Everyday Adventure: York Spa Day

One of my lovely colleagues bought me a gift certificate for the Grand Hotel York Spa for some work I did for her over the summer.  How lucky am I to (1) have amazing colleagues; and (2) have a wonderful reason to stop by York?  It was a great afternoon - I took the train in early and did a bit of shopping in York before heading to the spa.

Below are a few snaps I captured of my afternoon around the town...such a cute spot.  The spa was just lovely - I highly recommend for anyone who needs a break.  I got a wonderful massage and pedicure.  I didn't have time to check out the rest of the amenities, but they had a pool, jaccuzzi, steam room, and sauna!  Lovely!

The York Minster never disappoints...I arrived for bell ringing at 3:30.  A lovely sound:

It sits right on the River Ouse.  When it's warm out, I am hoping we can take a little boat cruise.  I also heard about a cute restaurant called Star Inn the City in the Museum Gardens.  I read great reviews and hope we can go for a special occasion soon:

The fancy Grand Hotel York: 

Everyday Adventure: Fountains Abbey at Dusk

One of my favorite spots we have visited so far is about 20 minutes from our house - Fountains Abbey.  We visited in August and despite hundreds of people, it was peaceful and beautiful.  When I saw that Fountains Abbey was open at night during weekends in October, I knew we had to go!  It was such an amazing experience - very few people were there, the structure was lit in floodlights, and there was beautiful Georgian chants echoing around the space.  Hauntingly beautiful and a near religious experience.  Just beautiful.

P took some beautiful night photography that I will share when I have access, but here are a few of the photos I snapped before sunset...all with my camera phone.  Beyond beautiful:

The top of the abbey from our walk down: 

A sheep on our walk down...how beautiful is the light:

The fall foliage:

Architectural perfection: 

And a bit of time for a family photo shoot...it was a chilly evening...winter is beginning to arrive.  Even Alfie wore his winter coat: 

Hello Fall!

Fall has fully arrived here in Harrogate in all of its yellow majesty.  Below are a few snaps I captured during my walk with Alfie this morning on the Stray...it's a lovely crisp fall day here!

Our walking path:

A beautiful tree just before the green grass bridge:

A fluffy dog who was not being a cooperative model this morning:

The beautiful green space on the Stray, surrounded by the bright yellow trees:

Travel Necessities

Over the years between work and personal travel, I have found a few favorite accessories that I seem to come back to time after time.  Some are investments, but they have held up over time and I have acquired them over a number of years.  In case you're wondering... brief re-caps and links are below:

Longchamp Le Pilage: This is my go-to carry on bag.  It is large enough to store a laptop, tablet, and random travel things.  In a pinch, it can also hold a small purse (see Baby Jane below) if you have another carry-on.  It is also large enough to serve as a beach bag if you're heading somewhere tropical or a day-bag to carry extra souvenirs or jackets. Bonus - it's nylon to avoid staining and make for easy cleaning.

Invicta Backpack: We bought this 20 years ago on our first trip to Italy and I just used it again for our most recent trip to Italy.  It's super sturdy, meets Ryan Air requirements for a carry-on, and holds an amazing amount of stuff.  I also love the pattern on mine...a pinball machine.

Note: photo above is from Hong Kong earlier this year with some of my favorite travel accessories

Burberry Copfield Quilted Jacket:  This was a serious splurge, but it has gone on so many trips - Hong Kong, Paris, Venice, London, Aspen - you name it!  It can be dressed up or down and can be layered to stay warm or be a light spring jacket.  It's not water proof, but pretty water resistant.  It's classic and I love it!  I had a knock-off for a while - which was also great - it had an unfortunate trip through the washing machine where it's lining came out!

MZ Wallace Baby Jane: All of my friends had MZ Wallace purses and I got seriously jealous!  They have a million wonderful pockets and the nylon makes them perfect for travel.  Mine is gray and matches lots of things!  It's small enough not to be heavy - but large enough to carry all of the essentials (hand sanitzer, camera, etc.)  It is a great purse and I highly recommend it. It usually has a good sale on it post-Thanksgiving.

Pashmina Wrap / Scarf  - I always appreciate bringing a neutral color Pashmina on a trip.  First, it usually serves as a blanket if it's chilly on the flight, then it can be used to dress-up an outfit for dinner, and it can also serve as a scarf on chilly days.

Ebag Mother Lode Duffles: This is a favorite of P.  He has traveled many more miles than I ...and we have 5+ of these bags in every size (from extra large to carry on).  They have a lifetime warranty - which we had to use once and they are very sturdy.  They have lots of great dividers and pockets.  I really like mine and P swears by them.

Venice: Food

I promise - this is my last post - but, oh, the food!  Italian food is one of my favorite genres of food and this trip made me fall in love just a little bit more!!!  A bit of "food porn" for you!

Every day should start off this beautifully...even as a non-coffee drinker, I appreciated a good cappucino in Italy:

These were the amazing calamari and fish polenta sliders during our tour.  Delish!

The bruschetta that blew my mind.  Heaven:

P enjoys some lunch time pizza in a sneak attack photo:

...and no day in Italy would be complete without some amazing gelato.  Wow:

If You Go: Venice

As with all of our major trips, below are the key highlights of things to do and plan in Venice.  It was a somewhat touristy location, but its a spot that may not be there in our kids' generation!  I am glad we went - but definitely 2-3 days is all you need in Venice proper.

Where to Stay
Important note - Venice hotels are uber expensive (aka Hilton is ~$450 a night and an average hotel is ~$300 a night).  While not inexpensive, we opted for a less expensive AirBNB for this trip and had great luck.

• Arsenale Flat: This was a great two bedroom flat that was totally modern and renovated.  It was about a 7 minute walk from San Marco square - a great location.  It had lots of space and basic amenities like a blow dryer, tv, etc.  I would recommend this spot 

Things to Do 

• Doge's Palace Secret Itinerary Tour: This was excellent!  The group was ~25 people and the tour lasted a little over an hour.  You get to see spots that are not open to the public and see Venice's criminal justice system including the courts and the dungeons.  Tickets are ~$20 per person, but include Doge's Palace when the "secret" part is complete.  Highly recommend - pre-book your tickets. 
• Urban Adventure Wine & Cicchetti Tour: This was another fantastic tour.  This was about 3 hours in the evening (though you could book day time too) and included a brief walking tour and visits to five Venice wine bars.  Each of the bars included a hearty pour of wine and a delicious traditional appetizer.  Tickets are $75 per person and must be booked in advance.  We didn't feel like eating dinner after this.   Highly recommend.
• Correr Museum: This is the museum that overlooks San Marco Square.  It includes a walk through the fancy rooms used by the Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as well as many historical artifacts.  Admission also includes the archeology museum.  This was not really high on my list originally, but our last day included an incredible amount of rain - the joy of this spot is that it has large lockers for keeping your bag / coat dry in the rain.  If you have time, it's interesting.  Tickets are ~$18 per person, recommend if it's raining  
• Island Tour: You can easily hop on a water taxi over to Murano and Burano.  If you have time, I recommend this - Murano is great for authentic souvenir shopping and Burano has a lot of lovely photo spots and restaurants.  We looked into a private boat and guide - but decided to hop into a water taxi instead - which worked brilliantly.  Water taxi day pass is ~$20 per person.

Things to Eat 

In a word: everything.  All of the food we had was fantastic.  One spot we booked in advance and would recommend, but we wandered into lots of random breakfast and lunch spots that were also fantastic: 

• Vineria all'Amarone: This is a tiny restaurant tucked behind the Rialto bridge. They have a great wine list and an option for a series of wine pairings. They also have the most amazing bruchetta ever.  Wow, it was like fireworks were in my mouth amazing.  We also shared ravioli and spaghetti - which were both delicious for main courses. 
• Suso Gelato: This spot is right near Rialto as well - it had amazing gelato!!!  Highlight recommend!!! 

Every Day Adventures: Venice - Day 2

On our second day in Venice, we took an island tour off Venice.  We took a water taxi over to the island of Murano (where all of the fancy Italian is made!) and then went onto Burano (beautiful colored houses and more lace than you can imagine).  Our time on these islands was pretty special and then we concluded the day with a Wine and Cichetti Tour.  A.m.a.z.i.n.g.

I had memories of Murano from my last visit when I was a teenager with my family.  I remember it being kind of boring. Even ~20 years later, I can imagine it would be boring for a full day as a teenager.  It is filled with glass store after glass store ...and not much else!  P and I visited about a dozen different glass stores to select souvenirs for family and friends (fabulous shopping!).  Then, we caught the water taxi to Burano.  It has beautiful colorful houses that reminded us of the La Boca area of Buenos Aires.  It was beautiful and a great spot for photos.  We had lunch there (again, a post on food soon) and then took about a million photos of the beautiful colors.  

When we returned, we took an Urban Adventures tour of Wine and Cicchetti.  We have always had great luck with food and wine tours...like-minded travelers and the opportunity to try local cuisine.  This one did not disappoint!!!  I found a new favorite wine - Rubesco - an Italian sparkling red that is truly amazing.  The cicchetti were also fabulous - it's the local word for appetizers that range from calamari on polenta to mashed cauliflower and salami on fresh bread.  We visited five wine bars - including the oldest in Venice which opened 30 years before Columbus found America!!!) - they were each fabulous and we highly recommend.

Here are a few photos from our second day:

Beautiful houses in Murano:

Such classic Italian architecture in Murano (and a beautiful blue sky!)

We are so grateful to be able to take so many trips - and see so many amazing sites:

Beautiful and bold Burano!

Even their laundry is stunning!!!

Oldest bar in Venice:

Yummy wine (photo courtesy of P...thus its beautiful composition) 

Unique Cicchetti (another photo courtesy of P): 

Every Day Adventures: Venice - Day 1

We had the best long weekend in Venice, Italy!  It was filled with amazing food, beautiful architecture, and incredible history. October was the perfect time to visit - while still filled with tourists during the day (boo cruise ships) - the evenings thinned out and the weather was perfect (sunny and upper 60's!).

On our first day, we kicked off with the "Secret Itineraries" tour of Doge's Palace.  It took a route through the non-public sections of the Palace - essentially the criminal justice process in the Venetian City-State.  You started in the lower dungeons, made your way through the archives, saw the three-judge courts, and visited the upper prison.  Bottom line - being a prisoner of Venice was not a good idea.  I also found the history of Casanova's escape from prison interesting (hint: he befriended a naughty priest!!!).  We saw the cell he escaped from during the tour.  After the tour, we made our way around the rest of Doge's Palace through their various rooms for governance (stunning) as well as the famous bridge of sighs.

After a few hours at Doge's Palace, we made our way around Venice for our own version of a walking tour.  I swear we covered 10 miles of crazy twists, bridges, and turns of the city.  A wonderful adventure with many stops for photos and Italian baked goodies (SO good - another post on the foods of Venice).  

Here are a few of my favorite photos of Venice from our first day


Doges Palace Piazza from a beautiful Great Room:

Beautiful architecture of Doges Palace:

The dungeon of Doges Palace was definitely not a good place to be sent:

The art was stunning - my favorite was the horoscope clock.  Because I definitely need to know when it's "Taurus O'clock!"

An up-close view of the Bridge of Sighs (where theoretically prisoners had their last glimpse of sunshine...though this is apparently a made-up story, it was actually a bridge for the judges and administration officials to secretly pass between the buildings!)

The inside of the Bridge of Sighs was not quite as impressive as the outside.  After crossing it (and not noticing I was taking the below picture), P asked "was that really it?!?!"

We then explored the various different canals...a photo of me posing!

Some impressive gondolas under the Rialto Bridge.  I am very sad there is a Diesel ad on such a historical bridge - just awful.

We loved our first day in Venice!  It was perfect!

Views from Harrogate: Gardens and Flowers

Despite all science and multiple people explaining it to me, I still had an **inkling** that flowers bloomed because of temperature.  When the weather in DC warmed up, the flowers quickly bloomed.  Here in Harrogate, where it has been early spring weather for the past 3 months, my mind has been changed...flowers really do bloom because of sunlight!

Because Harrogate is so far north, the summer days are very long - with very early sunrises and sunsets around 9 pm.  This, combined with a very wet environment, creates a perfect environment for so many varieties of flowers.  Everywhere I turn, there are beautiful gardens - formal gardens, box gardens, informal gardens, wild flowers - the volume and variety is just overwhelming!  As we head into fall (where days will get down to 5-6 hours long) -  I am trying to soak in the last of their beautiful painted colors!

Here is a compilation of some of my favorite gardens and flowers that I have seen here:

Beautiful Artichoke (Harewood House) 

Sunflower (Harewood House)

Sunken Garden (Kensington Palace, London):

Valley Gardens (Harrogate) - with the Alfster:

Check out the amazingly deep color of these hydrangea.  I LOVE them (Harrogate):

Coffee Pavillion in the Valley Gardens (amazing baskets, right!?!):

Sweet roadside garden (Harrogate)

Roses (York): 

Everyday Adventure: Ripley Castle

Today we took our bikes out for a spin down the Nidderdale Greenway.  It is a 5 mile, relatively flat, paved trail that connects Harrogate to the village of Ripley. It's a former railroad bed that has been paved and goes through beautiful country side.   Bike riding is a big thing here - I think it's especially big since the Tour de France ended its first leg in Harrogate in 2014.  We see professional looking bikers everywhere - but it's a very intimidating for two reasons: (1) they ride on crazy roads with 60 MPH traffic and regular hairpin turns; and (2) there are some SERIOUS hills here.  While I am not the biggest biking fan, I was THRILLED to find the greenway because there is no way I could imagine myself riding the roads here. In any case - here is a photo of P on the trail and my bike in front of a Tour de France sign:

After our bike ride, we arrived at Ripley Castle.  Built in the 1300's, the castle has an amazing history of a lot of very strange people (like the owner who went to the market in his bathrobe sans underwear) or the owner who built a hiding spot in the castle in case someone got cross with them.  Despite its interesting history, it is a beautiful place.  In addition, it has beautiful walled gardens and lots of sheep (just like everywhere here).  The leaves are starting to turn here, so you'll see some stunning red leaves:

The arched gateway.  There are bullet holes where Oliver Cromwell shot his prisoners at one point in history!  

Hello fall!  Where is my PSL when I need one?

No castle is complete without a beautiful manicured walled garden!

We also spent some time with sheep.  You'll see Ripley castle in the background:

This sheep seemed to be posing for photos.  He was following me around to pose.  Hello Mr. Sheep: