Saturday, we left the small hilltop town and drove two hours to Granada. We’d read about a camper parking near a restaurant and a bus to the city. It was hot, hot, hot when we arrived at the parking. A quick lock up and we set off for the bus stop.
Narrow cool street, Granada
The guy in reception didn’t have very good English but I understood we had to walk to a nearby petrol station and then the bus stop would be across the road. Which wasn’t completely accurate. Across the road and twenty minutes walk would have been more accurate. We were lucky to meet a couple of other campers who gave us directions when we looked confused.
Beautiful!
They then told us where to get off when we arrived in the middle of Granada. By now we were hungry and tired and needed food and a sit down. We picked the first cool (temperature not vibe) restaurant we passed. We ordered and sat in silence listening to the chatter all around.
Pretty (closed) restaurant, Granada
The food really helped because when we were finished we had a sense we could do anything, including find our way up to the Alhambra (the old part of Granada) by following our noses. We were eventually successful but all energy reserves had been used up scaling the scenic route. Warning: Make sure you have the shortest, shadiest route uphill when the weather is 10 degrees higher than you are comfortable with.
Path less travelled, with views of Sierra Nevada in the distance, Granada
Eventually, we reached the top (where we saw the buses we could have taken… oh well never mind). We were confused not to be able to see the Alhambra but at least we saw the entrance. Seeing the entrance turned out to be the high point because in order to get inside the entrance you have to book tickets many months in advance… we had not booked tickets.
View from the Palacios Nazaries
We spoke to a lovely local guide, asking if there were any tickets available into anything. There were a couple of buildings (including toilets) near a different entrance, free to enter. She directed us towards them via the gardens.
Alhambra (the part where no ticket is required)
It’s funny how grateful you can be for something you’d normally take for granted. Today we were so delighted and grateful for directions to a bus stop, cold drinks, food out of the sun and now we were absolutely ecstatic with gardens. Why? Because they were created to make you feel cool when the temperatures are hot. The city of Granada gets the highest summer temperatures in Europe (and I think it also gets the lowest winter temperatures).
Can you see the cold water channel?
Our temperatures had continued to rise all day and by now it was the hottest but we were fine. There was a forest of trees and stone benches and the best – channels of cold water running down both edges of the road. The Spanish really do know how to do cool.
Journey to Granada
Oh there was a wedding (with disco) late into Saturday night at the restaurant near the camper parking. Meaning, there was no dinner for the uninvited (us) so we utilized our first emergency dinner rations – a tin of red salmon and a pack of cream crackers – Irish tapas, anyone?
Friday morning we left the scene of the massacre and drove to Toledo, just south of Madrid. We parked in a free car park at the base of the old city. And as luck would have it someone had built an escalator up to the top. Although not as hot as our first week we appreciated the assistance.
Narrow streets and shelter from the sun
Arriving at lunchtime is perfect when you’re in an old city – lots of tourist cafes. We found a small one cafe and ordered eggs, leeks and potatoes (chopped up and fried together) along with sparkling water. There were so many attractions we could have visited within ten minutes of the cafe but we picked just two.
Beautiful buildings around every corner
The knights of Templar museum was underwhelming but had good toilets, we’ll call that a win. The El Greco museum on the other hand was most enjoyable. I had a vague recollection of an artist called El Greco but remembered nothing of his work but it wasn’t his art that I enjoyed. It was his house and garden. Well, when I say his house it wasn’t exactly his house, it wasn’t his house at all really.
This way to the El Greco Museum
Some years ago guy with enough money bought a house he thought had been El Greco’s, then renovated it so that it looked exactly as it did when El Greco was alive and well and painting. Now, I don’t know if this guy found out his mistake but if he did I hope he wasn’t too disappointed because although he may have been wrong about the house, he ended up creating something very beautiful. I’m glad he did.
Section of gardens at El Greco
Denis decided he wasn’t interested in El Greco so found a cafe nearby while I made my way to the museum. We had been travelling since early and had already walked a lot, it was getting hot and I was tired when I walked into the reception area. When it was my turn I asked for one ticket. The lady asked me something I didn’t understand (my Spanish is slightly better than my Japanese and a little worse than my French) but she asked again in English. “Are you over 65?”
