Across the Pond - One Last Time!

One of the reasons Reese and I opened our boutique is we believed our different styles would 
compliment one another.  

No where do our style

differences reveal themselves more than in our 

vacation destinations this year. 

She and her husband headed off to the wild 

beauty of a rugged island paradise to spend their time fishing, walking and relaxing with wild life.

My husband and I on the other hand spent our time touring

historical homes and world class museums 

at anything but a relaxing pace,  

I truly needed a vacation when I returned!
But our destination choice was driven by the fact that two of our children currently live in London and how could we pass the opportunity to spend time with them 
in such a great vacation destination.
So first stop, Leeds, England...

Hollins Hall

After a 14 hour overnight flight, we landed at Heathrow, changed clothes in the airport restroom and headed out for a 3 hour drive to Leeds.  Well at least it was supposed to be 3 hours, freeway congestion made it more like 5 hours 

but I had slept on the plane and was happy 

to see the kids so life was good! 

The next day it was off to scout Northern England.

First stop the Royal Armouries.

Amanda looking very Regal

Amanda's knight in shining armor!

                      The museum was 4 floors and included not just samples of the weaponry itself but the history of how it was used through out English history.  

It turned out to be a fascinating morning for all.

Next on our agenda was the Bronte Parsonage, 

home of those literary Bronte sisters.

But first, we needed a bite to eat. Now one of the pluses of traveling to England is that you are in a European country where they actually speak the same 

language right?  I am not so sure anymore.  

After driving through several bucolic towns with no place to eat in sight, we found a local pub.  It was filled with jolly Englishmen watching soccer and drinking beer but this pub 

did not serve food (strange custom).  

They were happy however to offer directions to a restaurant down the road.  We listened, nodded, then headed outside. I turned to the family and said, 

"did anyone understand a word of what he said"? 

Lucky for us, the kids have been overseas long

enough to be fluent in English!

And here is our pub...

Note the silhouette of a "Bronte" sister in the carpet!

After a quick bite, it was back in the car to the parsonage. 

Bronte Parsonage

While I admit to loving the Bronte stories in film, 

English lit is not my specialty so I was 

anxious to learn about this family.

Here are a few facts: 

There were 3 sisters and 1 brother, 

all of whom died before the age of 40.  

Their first works were published under male pseudonyms and their real identity unknown 

until after the success of Jane Eyre.  

And the most impressive discovery -

realizing that these sisters, these authors, who have influenced students, writers and filmmakers for more than 100 years, 

wrote a total of less than 10 books.

Parsonage Cemetery

All too soon it was time to leave the moors of 

Wuthering Heights behind...

Next, the world of espionage, MI6 and

 Bletchley Park!

Enigma

Bletchley Park was a countryside home that was converted into a military installation where secret codes were broken, the most famous being the Enigma.

Hard to believe all of the technology in the wires above would fit inside of our IPhone today!

Finally back in London for the week.  

Unfortunately it was hot by London standards, the 80's, 

and considering there is little air conditioning, 

our favorite rest stops all tended to serve food and drink

with mechanically cooled air! 

Here is a small sampling of our week.

Kensington Palace

Pretty place but even Prince George's future 

home needed a little AC!

A wonderful Fashion exhibit featuring dresses of 

Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana

Queen Elizabeth gown

Princess Diana wallpaper and signage where
everyone wears a crown!

Tea Time

Victoria and Albert Museum

Think I could talk hubby into letting me
 memorialize Link at my feet?

Town of Windsor

Resting again!

Greenwich, England

Prime Meridian - Where I truly met myself coming and going!

Cutty Sark

Ship Figure Heads

Leaving Greenwich by boat

London Bridge one last time.

The next day, we packed our bags and headed to the train station for the ride back to the airport.  Our son makes the journey with us and it is bittersweet.  

We had a great time but know this is the last time we will see the kids until they come home next summer,

but we will take home wonderful 

memories of time well spent.

Maggie

The Look for Less

New seasons always bring with them the 

desire to change your fashion look. 

With four seasons a year, that can make changing that look a costly adventure.  

Of course, Reese and I love designer 

jewelry, purses, scarves etc., 

but sometimes we want something trendy 

that won't break the budget so here are a few items from 

Maggie and Reese 

that might help you round out your fall jewelry wardrobe. 

UN-BELIZE-ABLE!

Welcome to Belize!

 

Arriving to Caye Caulker via water taxi

 

My husband and I had the opportunity to vacation in Belize last week.  We stayed on a small island named Caye Caulker that is beautiful, authentic, charming, & very friendly!

 

The streets of Caye Caulker

 

There are no paved roads.  The sand is as far as the eye can see, including making up the floors of most restaurants, and bicycles & golf carts are the preferred modes of transportation (no cars or SUVs allowed here!).

 

This sign can be found on the beach just in case you need

directions to London, Warsaw, Oslo, & many more

 

There are restaurants aplenty (did I mention the sandy floors?) and I happened to love this creative menu at a place called Habaneros.  Don't let the name fool you - The food was an eclectic mix of seafood, Belizean staples such as coconut rice and beans, with some Indian spices and curries thrown in!

 

Menu at Habaneros

 

The island is so laid back, it's very easy to pass the time doing not much of anything (or on a barstool at Pizza Caulker which made the best rum drinks on the island) but we did manage to get in a couple of excursions.

 

Mayan ruins at Lamanai

 

For our first outing, we went inland to visit the Mayan ruins of Lamanai.  These are only accessible by a boat trip down the river which was an outing in itself.  We learned that there are nearly 800 structures at this site that have yet to be uncovered.  Imagine what discoveries await!

 

Tree found at Lamanai

 

We saw many interesting things while at Lamanai like the tree above.  I won't pretend to remember it's name but it is a beautiful reminder of the power of mother nature.  We also saw spider monkeys, howler monkeys (heard these too!), and too many insects to count!

 

Fishing with my husband

 

Our other adventure was a day of fishing (I'll let you decide which one of us chose this outing!).  I only managed to catch sea grass but luckily my husband caught barracuda as well as dove for lobster, crab, & conch so we were able to eat at the end of the day!

 

Mangrove trees

 

My favorite outings were our walks around the island where we discovered any number of picturesque settings like these mangrove trees.

 

All that remains now are pictures and memories and the hopes that we will one day have the opportunity to return to this little bit of paradise.

 

Where have you vacationed lately?

 

~Reese