{Adventures in Merry Ol' II}

{Waddesdon Manor}

As many of you know, I spent July in the UK. My dear cousin, Choo & his wife, Liz have a home just outside of London, which I consider my home away from home. When I lived in London during my MA I spent Christmas, Easter & other holidays with them, and when I'm back in Europe their home is a comfort & refuge for holidays, long weekends etc... This past time in London, I spent a couple of weekends at their house.
Choo feels a need to show me the very best of Merry England, in order for me to understand the glorious roots of my heritage. so...they took me to some breathtaking estates. I already blogged about a few (our trip to Strawberry Hill & Ightham Mote and a weekend with my third cousin, or is it cousin thrice removed?).
but I haven't yet blogged about the lovely Waddesdon manor with the Rothschild Collection.
Waddesdon is fantastic. Not only are the interior rooms well-displayed and furnished--literally oozing with antiques, artworks, and lovely expensive things, but the grounds are fantastic for picnics, walking, perusing etc...
I promised Choo, that before I began talking about another adventure in Merry Ol' England, I would set background music. You see, my cousin Charles (affectionately called Choo) loves to blare music in the car on our way to lovely grand estates. We sometimes sing along with these tunes. The usual fave is Katie Melua (9 million bicycles was a huge hit on the earlier visits, last year we belted out Closest thing to Crazy, with my first cousin, Marian and recorded it driving in the car), but there are many more. Every time I listen to these songs they bring me back to driving through the lovely English countryside, with the excitement of a long walk or a lovely estate to discover ahead. Recently he's rediscovered Jake Thackray--a favourite of Choo's from his uni days. among his favourite songs are Castleford Ladies Magic Circle Club (please ignore the weird video, but the song is there) & of course one of Jack's best, Lah di Dah). Pick & choose from these selections (make sure to open them up in a new window) so you can have similar background music to these adventures as we do when we're driving in the car...  I hope you approve choo!
so on to Waddesdon:

{Liz & choo}

{great estate gardens at waddesdon}

{the avery at Waddesdon}

{how gorgeous is this?}

{Loo & Choo}

One can't discuss weekends at Charley & Liz's without discussing the Weatherups--their close friends. This past trip the Weatherups hosted lovely BBQs in their backyard...and Choo got all dressed up for it!

{choo in crazy costume driving to the Weatherups}

{bbq-ing witches}

..& I can't forget to mention that Choo is always quick to serve you a drink. A real gentleman:

So with that, cheers to many more fun times in Merry Ol'--scheduled visit already for July 2012, but hopefully (maybe?) one before then...
L