The front door of the house leading into an open courtyard
Thinking I must look as tired as I feel, I smiled and said no. “It is free if you’re over 65, I have to ask and many people don’t look over 65. Like you, you don’t look over 65. I have to ask because it is €3 if you’re not.” She was out of breath by the time she finished and I was laughing. I handing over my money. She asks where was I from and when I said Ireland, she was delighted because her daughter’s teacher is from Ireland and “a lovely person”.
Cookbook in the kitchen of El Greco’s house
I’m was still smiling as I exited reception. It took me a moment to realise I’d entered into a cool dark green garden, sheltered from the sun, I’m all alone. The Spanish know how to generate shade. I suppose it’s key to surviving here. It feels like I’m being hugged, I feel grateful to the man who decided to create this place even if it’s not exactly where he thought it was. Happy mistake.
While I was at the museum Denis was enjoying a coffee with this view! Toledo is very surprisingNearly forgot the map!
Thursday we left the big truck parking and made our way to Segovia, the name was so beautiful but the parking was beside a bull fighting arena. There were fortunately no bulls. As it was an overcast day and our parking spot was not attractive, we moved on. To the edge of a small town called Vegas de Matute.
Stone walls in Vegas de Matute remind me of the west of Ireland
Very different setting, all stone houses in the centre and small ploughed plots of land on the outskirts. The town was empty except for two women chatting in the tiny grocery shop where I bought bread. We had originally picked this parking location because of a restaurant with good reviews nearby… unfortunately closed until tomorrow but don’t worry about us, we had a long date pasta bolognaise waiting in the fridge along with the crusty bread.
Also unknown
The clouds lifted in the afternoon and I took advantage of a perfect bench nearby to enjoy the moment. I had noticed lots of wild flowers, that morning, ones I had never seen before. Of course I took pictures and just as well because in the afternoon they were all gone!
All gone
A very loud strimmer had woken me from my siesta (yes, a necessity after my night with the prawns) but I never thought the flowers might be in danger. But sitting on my perfect bench I saw the flowers were gone – murdered by an unseen strimmer.
Oh… my phone thinks this might be poison hemlock…
Although, that might be hearsay as I only heard it, I never actually saw anyone. I didn’t even seen the strimmer machine. All I can be sure of is the flowers were alive and well in the morning…
Might need a new map – Vegas de Matute is on top of the P in Spain
Take pictures when you can everything has a lifespan.
Wednesday, we set off from Palencia in the direction of Madrid. Probably not going to Madrid, cities are hard work with a bigger vehicle. We had been told about Toledo a few years ago when the temperatures were too high for a comfortable visit. It was positively chilly-ish at the moment… Let’s go see Toledo!
The view
I can no longer remember what we had been told about the city so we will have to look it up but there’s loads of time we are travelling more slowly and we won’t reach Toledo until Friday. What will we discover? Beautiful buildings? Interesting history? Nature and wildlife? I wonder will there be parking for us? Or public transport?
Big sky
We spent Wednesday night in the middle of rolling farmland, as far as the eye could see. Navalmanzano services has a petrol station, plenty of parking, a small shop, toilets, and a cafeteria serving breakfast lunch and dinner. We were almost the only ones in the enormous parking, so we could park anywhere, we went up the back, away from the road. Denis started work while I ambled around taking photos of fluffy clouds.
Lone tree
It was surprisingly quiet all day with only birdsong and a sky full of my favourite clouds. The cafeteria was busy and absolutely packed between 1pm and 4pm when multi generational families arrived for lunch. The food looked great, very simple homemade style and served all day so it was still available when we were ready in the evening.
Noisy neighbours
Just before bedtime we noticed the parking was filling up and a new truck had parked beside us. Judging by the photo on the side it was full of prawns. We didn’t realise the significance of this until much, much later… sometime around midnight, I’d guess.
Night, night prawns
Food trucks need refrigeration and this one definitely had refrigeration. All through the night the fridge turned on and off at intervals, to keep the prawns comfortable. The odd thing for me was I woke up in silence and was about to get back to sleep when I heard the noise start. Can silence wake you? Seems like the noise of the refrigeration motor lulled me to sleep and the silence woke me up. Denis slept right through the silence and the noise.
