Final thoughts...
- Marjorie
- Nov 4, 2019
- 4 min read
Well, we are back in Colorado. Yes it is home, but England is still my true home. I am most comfortable there. But it is great to be reunited with our Scottie, Wallace! A huge thank you to Don and Sally, our Scottish Terrier rescue team, for taking such marvelous care of him!
My penultimate post was all about Chichester. But that was not the end of the trip. We were flying home out of Heathrow midday, so needed to already be in the greater London area the night before. Taking a train from Chichester would have involved 3 changes, a major pain with all of our luggage, now heavier with books and other goodies. Hiring a car complete with the driver was only about £20 more than the train, and that was door to door with considerably less effort and less time. The AirB&B that Karen and I had stayed in at the beginning of the trip was available and close to Heathrow, not to mention that the host, Cathie, is great fun to stay with. So we were all set. Glenn had not been to Hampton Court Palace in a very long time, so as it is also nearby Cathie directed us to the bus.
Even though I had spent the first weekend of my visit in the Palace, I was rather busy and did not get to see as much as I would have liked. It turned out that going back held extra treats in store for me! Queen Elizabeth I was in residence with two of her ladies-in-waiting who were helping her get dressed. Elizabeth was quite in character, even down to her darkened teeth from eating so much sugar. It was a marvelous show for me. Then there were two of the Palace’s Tudor cooks demonstrating making sugar plate decorations. That was absolutely fascinating as I have always wanted to try making it. They had more failures than successes, but that is what attempting to recreate recipes with no amounts and few details results in. I spent quite a bit of time chatting with one of the cooks. He gave me a wonderful insight - don’t just look at the menus and the recipes, also check out the ledgers of what the kitchen purchased. Very enlightening!
To top it off, the piece of the lost dress of Queen Elizabeth I was on display. It had been transformed into an altar cloth, only recently to be discovered as a part of one of her gowns. As there are so few extant pieces from her well documented wardrobe, this was exciting to see. The embroidery covering the former skirt was beautiful and educational to examine. In the same room they also had a copy of the Rainbow Portrait, a copy of which dress Elizabeth I was being clothed in during the dramatization. What a treat! I have been able to see so many Tudor and Elizabethan portraits up close and personal, and have taken many photos of the fine details of the well-painted clothing. This trip has been a learning experience on so many levels!
Back to Cathie’s for a rest and repacking of our luggage to redistribute the weight. Dinner was highly anticipated as we were to return to Indian Zest, the amazing restaurant that Karen and I had enjoyed. It certainly did not disappoint. And on top of the fantastic food it was the day of the Indian celebration Diwali, a Festival of Lights which includes oil lamps everywhere. Our meal ended with a surprise tray of sweets edged by the lit oil lamps.
Monday morning we were up early for our final full English breakfast (a reduced version). With hugs we said goodbye to Cathie and to England, and made our way, again in a hired car, through the maze that is the entrance to Heathrow International Airport. Even though I had kept close track of the VAT charged (Value Added Tax) I could not get it back as None of the shops mentioned that I needed a form from each of them, not just the notated receipt. Grrrrr.
We manoeuvered the internal maze and horrific queues to get through check in and security, then ran the gauntlet of the Duty Free shops, stooping to get some toffee and Toblerone. After a long wait our gate was finally listed and we headed that direction. After several more passport checks we were on the plane for the 9 hour 55 minute flight to Denver. Unfortunately, not only did my video screen constantly change from colour to black and white, the earphone jack did not work even when you held the cable in place. That is a long flight without entertainment!
Finally in Denver we had to rus the other gauntlet of long queues to the multiple passport and photo ID checks and customs which where we were thankfully not questioned. We were well under the limit and had no banned substances, but you never know when you will be singled out for a check.
Having left London at a balmy 50 degrees Fahrenhei, Denver treated us to temperatures in the teens, snow on the car and sheet ice in the parking lot. But we had lucked out and arrived the day in between two snowstorms. How did we manage that?
Wallace was so excited to see us again. Poor boy, we have only had him since early July; he probably thought we had deserted him.
At the end of a very long day we were so glad to see our own bed!
We owe a multitude of gratitude not only to Don and Sally, but also to Bethan and Laurie who put up with us for ten days, driving us all over East Sussex, feeding us, plying us with their wonderful wines and multitudes of tea. Karen was wonderful to stay with and take care of an item on both of our bucket lists; Kristin took us to an utterly exquisite lunch at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, a 2 star Michelin restaurant; Steven shared a day with us expanding our knowledge of medieval Chichester and its environs, and delighting us with tales of his crazy adventures; and Cathie, bookending our trip with her help and wonderful nature.
Until the next trip...........
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