Summer Vacation2018 Finale

Our friends and family have wondered why we rave about our walking trips, particularly in countries where we speak the language.  When we were working, Mr. Lucky and I enjoyed a yearly vacation to reconnect and we planned these trips on our own...back in the day when I would write on blue airmail paper to make a b&B reservation. (No, youngsters, we didn't have to take a masted schooner across the ocean to get there.)  Now we are both retired so we are "connecting" all day long and need a different holiday style. We love meeting other active travelers from all sorts of backgrounds while enjoying panoramic vistas and interesting history.  And hiking on the South Downs and in the Scottish Highlands provided all of that and more. 

Mr. Lucky and I discovered HF Holidays HF Holidays UK three years ago and only wish it had been sooner. This year we selected a warm up week at Abingworth for guided walks along the South Downs before heading to the Highlands at Glen Coe  As in London, the weather was spectacular.  And the South Downs area is full of gentle rolling hills as well as the chalk cliffs that make up the Seven Sisters coastal hike.  

There were approximately 24 guests and we had three leaders who described the daily walk options each evening before dinner via a power point-like animation. 

Level 1 averaged six to seven miles per day and perhaps 400 feet of elevation.  Level 2 eight to ten miles, perhaps 1200 feet up and Level 3 8 to 12 miles, perhaps up to 1600 feet of elevation.  Mr. Lucky and I could do any of the levels of walking on this itinerary so we made our choices on some days depending on who we wanted as our leader or as walking companions.  Some random pictures from our five walks:

Food is very good and very plentiful and despite eating everything and anything I wanted I lost a pound by the time I got home.  Breakfast at the country house included fresh and canned fruit, juice, cereals and anything you wanted for a cooked breakfast. 

Whoops, already ate my salad so just sausage pie, cheese and crackers  and the orange left to share with you.

Then pick up the lunch you had ordered the night before, (sandwiches to order or in my case salad with protein such a smoked salmon) add packaged snacks of trail mix, crisps, candy bars, fill your water bottle and take the bus to your respective start points.  You select dinner from the menu on the night before and here are two typical choices:

The leaders are actually HF members themselves who have ordinance maps and notes of natural and historic interest along the way.  That is one difference from more commercially oriented, for-profit walking trips that we have taken who use more full time professional guides.  Some HF leaders are more geared to sharing those historic and nature notes and others are more the rugged outdoor walking types.  So Mr. Lucky and I know that we'll have to do our own local research sometimes or just enjoy the walk and don't worry about understanding that Iron Age fort on the hill, just admire its location and marvel at its longevity.

The one misty morning was when he took the hike to Chanctonbury Ring

We were the only Americans and one of the questions we get was why we would come over to England when we have marvelous trails and hikes all through the US.  That is so very true, we have gorgeous national and state parks, some far away from us in Maryland and some very near by.  But because we are a younger, larger country, many, many, many miles of those trails are through forests.  Now I'm a tree hugger and we probably picked our house because of the old growth trees in the neighborhood.  But walking in England, a country that has lost those trees over centuries of habitation, means that I get many of what I call my "Sound of Music" moments....or if you just happen to be young person reading all the way through this, I feel like singing the Imagine Dragons' song.  Yes, "I'm on top of the world..."

The week long trips have a free day and Mr. Lucky and I drove into the nearby town of Chichester.  We walked the walls of the city, had a fabulous cathedral tour Chichester Cathedral from a deacon who covered everything from its wonderful Norman roots and unique bell tower to the Roman ruins underneath it and the more modern Marc Chagall stained glass window.  

Chagall window which of course reminded me of a quilt

Then we headed over to the even more amazing Roman ruins at Fishbourne Palace Fishbourne Roman Palace  The mosaics were only discovered in 1960 and they turned out to be part of the largest residential Roman building in England.  It was even more interesting than I ever anticipated and I know my high school Latin teacher, Miss Dvorak, would be so proud of me for getting there.  The original palace was so enormous that even today whenever a nearby home does any home or garden improvements they are first asked if the archeology experts can look around for more info.  

The evenings on an HF Holiday include optional activities after dinner.  There was quiz night, a night of skittles, which Mr. Lucky won, to the surprise of all of us 

a talk from a local naturalist and even a fun night of British fete games out in the lovely gardens.  

