Yorkshire Easter Lambs

It's always hard to be away from family on holidays, I definitely missed my Mom's annual Easter brunch (yum!).  But we compensated the best we could with a drive around Yorkshire to see all of the beautiful lambs.  They were just precious and we manage to get to enjoy them in the beautiful, spring sun.  Next week I will be going to an event to **hopefully** bottle feed some lambs, but in the mean time, here are some photos of the sweet lamb-ys we found in the fields today.

Our only little lamb-y...

Three cheers for Easter lambs..

Alfie's Hangouts

What a day!  We had a great time taking Alfie to a Bichon Meet-Up in North Yorkshire, about an hour away from Harrogate.  There were ~60 white, fluffy bichons running around a cafe - tres fun!  Alfie is now peacefully sleeping off his happy-buzz.

Recently a few people have asked me for various recommendations of Alfie's services here, so here is who we use!

• Dog Sitting - Blue Paw.  Michelle is very flexible and only has one dog stay with her at a time.  She has a small black dog who generally gets along with Alfie 
• Dog Grooming - Posh Paws: Lorraine also has a Bichon and does a great job grooming him. Amazingly, it's cheaper to get Alfie groomed her than it is in the States 
• Vet - Wag Tails: Wag Tails is very helpful in getting same day appointments when we need them.  Alfie has issues with bladder stones and they have been very attentive to this - diagnosing medicine as we need it.   

Also, there are tons of pet friendly cafes and pubs here.  These are our favorites;

• Baltzersen's: You can find us here most mornings grabbing a drink and sometimes a cinnamon roll.  They are super friendly and love Alfie (and any dog).  We usually take away, but you can sit inside or out with your dog. 
• Cafe Nero: The British equivalent of Starbucks, they are very tolerent of dogs 
• Hotel Du Vin Bistro: Posh hotel that allows dogs in the bar 
• Old Bell Pub: They have great drinks and food.  Dogs are allowed as long as they stay on the ground. 
• Tap & Spile: Local pub (drinks only) that allows dogs....P goes here often and sometimes I bring Alfie to join him. 

Magical Rome

I last visited Rome about 20 years ago.  We went to Italy several times when my Uncle was assigned to Rome for work.  It's always amazing to go back to a city that you last remember as an early teenager.  While I thought Rome was incredible then... I am even more impressed now. To recognize the advances that the Romans had made and how far we fell back in the Dark Ages is staggering.  The beautiful art around every corner was incredible and recognizing the masterpieces at the Vatican (separate from the random religious art that I remember it to be) was special.  We loved our trip and managed to fit a lot in, but we could have spent years there and not seen it all!  A few of our favorite photos from the trip.

A vista of the city from Park Bourghese:

Beautiful view of the Roman Forum from above:

Another view of the Roman Forum:

A nearly empty Colosseum:

A twilight walk along the Tiber:

Masterpieces at the Vatican:

...and at the Bourghese:

From Rome...with love:

If You Go: Rome Details

As I mentioned in my itinerary post, we managed to fit a lot into our trip to Rome.  We did this largely by booking tickets ahead of time and planning based on the city.  A few general tips:

• Book Guided Tour for the Vatican: This helps you skip all the long lines and is actually quite interesting.  We were only standing in line for about 10 minutes for a security check (instead of what appeared to be hours for others!) 
• Book Restaurant Reservations: We had plans for two of the nights, but on our first night we had to stop into 2-3 restaurants to get a seat.  We ended up at a top rated restaurant, but it'll be easier if you plan ahead 
• Organize Your Trip with a Map: The attractions in Rome are quite spread out and require lots of walking, so better to plan your trip with a map.  Our itinerary was relatively well planned...and we were happy for that 

...and our recommendations for Rome...

Hotel 

• Campo del Fiori: We LOVED this hotel.  Very cute boutique hotel, it was a quick walk to the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain and just about a half hour walk from the Vatican and the Roman Forum.  The hotel overlooks a nice daily market and has 3 gelato shops within sight line from the front door. The rooms are small, but ornately decorated - very boutique-y and there is a beautiful rooftoop terrace.  Highly recommend. 

