Mosaic Monday # 89 - what I did on my birthday

Last Friday was my birthday, not one of the big ones the next O is a couple of years away but still a special one in many ways.
On the previous day we had driven down to the Pays de la Loire region of France to stay overnight at the Manoir du Moulin, in the small town of Sainte Hermine in the Vendee. 

Looking at the pretty garden through the breakfast room windows whilst enjoying our petite dejeuner was a lovely start to the day.
On our way to our next destination, Maison Asholi in the tiny hamlet of Bouteilles Saint Sebastian over in the Dordogne, we stopped off in the pretty town of Fontenay le Comte to visit the Chateau Terre Neuve. 
We had a wonderful tour of the Chateau. Our guide, Eve, was delightful and took great pride in telling us about it's history. 

The Chateau visit deserves a post of it's own and once I've reviewed all the photographs that I took during the tour I'll be telling you more about that wonderful place very soon.

Later that afternoon we arrived at Maison Asholi and received a warm welcome from our B & B host, Beverley.

Just look at our pretty bedroom!

As we sat outside basking in the glorious sunshine and admiring the garden Beverley brought out  a birthday cake that she had baked specially for me, complete with candles!

In the evening the SP took me to dinner at "a table" a quirky restaurant @ La Lumiere B & B owned and operated by two English women in the nearby hamlet of La Guide. 

The restaurant is small, it seats just 36 diners in two downstairs rooms of what once was an ancient French farmhouse and has a usp I've not encountered before.
Dinner is by reservation only, there is no menu (although they do have a short wine list), and all the tables are served at the same time.
As each course is dispatched from the tiny kitchen it is delivered to the table by a server along with a short description of the dish.

6 courses over 3 hours, quite an experience and one that made this birthday a birthday to remember.

You may have noticed that I've become a fan of the Waterlogue app after seeing the wonderful images created by Sarah @ Hyacinths for the Soul a week or two ago.
It's so easy to use and such fun!

Normandy Life

An InLinkz Link-up

Mosaic Monday # 88 - "Achilleion" Sissi's Palace in Corfu.

In the early 1980's the Senior Partner's career took us to Bavaria, West Germany, we lived there for over 13 years. 

Our home overlooked Starnberger See (Lake Starnberg) and it was whilst I was living there that I came to learn a little of the history of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, (1837-1898).

"Sissi" was the daughter of the Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria, wife of  Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and half sister to King Ludvig I of Bavaria.

As a child Sissi enjoyed spending time with other family members by Lake Starnberg at their summer residence Possenhofen Castle, situated in the pretty lake shore village of the same name.

Sissi's adult life was not as pleasant.

Her marriage to Franz Joseph was not a happy one, overshadowed as it was by her domineering mother in law who also happened to be her aunt, the Archduchess Sophie (of Bavaria).

The suicide/murder of her son and heir, Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, and his mistress at his hunting lodge, Mayerling, in 1889 was a tragedy from which she never recovered.

Elisabeth fled Austria and travelled to the island of Corfu, a place she had visited often during her extended travels and a sanctuary from life at court in Vienna, Austria.

After purchasing a large villa in the village of Gastouri and later also the land surrounding it down as far as the coast she instructed the Italian architect, Raffaele Caritto to design a palace in the Pompeian style. 

Building began in 1889 and took two years to complete.

As a great admirer of Achilles, a hero of Greek mythology, Elisabeth named the palace Achilleion and had several statues of him installed in the house and throughout the grounds.

She visited Achilleion twice each year until she was murdered in 1898 in Geneva.

The palace remained closed until it was sold in 1907 by her daughter, Maria Valeria, to Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Achilleion Palace is now a Museum operated by the Greek Tourist Organization and we were able to tour both it and the extensive gardens during our recent stay in Corfu.

It was wonderful to walk the halls and climb the elaborate staircase however many of the rooms were unfurnished and in need of some TLC.

I so enjoyed learning more about the Empress Elisabeth and seeing her most favourite home but was saddened to discover that her visits were cut short when her life ended so tragically at the hands of an assassin.
On a lighter note to finish, some movie trivia for you to enjoy.
The teenage German actress Romy Schneider starred in a trilogy of movies entitled "Sissi" (1955, 1956 & 1957) playing the role of Elisabeth. The three films were later condensed into one version "Forever My Love" and dubbed into English.
In 1968 Omar Sharif played the leading role of Crown Prince Rudolph in a movie based on the Mayerling Incident. 
Scenes from the 1981 James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only" were filmed in the Casino on the upper storey of Achilleion.

Normandy Life

An InLinkz Link-up

Mosaic Monday # 85 - Efharisto, ikos Dassia, Corfu - you were amazing!

We're back home again after our wonderful trip to the Greek island of Corfu.
On the day of departure our flight was delayed because the plane that was supposed to be waiting for us on the tarmac had been sent on a rescue mission to Turkey to bring back holidaymakers stranded there when their plane was unable to take off.
An hour and a half later we were on our way!
The flight was uneventful and after collecting our luggage we headed out to meet our driver.
During the short journey we couldn't help noticing the many closed businesses and abandoned, partially constructed, building projects and we were saddened to see how badly the downturn in Greece's economy has affected this beautiful island which held such happy memories for us from many years ago.
When we reached the town of Dassia it was obvious that the new ikos Dassia 5* hotel was beginning to bring back pride and prosperity to the area and we received a wonderful welcome from all the staff there.

Weather wise it did rain a little and there were some grey skies but the sun shone through almost all of the time and we soon found ourselves relaxing into a slower pace of life, (slower than la vie quotidienne in Normandy, if you can believe it).

Our plans to hire a car and revisit other areas of the island seemed less important as we lazed in the garden, or by the pool, reading books and sipping cocktails.
Cocktail of choice -  a cheeky retro Pina Colada!
We did stir ourselves in the middle of our stay to spend a day and an evening in old Corfu town - sightseeing, dining out and people watching, three of my favorite things to do.

I have many photographs to sift through and a couple of stories to share but for now a few snapshots of the resort and those wonderful views.

Normandy Life

An InLinkz Link-up

Mosaic Monday # 78 - a visit to Worcester Cathedral

Whenever we go back "home" to England we like to include spending some time in an area or county that we've not been to before. Renting a vacation cottage enables us to "self cater" and come and go as we please. We chose the Perry Shed because of its rural location set in a small hamlet ideally situated in the "Heart of England", close to Droitwich Spa and the City of Worcester.

A visit to Worcester Cathedral was on our "must see" list and in order to learn more of its history we booked a tour with one of the Cathedrals volunteer docents.

Volunteer docent Andrew recounting the History of King Johns Tomb in the Quire

Andrew, 86 years of age, has been leading tours of the Cathedral for 15 years, his knowledge of the subject is boundless.

We joined two other couples for an hour long tour, but it wasn't until almost  two hours later that we said a reluctant goodbye to Andrew and the group before heading to the Cathedral café for lunch.

Benedictine Cloisters

Here are seven things I learned about Worcester Cathedral that I didn't know before.

If you'd like to learn more about the 7 things I didn't know there'll be links to follow at the bottom of this post.

A Church was founded in Worcester in 680 and Bosel was consecrated as Bishop.

In 983 Oswald founded a Benedictine Monastery within the Cathedral.

Wulfstan was Bishop of the Cathedral when the Normans invaded in 1066 and was allowed to remain. He decided to demolish most of Oswalds church and to build a Cathedral on the site, beginning with the crypt. Wulfstan was Canonised as a Saint in 1203.

The Crypt

King John, the younger brother of Richard the Lionheart, began his reign in 1199 and is mostly remembered as the Monarch who agreed to the signing of the Magna Carta.

The tomb of King John

Before he died in 1216 he requested that he be buried in Worcester Cathedral, his tomb made of dark Purbeck marble is situated in the Quire.

The Quire

Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King Henry VII and older brother of Henry (who later became Henry VIII), was formally betrothed to Catherine of Aragon when he was 3 years old.

The marriage took place in 1501, he died 6 months later and is buried in the Chantry Chapel of the Cathedral.

Chantry Chapel, Arthur Tudors final resting place.

The following year, 1502, Catherine of Aragon became the first wife of Henry VIII.

During the English Civil War the City of Worcester was loyal to King Charles and paid a high price for it. After defeating the Royalists in battle the Parliamentarian troops occupied the Cathedral which they looted and vandalised, riding their horses up and down the nave and destroying anything that they, as Puritans, considered represented Popery within the Cathedral.

Restoration of the Cathedral has been ongoing throughout the ages, the Victorians being responsible for a lot of the exterior stonework which isn't very attractive.

Inside many of the original furnishings have long disappeared, the stained glass windows, ceilings and floors are Victorian.

Saint Wulfstan

King John

Prince Arthur

The Cathedral during the English Civil war

Restoration

Worcester Heritage Guide

Normandy Life

An InLinkz Link-up

Mosaic Monday # 77 - Harvington Hall, an Elizabethan Manor House.

Here I am warmly ensconced in the sitting room of a small cottage in Worcestershire looking out of the large window at the snow laying gently on the garden. There's a wonderful log fire burning brightly in the super modern high tech stove across the room. The Senior Partner is in the kitchen preparing a typical English Sunday lunch of roast beef, Yorkshire puddings & gravy, roast potatoes with a medley of vegetables and it certainly does feel like home!
But more about our home from home later, first I want to tell you about a wonderful place which we visited yesterday afternoon.

Harvington Hall is a restored Tudor Manor House surrounded by a beautiful moat and gardens.

It's origins date back to the 1580's when it was built for Humphrey Pakington and his family.

They were devout Catholics during the reign of Protestant Queen Elizabeth I and therefore Humphrey had many hidden Priest hides included throughout the building.

Click here to find out more about the largest surviving collection of Priest hides in England @ Harvington.

They really are fascinating to see and the tales of the lengths the priests and the host family went to in order to avoid detection, or in some cases didn't avoid, are incredible.

Harvington Hall is simply steeped in History with a capital H and the very informative and chatty docent, dressed as an Elizabethan female servant, brought it all to life for us.

I couldn't possibly cover five centuries of history in a single blog post but if you're keen to know more then do visit their website, you'll be in for a real treat if you do.
Before we left the 16th century behind we stopped at the Moat Side Tea Room for a pot of tea, toasted teacake and cream tea, well it would have been rude not to.

(The cream tea debate of Devon versus Cornwall has raged for decades in the UK. Do you put cream or jam on your scone first? Well, it would seem that HRH Queen Elizabeth II has finally settled things once and for all. She (like me) prefers the Cornish method of jam first with cream on top not jam followed by cream as they do in Devon).

As we left the tea room we saw that during our tour of Harvington snow had begun to fall but by the time we arrived back at The Perry Shed it had blown over.
During the night it blew back again and this how things looked this morning.

Normandy Life

An InLinkz Link-up