I did promise sewing so you'll laugh to see that I had Amazon UK deliver this book to Abingworth Hall right before our arrival.  Just some light reading on a hiking trip.

I have hardly looked at it yet but it seems like a scrumptiously detailed look at high end embellishing details.  Perfect to cozy up with and try this winter.  And it became a fun topic of interest with several of the women on the hikes when we discussed sewing in our lives.  We can find our kindred spirits anywhere.

After this wonderful week we took a flight to Glasgow where we slept hard (so hard that we slept through the enormous fire two blocks from our hotel that burned the Glasgow Arts center that was under reconstruction.)  Our day in Glasgow was our first heavy rain day and it poured on us...and the wedding party here.

 We took the on-off bus tour of the city but didn't get off and saw the sights through rain streaked windows.  Nice but what else to do in the rain?  Eat and shop!  We headed to Glasgow's central district where we spotted this All Saints clothing store window display with old sewing machines along two window fronts and piled inside too.

I'm not the only one impressed by this sight.  There are plenty of Pinterest and Google images pictures of these also.  Sadly, those of us who know sewing machines know that there's really not much that has changed mechanically but a few bells and whistles over the years which made these "obsolete."  
I didn't want to shop at the store but I did want to visit the beautiful House of Fraser store on Buchanan street for some snoop shopping

Clever stripes idea to imitate

 and an actual purchase

It was on sale, I want to copy the seams and drape and a wearable souvenir

Then it was time to visit The Willow Tea Rooms, Willow Tea Rooms first designed by the famous architect Charles Rennie MacIntosh.  We indulged ourselves in the upstairs Chinese Blue Room

That afternoon we got the shuttle for the two hour drive to the HF Holiday house at Glen Coe and our introduction to the Highlands.  The weather wasn't as warm and sunny as it had been in the previous month but our three long walks never had anything more than heavy mist and were challenging and as spectacular as you would imagine.  My favorite was the walk on the Isle of Lismore because it was so remote and historic with a Bronze age "broch" and then Celtic and Scandinavian settlements. 

Once again, cheers to HF Holidays, our leaders, and our new travel companions for these three days.  

This was as active a trip as we have ever taken and it worked our better than we could have anticipated

We flew back to London and had one long day before our flight home....so yes, more fabric to pack from a quick excursion back to Misan on Goldhawk Road:

Something sheer for summer

Something understated for my next stitch and flip "French jacket"

Something cheery for cold winter days ahead

Some Liberty cotton for a shirt for Mr. Lucky

No, no, I don't want to go home

Last stop, Heathrow for a mid-afternoon flight.  We got nervous when we couldn't check our bags at the self-service kiosk.  "See an attendant" is not the message you want to see at the airport.  But yikes, we were upgraded to first class!!!  What the heck.  I kept saying, "Are you sure it's us?" to the counter person.  But yes, whatever algorithm in British Air's system selected us for those vacant seats, we're grateful.

Thanks, British Air

And thanks to anyone still reading this far.  I really needed to write this post to put some of our memories "on paper."  And now I need to put some of that fabric on the cutting table within the next year to keep these memories even more vivid.

Summer Vacation, 2018, Part 2

Warning, holiday picture heavy post ahead.  First of all, thanks for your sweet comments on my travel wardrobe planning.  Mr. Lucky and I enjoy active holidays with only a little traditional sightseeing so I could easily get by with my LL Bean and REI clothes each day and evening.  But when I am meeting people and say that my hobby passion obsession is sewing, then I feel obligated, on behalf of all the world's amateur "sewists," to be wearing something that I made.  And to be honest, I just like my clothes and I hate leaving them lonely in my closet at home.

So now, that I am packed, we flew from Baltimore straight to London.  (Another reason to love Baltimore, besides the fact that Sarah Veblen, Susan Khalje and Rae Cumbie are some of the local sewing experts.)  Visiting England in June is marvelous, even more sunshine per day than we have in Maryland.  And sunshine is the cure for jet lag...that and a low dose pill on the overnight flight.  We dropped our luggage at the hotel near Paddington and Hyde Park then walked a few miles, enjoying that sunshine and window shopping.  Selfridges windows have been part of its marketing efforts since its founding and I love seeing them each time we are in London.  This time they explored the theme of "luxury" and the ying and yang of consumer goods in our society.  Yes, ironic considering they are a retail store and certainly excel at making me think that the new shiny bauble will make my life better.  But since we were heading out to the countryside in a few days I immediately fell in love with this window and its sentiment.