Restaurants 

• Hostaria Costanza: The atmosphere of this restaurant is really neat, it is built inside an old Roman Theatre. The food was also delicious and the service was attentive.  We shared a large lobster pasta intended for two and a vegetable antipasto platter.  Delicious. 
• Pane & Vino: This is a sandwich shop around the corner from the Colosseum.  Everything was totally fresh and the meals were huge.  It was very filling --- I had a meatball panini and P had a roasted pork panini.  Good stop to re-fuel, but quick to make sure to take advantage of the sites. 
• Taverna & Vineria: This was a restaurant we stumbled upon, but very highly reviewed on Trip Advisor (#43 of 10,000).   Great food and service was attentive.  They offered some fantastic bread and a hummus-like starter on the house.  Excellent. 
•  Pizza Ciro: Best pizza I have had in my life...right near the Spanish Steps.  The Margherita Pizza was amazing as was the bruschetta. Highly recommend! 

Sites 

A lot of sites in Rome are so famous it's not worth writing blog posts because they are known to be amazing...a few others... 

• Roman Food Tour: A friend recommended this and it was well worth it.  We have been on several and this was one of the best... amazing cheeses, pizza, pasta, gelato. Great guide and well organized.  Best value. 
• Vatican - Tour: The Vatican is amazing - as a kid I remember a lot of religious artwork from the Vatican, but as an adult, I realize that it's just filled with incredible works from masters as well as Greek / Roman antiquities. Book a tour so you get the full scoop and skip the lines. 
• Borghese Gallery: The statues here were unbelievable as was the atmosphere.  One of the oldest museums in the world, the place was mind blowing.  They are strict about a two hour time limit for your visit, so arrive on time and make sure to manage your schedule (we barely got to see anything on the second floor!) 

If You Go: Rome Itinerary

We had such an amazing time in Rome.  It is one of the most unbelievable cities in the world...perfection around every corner.  A reminder of a civilization 2,000 years ago that had built many modern day technologies and amazing riches of another Italian era.  We managed to pack an incredible amount into our four days on the ground.  We certainly didn't scratch the surface of all that is great about Rome, but we definitely saw many of the highlights.  Below is our four day itinerary:

Day One 
Arrive Mid-Day
2 pm Plaza Venezia and Observation Deck
3 pm Roman Forum (Street Level Views)
4 pm Trevi Fountain
5 pm Local Shopping
8 pm Dinner at Taverna & Vineria

Day Two 
10 am Pantheon
11 am Roman Forum
2 pm Lunch
3 pm Colusseum
Dinner: Hostaria Costanza

Day Three 
10:00 am Vatican
4 pm Spanish Steps
6 pm Roman Food Tour

Day Four 
9 am Bourghese Gallery
11 am Bourghese Park
1 pm Lunch
2 pm Depart for Airport

Catching Up: London

After a week's hiatus, I am back to re-cap London.  We had a truly lovely time for a quick weekend in London.  I find London to be huge and overwhelming - similar to how I feel about New York City.  Being able to break our visits into these short breaks where we can focus on a specific location of the city has been great.  This has given us time to explore these neighborhoods and not feel too rushed.  We are very fortunate.

This time, we centered our trip in London City Center.  Our hotel was right near the Tower of London and a lovely friend (thanks Christine) had given us tickets to the London Eye.  So these are very high on our list of things to do.  We also managed to fit in a walk across Tower Bridge, a visit to the HMS Belfast, and a trip to Brick Lane for Indian food (aka Curry Mile).  Below are a few of my favorite snaps from the weekend:

Our visit to Tower of London was awesome.  It was so much more than the crown jewels (though seeing those was pretty spectacular!): 

London Tower Guards (those hats seem like they would give you a headache, right?):

We took a water taxi down the Thames River to the London Eye:

We ended the day on Brick Lane (aka London Curry Mile) with some amazing Indian food at Sheba:

The next day, we took an excellent tour of the HMS Belfast and learned how the British Navy worked in the 1940s - 1960s - much cooler than anticipated - a museum is built directly onto the boat:

We finished the day with some lunch and a trip to the empty market where they filmed Harry Potter's Diagon Alley:

Three cheers for a chilly, but awesome trip to London:

If You Go: London

Note: Updated after our December 2017 Trip 


After a round of trips to London...here is our rundown of our most favorite things to do!

