If I had to create the perfect English country inn it would manifest as the Crown Inn in Bishops Waltham England. Our home away from home during our stay in Hampshire England was located at the head of the High St. in Bishops Waltham. The location was convenient to all the shops lining High St. which included, an upscale coffee shop for morning lattes and locals watching, to a grocer selling produce and products from the nearby farms. Also directly behind the inn were the ruins to the famous Bishops Waltham Palace, a medieval monastery that was, pre Henry VIII, one of the largest in Europe.
The Crown Inn was comfortable in every possible way, the bed was heaven and the bathroom facilities were excellent including the standard British towel warmer.
We enjoyed a full breakfast each morning in the wonderful pub on the main floor, antiques abound in each and every room. The tables were set with the most wonderful Staffordshire calico plates in every single color !
Ever since my childhood I have been a fan of Miss Jane Austen. Her works of romantic fiction have taken me again and again to a time of gentleman and ladies, and the practise of "polite society". During our recent trip to England we were very lucky to be within a thirty minute drive to her childhood home. Jane wrote some of her greatest works in this very house in Alton in the county of Hampshire. Those included, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, North Anger Abbey, Persuasion, and Mansfield Park.
1st Edition
In 1945 the Jane Austen Society managed to have the house purchased and turned into a museum. The rooms on show include the drawing room, and parlor where Jane wrote on the small round table. Upstairs is her bedroom with the patchwork quilt she made with her mother and sister Cassandra. There is even a shawl on display with Jane's own needle work trimming the edges.
My trip to Venice was truly life changing. Yes many people say that, but mine really was. Traveling alone for the first time placed something permanent in my soul and in my brain. It seems that now when I think of destinations the sky is the limit. I did learn that finding the right hotel also helps with logistics when traveling alone.
If you are looking for a mid range price on the Grand Canal this hotel has all the amenities and amazing views. Foscari Palace is located in the Canneragio neighborhood of Venice on the Grand Canal, just across from the Rialto market.
This gem of a boutique hotel is just off the Strada Nova, a thoroughfare that spans from Canneragio neighborhood to the Jewish Ghetto. The Strada Nova has many cafe's, restaurants, local shops, and a passagiata (evening stroll) will find you rubbing elbows with local Venetians.
Henry Emmett, my 2nd great grandfather, was born in Bishops Waltham England in 1849. He was the third child and second son of Henry Emmet and Sarah Hatch. Henry's family historically worked as hired farm hands on local estates, and were given housing by the land owners as part of their employment. The land in the photo above was worked by Henry's father and possibly himself in the mid to late 1800's.
I was fortunate enough to travel to Henry's hometown of Bishops Waltham and do a little time traveling into the past. After spending a week in this lovely region I realized several important things about myself. I understand so much better now just why I love to till the soil and make things grow, its in my blood ! Oh, and my fascination with Jane Austen ? my love of all things English country, the rolling hills and pastures, the country lanes and turnstiles ? well she was living not very far away from Henry's parents when they were young. All the imagery in her writing was the visual that I took in as I traveled around Hampshire.
In mid July my husband and I traveled to the enchanting countryside of Hampshire England. I was doing a bit of research on my ancestors from that region, so we booked a room at a country inn and found ourselves smack dab in the middle of heaven.
The village of Bishops Waltham was a charming place to stay and held a strong connection to my families history. The village was a quaint and thriving place, with a population just over 6500 residents. The High St. in town had everything we could need, from a small grocer carrying local produce and products, to an up scale coffee shop that seemed to be the center of activity every morning of the week.
There is a pattern that has been forming for some time in my life. I seem to find kindred spirits where ever I go, even as far off as Italy. You know what I mean don't you, the kind of person you connect with instantly, and feel as though you've been friends for decades ? I was so very fortunate, through a former colleague of mine, to be introduced to just such a person in Venice. It is a stunning story really. Young American woman on vacation in Venice, meets and falls in love with a gondolier, leaves her home country behind to marry her love and live in a foreign land, just like a movie.
Of course none of this was known to me before we met, although, we had the chance to exchange small conversations on social media and attempt to plan a meeting face to face, I knew nothing about this delightful woman. I felt so fortunate to know someone who lived in this city I had never been to and to have the opportunity to see this magical place through the eyes of a true Venetian.
We had decided a lunch and walk in the city would be the perfect first meeting and made arrangements for the day. Then my dear friend became ill, quite ill actually, and found herself in the hospital when I arrived in Venice. Now you must understand the personality I was about to meet, determined is not a strong enough word for this tiny dynamo. I was very concerned that she should rest and she was just as determined to keep our date.
I recently had the chance to venture to Venice Itlay ! This was not your average trip to Europe, there were two very important things happening simultaneously. One, this would be my very first travel experience all on my own, and two, I was attending my very first writing workshop !
The experience of navigating unknown airports and landing in a country where English was not the primary language was more than daunting to me. I have always had my trusty hubby/Sherpa/money exchanger/schedule keeper by my side, this time I was on my own, large and in charge. Prior to booking the trip back in February I had changed my mind at least a dozen times. Each day I would open the website hosting the workshop and imagine myself strolling the exotic back streets of Venice, hopping on a water taxi, or ordering an espresso and pastry in Italian. And then fear would settle in and I would imagine countless disasters that could be fall me, I could lose my passport, get lost, get robbed !, in my mind epic dangers awaited a single woman in a foreign country. Then I saw this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt
"Do one thing everyday that scares you."
Well that was it, I booked the workshop, booked my tickets and added a few extra days after the workshop to really explore the city on my own.
No trip to Vienna would be complete without experiencing the famous Sacher Torte. What better place to have the venerated dessert than at ground zero, The Hotel Sacher. One of Vienna's oldest luxury hotels, established by the son of the famous desserts creator, this hotel has hosted the likes of John F. Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth.
In 1832 Franz Sacher created a cake using chocolate, apricot jam and whip cream by order of a Prince. Today that cake is synoymous with a hotel dynasty and one of the most elegant cities in the world. The Cafe Sacher on the ground floor of the hotel is quintessential Vienna, brass chandeliers, damask covered walls, red tufted banquettes and heavy silk draperies. The wait staff are smartly dressed for service, jacket and tie for the gentlemen and black dress and white apron for the ladies.
If you are making a trip to Vienna one thing you must not miss is of course a concert featuring some of Mozart's music. After all Vienna was his home, and is filled with some of the worlds most talented musicians. There are endless possibilities for concerts in Vienna, you will be inundated on the streets by baroque costumed, wig wearing ticket pushers. It can be very hard to decide just which would be the best option. Well here's a tip. If you are looking for intimate, authentic, Mozart adjacent, and uber talented, the Sala Terrena at the Mozarthaus is the perfect place.
In the 1780's Mozart lived in this building briefly at the age of 25 and performed for the Viennese aristocracy in this very salon. Intimate does not even begin to describe the feel of this venue, the capacity reads 80 but the night that we attended there could not have been more than 50 people in attendance. The walls are decorated with beautifully designed fresco's, which show rich ornamentation and scenes of mythology. The scene evokes Baroque concerts of old, you can almost see Mozart himself entering the room.
Once in every ones lifetime, for those who seek it, there must be the chance to experience luxury, refinement and what its like to live on "the other side." I can say that I have achieved that in my life time at a somewhat youngish age. The bar has been set at a very high level when it comes to comfort, elegance, and impeccable service. I speak of our stay at the Hotel Imperial in Vienna. A marble palace really, built as a residence in 1863 for Prince Wurttemberg, that can boast of patrons ranging from Queen Elizabeth and Luciano Pavarotti and, during our stay, US Secretary of State Kerry and a few Iranian diplomats. Oh, and remember the famous baby dangling incident, Micheal Jackson, yup that was the Hotel Imperial.
One of our dining highlights during our visit to the city of Vienna was a lovely little gem in the Innere Stadt or Old City section near St Stephens Cathedral. Tucked away on a side street we found a sweet little restaurant with warm and charming atmosphere. The White Chimney Sweep, one of the oldest and most renowned restaurants in all of Vienna, was established in 1848 as the guild pub for the old Vienna chimney sweeps. Legend has it that the name is based on a chimney sweep that was having an affair with a pretty baker next door to the pub. He frequented the bakery so often that he had more flour on his clothes than soot. He was seen so often at the pub covered in flour that the locals began calling it the place "Zum weissen Rauchfangkehrer."
While making coffee this morning, I grabbed a smallish bone china mug from the cupboard. One look at the Tudor cottages surrounded by gardens and I was transported back to Kent. During our trip to England, being the Tudorphiles that we are, we could not pass up the chance to see the birth place of Anne Boleyn. A small manor house in the countryside of Kent is where the famous, or infamous however you would like to see her, second wife of Henry the VIII grew up. Better known as Hever Castle, this idyllic spot turned out to be a full day of gardens, architecture, history, art and yes even a jousting contest.
With a small bit of research regarding the areas outside of London Brian and I were fixed on the idea of going for a day trip to the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. After a few attempts to find the right train schedule we were told that it was best to get off in Edenbridge as opposed to Hever due to the fact that Hever station had no facilities such as cabs or buses. When we arrived at Edenbridge we discovered that the same went for the Edenbridge station, quite remote. Fortunately we were within walking distance of a local store and the owner was more than happy to call a cab for us. We were picked up by a delightful man named William who owned his cab and lived nearby. William was kind enough to set a time to pick us up after we had finished for the day and transport us back to the Edenbridge station in time for our train back to London.
