Osborne View and Burley

It's Sunday....a day of rest. To add to that, we're on 'holiday'. Nothing is required of us but to rest and enjoy ourselves. Which is what we did. Apparently to have this many days of sun is extremely odd ~ a rarity. I choose to believe this is just another way in which God tells me He loves me. :) (big cheesey grin on my face)

This is The Osborne View.
We spent all day long out here. It was beautiful. The breeze blowing off the water.....sun shining....birds chirping...

What I will remember is the best beer I have ever tasted was here. It was from the 'extra cold' tap. I will remember the conversations surrounding Princess Diana. Political views. How relaxing this was. The smell in the air. And the conversations where we laughed so much.
(also, there was a potty access from the outside....no...I go all the way up two flights of stairs to one tucked away on the top floor...)

This was the view over the wall. First of all the pictures this camera takes are amazing. Second of all....this is SUCH a beautiful scene...If I'd had my way..I'd be right out there with them. (probably falling off being the klutz I am..)

hmmmm.......English plumber or Say No to Crack?

Soooo.....leaving the crack behind...the next day our wonderful hosts took us to another town. See, they asks us what we wanted to see...because if we wanted to go back to London, they'd take us. That's all fine and good...and believe me I'll be back...but we wanted to see what everyday England is like. I wanted to have tea and crumpets, scones and visit a tea house.

Now we have stayed with many different hosts. There have been good ones, not so good ones and excellent ones. These two people fall right into the excellent hosts. It has been said that fish and visitors stink in three days. We were there for 5. You wouldn't have known if we got on their nerves because we always felt welcome.

Look! Ferrari.....oooooooo

Look, the old chimney stacks!

As we were driving to our destination, we found many cute houses. As my daughter says, it looks like a gingerbread house.

Just kinda thought this was neat. England is so quaint.

BURLEY

Think Harry Potter shops here?

It was a bit alarming how many stores there were like this in this little town. Since I've read up a bit on the history, it makes a bit more sense. (BTW, I stole the following from a website)

Picturesque thatched cottages tucked away in unexpected places help conjure up how life was in the past. Burley has remained untouched by time, steeped in old customs and history, enabling visitors to unwind and enjoy its tranquil atmosphere.

Legends concerning dragons, witches and smuggling abound in this traditional village. Today you can go riding on horseback, in a horse-drawn wagon or on cycles.

Burley depicts everything you would expect from a traditional, old New Forest village. Nestling in the lee of a hill, surrounded by an area of true outstanding natural beauty.

This is when I laughed. Really? They sell brooms? Part of me wanted to know how they swept the floor...lol!

Being the great hosts they were, looky! A thatched roof tea house!
The Old Farmhouse

There were several different rooms to this tea house, which I'm told is traditional. I found it enchanting. Look at those wood floors and that staircase. The fireplaces were visibly aged and one held a surprise.

Enchanting....

Hello? Are you the chimney sweep?

Each room had it's own character and charm. Each had little interesting pieces of history.

Thank you Local Knight for your bravery against the Dragons...

If I had the money (and space to put it), I'd buy this and ship it back home.
(and promptly reupholster it) The lid flips up!

This is our sweet hostess Carla. She's a peach and it was so enjoyable just talking with her. She needs to give me lessons. How this woman can anticipate your needs as well as she does is amazing.
We had this discussion concerning aluminum. Now we cheeky Americans enunciate it (al LOO min um) They enunciate it (al la MIN i um) Do I have that right? We all got quiet a chuckle out of it. To be honest, they are enunciating it correctly...we are not.

She has a teenage son still at home that loves his games as much as my boy. He, however, was a hoot to talk to. He was talking to her begging, 'Please Mom, tell me you didn't take them to have tea and scones...' answered afirmatively he replies....'oh Mom! You make us look gay!' I rolled!

There is Steve, Carla and myself. See that lovely looking plate right there? That would be my scones with jam and clotted cream. Oh that stuff was so good! I could have that every morning! In fact, I was in fear I was dolluping it on a bit heavy, however, Carla was very shocked I didn't finish it off. 'Didn't you like it?' Oh yes ma'am I did!

See, what my hosts don't understand is how much this meant to me. (pardon me as a tear is wiped way...the screen is fuzzy) There is a long list of desired experiences on my wish list. To have actual tea and scones in a teahouse in England was one of them. It was a marvelous experience shared with good people that will never be forgotten.

Off we go with our bellies full. I have enjoyed this and am looking forward to the beautiful drive to where ever these two wish to take us. Every part of England that has been visited is just beautiful. Make me think of the movie The Holiday.
(sigh..mmmmm)

Now there's probably gonna be some nasty comments for this but previously these used to be the icon on the marmalade jars. They are called gollywogs... They were removed from the marmalade containers because certain people were offended by them. Therefore, they are now called called jollywogs. I personally thought they were cute. (To me it's not different than Mrs. Buttersworth, an American icon. ) However, since an English woman walked by and was loudly appalled by it, I took my picture for memory rather than the doll itself.