Hotels 

• Apex City Centre.  This is our second stay at Apex hotels (our first was in Edinburgh).  Both hotels were fabulous.  The location in London was incredibly center (steps from the Tower of London) and the room was modern and comfortable.  I love the large walk-in shower and generous bathroom.  When we can, we'll try to stay at Apex hotels in the UK - it seems to be a great brand and for this trip was a good price (for London!!!) ($187/night)
• Apex London Wall: For our January 2017 trip, we switched it up to stay at Apex London Wall.  It was another great experience - the hotel is very central, but in the financial district so very quiet on the weekends.  It's only 2-3 tube stops to just about any of the main tourist sites and is close to a number of quick bites - Pret, Chipotle, Starbucks! As always, the rooms are modern, spacious, and immaculate ($180/night)

Restaurants

Note: these are in no particular order!

• Franco Manca: Best pizza in England!  Amazing sour dough crust in a wood fired oven...and like 5 pounds.  This is a small London chain. If you are in the area, you must eat here.  
• Sheba: We had heard of a "curry mile" in London.  The most famous is in Manchester, but this is a close second with ~10 blocks of Indian restaurants.  We made reservations at Sheba after reading recommendations.  We were not disappointed - great service and flavorful food.  If you want to try Indian in the city that created the Chicken Tikka Masala dish...get yourself to Brick Lane (aka Curry Mile London)
• Greek Larder: This was a great restaurant about 10 minutes from King's Cross train station.  We had a lovely meal there before catching the train.  Very authentic food, nice environment for a long lunch, and great service.  Highly recommend.
• Emilia's: Right near the Financial District, tucked away in St. Katharine's Docks is Emilia's - a tiny pasta bar. The ambiance is amazing, we sat at the bar and watched them make beautiful pastas, burrata, and a variety of beautiful salads.  This is a place we will go back to because it's so close to the Apex.  Highly Recommend. 

• JinJuu: This was an amazing Korean place.  Very hip, very trendy - house music, korean tapas, and trendy people.  Go here for a fancy-ish night out.  It's a litty spendy, but worth it for us since we don't have Korean food in Harrogate.  Reservations are a must. 

• Dark Sugar: We had the most amazing hot chocolate at Dark Sugar - it is also on Brick Lane with the Indian Restaurants.  It has all kinds of crazy gourmet chocolate, but the hot chocolate was incredible.  Porbably a 1/4 pound of freshly shaved chocolate mixed with milk.  Amazing. 
• Gourmet Burger Kitchen: This is a UK burger chain.  We always love a good gourmet burger and this spot did not disappoint.  We went to the restaurant close to London Tower and it was a great quick bite.  Recommend if you need a meal before / after the Tower 
• Il Portico: This is a fabulous little Italian restaurant in Kensington.  We had a reservation for three here...and each of our pastas were homemade and the starter was a delightful Italian cheese and Balsamic plate 