The black (with a touch of red) dots – journey to Navalmanzano
Sunday afternoon, we finally arrived in Spain. And spent the night in a supermarket carpark. The supermarket was closed. It is closed every Sunday… there’s something we did not remember about Spain.
Old bridge in Palencia
Next morning we topped up the groceries, had a Spanish coffee and set off. It still feels like we haven’t arrived at our destination yet. It makes me feel unsettled and disturbed. I’m starting to realise this happens every time and now might be a good time to get comfortable with the discomfort. Or at least stop resisting the discomfort. Maybe get comfortable deciding that everywhere we go we arrive at a destination. Or maybe comfortable with the idea that there really is no destination. This kind of travel means we will be continuously travelling until we turn around and travel back. I’ve never thought of it like that before. Is that what we do all our lives…?
Pedestrian Streets
On Monday after the supermarket we drove to the town of Palencia about 90 minutes south west. That night we found a tapas bar for dinner. Another thing we had forgotten about Spain, the Spanish eat dinner much later so no food at the first two places we tried. Number three was successful even thought we were the only ones ordering food. People were dropping in to meet friends, to stop on their way from work, from minding a grandchild or to watch football on the tv. Everyone was offered a tiny bread roll with a slice of ham, a potato croquette skewered on top. Sounds odd? Tastes surprisingly amazing and gives you a bit of an appetite for more plus due to the saltiness of the ham, an appetite for drinking. Ingenious marketing.
I remembered to take a picture (of the least photogenic but very tasty dish we have had on this journey…)
We ate our little rolls and stared hard at the menu. Everything was in Spanish and we could have done with a few photos, like the Japanese menus but it was not to be. We ordered four tapas dishes, or so we thought. We had actually ordered one (chicken, salad and chips) dinner and one tapas (spicy chorizo). It was all tasty and no one seemed to notice us eating from a single dinner plate.
One of the many churches in the center of Palentia
Tuesday morning we walked into town for coffee. Two coffees, one pastry and change from €5… we had forgotten that about Spain too. When Denis left to start work I started my work – people watching. My favourite was the lady reading a book with her coffee while her dog snoozed on her lap, his little head supported by her arm. An older couple sat close together, arms intertwined, him staring off into the distance, her reading quietly to him from a newspaper. A younger man carrying a bulging, battered red rucksack with an umbrella sticking out the side. When he maneuvered his tray into a nearby table I noticed his ankles were very swollen. Had he been walking for days? Was he unwell?
Lapdog
Sitting here in this cafe, I have arrived, sharing space with these humans and this dog is my destination today. This is more than enough
And we’re back in Osaka. We arrived by bullet train but I slept through most of it. I’m coming down with something. (If you’re waiting for pictures of the toilets on the bulletin board train, sorry, we’ll be travelling again at the end of the week and hopefully I’ll be awake enough to go check them out!)
We arrived in Shin-Osaka station again and took the metro 9 stops to our hotel. When we got out at the station we realised we were somewhere very different. Our first hotel near the bridge to the airport was in a very modern area but here we have gone back in time. The streets are full of people, shops, food stalls, lights, casinos, and a train the crosses the footpath and runs between the buildings.
Walking along the footpath and the train comes out between two buildings… this is different but it works
There are also plenty of combinis. The combini is a convenience store. A corner shop would be similar except the combini provides so much. You want to get tickets printed? Go to the combini. You want a cold snack, a microwave snack and you don’t have a microwave, go to the combine. You want to post within Japan, get groceries or hot coffee, cold coffee, toothpaste?Combini is for you. They are literally on every street, maybe twice or three times. There’s two names we keep seeing, 7Eleven and Lawsons but there’s plenty more.
Here’s some – HOT – coffee at the combini. There is heat coming from the shelves keeping the drinks hot. There’s also a coffee machine if you want your coffee old school
We were looking for a throat gargle and realise there something the combini doesn’t do – medicines. We looked up and down the streets for the blue cross international symbol for chemist or medical centre but there was nothing. Passing a small doorway, which looked like the entrance to a storeroom I could see an old counter. Further in some basic shelves with what looked like boxes of medicine. I don’t know what made them look like medicine, are all medicines a particular colour or hue? Maybe. Anyway I was willing to walk into this tardis and find out.
