Monastery Stays offer affordable accommodations in historical surroundings

When I go to Rome in October I will be staying at a converted monastery not far from the Colosseum. I didn't find my accommodations through the Monastery Stays website but I had heard that monasteries were available throughout Rome. Today, I stumbled across the Monastery Stays website and was quite excited to note their widespread availability throughout Italy and Sicily. Not only do their structures offer historical interest but for a woman traveling alone, they provide security and a quiet refuge after the end of a busy day of exploration. If you are into a wild nightlife, these accommodations are probably not your cup of tea since they have curfews ranging from 11 p.m. to midnight. But, I usually am so tired by 9 or 10 p.m. that their curfew policy does not pose a problem for me. I will definitely be visiting their website to arrange future accomodations!

A Virtual Visit to the Dresden State Museum of Art

My friend Kent Loobey sent me an article about the new Dresden State Museum of Art in Second Life and, of course, I had to go see it!

"The Dresden State Museum is one of Europe's oldest. Saxon kings began collecting art in the 1560s, but it wasn't until the reign of August the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, in the early 1700s that art collection began in earnest. Augustus believed in putting his wealth on display. He and his heirs effectively created the first public museums in an effort to impress their subjects and fellow royals. In 1855, the Zwinger was expanded to create a gallery for the state art collection." - Wired

I launched Second Life and searched on Dresden under Art and Culture and clicked Teleport. In a few seconds my avatar was standing in the beautiful plaza surrounding the gallery. I walked over to the beautiful fountain and sat on the edge to look around and take in the beauty of my surroundings. Of course I couldn't help but have my picture taken there. Although Second Life has an in-world Snapshot tool, I prefer to use a simple Print Screen because the resulting frame is sharper and more detailed.

When I visit museums in real life I like to take pictures of the facade and any interesting architectural details that I see. Second Life's Camera Control tool lets me do the same thing - allowing me to pan and zoom in and zoom out to get a better look at anything that catches my eye.

Camera controls is not normally visible by default but if you click on View -> Camera Controls then you get a small interface that looks like two virtual joystick controllers with a ruler running vertically between them with a + at the top and a - at the bottom. Clicking on the + zooms in. If you reach the maximum zoom, try moving your avatar just a little closer to the object you are examinging to zoom in even more. Then use the joystick on the right to adjust the angle of your camera up, down, left, or right, and the joystick on the left to move the camera itself up, down, left, or right to eliminate any angular distortion.

I entered the main gallery and stopped at the desk and picked up a guest book SDK so I could record my impressions. The reception area is magnificent with its ornate domed ceilings, bas reliefs and sparkling chandeliers. It truly gives you the authentic feeling that you have entered a world-class museum!

Then I walked down the entryway and entered a room that featured some spectacular tapestries. Again I used my Camera Controls and my MouseLook view to pan around the room and zoom in on each piece of art to examine it more closely. The room had chairs arranged in it so you could sit and contemplate the art just like you would in the "real" gallery.


The tapestry room also featured a piano with a little script attached that you could click on to "play" it. My sound wasn't working right today but I think normally you would hear it. I crashed the Second Life application because I think I had too many applications open and probably should have rebooted. I'll have to try it again when I get a few spare moments. I had piano lessons when I was a child but haven't played in years. Based on my avatar's motions, the piano must have been magical as she appeared to play as well as a concert pianist!

I moved on to the next room where a number of interesting historical cityscapes captured my attention. I normally prefer images of people, both portraits and paintings of people engaged in interesting activities, but these scenes of 18th century city life were quite colorful and intriguing. I particularly liked this painting of the Marketplace at Pirna by Bernardo Bellotto (nephew of Canaletto) painted from 1753-1754 CE. (This image was taken using the Camera Controls and the PrintScreen key on my computer. Yes, the quality of the experience is that good!)

"Bernardo Bellotto, an Italian painter, was from Venice and the nephew and pupil of Canaletto. He was known for his townscapes (vedute). He is listed in the fraglia (Venetian painters' guild) from 1738 to 1743, by which latter date he had established his reputation. In 1747 he left Venice for Dresden and there in 1748 was appointed court painter to Frederick Augustus 11 of Saxony; in c1758 he was at Vienna working for Empress Maria Theresa; in 1761 he was working in Munich, after which he returned for a while to Dresden, before moving in 1767 to Warsaw to work for King Stanislas Poniatowski, staying there for the remainder of his life." - From "The Bulfinch Guide to Art History".

I then wandered into the next room and was rewarded by the vision of a beautiful portrait of Princess Lubomirska, one time mistress of Augustus II (The Strong), Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, by Louis De Silvestre painted in 1724 CE.

"Louis de Silvestre was the son of Israël Silvestre. He was first apprenticed to his father, going on to study under Charles Le Brun and then Bon Boullogne. In 1694 he competed unsuccessfully for the Prix de Rome but left nevertheless for Italy. In Rome he met Carlo Maratti; he also visited Venice and Piedmont. On his return to Paris he was received (reçu) in 1702 into the Académie Royale, presenting the Creation of Man by Prometheus (Montpellier, Mus. Fabre). He embarked on a successful career, earning academic honours (he was appointed an assistant professor in 1704 and a full professor in 1706) and commissions from both the Church and the court. In 1703 he was commissioned by the guild of Paris goldsmiths to execute the May of Notre-Dame (Healing of the Sick, Arras, Mus. B.-A.). In 1709 he painted a Last Supper for the chapel at Versailles (in situ). This was followed by nine scenes from the Life of St Benedict (1709; examples in Paris, Louvre, see fig.; Béziers, Mus. B.-A.; Perpignan, Mus. Rigaud; Brussels, Mus. A. Anc.) for St Martin-des-Champs, and a St Matthew (1710; destr. 1748) for the cupola of St Roch, both in Paris. Among the secular works of his early career are the paintings originally intended for the Pavillon de la Ménagerie at Versailles, including Arion Playing the Lyre (1701; Compiègne, Château), and Hector Taking Leave of Andromache with its pendant Ulysses Taking Astyanax away from Andromache (both untraced), painted in 1708 for Armand-Gaston I de Rohan-Soubise (1674–1749); he also painted contemporary historical subjects (e.g. Battle of Kassel, Siege of Saint Omer; both untraced) for the funeral of Philippe I, Duc d’Orléans (d 1701)." - ArtNet.

I ran out of time for today's visit so I completed my comments statement in the space provided at the bottom of the Guestbook SDK I had received by touching the guest book in the reception area and returned to the guest book and dragged the SDK from my inventory over on top of the Guestbook on the table as instructed. Hopefully my comments were wisked away to the Dresden Gallery developers. I think this 3D experience gives the visitor much more of a feeling of "visiting" the museum than simply browsing through a well-illustrated book about the gallery. I hope other museums will follow Dresden's lead and provide many more such virtual galleries accessible to everyone (with access to a computer somewhere) regardless of their physical or financial ability to travel. I was certainly impressed!