Tea 

• Fortnum and Mason: This is where the Queen orders her hampers, so it's a crazy fancy grocery / department store.  On their top floor, they have a beautiful, elegant tearoom.  The service is impeccable and amazingly, the tea food is bottomless.  We definitely enjoyed a few of our favorite finger sandwiches twice and also had an extra scone.  They also give you a take home bag with a slice of cake from their decadent cake cart.  Bookings here are a must and it's a little spendy, but totally worth it! 
• Harrod's Tea - the Georgian: On the 4th floor of Harrod's is their Georgian tea room (note there is a more casual tea room on their second floor, but I haven't tried it!).  My girlfriend Emily and I enjoyed their luxury tea complete with a glass of champagne, a few bites of cavier, and one of the most beautiful tea services I have witnessed.  It was iconic to enjoy tea in this beautiful, plus tearoom away from the chaos of the rest of Harrod's! 
• Liberty: Of the three fancy tea's I have enjoyed in London, this was the least special...but still fun.  This casual tea room is off the second floor of Liberty.  It's a little more funky and less formal.  The scones are good (but not warm the others!)...what's cool is that you could just stop in for a cuppa and scone (instead of a full afternoon tea).  No need to book in here from my experience. 

Drinks 

• Discount Suit Supply: When my friend Emily came into town, we visited this adorable speak easy.  It's everything it should be...the basement of a warehouse, convenient location, and amazing drinks.  Stop here for late night drinks for a great ambiance and even better drinks.  
• Gordon's: This is tucked right under Waterloo bridge - it's the oldest wine bar in London.  Lit mostly by candle light with low ceilings, and a great wine selection...come here on an afternoon before it gets too busy.  It's like a huge step back in time. 

Attractions 

• Tower of London: Wow!  This was such a great experience.  I knew the crown jewels were housed here, but always assumed it was a traditional musuem.  In reality, it was a neat castle-like experience that included a walk through the various royal quarters of 'yore as well as the prison and crown jewels (seperate spots).  We would recommend the audio guide - it provided great insight. 
• Guided Tour of Parliament: It was fascinating to hear how their system worked, get some colorful commentary about their democratic system, and see the beautiful spaces of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.  Highly Recommend!  Pre-book and book early - their opening times are dependent upon debate sessions 
• Westminster Abbey: Amazing to see in-person what I have seen so many times in television and movies - the coronations and the weddings!  What surprised us...most of the tour is focused on all of the people buried there.  From kings and queeens...to Poets Corner where many of the greatest English writers are memorialized.  Pre-book to avoid the crazy tourist lines. 
• Hampton Court: If you are going to leave London for the day and head to one of the palaces... Hampton Court is the best choice.  It's huge...with an incredibly detailed guided tour, beautiful gardens, and even a hedge maze.  At its height during the Tudor period, if you have time watch some episodes of the Tudors (great series) 
• National Gallery: A free museum in Trafalgar Square, the Gallery has room after room of famous paintings!  We prefer more modern painting, so loved the rooms with Picasso, Van Gogh, and Monets.  P also loved their collection of Vermeer paintings (which are always tough to find).  A great way to spend an afternoon 
• London Eye: My lovely girlfriend Christine gave us tickets to the London Eye for our anniversary.  It was so much fun!  We went at sunset and had just a stunnig view of Big Ben and the entire city.  So fun to play tourist.  What a perfect and amazing gift - thanks, Christine! 
• HMS Belfast: This was another "musuem" that was about 10 times better than what I expected.  The ship has been largely preserved from how it was used in the 1940's and 1950s' for World War II and the Korean War.  Amazing to see how the ship worked including the engine room and boiler room as well as how the sea men lived on board.  This really requires a lot of climbing steep ladders and portals - so not for anyone with mobility issues.  We loved this! 
• Banqueting Hall at White Hall: If you watch the television show The Tudors - you hear a lot about Whitehall Palace.  Most of the Palace burned down in the 1600s, but one hall remains - the beautiful banqueting hall.  It contains some stunning Rubens canvases on the ceiling and is filled with beanbags for comfortable view!  This takes under an hour, is near Big Ben, and doesn't require pre-booking. 
• Leadenhall Market: Originally, I wanted to come to this market for lunch. Sadly, it's closed on the weekend, but do stop by as the empty market was used for the Harry Potter movie for Diagon Alley.  I never saw the movies, but did read the books..empty, this market looks exact how I envisioned Diagon Alley to be.  Loved it!    
• Globe Theatre: On the South Bank of the Thames, this replica of the original theater used in the 1600's was re-built in 1993 using original construction techniques.  Visiting includes seeing a small exhibit and then an hour guided tour.  We had a fantastic guide.  Next summer, I would love to see a production here - they have both Shakespeare Plays as well as more modern plays. Also - do check the website - there are only certain times you an visit as it is a working theatre! 
• Tate Museum: We spent about 2 hours at the Tate Museum on our August trip.  The museum is organized chronologically (from the 1500's forward) - it's amazing to see how art has evolved.  All of the artists in the main exhibit were English, so that was really neat.  The architecture of this building was also quite stunning (hint: look up!)
• Windsor Castle: Always wonderful to see where current monarchs live!  We went on a cool late summer day and found dozens of artists around the grounds painting famous scenes.  It was fun to see how each portrayed the various spots.  We appreciated getting to see the cathedral where Harry and Megan will be married...and where so many monarchs are buried.  This was a cool trip, but Hampton Court was better (if you need to make a decision between the two). 
• Saatchi Gallery: This is a very modern museum near Sloan Square (bonus that it's just around the corner from the Boden store).  While we were there, we saw a fantastic exhibit called "Calder on Paper" that reminded me of Miro, but we also saw a number of anti-Russian exhibits which were...modern (read a lot of nudity and a little strange) 
• West End - Titanic: We saw Titanic on its closing night.  It was wonderful to see the production and I look forward to seeing a few more plays before we leave! 
• Liberty London: My favorite Department store in the world.  Such an incredible treat to spend time there - poking through their beautiful bags, stationary, and jewelry...not our first stop there and hopefully not our last!