The chemist
We approached the counter. A woman in a white mask appeared and using a combination of phone translate and miming to gargle, she understood and brought us something and even explained how to use it. Easy. Even easier was when we got back to the hotel we saw there were instructions in English on the box too. Easy.
Inside the chemist
We have stayed at three different hotels on this trip so far and we will stay at two more before we leave and each has been different and great in their own way. The first one had a great view, a deep bath and hot water all the time, there was also loads of space for charging our phones, watches and laptop. The second one was smaller but adorable for that with so much squeezed into the space. The powerful shower in your room and an onsen on the 14th floor.
The gargle medicine
An onsen is a public bath where everyone is comfortable being naked. Yes, what a great opportunity to try something different and so handy in our hotel (which by the way was a fraction of the cost of a hotel in Dublin). But alas no, we did not take the opportunity. It sounded lovely and warm and relaxing (maybe not relaxing now that I think of it) you shower first before you go in and the main rule is you can’t wear anything in there, not even a towel. I’m not sure but I think there’s separate male and female areas? Probably.
We’re near the Tsutenkaku Tower
Now this hotel, closer to the centre of Osaka, is more like an apartment with part time reception. We have a large fridge, bins, hob, microwave, bath, shower and balcony – with our very own emergency ladder… We have to work out how to heat the water though. There are instructions but I tried last night and each time a Japanese voice told me something but I don’t know what. I’ll try again. I’d love a bath, the Japanese baths are so deep. But just on my own…
Sunset by the tracks… of the train, that crosses the footpath
We had a plan this morning to go for breakfast at a traditional cafe just around the corner. It was hard to find because it didn’t stand out but inside it was like we’d gone back in time. There was a sign saying no photos, so I’m sorry to say there are no photos instead I’ll try to paint a picture.
Here’s the outside of our breakfast cafe. A secret doorway to deliciousness
Everything is in dark wood, there’s a counter to the right with seats and behind the counter an older lady is making coffee with very strange implements. On the right are a number of tables, maybe five filled with customers. The coffee making implement is like a large glass with a test tube coming out of the base. Where the glass and tube meet there’s a paper filter squished and layered in place. The older lady is putting ground coffee into the glass and adding water. She swirls the water. And the coffee drips out from the tube. She is doing this continuously making coffee for all the people here. Her assistant is younger, maybe a daughter? They have a very familiar relationship and it seems like the older lady is the boss.
Lunch was takeaway, less subtle but equally delicious
The very friendly assistant brings us a menu (with English names) and we order coffee and toast, normal for Denis and cinnamon for me. The toast is what we used to call a doorstep – really thick cut, maybe two inches thick (5cm). It’s very lightly toasted so that the bread in the middle is still soft and it’s also slightly gooey. When you pull it apart it separates in layers. It is divine. Definitely worth the calories. Our coffee comes in white china cups on saucers. As we eat and drink I notice behind the counter there are shelves with more old china cups and saucers and tea pots. And a small drawing of the coffee apparatus with some Japanese writing, I imagine someone who enjoyed this experience drew it and wrote, Thank you for the coffee.
There’s the train on the footpath again!
Leaving, the old lady and her assistant say, goodbye and we say, Arigatō (thank you) and smile, she gets back to her coffee and we get back to wandering. I suppose it goes to show you can’t be judging the inside by the outside, be it chemist or cafe… or your body in the onsen?
We were finally able to leave the room and our adventures in Osaka could begin. We needed to buy tickets for the bullet train – real name, the Shinkansen – and we’d heard from the son that they were selling fast as this is holiday time for the Japanese. Although we had travelled very successfully the one stop from the airport to our hotel (go us!) buying the bullet train tickets meant we would have to navigate a larger area. Osaka was an hour away from our hotel.
See, very easy…
You thought we were in Osaka? So did I. There are over 2 million people living in Osaka so it’s a little spread out. It would take time to get into the center and the ticket office where you buy the tickets for the Shinkansen. We could of course have bought the tickets online but physically going there meant we would be familiar with the route on the day.