I wish I had seen Yorktown when we visited Williamsburg

Several years ago, my husband and I visited Williamsburg and spent the day exploring the shops of the colonial artisans like the wigmaker and the gunsmith, the Governor's mansion, and the Legislative Assembly Hall. But there is so much to see in Williamsburg that we didn't have time to also explore Yorktown, site of the famous decisive battle of the American Revolution. There is a fife and drum corps that performs at Williamsburg and Yorktown that I had so wanted to see. I bought a Department 56 set of miniatures of them that I treasure but I would have liked to have seen them in person. Today, I was searching the internet for military music for a soundtrack for an educational podcast about the Civil War and stumbled across a link to a video of the Yorktown Fife and Drum Corps. I found it quite amazing and wish to share it:

North to Alaska

For years, my relatives in Alaska have been pleading with us to come up and see their beautiful part of the country. We finally did at the end of May to help my great niece, Jessica Davis, celebrate her graduation from high school.

My great niece lives with her parents, Scott and Traci Davis, in Ketchikan. My oldest sister has made a number of trips to Ketchikan and returned with great fish stories (supported by boxes of delicious halibut and smoked salmon) and other tales from the land of the midnight sun. So, it was finally time to see for ourselves.

We arrived by plane from Seattle and boarded the ferry to take us across the inland passage to the island where Ketchikan stretches along its shoreline.

One of the first things we noticed were the huge cruise ships lined up along the waterfront. I had never seen a cruise ship up close and these were gigantic. Scott told us they have some cruise ships that span 14 decks. Catering to the tourists appears to be the major economic activity here. We saw flocks of tourists surging from shop to shop, a horse-drawn wagon making the rounds, and charter boats filled with hopeful anglers plying the waters of the harbor.

The landscape reminded me of the Oregon of my childhood before the timber companies stripped many of the hills trying to make a quick buck by selling raw logs to Japan. The hills around Ketchikan were a deep green with tall fir and cedars and the mountains capped with snow. Even though it was almost June the weather was cool and it sprinkled off and on. Ketchikan claims to be the 4th wettest place on earth with annual rainfall over 400 inches.

I also got a chance to find out how rough it can be living on an isolated island with only one main road. The first night I was there I somehow came down with a virus. I wretched all night and most of the next morning. I finally decided to go in to the emergency room but had to wait for my family to return from an awards ceremony so someone could drive me in. They didn't get home until 1 p.m. which was, unfortunately, after the highway department started blasting the road they were attempting to improve while the weather was decent. They also used a little too much dynamite and ended up blocking the entire road (the only road between me and the hospital) and knocking down the powerlines. Initially, they planned to have an ambulance go to the other side of the rock slide and send a gurney over for me. I was afraid it was going to be quite a spectacle! We waited for almost an hour and a half. Then someone else behind us suffered a severe allergic reaction and also needed to go to the hospital and was in a life-threatening state. So, the highway crew hurried as best they could and cleared just enough room for us to get by in the car (we were cautioned not to roll the windws down or have our arms outside the car though because the power lines were still dangling).

I finally got to the hospital about 4 p.m. only to find the ER jammed with patients waiting to be evacuated to Seattle. Apparently, the ferry's engines had quit and it floated away (with another ambulance on-board) and there was no way to get to the airport without it. The Coast Guard came to the rescue and lassoed the errant ferry and dragged it back to the dock. I finally got a bottle of IV fluid and an injection for nausea about 6 pm. The doctor said I pretty much just had to ride it out since nothing much could be done for a virus except rehydration so we went home.

The next morning we were scheduled to go out on a charter boat. I was still a little shakey but I put my best foot forward, downed a sea-sickness pill, and headed for the dock. The charter boat captain was a friend of my niece and was quite welcoming. We trolled the inland passage hoping for a big King salmon but nothing much was biting in the gentle rain. The captain called in a bald eagle and pitched him some herring while I took pictures. Then we changed tactics and rigging and started fishing for rockfish and halibut. We managed to get several rockfish and just when it was almost time to go in, my brother-in-law, Ken, snagged a halibut. It was just a small one but I knew we'd have a delicious fish fry out of it.

That evening, my sister noticed an advertisement for a charity concert featuring "The Lettermen". They were popular when I was in high school. So, we changed clothes and headed for the auditorium. One of the original Lettermen was still in the group after 47 years of performances. He still sounded really good and his current fellow performers were wonderful too. We had a great time and even met them after the show. I thought to myself that I must have fallen into some time warp. This year I went to my first antiwar demonstration and my first Lettermen's concert thirty years after my 60s classmates had done those things!

The next day, my niece had scheduled a barbeque at Ward Lake Park. Since it is usually raining in Ketchikan, she had reserved a shelter just in case. Of course we needed it! We all huddled under the shelter while my nephew and his firehouse crewmates grilled hamburgers and hotdogs under the edge of the eaves. The local kids played out in the rain, throwing frisbees for their dog and splashing in the lake as if it was a sunny summer day.

Sunday, we all hustled down to the high school gymnasium to watch my niece receive her diploma. It was one of the best graduation ceremonies I have ever attended. Several of the seniors (including Jessica) got up and sang or played music. One very talented young man played music he had composed himself and conducted the high school band as well. The Tlingit Native American students wore their tribal ceremonial robes over the top of their cap-and-gowns and I noticed their parents and relatives did as well. Several of the seniors made the receipt of their diploma a particularly memorable event with acrobatics, skateboards, juggling, and, in Jessica's case, a march down the aisle dressed in her Dad's fireman's coat, hat , and boots. After all, she's a certified volunteer firefighter too!

On our last day, my nieces and sister took me to the Saxman Native Village where I learned about the Tlingit and Haida tribal histories, the importance of totems, and got a chance to participate in a tribal dance at the clan of the Beaver longhouse. I also toured the discovery center, the local historical museum, and had a delicious lunch up at the Inn at Cape Fox. Quite a grand finale! Have a look!

My "Adventure in Dreamland"

Today, I was reading an article about a New York Times film critic's "Adventure in Dreamland" about his family's trip to tinseltown and was disturbed by his comment about his trip to the Hollywood Entertainment Museum:

"We began with the Hollywood Entertainment Museum, which occupies a handsome Art Deco building that used to house the Max Factor makeup company. As I bought tickets, Justine pointed her digital camera at a poster in the lobby — an advertisement for the museum itself — and was immediately accosted by a man who seemed more like a junior production executive than the security guard he apparently was. “Ma'am, I'll have to ask you to erase that picture,” he said, explaining that “everything in this museum is a copyrighted piece of intellectual property.”

