Category Nature
Greys Court
One last house and garden in Oxfordshire before going back to London. This time an ancient house called Greys Court. It did not have the expansive landscaping of Blenheim, or the highly manicured look of Waddesdon Manor. Instead, it had a charming, somewhat rambling series of walled gardens that I absolutely loved.
Chelsea Flower Show
The thing I love the absolute most about the UK is the country’s deep cultural fondness for gardening. I see it everywhere I go — in the vines twining up the front stoops of Georgian row houses in the city, the charming villages in the country, the Facebook feeds of my English friends, and the […]
Road trip! Falkirk, Scone, St Andrews, Edinburgh
With the Victoria Square guest house as glorious as it was, I was sorely tempted to linger for a leisurely Easter morning reading in the arm chair in front of those windows . . . but no! Travel calls!! Twenty minutes up the road, in the otherwise nondescript town of Falkirk, the Kelpies awaited me. […]
Stirling!
On Saturday morning I checked out of the hotel early and picked a car from near the Glasgow train station. From there it was a quick, sunny drive to Stirling. Did I say it was sunny? This weekend is the best weather we’ve had all year! Anyway, Stirling is a pretty little town full of […]
Weekend in the Northeast: Newcastle, Durham, Hadrian’s Wall
On Friday night I took a train from London to Newcastle, checked into a grand-but-faded Victorian hotel next to the train station, and after a few hours’ sleep, woke up to a rather damp weather forecast: Not to be daunted by a little rain, I pulled on my long underwear and all my sweaters and […]
Prehistory in the rain: Stonehenge and Avebury
This morning dawned cold, dark, and wet. Freya had arrived during the night and there was no missing her . . . . . . which made for a delightfully gloomy breakfast in the conservatory of my hotel but put quite literally a damper on the rest of the day. I left Salisbury at 9am […]
Gravestones and Jeeves in Stoke Newington
The middle weekend of February. The second of three weekends that I set aside to do my U.S. taxes. Ugh. But that doesn’t mean I can’t still do something interesting! I spent all morning figuring out the accounts for my house in Seattle, which I’m renting through Airbnb (surprise: it’s making money), and then hopped […]
Lunar eclipse!
Tonight we had some friends over for dessert. Justin made a delicious little treat of macerated berries with cream . . . . . . which we served with shortbread cookies and French got chocolate . . . . . . we had a cosy little turnout — ten people in all — and a […]
I’m in Singapore!
What to do with a seven-hour layover in Singapore? Well, start at the famous Gardens by the Bay with their famous “trees” . . . . . . and strange and beautiful real plants . . . . . . and views across the marina . . . . . . and that big iconic […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 