"Is the ultimate luxury enjoying the beauty of nature?"

Then there's the thought provoking one with familiar items from my decades on the planet all crammed together:

Yes, at least three sewing machines in the mix of "modern" appliances.

Then just some designer windows along our way.  

Chanel jacket with cording trim

Great bias plaid dress

All that walking meant that we needed nourishment.   Mr. Lucky and I are dim sum fans and found another delightful place, Dumplings Legend, in Soho.  

I'm terrible at the "photograph your food before you eat" trick

Back to the hotel to check in, take a short nap then head out to the theater for the first of three London plays in as many days.  

Yes, we're theater junkies.  Usually we just take our luck at the Leicester Square TKTS discount booth but I had seen a play online that looked intriguing and was able to get a great price....for an absolutely terrific show.  Wow, I am still thinking about this one months later.  

We weren't familiar with the "coughing major" cheating scandal from Britain's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? but that hardly mattered.  The play was a Chichester Theatre festival winner and I could fully understand why. Quiz Show review It was timely in its focus on the how the popular media began in the early '90s manipulating emotions for ratings and money, changing from game shows that focused on knowledge and recall and facts to ones that used pop culture to dumb down content but play up emotional dilemmas of contestants as the entertainment.  The staging, the audience involvement (it is actually a court case presented in flashbacks and we the audience vote twice upon the guilt of the three defendants, once at intermission and then at the conclusion of the show....and the results from previous audience votes are shared as well.)  Wow, our first day in London ended with excitement and applause.  

Day two started out slowly (long hard sleep in our modern, quiet hotel, The Westbourne Hyde Park) but gloriously sunny so I first thing was to get on my phone and buy tickets for that evening's Open Air Theater in Regent's Park.  Then it was up for more walking and snoop shopping for me.  Mr. Lucky is such a good sport when I want to look at big city stores and all the current fashions.  They don't fit 90% of my daily life but it's still so much fun to see trends.  But first let's get some nourishment again with brunch at the John Lewis rooftop garden and restaurant.  When I was younger, many American department stores had at least one if not several dining establishments but those days, for the most, are long gone.  It is a reminder, for me at least, of a slower time when shopping was a special event, for an Easter dress or winter coat or new school shoes.  Fast fashion and fast food are now the norm.  London isn't that much different in those areas but there are still full service department stores which have disappeared in much of the USA.

Brunch at the John Lewis restaurant

John Lewis roof top dining

When even small department stores have full service florists, then I know I am in a different country.  

Yes, more snoop shopping including a fun visit to one of the many Ted Baker boutiques in town.  Look, bows are everywhere this year:

Then suddenly the iconic Liberty store was right in front of us.  I haven't been inside Liberty for at least 25 years (or more!)  Mr. Lucky and I came to England  somewhat regularly then using my at the time generous airline mileage rewards but staying in very inexpensive b&bs and mostly going to the theatre, on great countryside hikes and seldom buying anything, except maybe some lovely Mason Cash mixing bowls that I still love.  But I do recall a visit to Liberty's haberdashery and gorgeous fabric selection.  I have a two meter piece of wool plaid that I made into a ruana with my very first serger, back in perhaps 1989.  What a splurge that wool was.  So I was eager to revisit that department...but what a change.  My fellow American sewing friends "of a certain age" bemoan the loss of elegant fashion fabric stores....and guess what, friends, that has happened at Liberty, too.  Now, yes, of course the famous Liberty lawn and cotton fabrics are there and even a few silks but quilting abounds and not a piece of wool in sight. 

Liberty chair for a reading corner and Liberty print sewing machine

I am glad that I visited...because I was able to get this picture, a comfy reading chair in a corner and a Liberty print sewing machine sums up my two greatest interests..but I am also glad that I could visit other stores to find those luxury fabric purchases.  

However, no moaning about the past when there's a new favorite just down the way... Misan Textiles on Berwick Street  I only purchased two "remnants" in the bargain section, both lightweight silks for maybe 10 pounds, or less than $15.00 per meter.  