He didn't even mention the complete Cheers bar (look for where the stars carved their initials in the bar during the final episode) or that his kids were able to sit in the captain's chair of the original set from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also didn't mention the series of interactive demonstration rooms that teach various tricks of filmmaking where, according to Frommer's guide, "visitors can create Foley soundtracks for a movie segment, test their skills at digital editing, and try out other fun, educational procedures."

I wonder if the rather rude reception his family received by the "security" guard left such a bad taste in his family's mouths that their enthusiasm for the museum's efforts were noticeably dampened. When I was there right after the facility opened in 1996, no one cared if you took pictures. I fear this is an example of the tact the MPAA is taking with all of the work they perceive as being so-called "protected" by copyright. Apparently they have learned nothing from the ridiculous antics of the music industry's RIAA and their attempted prosecution of "violators" as young as 12 years old. What a shame.

I was also saddened to hear that the place has become such a disorganized jumble of pictures and artifacts. At least when I was there I remember admiring some of the Egyptian miniatures used in the filming of the Ten Commandments and, of course, as a "Trekker" I got quite a thrill out of sitting in Captain Picard's chair and uttering "Make it So!". (The picture at left is me at the engineering console. At right I wait to consult with Captain Picard in his ready room). Time goes by so fast I guess I didn't realize that many of today's young people hardly remember "The Next Generation" since there has been three other series since then and the last, "Enterprise" had a relatively small viewership and has already passed into syndication on the Sci-Fi Channel.

I was also shocked by the price ($42) Warner Brothers charges for a less-than-two-hour backlot tour according to Mr. Scott's article. In 1996, I paid not much more than $46 for an entire day's pass to Universal Studios Hollywood. As I had already visited Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, I was not as overwhelmed as I was on my first visit but I enjoyed the Waterworld show with the costumed "smokers" on jetskis and rode the "Jurassic Park" ride five times including once in the dark after dinner. (Fortunately, it was very hot so getting soaked by the water spouts and the final four-story plunge into a pool was refreshing.) The "Twister" tornado experience was interesting but short as was the "Backdraft" fire sequence. Of course, the Hollywood park also has the "Jaws" shark ride which is always fun even if you've done it before. I wish they would have had the "Revenge of the Mummy Ride" finished when I was there but I'll have to see it some other time.

Maryhill Museum offers Fine Art to visitors of the Columbia Gorge

Although I have lived only five hours away from the Maryhill Museum that is across the Columbia River from The Dalles, Oregon, I didn't become one of the 10,000 visitors per month to the museum until the summer of 2006. I had heard Maryhill had a wonderful collection of European art and was home to a number of items from the estate of Queen Marie of Romania (including her coronation gown at left) but just hadn't gotten around to visiting it. Then, this past year the museum hosted a concert by the National Choir of Latvia from Riga and my sisters, brother and I decided to make the journey to Goldendale, Washington to attend the concert as a treat for our new sister-in-law from Riga. Gunta and my brother spend a month each year there and she is always anxious to share her culture with us.

First, a little history: Construction on the museum began in 1914 as a mansion for the wealthy entrepreneur Sam Hill.

"Samuel Hill was born to Quakers, an abolitionist physician and his wife, in North Carolina in 1857. At the end of the Civil War, the family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Hill grew up and where he attended Haverhill College. Upon graduation in 1878, Hill went to Harvard and received a second bachelor's degree in 1879.

He returned to Minneapolis and entered into a successful law practice in which he won significant verdicts against several of James J. Hill's (1838-1916) railroads (which became the Great Northern Railway). James J. Hill was so impressed with Sam's skill that he offered him a job that expanded into the presidency or directorship of a number of Hill's companies.

In 1888, Sam married James Hill's eldest daughter Mary. By the end of the nineteenth century, Sam Hill was a wealthy and accomplished railroad executive, financial manager, and investor, and he was active in a wide range of civic groups and fraternal organizations. He was noted for his tireless ambition and energy and for his integrity." - History Link.org

Sam named his estate Maryhill after his daughter, Mary. "But Hill apparently became irritated with Washington state officials for not completing a highway on the north bank of the Columbia and he abandoned the project in 1917." - History Link.org

One of Sam's friends, Loie Fuller (see a bronze of her at left by French sculptor, Theodore Louis-Auguste Riviere), an acclaimed Folies Bergere pioneer of modern dance, suggested to Sam that he convert his home into a museum, providing a cultural outpost in this rugged part of the Pacific Northwest. Using her contacts in Paris, Fuller made it possible for Sam to purchase a number of original Auguste Rodin sculptures to form the foundation for the new art center, including the only pedestal sized plaster version of the celebrated figure of The Thinker and a life sized plaster of Eve from the famed "Gates of Hell".

Sam traveled the world in his study and evaluation of railroads and highways and met many influential people, among them Queen Marie of Romania. During World War I, Sam extended generous support to the people of Romania. Afterwards, he invited Queen Marie of Romania to come to the United States and to dedicate his new museum when it was completed. Sadly, Sam Hill died in 1931 before it was completed. But, another friend, Alma Spreckels (of the San Francisco sugar company fame), having already founded the Legion of Honor Museum (the subject of another of my journeys) took up the mantle as chief benefactor of the budding Maryhill Museum. She donated many works of art from her own collection and with her guidance, the museum opened on Sam Hill's birthday, May 13, 1940.

Upon her death, Queen Marie of Romania left a number of items from her personal estate including some uniquely beautiful Byzantine-styled furniture that she designed herself and her original audience chair. She also left her gold coronation gown and spectacular silver-filigreed chests and serving pieces that were given to her as wedding gifts. These items are displayed on the museum's main level along with a number of paintings from European masters.

The Rodin sculptures are displayed in a brightly lit gallery on the lower level along with an extensive collection of Native American baskets, clothing, and artifacts, many from the period of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery expedition. Maryhill's Native American Collection began with a group of baskets acquired by Sam Hill but has grown through donations to over 800 baskets, encompassing virtually every North American basketry tradition and technical style, "from a tiny Pomo basket less than one inch in diameter to a four-foot-tall Apache storage Basket called an "olla".

"Maryhill Museum is located in the heart of the cultural region that anthropologists call the Plateau. Lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascade Range, the Plateau was peopled by seminomadic tribes who hunted and fished, and gathered wild roots and berries. The Plateau people were also excellent basket makers, and the Plateau collection at Maryhill is particularly noteworthy. Included are Wasco twined bags, twined cornhusk bags, and Klickitat and Interior Salish-style coiled baskets, as well as beaded bags and clothing, tools, utensils, toys, and games." - Maryhill Museum by Linda Brady Tesner.

One of my favorite items was the 19th-century owl-shaped mortar bowl pictured at left.

