Trembling Madness and Afternoon Tea

The day in Liverpool was a long one, so we stayed closer to home the next day. We took the train one town over for some afternoon tea and sightseeing in Knarsborough before hopping back on the train to visit York one last time. 

Knarsburough

We had tickets for a York ghost walk that evening, so we found a super-cool and kinda creepy pub to get us all in the mood for ghouls and specters. This little tiny shop near the York Minster is called the House of Trembling Madness. Downstairs they sold lots and lots of small-brew beers from all around the world. 

Downstairs at the House of Trembling Madness

And upstairs is... well... weird. One of the walls of the pub dates back to the 14th century, and the rest is spry, dating back to the 16th century. Yes, it's old, but it's also decorated with lots of taxidermied heads. And there are real furs draped over the bench backs. And the antler chandelier? Yeah...

Upstairs pub at House of Trembling Madness

And the silver candle holders look like the tell tale heart should be beating just below the floorboards...

But I digress. You can purchase any of the beer they sell downstairs or have them pull a pint of their vast variety on draught. They had food platters full of locally sourced and produced food, it was amazing, really. And all in a teeny-tiny pub that maybe seats 20 people at any given time. Madness, I say, MADNESS!!! :-) 

Trembling Madness decor

After our dinner and beer, we met up with the ghost walk tour and learned all sorts of grisly details of the city's past. It's no wonder York is considered the most haunted city in all of England! 

Clifford's Tower at night

The next day we opted for a bit happier adventures. Bill had to go back to work, so the ladies headed out to a botanical garden for a stroll. 

A poppy in Harlow Carr gardens

And what visit to England would be complete without an afternoon tea experience? We had the little sandwiches, scones, jam, and clotted cream, and all the dainty cakes you could imagine. What a delightful day! 

Afternoon tea at Betty's Harlow Carr

And then, bright and early the next day, these two fabulous ladies flew home where other adventures awaited them. Come back anytime, you two!! :-)

Merry Christmas!!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!! 

-Bill, Jennifer, Ada, and Grace

Roman Ruins and Beatlemania

After a hectic few days in London, we all wanted a mellow Sunday. And what a better way to relax than to head off to an excellent pub for a Sunday Roast with Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings?! And even better, after lunch we sauntered a few blocks over to the Roman ruins dating back to 110-ish AD. 

The story goes a farmer was plowing his fields in the mid 1800s and struck tile. A wee bit of digging produced a glimpse of this still intact tile floor. Further excavation in the nearby fields uncovered what archeologists think was once a small village of Romanized Celts - many of the celtic tribes struck up friendly relationships with their Roman conquerers and started building small huts and the like, emulating the fancy Roman ways. Walls, columns, etc. are still visible today. 

Aldborough Roman mosaic floor

The site isn't very large so we walked around it fairly quickly, but it was nice to move after a slow morning then an extravagant lunch. 

Posing with Roman-era columns

Roman-era column

Wall to Romanized British fort

After a slow Sunday we got up bright and early Monday morning and drove the two hours to the western coast of England so that we could spend the day in Liverpool! As Bill and I had already taken the Magical Mystery Tour several months prior, we dropped the two Beatles-loving ladies off at their bus and went off to do some shopping. 

LIVERPOOL!!

We met back up a few hours later outside of the Cavern Club, the infamous dive bar in Liverpool where John, Paul, George, and Ringo (er... Pete Best?) got their start and played over 200-some shows. 

The infamous Cavern Club

Thankfully, it was a Monday in September and the crowds were not nearly as crazy as had been on the Spring Saturday when Bill and I visited. We were able to get great seats in-between sets, had a pint or two, and watched this guy sing all kinds of songs. But yes, his Beatles covers were the crowd favorites. Enjoy!

Last Day in London with the Gals

On our last day in London we didn't have to catch the train back to Yorkshire until late that afternoon, so we had plenty of time to visit a few more places. First stop was to the British Museum, a place Bill and I have wanted to go so we dragged Bev and Barb along. 

British Museum

First and foremost, I wanted to see the Rosetta Stone. It did not disappoint. Even though there were crowds surrounding it, the detail of the languages etched onto the stone was incredible. I'd love to go back on some odd weekday in Winter when the crowds aren't so big so I could really look at this amazing stone.

The Rosetta Stone

We didn't have a lot of time, but we zipped through and saw quite a bit of the Egyptian and Greek artifacts they have on display. Again, I could probably spend all day (or a few!) in this museum. 

Greek temple

After a bit we took the tube back to Trafalgar Square so we could hop inside the National Gallery to see a few of the more famous paintings. Bev and I really enjoyed the Monets and Van Goghs they had on display, but we didn't want to keep Bill and Barb (who weren't as interested) waiting, so we took a gander and then headed out in search of some lunch. 

Monet's water lilly garden 

Van Gogh's sunflowers

It was another lovely day, so we strolled through the gardens near Buckingham palace, looked at flowers, ducks, birds, and a WWI photography exhibit on our way to lunch, then to the train station to head back north.

Oh, what a fun city London is! 

Walking amongst real flowers

Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey

Whew! It's been a LONG time since I had a chance to post and I am very sorry for the delay. November was National Novel Writing Month and I took every second of my spare time and poured it into attempting to write a novel. I completed the 50,000 words in November to "win" the challenge, but my novel still isn't completed. That, paired with the new kittens and getting ready for the holidays really put the blog on the back burner. But I am finally back!!