We get back to the car and here is this horse, standing right in front of the car. Being that this is a wild horse, of course I had to pet it. And then take it's picture.
(I just made you famous)

Back in the car we go and look what we found. This beautiful church.
(with another clock no less!)

The Church of St. Michaels and All the Angels in the Diocese of Winchester

And off to the side was this old grave. I can't tell how old it is because the dates have faded off already, but can you imagine what life had to be like back in the time of this person?

Off we go on another adventure. Stay tuned for the next experience in England. We still have a couple of days left!

Portsmouth, England

So we leave London and we head off to our hosts' house. While we are driving to their hometown, I notice that there are a few of these fields that are so beautiful. Here in the Bible belt of America, these fields are filled with golden rod (which were fun to run the scoot-about in). However, in England, the government gives them is seed to plant instead of growing food. I personally found it very beautiful.

This is the view out of the car window. To us, this means that that car is heading right towards us and why is that car parked on the sidewalk. To our host, this means it's an ordinary day....

As we are walking down towards the ferry, there is this beautiful spire which is the architecture marvel of Gosport.

So I'm eyeing this marvel when Steve points out there's someone up there taking my picture. (personally I think he's poking fun at me and my shutter-bugness) I zoom in with this new camera and look! There is the culprit. All the way up there peering down at us.

Right before we got on the Ferry, I had to take this picture. Tell me that isn't a good pic! There's the three of them. I was so excited - giddy as a school girl! Getting ready to start touring England...

Ok, THIS is more like proof we were there. Other than the sign at the top, what sort of picture is this?

This is the other side of the pier. It was the most beautiful scenery.

This was the view from the Ferry. Pictures just don't transfer the full experience.

This is an old Battle ship named Warrior. It was so big and felt like I was in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean and I was standing next to the ship for the British...no pun intended. It has it's own atmosphere.

This used to be on the front of a ship. Now it stands in Gosport for all to see.

It's kinda hard to pass up taking the picture of The American Bar while on holiday in England.

Living in the middle of corn fields, standing on a pier surrounded by boats is a thing of beauty.

We come around the corner and look at all of these crab and lobster pots.

Since there are taverns all around, I have to take pictures of them all - of course. This is where we ate fish and chips. Fresh fish and chips. I mean right off the boat fresh. It comes wrapped in butchers paper covers in chips. Ohhhhhh...........was it good!

yeah, yeah....we have swans in America, but these are English swans. Boy were they pretty. The one on the right actually had her next there on that floating piece of wood.

We are standing on the shore and way off in the distance are these three structures in the water. Apparently there are small planes that land here.

This is one of the old forts along the sea line. The teens like to jump off the top into the sea. The problem with that is that it's not deep enough and they usually break body parts in the process. (every weekend)

This was on top of one of the towers on the fort.

Of course we had to go explore a bit more. This is the inside of that same fort. Can you imagine being behind here during a war?

Back in one of those arches are the original cannons. Now THAT was kewl.

This rock was kept here for a reason

During the Russian War (1854) A landing party from HMS Hecla was attached by a large body of cossacks and many would have fallen had it not been for the courage of tow sailors who, taking cover behind this stone, kept the enemy at bay until the safety of the whole party was assured. Captain Hall had the boulder carried to his ship and transported to Portsmouth.

This flag being held on a pub means that it's a bit dangerous to be found in.

Portsmouth Grammer School.
Kinda looks picturesque . . .

The George Court

The sign posted in front

The famous trio standing between two of the oldest gas lamps in Portsmouth, dating back to 1824

Admiral Lord Nelson ate his last breakfast at The George in 1805.

I just want to know how short the midget is that drives this car. Is this really a car? Where's the windup wheel, in the trunk?

I just love how all the pubs have their own unique signs.

For those who work with me, this won't be anything new. My hostess gave me a miniature post box for coins that I have sitting on my desk. However, this one is a bit taller. It's just so cute!

Love the architecture, reminding us how much older of country England is than America.

I had to have this picture for two reasons. First, the water used to come through here and there didn't use to be a street here. Second of all, this is where Steve got his first tattoo in the Navy. What you don't see is the pub to the left. Apparently they would drink in the pub and a group would head across the street to get tattooed. Gotta love Steve and the stories he tells.

So of course we had to stop in at a pub. I look over the bar at this ancient document and start laughing. It reads:

Rules of the Inn
No thieves, fakirs, rogues or tinkers~
No skulking, loafers or flea-bitten tramps
No slap an tickle o' the wenches
No hanging o' tankards on the tables
No dogs allowed in the kitchen
No cockfighting

Flintlocks, cudgels
Daggers and swords
to be handed to the innkeeper
for safe keeping~

Bed for the Night 1 Shilling
Stabling of Horse 4 Pense
1786