver pointed them out to us, it was easy to spot them everywhere.  Do you recognize the names below?

How about this one?

Whew!  This was a long tour.  Our driver dropped us off at Copthorne Tara and, according to Jan, we had a late dinner at the hotel.  Did I eat?  I have no idea.  By that time, my brain was done.  At 36+ hours, I needed a shower and a bed.  I’m assuming the bed was comfortable.  I woke up Tuesday morning to the sound of the wake up call.

Next up is Part Four — Downton Abbey!