When we arrived at the property we were delighted to find extensive gardens and constructed walls, follies of ancient Greek arches, and a lake where boats could be hired for a small fee.
There was a two mile loop walking path through the more remote areas of the 125 acres of land that are part of Hever. As we walked the well groomed and quiet grounds, I imagined Queen Anne as a girl playing in these very woods. There was also a very extensive rose garden featuring the Hever Rose a hybridized Floribunda created just for the gardens at the castle.
Henry and Queen Anne themselves were at hand !
We enjoyed a jousting contest with full regalia.
This is a portrait of adolescent Queen Elizabeth the 1st, one of the many medival portraits found on the property.
We truly enjoyed our day of stepping back in time, our walks in the woods, the jousting match, the tour of Hever Castle. We even saw Anne Boleyn's book of hours, a personal hand written and decorated book of prayers that all decent medieval young ladies possessed, she had this with her in the Tower before she died and you could see the messages she had written on the edges of the pages. As we drove away it occured to me she left all this beauty, enticed by grandeur, and prestige to end up on the block and ultimately in a hole in the church floor at St Peter ad Vincula. Anne you should have stayed on the farm !!
Looking back over some photos from last years trip to Italy I came across some photos and video from one of our most favorite days at St. Peter's Basilica. As a fallen catholic being at the epicenter of the faith I was raised on was quite similar in feeling to running into an old lover unexpectedly. Of course there was no animosity, but most certainly a deep longing for what was, and flashes of wonderful memories long forgotten.
I did find, as I walked through the Basilica surrounded by the icons of my faith, a deep ache rising within me. I missed the ritual, I missed the icons, I missed the prayers, and dearly missed that feeling of lightness after an inspiring homily.
My experience ,in comparison ,was completely different from my husbands. Brian was raised in the Lutheran faith, actually a Missouri Sinead Lutheran, for anyone that is familiar with that you will understand how strict his church was. In the Lutheran faith there are no icons, no statues, no stations of the cross, no paintings, no medallions, and amazingly enough no Mary. Well, they believe there was a Jewish girl that gave birth to Jesus but she is not celebrated, or venerated like she is in the Catholic faith.
So was it divine providence that during the time we would be spending in Rome, the Vatican would be celebrating one of the most important days for the faithful that hold the Madonna so dear ? Oct 13 1917 marks the day of the final visitation of Our Lady of Fatima to three small children in Portugal, and the day when "The miracle of the sun" took place. You see it was Marian Day at the Vatican, and we would be there to hear Pope Francis speak.
We arrived two hours early knowing the crowds would be massive, a brilliant plan actually because when we arrived there was still seating left. There were several areas barricaded off closer to the front of the crowd with hundreds of empty chairs, I just assumed they were being held for someone of great importance and I was happy to sit much further back in the crowd. Not the Lutheran, he grabbed me by the hand and led me through the crowded square right up to the empty seats, and surprise, surprise they were open to the public. We sat for some time in a St Peter's Square awaiting the start of the day, surrounded by contingencies of the faithful from every corner of the globe. Looking up at the stage we could see microphones and several chairs, one in particular was deep crimson velvet with a tall regal back, Brian asked "Is that where the Pope sits ?" This being my first event at St Peter's I told him I wasn't sure but most likely.
All of a sudden there was a restlessness that swept through the crowd, a buzz from the back of the 80,000 strong confluence. She was here. It started slowly but grew quickly to the recognizable song I remember as a child, Ave Ave Ave Maria. There deep in the back of the crowd on a platform covered in flowers and carried on the shoulders of the Swiss Guard was Our Lady of Fatima. The procession had begun and all bets were off, anyone and everyone that could climb up and stand on their chair did so. As the singing grew greater the handkerchiefs appeared, and once again the curious Lutheran, who must have by now been blown away to see the love that Catholics have for Mary, asked yet another question, "why are they waving hankies?"
I will be the first to admit that I was moved to tears that day in St Peter's Square. I have loved the Virgin Mary all my life, but to be a part of that wave of love and adoration was epic, a memory one could not meausure in dollars, a moment I will cherish forever. Even more importantly, I had been with Brian as he witnessed just what The Virgin Mary means to so many across the globe. Brian too showed signs of deep emotion, although it must have been so foreign to him to see this display, deep down I believe he fell a little bit in love with Mary that day.
The Madonna proceeded to the front and was greeted by the Pope, who had waited patiently for her as she made her way around the entire square, he escorted her and the Swiss Guard up to the top of the stairs. Once again the Lutheran watched as Mary and not Pope Francis was placed in the most important chair on the dais. He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Mary got the big chair !"
Yes Brian, she did.
At the end of this post I have included the link to the homily given that day by Pope Francis, I am not trying to convert anyone, but would offer you a chance to see how his mind works. There is a reason his fellow priests have put him where he is, have a look if you like.