Misan silk with butterflies which will turn into a summer kimono

Misan silk that I just loved and could not resist at 40 pounds for 4 meters

After dropping my purchases off at the hotel, Mr. Lucky and I bought Marks and Spencer to go salads and wine to take to Regent's Park for a light picnic in the gardens.  Early June means the flowers are in riotous bloom and the roses are truly the size of cabbages.  We ate, wandered and exclaimed.  

Even if you don't attend a show at the Open Air theatre you should try to visit this wonderful place.  

But we did see a show and it was another thought-provoking evening.  

"Peter Pan."  Hmmm, how quaint and quintessentially British.  I adored the Mary Martin theatrical version that played a few times on television in my early years.  The television was small and black and white and I was a little confused about the gender bending casting but I have loved it from the start.  So, I thought, this show will be sweet and outside in the summer air will be fun.  Wow, I underestimated this production which was fabulous.  Peter Pan Regents Park review  

The stage opens on a hospital in WWI and fills with young wounded soldiers and the young nurses taking care of them.  Not how I recall Peter Pan beginning.  But one of the oh so young soldiers is moaning in pain and as the young nurse adjusts his bedding, a copy of Peter Pan falls on the floor.  You realize that he has been reading it to comfort himself with thoughts of home and younger days and she starts in reading it to him....and Peter Pan ensues, but with the soldiers as the boys, the nurse as Wendy and the officers as Hook and his crew. 

Can you spot Smee and the hand crank sewing machine?

It was terrifically staged and thrilling enough that yes, a little girl in the audience jumped up and clapped loudly when Peter asks if we believed in fairies.  But the ending is a bit different.  As the traditional story closes we get an epilogue from those young men in the hospital....some who survived to head back home, have  families and jobs and friends and good lives...and others who didn't make it back but march off stage, a sign that those "lost boys" died in the "Great War."  How poignant to realize, in a year that will celebrate the centennial of the end of the war, that the original audience for Peter Pan would too soon become the participants in such a tragic conflict.  Plenty of tears shed all around us as the lights came up and I doubt any of us will think of Peter Pan as just a children's story in the future.

Third and last day in London so we had to get our priorities straight.  We both started out on an early morning mission since we had matinee tickets for the afternoon. Mr. Lucky took the tube and bus out to play golf at a course near Wimbledon and I went to find the famous Goldhawk Road fabric corridor.  He had an ok round and I had a marvelous time exploring the two dozen little shops in Shepherds Bush.  I went looking specifically for a grey wool of some sort to combine in a winter jacket/topper with a dark ribbed grey wool that I had from Fabric Mart.  I found just the thing at Classic Textile. Classic Textiles

And because I felt so successful on that mission, I treated myself to two meters of this Liberty silk

Once again, drop fabric at the hotel and head downtown for the last show, one that was "Simply the best...."

Wishing I had legs like Tina Turner's

Wow, what a life, what a show and what fun.  We were still grinning over dinner in the Covent Garden area at Cote Brasserie, a French-inspired chain that was the perfect almost end to the day.Cote Brasserie London

Look at these perfect starters on the Prix Fix menu

I said almost end because we had one more event, 

Yes, we joined many others in attending Beating Retreat that evening.  The queen gets two birthday celebrations, one on April 21 and then the better weather second Saturday in June.  Beating Retreat Beating retreat is a centuries old tradition done in the past when drums would beat the return of troops from the battlefield.  (That marching in formation to and from battle seemed so barbaric when I heard about it in history and now seems less so when nuclear and chemical weapons are a threat.)  For us it meant watching military bands from the UK and around the globe playing in formation, ceremonial splendor (including a visit from Prince Andrew and the Princesses Eugienie and Beatrice) and then fireworks.  History and fireworks, the perfect conclusion to a whirlwind three days.  

Yes, Prince Andrew and the children came to join in the festivities.

Next post I'll finish this long vacation essay by exploring the British and Scottish countryside with HF Holidays....and there will still be sewing related happenings there, too.  If you have read this far, thank you for your tolerance patience interest.  My daily life in Baltimore is so full of great things that a trip as special as this can quickly fade from my memory.  Having this blog to update is enjoyable for me since I get to relive it through the pictures....and later through those fabrics;-)