Holiday in the Sun

Hello everyone. I hope you have had a good few weeks since we last met here. 

Thank you for all your kind wishes while hubby and I were away on holiday. Your messages that D posted were very welcome and appreciated. 

This holiday, we spent it in Rhodes, and it was much more relaxing than our last trip. 

It was very hot during our stay, so we made the most of the hotel facilities and the sunny weather.

This photo made me smile as it's not often that you see an empty poolside like this. To be fair, this photo was taken after 6pm when the pool is closed. It was also the view from our balcony.

This was the other view from our balcony.

We took a stroll along the beach front and admired some of the harbour sights.

The hop-on/hop-off bus allowed us to see more of the island and enjoy better views from some of its higher points.

The beach across the road from the hotel was pebbly but the sea water was warm and inviting.

Mandraki harbour is the historic port where the legendary Colossus once stood. Today, two toering stone columns are topped with a stag and doe.

We also visited the Old Town of Rhodes and wandered around the cobbled streets. The Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has a wonderful mix of cultures: Byzantine, Crusader, Ottoman and Italian architecture.

Sitting in the hotel restaurant enjoying our meals each evening, we were treated to the most spectacular sunsets.

It was a wonderful, relaxed holiday that both hubby and I enjoyed, and when we finally arrived home and had some sleep, I ventured back into my garden to see how things had been growing. This is just a little of the food bounty I found.

Wherever you are, I hope you are well and that you will have a good week ahead. 

Take care x

Preparing for an Adventure of a Lifetime

Hello everyone.

This week has been generally quieter, and we have finished a few small jobs around the house and garden - nothing too big, just things that needed attention. We still found time to go out for coffee on a couple of days. 

Most of this week has been spent planning, buying, and preparing for our holiday. However, by Friday, I had itchy feet to get out and about, and we visited Coughton Court in Alcester.

The forecast was for rain, but we went anyway. This time, the forecast was correct, and as we arrived, there was a very heavy shower. We sat in the car and waited for it to pass over. When we were able, we made straight for the house to stay dry.

Coughton Court is a large country house dating from the Tudor period. The gatehouse dates back to the mid-1530s and is the oldest part of the building. I really liked the turrets and windows and was pleased to be able to climb the winding staircase to view the surroundings from the rooftop.

The Coughton estate dates back to 1409, when the Throckmorton family owned the land and built the property. It remains their family home to this day.

Coughton Court also holds a place in history for two attempted assassination plots. The first plot was to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I in 1583, and the second was to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Although the Gunpowder Plot was the more infamous of the two, the Throckmorton family were only indirectly involved when some of the conspirators rode to Coughton after their plan had been thwarted.

During this time, the Throckmorton family was firmly Catholic; however, since the country was mainly Protestant, openly supporting Catholic priests was dangerous. Instead, the family built a a hidden priest hole so that any Catholic priest could hide if an search party arrived unexpectedly. We were able to see this.

The National Trust currently manages the house, but from next year, the current Throckmorton family will take over this role.

By the time we came back outside, the rain had stopped, the sun had come out, and we were able to enjoy the rest of the afternoon strolling around the gardens. 

And so to the adventure.

Hubby and I will be off travelling very soon on a holiday we have been planning and looking forward to for a long time. It was impossible until retirement, but now we have the opportunity to enjoy ourselves and make some good memories together. 

We will be visiting Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Vancouver, Canada.

I will be back in November when I will come visiting all my blogging friends and tell you all about our time away. D will still be around to keep an eye on things, and who knows, she may put up a blog post herself.

 

Until then, enjoy the rest of this month and step into Autumn or Spring if you live on the other side of the globe from this small corner.

See you all soon.

B x

Wedding and Summer Holiday

Hello everyone. 

D and I will take a break for the rest of August with the family wedding in a few days, followed by our summer holiday abroad. 

We will return in September with many photos and ready to share this special time with you.

Whether you are going away yourselves or having a staycation, have fun.

Thinking of you

B and D xx