I'll start where we left off, in London with Bill's mom Beverly and Aunt Barb. On our second day we set up shop in front of Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards, something none of us had ever done before. 

Waiting for the changing of the guard

We got a pretty good place at the front of the Queen Victoria statue and hung out for about an hour until the festivities began. It was a bit breezy, but for England, the weather was beautiful! 

Buckingham Palace

The closer it got to the changing of the guards, the more crowded it became. I can see why they only do the pomp and circumstance every other day as the road were shut down and the number of police involved just to keep everything moving and tourists safe (I cannot tell you how many people we saw trying to climb precarious objects trying to get a better view), the cost of the one hour parade must be pretty daunting. 

The guards are changing!

Behind us stood the beautiful, golden Queen Victoria statue. 

Queen Victoria statue

It was really neat to see the changing of the guards, but it wasn't as spectacular as I was hoping. One marching band and a few teams of horses walking by and into the gates of the palace. But it is the romance of it all, I guess. 

Horses!

Here's a short clip that I took as the marching band walked by. 

Once the festivities were over, we headed over to the clock tower that houses Big Ben and had a good long look inside of Westminster Abbey. Sadly, we couldn't take photos inside Westminster Abbey, but we really enjoyed it. I think the scientists corner where Darwin, Newton, Faraday, etc. is buried inside the church is one of Bill's favorite places on the planet. 

London Eye

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben (technically, clock tower that holds Big Ben)

That night we walked all over inside of Harrod's and had ourselves a lovely pizza dinner. All in all, another grand day out! 

Bev and Barb Take on London (Day 1)

London calling! Neither Bev nor Barb had been to London, so Bill and I got to showcase the best of London in 2-1/2 days. I think we tuckered them out, but we sure did see a lot! 

Barb atop a hop on hop off bus

From atop the big red hop-on-hop-off we got lots of great photos. Photos of Barb taking photos, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, a London lion, and Tower Bridge. 

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben

London Lion

Tower Bridge

Driving over Tower Bridge

We hopped off the bus to visit the Tower of London, and scoped out the Tower Bridge that we later walked across.

About to walk across Tower Bridge

And believe it or not, the Tower Bridge had to be raised while we were there! I've never seen it raise before. If you look closely, you can actually see a bit of the tall ship that's about to cross under the bridge. 

Tower Bridge is up! 

At the Tower of London, Bev & Barb got to pose with a guard, hang out in a guard box, and check out the site where Anne Bolyn (among others) lost her head. Not to mention viewing the crown jewels, Henry VIII's armor, and medieval prison graffiti. Everyone always thinks the Tower of London is just a tower, but it's a lot, lot more! 

Smitten Ladies

They're on duty!

Anne Boleyn (and others') execution site

Leaving the Tower of London we took some time to view the temporary poppy exhibit in honor of the 100th anniversary of WWI. Each poppy represents a British soldier who died during WWI (in total there are 888,246 poppies for 888,246 lost) and they're displayed in such a way as to look like blood flowing from the castle. 

Tower of London poppies

Poppies at Tower of London

Poppies at Tower of London

It was a beautiful and eerie sight and I am very glad we were able to see the exhibit as it will only be on display for a few more weeks.

Bev and Barb in Yorkshire

Bill's mom, Beverly, and her sister, Barb, came for a visit! Although Bev's been here before, she visited in the dead of winter when a lot of stuff was closed for the season, so it was a lot of fun showing both of them a lot of the sites around the UK. 

Skipton

After a brief nap after their long flight here, I took them to Skipton castle. They especially liked climbing down into the dark, dank dungeon! 

Skipton Castle's dungeon

After touring around Skipton, we headed over to Bolton's Abbey where they promptly Karate Kid'd their way across the river's stepping stones. Seriously, these two gals are a kick to hang out with!

Walking the stepping stones in Bolton Abbey

The next day we toured all around York, where they became members of the clergy and climbed all the way up to the to of Clifford's Tower. 

The new Archbishops of York

Clifford's Tower, York

The next day we spent the morning in town, enjoying a delicious breakfast at the world-famous Betty's bakery. 

Breakfast at Betty's, Harrogate

Bill came home from work early and we drove out to Masham to tour the Theakston Brewery. We got to learn how the cask ales are brewed, see it all in process, and then taste test the various beers in their pub. 

We got a kick out of describing the Bitters (the favorite type of beer in Yorkshire) to Bev & Barb and having them decide that bitters were exactly what they didn't like. Then at the tasting table, they both tried the XB and declared it their favorite. Bill and I chuckled when we explained to them that XB stands for extra bitter! :-) 

Theakston's brewery, Masham

Tasting Theakston's brew, Masham

Recent Antique Finds

We have pretty much all of the furniture we need for our house in England, but every now and then items at auction pop up that we just can't pass up. For example, the French mantle clock that weighs about 15 pounds and has the following inscription on its brass plaque:

Presented to SC Moss by the members of the Westleyan Choir, Ripon: 

on the occasion of his marriage. 

August 3, 1903

The clock is currently in the clock hospital getting fixed so it will tell time and chime again. We hope SC Moss and his wife had a long and happy marriage and promise to take care of thier clock for as long as we can.

French marbled clock

At the same auction I also picked up this lovely Victorian dressing table. Once home, I found the photo of what looks like a farmer's wife (below) tucked inside. I like to think the photo is of Mrs SC Moss and his clock and her table are together again. Awww! :-)

Victorian dressing table

Owner of dressing table? Mrs. Moss?