The windows in the train have blinds! And a very handy little table to forget your phone on…
We had breakfast at the hotel – a one off luxury for a day filled with “how do we…?” Turned out it would be the same silver train, we travelled on from the airport, that we would need to go to Osaka. No problem. We had a maps app but also the train announcements (which were very clear) were in English as well as Japanese. Plus the signage at the station was in Roman letters (so we were able to read the station names as we passed).
Osaka Castle
Our small amount of experience so far has led us to believe that everyone in Japan is very polite and this was demonstrated as another couple came to sit in the seats opposite us. They approached, smiled and bowed and when they had our attention they bowed again and took their seats. I was surprised by how quickly I got used to returning a bow. In the morning I was giving a quick nod (like, I see ya – how’s it going?) progressing to a full head nod and by afternoon I was fully engaged with palms together plus bow from the waist. That last one usually eliciting a laugh from every Japanese recipient! (I asked Shiori tonight why that might be and she suggested it might be more of a religious greeting… not entirely appropriate. I’ll probably let that go from now on then.)
The gardener at the castle had swept up the leaves into a Happy New Year 2024 message!
We had to change train lines from our silver train but that was pretty straightforward, as I said the signage is excellent. We were soon at Shin-Osaka where we were to buy our tickets. It’s a huge station but eventually we found the ticket office and queued up. The queueing is very polite also. When we got to a ticket booth and asked the assistant if she spoke English she said, “a little” so we asking for tickets for a train on Monday. She lifted her iPad and spoke into it and then showed us what she had written. Turned out we had queued in the wrong line, this one was the Tickets for Today Only queue. Oh. But.. she spoke into her iPad again and we read, “As you have queued I will serve you.” Needless to say I took this opportunity to practice my bowing.
Close up to the castle
We were so bowled over with our success with the tickets in spite of our wrong queuing that we decided to continue our adventure with coffee and a castle, Osaka Castle. Denis worked out the route – all by train – and we were soon having coffee and tea in Tullys cafe followed by a walk to the castle.
The receipt coffee, tea, sandwich and biscuit
Months ago when I was thinking about our trip to Japan one of the things I wanted to do was walk along the streets looking at ordinary things. As the castle was closed for the holidays we had time to carry on to the food market and instead of taking the train we walked the 40 minutes through the streets. I took lots of pictures of ordinary things, like signs, manhole covers, traffic lights – their traffic lights sit side by side not one above the other! And they drive on the left like us.
Traffic lights are always in a row…
My feet were sore by the time we arrived but I was happy we had done it. The market is called Kuromon and runs along several streets which are covered. It was packed with people and so overwhelming it took us a couple of passes before we found a place to sample food. The food was called Takoyaki and had little bits of octopus in balls of flour batter – it was very tasty. We got a variety of flavours for about €4.
Food market checked out we headed for the station – Namba. It’s a huge place with shops, shopping centers and cafes. We revisited our old familiar coffee shop and had another experience of Japanese culture.
Takoyaki. Yum!
I was in charge of the purchasing while Denis went off to look for a place to buy a battery, my phone was depleting fast with all the photos I was taking and his with all the navigating. But he came back empty handed and instead found a table while I continued to queue. I explained (in English, granted) to the server that I wanted a one shot and a two shot americano and a small cake to share. The very nice polite young man asked if I wanted the cake heated and I said, “I don’t know I’ve never had it before what do you do?” The poor guy had to go ask a colleague what was I talking about… The colleague had better English and when he realised what I was asking smiled and said “I have it heated.” (Excellent choice, by the way!)
One shot americano and two shots and warm cake. Yum!
I paid and waited at the coffee queue. Time passed, so much so the lady queuing beside me turned to ask me what I was waiting for and called the barista over. She told him I was waiting for an americano. The americano came… on its own. So I asked the lady for help again but my receipt only mentioned one coffee and cake… as the receipt was only in Japanese symbols I hadn’t realised the mistake. “Ok, I’ll be back”, I brought the coffee and cake down to Denis. He said “it’s grand, we’ll share the coffee”, so I waved to the barista that it was ok. Next thing he was beside me saying he was so sorry and I was saying it’s ok and he was asking where are were from and we were saying Ireland (and we were exchanging addresses again – no, not really) and everyone was smiling. Off he goes but returns with two shots of espresso… he must have been trying to understand what had got lost in translation. I was really touched and practiced more bowing and more smiling but it wasn’t over yet.