Taking a brief rest, we ordered a delicious freshly-made sandwich from the small cafe Maryhill operates on the lower level. You can sit at tables provided there or take your lunch outside and enjoy the spectacular view of the Columbia River far below the bluff on which Maryhill rests.

Maryhill also houses a chess set collection with over 500 examples of the strategy game from around the world that spans hundreds of years. The permanent collection is the result of an exhibit originally held in 1957. The exhibit was so popular that the then-curator Clifford Dolph decided to add these miniature works of art to the museum's permanent collection.

In the upper level of the museum, Russian Orthodox icons, many from the personal collection of Queen Marie of Romania, are displayed.

"The Russian Icons in Maryhill Museum's collection, like the Queen Marie royal regalia, shed light on the life and era of Maryhill's royal benefactor and speak to a religion and culture much different from that of the average American.

Queen Marie was the granddaughter of Tsar Alexander II; her mother, the Grand Duchess Marie and only daughter of Tsar Alexander II, married Prince Alfred of England, second son of Queen Victoria. While the marriage assured that Marie and her siblings would be raised in Victorian Great Britain and that the family would be trained in the church of England, the Russian Orthodox faith was part of Marie's life from an early age. Many of her childhood holidays were spent in Imperial Russia, where her relationships with her Romanov cousins exposed her to Orthodox rituals and religious artifacts.

Once Marie married Ferdinand, the Crown Prince of Roumania, Marie was obligated to adopt the Roumanian Orthodox faith and to promise to raise her children in the State Church. Her homes in Roumania were decorated with icons and other religious artifacts. Even in death, Marie held an icon of the Virgin.

In 1926 when Queen Marie ventured to the then-remote Pacific Northwest to dedicate Maryhill Museum for her friend Samuel Hill, she brought with her fifteen crates full of artwork and artifacts for the museum. Without doubt, some of the Maryhill Museum icons were in these crates.

To the Orthodox believer, these venerated objects provide a "window to heaven", a continuum which connects the secular world with the heavenly realm." - Maryhill Museum

More pictures of the objects in the permanent collection of Maryhill Museum

A Stroll Around the Tate Britain then Homeward Bound!

Tuesday, April 11, 2006:

Today, we walked over to the Tate Britain and toured the wing devoted to one of our ancestors, JMW Turner. He paints mostly landscapes juxtaposing ancient ruins with contemporary country scenes or sea themes such as this work entitled " Ulysses deriding Polyphemus" in the style termed Romanticism which I find a little on the surreal side.

"Looking at Turner's pictures of the yellow dawn or the red of sunset, one is aware, perhaps for the first time in art, of the isolation of colour in itself. Even his sea-pieces contain flecks of bright unmodulated colour that enliven their at first sight more monochromatic treatment. To extract from the continuous range of light the purity of yellow, blue or red, the hues that command and comprise the rest, required an uncompromising integrity of vision. Turner had precisely 'the disposition to abstractions, to generalizing and classification' that Reynolds regarded as the great glory of the human mind, though in a form that Reynolds would hardly have recognised. Quite early in Turner's career his pictures were already accounted 'among the vagaries of a powerful genius rather than among the representations of nature'." - The ArtArchive

Often called "the painter of light" (and you thought that was Thomas Kinkade!) or the great pyrotechnist, Turner painted over 20,000 paintings over the course of his life. He exhibited his first work in the Royal Academy at the tender age of only 16 and was given full membership by the time he was 27.

Then we toured the work of British historical artists (much more my cup of tea). I saw the famous Lady of Shallot and works by famous portrait artists like George Romney. I also was introduced to works by John Everett Millais who is now on my favorites list. His statue graces the courtyard outside the Tate and I can see why!

Tomorrow its back to Heathrow and an 11 hour flight home over Iceland, Greenland, Hudson's Bay and beyond. It's going to be hard to pull myself back to the present after two weeks of immersion in another time and another place!

Forgive me if I use phrases you may not understand when I get back. I've learned that potato chips are called crisps and french fries are called chips. A baked potato is referred to as a "jacket" potato". Egg salad is called Egg Mayonnaise and often includes sprigs of watercress but if you want lettuce, tomato, etc. on your sandwich you say you want it with salad. However, if you order an egg and watercress sandwich, you get boiled egg and cress dry with no dressing at all. Salad here is often served with no dressing at all or only a hint of vinaigrette and Americans (including me) are notorious for wanting lots of ice with their beverages (usually they're served with no ice at all!)

I've learned that you won't find any "rubbish" bins in a train station so you have to carry your trash around with you until you can emerge from the underground and find a trash can. (security reasons). On our first trip out and about, we wandered around endlessly in Victoria station trying to find a trash can to dispose of our breakfast napkins until we finally asked a passerby. We thought we just didn't know what they looked like. I've learned that a mailbox here is referred to as a box but is in actuality a round red can-shaped receptacle. I've learned that if something is in good condition you say it is in "pretty good nick." And most importantly, I've learned when you need to go to the restroom you need to "pop the lu".

A Jaunt to York

Even though the tour company said it would take three hours by train we got to York in only two so we arrived at 9 a.m. We had been given tickets for the hop on, hop off city tour bus so we hopped on and rode up to the Jorvik Viking Center. It's sort of like the Epcot Center travel through time ride. They put you in a car on a track and you are taken on a winding ride through a Viking settlement. They are proud of their authentic surroundings and smells. Trust me - Viking settlements are really smelly! After you exit the ride you enter a small museum displaying artifacts and containing reenactors that demonstrate some of the ancient Viking handcrafts. The Jorvik center also had a great gift shop where I got some excellent books on Viking history and archaeology as well as some nice figures for my office (My office is really going to be heavily populated after this trip!)

Then Jane and I wandered through the Shambles and we found several large antique shops that we had great fun exploring. Jane bought some half dolls and we each bought a 100-year old handmade miniature doll. Jane bought a lady in a very detailed gown while I bought a doll dressed as a Stuart-era gentleman in a tiny velvet suit with lace collar and cuffs, leather boots and gloves, and sporting a real beard and mustache. They are only about 1/2 doll house size (about 3" tall). I was also excited to find an authentic (certified) 4th century bronze Roman military cloak brooch in pretty good nick. We also came across a store that had small real metal Roman helmets complete with hinged cheekpieces and crest that I can display in my office (a bit too small for my head!) They had a life-sized vinyl Roman officer out front but I didn't want to buy another ticket home for him!

After lunch we walked over to Yorkminster Cathedral and I was surprised to discover that they are the first cathedral I have visited that actually allows photos in the sanctuary. I tried to be as unobtrusive as possible and only used the flash when I absolutely had to but got some nice shots both inside and outside. They even had some Tudor-era funerary effigies like those I saw at Westminster Abbey. I find the effigies a fascinating study in portraiture and historical fashion. Using my zoom lens, I was able to get closeups of some of the gargoyles high up on the ramparts. I was a little surprised, though, that they are really rather small. Of course the stained glass windows were very beautiful and I managed to get some good photos of some of the particularly detailed ones. If I had wanted to take pictures of all of them it would have taken me days! Jane talked with an artist apprentice out in front of the church that had rolled out the template for a new ceiling fresco he was working on in pastels that is a new addition to the church's artwork.

Jane waited upstairs (she didn't want to see anything dead) while I went down into the crypt but I really didn't see any tombs or coffins. The church authorities have displayed historical artifacts down there in museum-like display cases. The church is built over an old Roman fort and you can see the dais that was used by the commanding general to address his legions. They displayed busts of Vespasian and Septimus Severus who actually commanded troops in the area at one time and a bust of Constantine that was actually unearthed in York. He doesn't resemble the formal busts in Rome at all!

The museum is set up so the displays begin with Rome then progress to Saxon and Viking times and end with the establishment of Christianity. It also includes the silver ritual vessels used in church services over the centuries.

After we left the cathedral we walked toward the York Museum Gardens where the Constantine the Great exhibit is on display. Jane was getting really tired and not particularly interested in the exhibit so I put her back on the tour bus and sent her back to the railway station while I went into the museum. Probably the most spectacular item in the exhibit was the Great Cameo depicting Constantine, his wife and children in a chariot pulled by prancing centaurs with Jupiter hovering over all. This huge cameo is about twice the size of a very large western-style cowboy belt buckle and is framed in gold encrusted with precious gems. I also toured the museum's permanent collection of Roman, Saxon, and Viking artifacts but my knees were about to give out on me so I didn't try to climb the stairs to the upper galleries that displayed local decorative arts.

I went out and caught the tour bus to get a ride back to the railway station but, of course, had to take the rest of the tour in the meantime (about 45 minutes). I learned about the famous local bandit Dick Turpin and saw the traitor's gate where the boiled and tarred heads of the town "bad boys" were displayed on spikes. We circled the medieval guild hall that is the oldest guild hall still in existence in Europe and were told all about the successful local "Kit Kat" candy bar factory (the guide even had us sing the Kit Kat advertising ditty!) We passed a very old church and learned about the small door called the "devil's door" on its west side. Apparently, back in medieval times, people believed that when a baby was baptized, the devil would then flee the child's body and needed a doorway to escape the church so each time a baby was christened this little door would be opened before the ceremony to accomodate the devil. The guide explained that most "devil's doors" were placed on the north side (the dark side) of the church but for some reason this little church had placed it on the west side. Of course York has most of its original medieval city walls in tact and you can see the slits in the wall where they used to shoot arrows and pour boiling oil over their attackers. There is even a small portion of the original Roman wall still visible as well.

I caught up with Jane at the railway station and we caught the 6:00 p.m. train back to Kings Cross.

Madame Tussaud's, Westminster Abbey, Stonehenge, and Roman Bath

Monday, April 10, 2006: I can't remember where I left off so I'll start with Wednesday. Wednesday we had passes to Madame Tussaud's wax museum. As expected the wax figures were the best I have ever seen. Of course the Tom Cruise was one of the most popular (for me and my sister too!) although I think the most handsome was Colin Ferrel with his natural black hair rather than the streaky bleached hair he had for "Alexander". Mel Gibson's eyes were a very brilliant blue and my sister couldn't resist cuddling up to John Travolta. Their Indiana Jones figure looked much more like Harrison Ford than the sculpture of him in Tussaud's Las Vegas venue. As for the women, Julie Roberts and Angelina Jolie were big hits. I wish they would have had Clive Owens and Gerard Butler but maybe they're still in production!

In the world showcase, I was surprised that the most popular figures tourists were posing with were Adolph Hitler and Fidel Castro!!?? I preferred Admiral Lord Nelson myself! I had hoped to photograph Henry the VIII and Elizabeth but they had been removed temporarily to make room for a photo setup with Queen Elizabeth, Phillip and Prince Charles. The Pope John Paul II figure was very elaborate and a lot of rather silver-haired and somewhat wrinkled women (does that describe me?) were posing with the Beatles.

After leaving Madame Tussaud's we caught the train back to Westminster to tour Westminster Abbey. I was thrilled when we exited the underground and I looked up to see the famous statue of Boudicca, the warrior queen of the Iceni tribe who rebelled against the Romans in 62 CE. Prior to this time, the Iceni had coexisted with the Romans and Boudicca's husband Prasutagus was a client King. However, when Prasutagus died, the Roman governor of the region decided to seize her land and had Boudicca flogged and her daughters raped as a lesson in power. He discovered he had made a major mistake. She and her followers succeeded in burning down Camulodunum (modern day Colchester), Londonium, and Verulamium (the Roman site I will visit Saturday at St. Alban's).

We pressed on to Westminster Abbey. It was so huge and filled with so many memorials that it took us the rest of the day. I was particularly interested in the tomb effigy of Elizabeth I. The face was sculpted from her actual death mask. I was also surprised to learn that her sister Mary (daughter of Henry and Catherine of Aragon) is interred with her, and is engraved with a very loving inscription written by Elizabeth. I found all the fashions represented in the funeral effigies fascinating since they depicted styles from the time of Edward I up to the 19th century. Westminster does need to raise funds to clean many of the memorials that are darkly discolored from the prolonged exposure to candle smoke and the pollution of the industrial revolution.

Thursday, we went on a guided tour to Stonehenge, Roman Bath and Windsor Castle. Even though people have said Stonehenge is just a bunch of rocks, I still found it impressive. Of course I was fascinated by Roman Bath and spent my entire time there walking around the complex. I even crawled down and swished my hand in the water to see how hot it is (not too - just comfortable for bathing). Later my sister said there was a sign that said you weren't supposed to do that but I didn't see it! (She had gone shopping with a lady she befriended on the tour). I also went into the Pump Room and paid 50 pence for a full glass of the healing waters. I don't like drinking hot water but I figured I needed all the help I could get. At least it wasn't as nasty as the Lithia water down in Ashland.

We accidentally waited for the tour bus on the wrong side of the Abbey where it let us off and the driver didn't see us so we almost got left. Jane's friend called the office and they had the bus come back for us. Unfortunately it made us late for Windsor Castle and it was nip and tuck whether we would get there before they closed admissions for the day. We made it with only 5 minutes to spare. We raced (or should I say hobbled!) over to St. George's chapel (that section of the complex closed first) and I thought the high altar there was more beautiful than the one at Westminster Abbey. Then we headed over toward the state apartments and saw Queen Mary's doll house (Jane loved that) and the 20 lavishly furnished rooms that make up the public rooms of the palace. I was totally enthralled with the exquisitely detailed wall-length tapestries. I was surprised that the colors were so brilliant but I guess many of them are replacements that were obtained after the catastrophic fire a few years ago.

Friday, we thought we were going to have a relaxing day over at the Tower of London - famous last words! All of the stairs almost finished us both! I did enjoy looking at the crown jewels and all the sets of armor though. There were several sets of King Henry VIII's armor - both battle dress and jousting armor. I blushed, though, when I saw the suit of armor that was designed to fit a Henry VIII if he took a walloping dose of Viagra!

I was also dumbfounded by the size of a jousting lance. Although it was designed with flutes to ensure it would splinter when thrust solidly against another knight's armor and weighed only twenty pounds, I think I would chicken out if I saw someone riding towards me wielding that thing!

There were historical reenactors presenting little vignettes that I photographed and, I found way too many goodies at their gift shop! Jane says she isn't taking me to any more shops featuring "knight" goodies.

Saturday, Jane went back to Portobello Road for more antique shopping so I caught a train to St. Albans and had a very interesting visit to the new Roman Museum at Verulamium. I was particularly excited to see a set of hipposandals and the remains of a real section of lorica segmentata.

I admired the beautiful designs on the red Samian ware on display and was intrigued to learn that the delicate vines and leaves were added to the ware by a bag and nozzle apparatus similar to the ones used by modern day cake decorators. I also liked the ram-headed handles used with the patera displayed there. (Patera are dippers used during ritual proceedings.)

I was also glad to see an early Roman helmet and a funeral pyre-blackened set of chain mail. Of course I love mosaics and there are several spectacular mosaics completely intact discovered at Verulamium including a sea god (a horned Neptune?), a lion dragging a stag, and a number of mosaics featuring floral motifs that are apparently the most numerous patterns found in Roman Britain. I found an excellent book on Mosaics of Roman Britain in the gift shop. I also bought a small replica of the Venus of Verulamium for my office.

I didn't realize that a decorated lead coffin I had seen on a program on PBS is housed at the Verulamium museum along with a sculpture of the reconstructed bust of its inhabitant so seeing it in person was a special treat.

I walked down the street and explored the remains of the Roman theater. I'm afraid the Normans did a really thorough job of reusing Roman building stone so there is little remaining but it was still interesting to see.

At 2:30 p.m., two members of Legio XIII Gemina delivered a lively presentation in full Roman kit. I was a little surprised that the officer said the groin protector was primarily used to hold the legionary's tunic down in windy conditions. (?) He also did a thorough job of explaining the construction and functional attributes of a pilum. I knew the iron shaft would bend on impact but he pointed out that the pyramidal shape on the haft immediately behind the iron portion also served to overbalance the remaining wooden shaft so it could not be flipped around and its pointed end used as a javelin by the enemy. Of course he adeptly demonstrated thrusting techniques with the gladius and various uses of the scutum as a weapon as well as a shield, using the boss and the edges. He also pointed out that the scutum was laminated so it was about four times as strong as a Celtic shield. He was very informative and obviously very enthusiastic about the Roman army and Roman civilization. It is the first time I have ever seen a serious Roman reenactor and it was thrilling!

Today, we celebrated Palm Sunday by attending services in St. Paul's cathedral. St. Paul's is extremely beautiful with walls adorned with sparkling mosaics. When you are there for church there is no sightseeing allowed so we didn't go down into the crypt but I did see the Duke of Wellington's monument in the main transcept of the church. My favorite admiral, Lord Nelson is interred there as well. Afterwards, we participated in a procession with palm frond crosses led by two tiny donkeys that had been commandeered for the celebration. Attending a service in a cathedral gives you an opportunity to listen to the massive organs and the choir. The service was "high church" so it is a very nonparticipative form of worship. The audience sits quietly and simply sits and stands on command while the choir sings all the responsive readings. The only point in the service where the audience were expected to say anything was the during the declaration of the Nicene Creed. We were talking to some ladies from Canada and one of them said she could see why the populace became disenchanted with this form of worship.

Afterwards we took the train back to Westminster and crossed the bridge and went up in the London Eye. Even high up in the Eye, London stretches out before you in every direction. Well, I better sign off. It's time for a sandwich and early bedtime since we have to get up at 5 a.m. to catch a train to York tomorrow.

To the Tower!

Friday, April 7, 2006: As you know, I struggle a bit with stairs but escalators and ramps are very rare. My face is still rather tender (I may have cracked my cheek bone) but it did not discolor much so it's not obvious. I just have to prop myself up a little to sleep on that side.

We are having a busy time and I've already filled up one of my camera's Gigabyte memory cards. We've hit a snag however on a trip to Fleetwood. The train from St. Alban's is much more expensive than I thought and leaves either too early to see what I wanted to see in St. Alban's or too late to get us to Manchester until way late at night. We also would need to rent luggage storage in Paddington Station as we have too much luggage (with our local purchases) to wrestle it all around alone on a train. In addition, after riding around the Kent countryside with Richard and seeing the very narrow streets and road directional symbols that I don't know what they mean, I am too uncomfortable about driving here to get a car. So, I found an alternative to get to York. The tour company we have been using here has a tour to York where they would take us up there and drop us off at the Viking Center (around 10 a.m.) on Monday and leave us for several hours to explore the city. I've written my friend in Fleetwood to see if she can meet us there and called the Normandy guest house and cancelled our reservations. I'm feeling much less nervous about the whole trip north now.

You know how I dive right in to any place that I visit (My sister is almost worn out!). So far we have seen:

Buckingham Palace, The Royal Mews, Trafalgar Square, The Victoria Memorial, Madame Tussaud's, Westminster Abbey, The British Museum, Portobello Road Street Fair, Oxford University, Stratford-On-Avon, Warwick Castle, Stonehenge, Roman Bath, Windsor Castle, Leed's Castle, Ingtham Mote, Lullingstone Villa, Big Ben and Parliament, and all the little nooks and crannies around our hotel. Today, we're going to the Tower of London. Whew!

I have the train information to St. Alban's for Saturday where I'll see the Roman Museum at Veralamium, a demonstration of Roman military tactics by Legio XIII, and hopefully have time for some shopping (a concession to Jane). Sunday, I thought we'd dress up a bit and attend services at St. Paul's Cathedral then catch the tube over to Westminster and go up in the London Eye and maybe take a cruise up the Thames. Monday we'll go to York if I can arrange it then Tuesday we'll walk over to the Tate Britian (it's just up the street from our hotel). I thought that would give us a more laid back day before we have to get up early the next morning and catch a shuttle back to Heathrow.

British Museum, The Royal Mews, Lullingstone Villa, Ingtham Mote, Leeds Castle, Oxford, Stratford-On-Avon then Warwick Castle - oh my!

Wednesday, April 5, 2006: - Sorry to interrupt my commentary for so long but the internet was, as my British friends would say, a bit dodgy on Sunday and we returned too late Monday and was too tired to write Tuesday after touring all day.

Sunday we spent all morning at the British Museum after struggling with finding the right bus stops. So many immigrants are working in service jobs that even asking a bus driver is pointless because they don't seem to know any routes other than their own. Anyway, as you can guess, I was racing around shooting pictures until my shutter finger was almost worn out. I love mosaics so I was thrilled to find the stairway with mosaics from Halacarnassus all the way up the walls. I also didn't realize that there was anything left of the Tomb of Mausalus at Halicarnassus so was thrilled to see the large statue of Mausalus and his warrior queen Artemisia (she was the only female ship's captain serving the Persian king Xerxes at the battle of Salamis).

Of course I made a point of seeing the Elgin marbles. I was a little disappointed, however, because I didn't realize they were in such bad "nick". I only photographed a few fragments that still bore enough carving to tell what the original picture was about. I also made a point of finding the Rosetta Stone. I walked past it twice before I realized it was in the case that everyone was clustered around. I tried to get a picture of the surface of it without all the visitor reflections but I realized that it might be more interesting if I caught this reflection that one's imagination could presuppose was Cleopatra gazing b ack at us from antiquity.

I managed to photograph what I thought was the most interesting of the Greek, Roman, and Near East exhibits and started on the Egyptian exhibits when I had to report back to the main hall to meet my sister for lunch. I love the Greco-Roman mummy portraits from the Fayum region of Egypt and was lucky enough to see the beautifully painted sarcophagus of Artemidorus. I had watched a BBC program where the mummy was CAT-scanned during a study of it and never thought I would actually get to see Artemidorous' handsome visage in person.

We had to head over to the Royal Mews at 2 p.m. since it takes a while to get back to that part of London and the Mews no longer admits visitors after 3:15. The mews is the British word for stable and the Royal Mews contains not only the horses but all of the main state carriages used in royal processions. Of course the coronation coach was the spectacular grand finale.

Walking back to the Victoria Memorial so I could finish photographing it, I took a nose dive on the uneven paving stones along the side of Buckingham Palace. My face hit the stones so hard that I was afraid I was going to be totally black and blue on the right side of my face but, although it is a bit swollen and very tender to try to sleep on that side, it didn't discolor too much. My biggest concern was my camera but although it clattered to the ground, it seemed to have survived the mishap better than I did.

Monday, we took the train to Swanley where my friend Richard picked us up and drove us all around Kent where my father's parents grew up. First we visited the Roman excavation at Lullingstone Villa. Lullingstone is one of a number of 1st to 4th century Roman villas that have been discovered in the Darent Valley of Kent. It was initially excavated between 1949 and 1961 by retired British Lt Colonel Geoffrey Meates. The villa initially contained central living quarters that were erected about 75 CE. Then, the rooms were extended and a bath block was added to the south of the building. Later, rooms heated by an underfloor hot air system called a hypocaust were added as well. Finally, in the mid-fourth century, a lavish mosaic-decorated apsed dining room was constructed. The site is considered an important example of religious change that occured during this period of Roman occupation. A painting of two water nymphs, creatures that played an important role in pagan mythology, is still visible in the "Deep Room". While fragments of paintings of Christians in prayer were also found at the site.

Next, we toured a beautiful medieval manor house at Ingtham Mote. This moated structure was built in 1320. The original owner is now thought to be Isolde Inge later called St Pere. Until recently, Sir Thomas Cawne, a knight who may have fought with the Black Prince at Crecy, was credited with the construction.

Historians attribute its amazing state of preservation to the fact that none of its residents were particularly ambitious, seemingly satisfied to fulfill their roles as squires, sheriffs, or courtiers. That's not to say the house didn't witness at least a little intrigue. One of the subsequent owners, William Haute, joined Jack Cade and other lords, magnates and people of Kent to issue the The Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent against Henry VI. Haute's son (or grandson) Richard, later joined in a rebellion against Richard III. So it may seem like a miracle that Ingtham's closest brush with destruction is said to have occurred during the English Civil War when Cromwell's soldiers, who had planned to loot Ingtham Mote, lost their way and ended up sacking another estate instead. I'm sure each visitor to the house is truly grateful! More pictures...

We topped off our day with a visit to the spectacularly beautiful Leeds Castle.

"Wonderful in manifold glories are the great castle visions of Europe; Windsor from the Thames, Warwick or Ludlow from their riversides, Conway or Caernarvon from the sea, Amboise from the Loire, Aigues Mortes from the lagoons, Carcassonne, Councy, Falaise and Chateau Gaillard - beautiful as they are and crowned with praise, are not comparable in beauty as with Leeds, beheld among the waters on an autumnal evening when the bracken is golden and there is a faint blue mist among the trees - the loveliest castle, as thus beheld, in the whole world." - Lord Conway

Originally the Saxon manor named Esledes, Leeds Castle was a stronghold of the Saxon royal family beginning with the reign of Ethelbert IV (856-860). It was later conveyed to the powerful house of Godwin by Edward the Confessor but following the Norman conquest it was granted to a cousin of William II Rufus, Hamo de Crevecoeur. When the de Crevecoeur family fortunes waned following the battle of Evesham in 1265, the castle passed to Sir Roger de Leyburn. His son later conveyed the castle to Edward I and his queen, Eleanor of Castile. From that point for the next three hundred years, Leeds Castle remained a royal home.

This canopied day bed in Queen Catherine de Valois' chamber is topped by a golden crown to denote the eminence of its royal occupant. The queen used this room to receive adviers, courtiers and petitioners. After the death of her husband, King Henry V, she fell in love with the Welsh Clerk of her Wardrobe, Owen Tudor. They were discovered and imprisoned but the Queen was subsequently released. When Tudor escaped, they secretly married and Catherine gave birth to a son, Edmund, who became the father of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty.

The queen's bath was canopied with white damask and was designed to be easily dismantled so it could be moved to another residence when the queen relocated to another palace or outdoors in good weather.

Hot baths were still very popular during the early Middle Ages and most towns, as late as the mid-1200s had public bathhouses.

"By the mid-1300s, only the very wealthy could afford firewood for hot water in the winter. The rest of the population was forced to be dirty most of the time." - medieval-life.net

Henry the VIII refurbished Leeds Castle early in his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and the room termed the Queen's Gallery reflects their relationship in its ragstone fireplace emblazoned with the coat of arms of the House of Lancaster and the castle of Castile as well as the pomegranates of Aragon. However, Henry spent little time there after their separation. But, the faint play of light on a shadowed bust of Henry in this room gave me the feeling his spirit still frequents these halls.