Celebrating Mum's Day

Today it is Mother's Day in the United Kingdom - and cards around the stores proclaim "Happy Mum's Day!"  We spent the weekend in London where we found lots of families dressed up and headed out to celebrate their mum!

While I can't be with my own Mum today - I am lucky that she is just a call or IM away.  I am also lucky to have a lovely Mother-in-Law.  So from across the pond... Happy (UK) Mother's Day to these lovely ladies...

A Proper Britsh Tea

I braved the snow yesterday to have a proper British tea with the ladies club around here.  It was hosted at the lovely Cedar Court Hotel (which theoretically is a Best Western, but still a lovely old hotel!).  It was great fun to get dressed up, attempt to be on our best British manners, and catch up with other Americans around here.  A few things that I got to enjoy / try that are quintessentially British: 

• Coronation Chicken Sandwich: This is a traditional tea sandwich I had not tried, but it's like an Indian-style chicken salad.  It tasted much better than it looked.  I also enjoyed the standard cucumber sandwich, of course. 
• Bakewell Tart: I had never tried a Bakewell Tart, but it was fabulous.  Tiny pies with raspberry jam and almond paste.  If you're here, you must try.
• Scones (duh!): With a huge bowl of clotted cream (swoon....!!) and jam 

The tea was vintage-themed, so I wore my fabulous costume jewelry from my brother's estate jewelry shop.  For those that love pretties, you can check it out online.  I also got to wear my amazing vintage cork purse.  I bought it almost 5 years ago on our trip to Argentina at the San Telmo market and am always looking for the occasion to wear it.  Only challenge..it barely fits my cell phone!

The spread.  See the Bakewell Tart on the bottom left as well as the huge bowl of clotted cream! Delish! 

It's always a good day for a fascinator:

One of my most treasured items...my vintage cork purse:

Spring Snow

Reporting live from Harrogate Town, meteorologist Hillary reporting in on a cold blustery day from Storm Jake.  This is the most snow I have seen here since we arrived... I definitely called "spring" about 48 hours too early!  A few photos from my walk around town this morning - you'll note that a key of storm team Harrogate is missing from the photos.  Someone decided their fur coat was far too delicate for the snow and stayed home:

Snow on the crocus in front of our house:

The church around the corner:

Town center:

A snow selfie from the weather team: