Friday, August 31, 2007

Just in time

It’s a good thing that I am now current on all the travel photos, because the Budman and I head out in about a couple of hours for 2 GLORIOUS weeks in Tuscany. Our villa is remote, with the nearest available internet connection about 5 miles away. So. blog posting during the vacation may be sporadic, but I will do my best to post.

Ciao, la Toscana!

Will’s place

Day 2 of the birthday weekend included a daytrip to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see many things, amongst them, Will’s place. By that I mean, William Shakespeare’s birthplace, the village that he spent much of his life in, as well as his burial place. An easy train trip southwest of London, Budman, SaraBeth, and Hachie Gal putzed about the day soaking in a little Tudor England.

Shakespeare's birthplace.

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Nash House was the home of Shakespeare’s daughter and son-in-law and site of the last known residence of Shakespeare. Nash house was not the home Shakespeare last lived in as it was sadly destroyed decades ago. Nash House and its gardens, however, are a faithful restoration and recreation of Tudor England.

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Holy Trinity Church, the burial place of William Shakespeare.

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Scenes in Stratford-Upon-Avon and its namesake, the Avon River.

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Watching the canal boats along the river Avon. Can't tell you what a crowd collected to watch a canal boat go through a couple of locks!

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Budman at the Stratford-Upon-Avon train station.

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Do, re, mi, fa, so , la, ti...?

Almost forgot the birthday weekend photos! A great weekend celebrating 2 birthdays in early August: Hachie Gal and our niece, SaraBeth…in LONDON! The day included shopping, enjoying the sights, sounds, and food of London, the quintessential musical, The Sound of Music, and great company.

So, in essence, London’s West End was, in fact, “alive with the sound of music”.

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Budman and SB ponder, “How do you solve a problem like Maria?”

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A few of my favorite things…”

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The birthday girls…neither of us are “sixteen going on seventeen” …

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The sun has gone, and so to bed must I”…”So long…farewell…auf wiedersehen…goodbye!"

Say goodbye to Sweden

Well, this brings the Sweden trip to a close…for anyone who thought, “I never really wanted to go to Scandinavia”, it is a beautiful region, with incredibly nice people, great food, and gorgeous scenery. I can highly recommend it.

So, a few parting, and somewhat random shots from the trip.

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Riddarsholmkrykan

One of the things we literally stumbled upon was Riddarsholmkrykan, a former church, that is now the resting place of nearly all the Swedish kings and queens, as well as more than its fair share of Swedish nobility. Yes, Desideria (of War and Fame as well as Desiree fame) is buried here with her French husband, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, who later became King of Sweden, Karl Johan XIV.

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Budman and Hachie Gal at Riddarholmskrykan.

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