Category: Anything but writing

Oh, To Be In England

Updated on August 28, 2014 by Diane Gaston

This is the sight I’m seeing today (though I’m writing this two days before). London from the air. I’m landing in London today for the first part of my England adventure. My dh’s back problems prevented him from signing on for this trip so he is in complete care of the kitties (poor man!), but my sister is traveling with me!

Today we land at 6:30 am and get transportation to our hotel where we’ll meet up with Kristine Hughes and Victoria Hinshaw of Number One London for our pre-Duke of Wellington Tour adventures. Who knows what we will do today but we will try to stay up and quickly adjust to the time change.

On Tuesday the four of us will go on a deluxe tour of Buckingham Palace.

And on Wednesday, I’m on my own to ride to Richmond to have lunch with my editors at Mills and Boon.

Thursday is open for an unscheduled adventure and Friday our tour begins with, what else, TEA!

I will try my best to bring you a short blog with photos for next Monday!

Cheerio!

Posted in Anything but writing | 7 Replies

Vacation Miscellany

Updated on August 8, 2014 by Elena Greene

So here I am on Friday morning, and unusually for me, I did not have my post written in advance. From unpacking and catching up from my two week vacation, I’ve moved into Trying-Not-To-Panic Mode while getting ready to send off my oldest to college. So maybe I’ll talk some more about things I enjoyed during vacation—with a tiny bit of Regency interest thrown in.

One thing I love about vacation is having more time to read. One of the many books I enjoyed over break is Steel and Song, the first in a new steampunk series by Ani Bolton. I’ve been intrigued by the idea of steampunk but hadn’t actually read anything before this. I was caught up by the world-building and the compelling characters.

After the Club Med interlude, I spent a few days in Orlando with my husband’s family and visited two museums. Among the offerings at the Tampa Museum of Art was an exhibit on “Poseidon and the Sea: Myth, Cult and Daily Life” . I saw some lovely and intriguing ancient objects and realized how much my daughters knew about the mythology (their interest sparked by Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series). Some of the depictions of ladies in the exhibit reminded me again of the influence of the classics on the Regency. Not only did Regency ladies often wear classically-inspired clothing and hairstyles, the way they were depicted in fashion prints–that straight line from forehead to nose–resembles ancient depictions of women.

Later, I visited the Morse Museum in Orlando, which houses “the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933)”. It was a feast for the eyes and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves art and/or needs a break from theme parks.

So what have you enjoyed this summer? Any good summer reads?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Serving the Gentleman

Updated on July 31, 2014 by Janet Mullany

Get your mind out of the gutter now.

I am acting as valet today. My husband is going on the Grand Tour–to Italy, at any rate–and I am helping him put a huge amount of t-shirts etc into a suitcase and urging him to do all the things you have to do before a trip. We leave the house in less than two hours when I will assume the roles of coachman and porter.

Eek.

So I think I can safely offer my services as a gentleman’s uh gentleman. I haven’t used an iron in years, can’t get out stains or tie a cravat, and wouldn’t know a clothesbrush if it hit me around the head, but I can sure stuff things into a suitcase.

And this is where he’s going:Other than continual recorder playing it sounds fab (well, that’s why he’s going and why I’m not). And he’s the only person I know who’s going to Tuscany to eat vegan food.

Have you been on vacation this summer? Tell us about it.

And PS, in really important news, Dedication is now available as a paperback, first time in print (this edition)!

Posted in Anything but writing | Tagged Vacation | 1 Reply

Surgery Complete

Updated on July 21, 2014 by Diane Gaston

The dh came through the back surgery with flying colors, but he’s still in the hospital (as planned) and I’m still with him! I’ll be back next week with a proper blog.

Here’s his room:

As you can see, it’s a nice one!

Here’s how he feels:

But he really is doing very well!!

Posted in Anything but writing | 5 Replies

This time next year…

Updated on June 19, 2014 by susanna

…I will be in Belgium for the events surrounding the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo! I bought my tickets for the reenactment yesterday, as soon as I heard they were available.

I’ve been planning this trip for over ten years, saving money and vacation time so I can take at least four weeks off work. The current plan is to fly into London so we can give our daughter, who’ll be 11 and just finished with 5th grade then, a soft, English-speaking landing for her first trip abroad. She’s such a huge Doctor Who fan that London should seem familiar to her.

Then it’s on to Belgium for the reenactment. From there our tentative itinerary is several days in Paris, followed by almost a week in the Dordogne River valley (for delicious food, prehistoric cave paintings, and some nice relaxation in the middle of what will surely be a hectic trip). After that I’ll put my Wellington fangirl hat back on as we go into Spain and Portugal, where we’ll visit at least a few Peninsular War sites.

Is anyone else going to be at the reenactment? And do you have a “trip of a lifetime,” either in your past or planned for your future?

Posted in Anything but writing, Regency | Tagged Duke of Wellington, Susanna Fraser, travel, Waterloo | 11 Replies