A number of portraits and busts of the Tudor dynasty adorn Leeds Castle but I was particularly struck by a portrait labeled as unidentified but attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger (1561-1635). Gheeraerts painted a number of portraits of Queen Elizabeth I but for some reason, art historians are hesitant to identify this portrait as one of them even though the lady wears a white dress (Elizabeth's favorite colors were white and black), she wears a crown upon auburn hair, and is lavishly adorned with pearls (another symbol used frequently by Elizabeth to emphasize her personnae as the "Virgin Queen".

Perhaps I was simply pleased to take my own photo of a potential Queen Elizabeth portrait in a white gown that I can use as I please after locking horns with the National Portrait Gallery over the noncommerical, educational use of an image of a similar portrait of Elizabeth in their collection. See Copyright Wars

Other artwork at Leeds includes this 14th century Burgundian limestone sculpture of St. Barbara, the patron saint of artillery who lived in the 4th century CE. She cradles a tower in her left hand that symbolizes her imprisonment to discourage suitors.

"According to legend, Saint Barbara was the extremely beautiful daughter of a wealthy heathen named Dioscorus, who lived near Nicomedia in Asia Minor. Because of her singular beauty and fearful that she be demanded in marriage and taken away from him, he jealously shut her up in a tower to protect her from the outside world.

Shortly before embarking on a journey, he commissioned a sumptuous bathhouse to be built for her, approving the design before he departed. Barbara had heard of the teachings of Christ, and while her father was gone spent much time in contemplation. From the windows of her tower she looked out upon the surrounding countryside and marveled at the growing things; the trees, the animals and the people. She decided that all these must be part of a master plan, and that the idols of wood and stone worshipped by her parents must be condemned as false. Gradually she came to accept the Christian faith.

As her belief became firm, she directed that the builders redesign the bathhouse her father had planned, adding another window so that the three windows might symbolize the Holy Trinity.

When her father returned, he was enraged at the changes and infuriated when Barbara acknowledged that she was a Christian. He dragged her before the perfect of the province, who decreed that she be tortured and put to death by beheading. Dioscorus himself carried out the death sentence. On his way home he was struck by lightening and his body consumed." - The Legend of St. Barbara

Another interesting sculpture is the carved oak figure of a laughing crusader at the head of the spiral staircase leading to the Gloriette Landing. The 16th-century style oak staircase was actually built by Armand Albert Rateau in 1929 but the figure gripping his sword and shield blend nicely with the genuine period art throughout the house. One concession is made to modern interpretation however. The crusader's shield bears a grinning lion sticking its tongue out as if the crusader was a refugee from Monty Python's dubious heroes in "The Holy Grail".

Another example of "faux period" design is the blue-panelled bedroom of Lady Baillie. Mrs. Wilson Filmer purchased the castle in 1924 when the Wykeham Martin family was forced to sell the estate to pay death duties and potential buyer, William Randolph Hearst, bowed out of the transaction. Lady Baillie, as she became known, hired interior designer Stephane Boudin to redecorate parts of the home. Boudin had joined the leading interior design firm in Paris, Maison Jansen, just the year before. He eventually became president of the company whose client list included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Jacqueline Kennedy.

Lady Baillie's bedroom was redesigned to emulate the Regence style of the early 18th century. Boudin installed blue boiserie with several doors concealed behind the azure panels. To reflect Lady Baillie's love of birds, Boudin placed bird-shaped ceramic pieces around the room including pairs of famille rose cranes from the Qianlong period.

One of Boudin's last commissions in the 1960s was to convert the bedroom that had once been used by Queen Catherine of Aragon to a boudoir. Again he used white bedding and woodwork to emphasize the size of the room but incorporated a homey warmth with country-style wallpaper and a playful Victorian rocking horse.

The Merry Monarch, King Charles II (so named because he fathered numerous illegitimate children, of whom he acknowledged fourteen, and was an avid patron of the arts), is the subject of this Flemish tapestry based on Abraham van Diepenbeke's illustrations for a book on horsemanship published in 1658. Traditionally, if a king, knight, or nobleman is represented in an equestrian image with both of the horse's front feet raised, this symbolized a death in battle. However, this is not the case for King Charles II. Although he was the target of the Rye House Plot, he and his brother, the Duke of York, escaped the angry Protestants enraged because Charles, a Protestant himself, would not support their Exclusion Bill that would remove his catholic brother from the legal succession. Later, Charles died suddenly of uremia, a clinical syndrome due to kidney dysfunction.

"When he knew he was dying and in great secrecy, a priest, Father John Huddleston, was summoned to his bedside. Charles was admitted into the Catholic Church and received the last rites. He was succeeded by the Duke of York, who became James II in England and Ireland, and James VII in Scotland." - Wikipedia

The Thorpe Hall Room features warm, ornately carved-pine panelling rescued from a coat of green paint and brought to Leeds from Thorpe Hall near Peterborough. It was originally designed in 1653 by Peter Mills, who, together with Sir Christopher Wren, famous architect of St. Paul's Cathedral, supervised the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire of 1666. Once again we find birds as accent pieces. This time they are 19th century Chinese biscuit-ware ducks. They are accompanied by a Chinese ridge tile rabbit.

Leeds Castle is also home to the earliest known equestrian statue in the history of English sculpture - the Lumley Horseman. This carved oak figure was originally commissioned in memory of King Edward III by the 7th Lord Lumley for his castle in County Durham. The artist is not known but is thought to have been a Flemish sculptor working in England.

Wood carvers of this period often used tints of red, blue, green or white to add detail to their work. Bands of carvers would often travel from church to church embellishing altars and choir screens. One such carver was probably comandeered for this commission. - See the history of woodcarving

One of the contestants in the Hundred Years War, Edward III was the founder of the chivalrous " Order of the Garter, allegedly as a result of an incident when a lady, with whom he was dancing at a court ball, dropped an item of intimate apparel (possibly a sanitary belt, though sources describe it as being made of velvet). Gallantly picking it up to assuage her embarrassment, Edward tied it around his own leg, and remarked Honi soit qui mal y pense ('Shame on him who thinks evil of it'), which became the motto of the Order of the Garter." - Wikipedia

He also fathered the famous "Black Prince", Edward of Woodstock. Like Alexander the Great, Edward demonstrated his courage and military talent at the age of 16 at the Battle of Crecy.

As the light began to fade toward sunset, Richard took us to Aylsford Church where our grandparents were married in 1913. We topped the evening off with a delicious dinner of cider chicken at his home. His son is very into computers and was thrilled to have someone to talk with about computers. I think I have definitely made a new friend!

Yesterday, we took a tour bus up to Oxford University and then Stratford on Avon and toured Shakespeare's birthplace and had a brief photo op at Ann Hathaway's cottage, Then we finished our day at Warwick Castle. Warwick Castle has been purchased by Madame Tussaud's so beautiful wax replicas of English royalty are displayed throughout the castle. There is also costumed reenactors demonstrating archery, knighthood, and everyday 16th century life.