My new favourite drink, called Sweat because it has electrolytes
On the way out the first guy was clearing tables and he stopped to apologise for his English, so I apologised for my Japanese and Denis took the opportunity to ask for directions to an electronics shop to buy the phone battery. And didn’t the lovely guy take the time to look at Denis’ map and point us in the right direction. As we were going I automatically performed my palms together bow saying thank you. (Well, I didn’t know about the inappropriateness of it yet…) He thought this was hilarious and we all left happier than we had been when we arrived.
Namba at night
It was dark when we reached the exit of the station, this was a big surprise as we had been underground and just assumed it was still daylight outside. The streets look very different at night, full of lights and very pretty. We found the electronics shop and headed home. It was now around 6pm, we’d had a very long day – our first full day in Japan and it was feeling like time for bed but we weren’t going to make that mistake again. We went to find dinner. The first restaurant we picked was closed but we found another thanks to a man at the train station who noticed our confusion.
Namba again
The restaurant looked like a traditional Japanese restaurant with low tables and cushions on the floor. Fortunately, they could see we were definitely not supple enough for that carry on and the waitress gave us seats by the bar. She suggested the house special and we picked two other dishes and shared everything. It was really good, we are definitely enjoying Japanese flavours. Then it was 8pm and now we could probably go to bed without fear. And it wasn’t as bad as the previous night so there’s hope as each day passes it will get easier. Whatever happens it will have been worth it!
We’re getting on grand with chopsticks
P.S. By now you may have seen the news of an earthquake on the west coast of Japan – nowhere near us. We were outdoors visiting a shrine – a very popular thing to do here on New Year’s Day, to increase your good luck for the year ahead. All our phones got alerts just moments before we felt slight movement. It reminded me of when you’re in a lift and it starts moving. We’re safe and happy and wish the same for you this new year’s evening in Japan xxx
Did I tell you that I don’t want to go to any more war museums or aircraft museums or army museums…? To me they are places to go if you want to be sad. Denis loves them and so he was really excited when he saw that we would be passing very close to the Imperial War Museum on our route home. For the first time I asked him why is he so excited about going to a place where you see lots of machines for killing people. He was a little taken aback by my question. He sees the bravery of pilots and the technological advances of engineering that made these machines escape gravity and fly where I see death.
Some planes…
It interests me when anyone (even my husband!) is excited about something. As a socially uncomfortable introvert I need all the hacks I can get to lower the level of discomfort I often feel when talking to people in a social setting. I always put too much energy into the conversation and try really hard to cheer everyone up or tell them something interesting. My less uncomfortable friends tell me this is not necessary. All I need to do is ask the other person about themselves.
Little people. Big planes.
How hard could it be to ask someone about themselves? Unfortunately, I have somehow got it into my mind that asking someone about themselves is an invasion of privacy. Is it covered by GDPR? What if I ask some I’ve just met where they are from and they think I’m going to follow them home? Or write them long newsy letters? If I ask them what they work at, will they think I’m being nosey? Or shallow? While I’m wondering these things my level of anxiety increases but I smile bravely, so that they are not alarmed. And silence follows.
Escape ladder in the test Concorde…
I think I mentioned a lady talking to me in the supermarket queue when we were in Bury St. Edmonds, didn’t I? She was a very chatty person. I had no anxious thoughts, thankfully, after all it wasn’t what I would consider a social occasion. She wasn’t expecting much from me and the odd nod and smile was enough. And maybe that was why I was brave and actually asked her a question. At some point in the conversation she said, “I must be bored I’m sorry I’m chatting your head off” and I asked her what she liked to do when she wasn’t bored.
There’s something not quite right about this map…
She paused for only a moment. Then her face lit up with a smile and she told me all about her garden and her grandchildren playing in her garden. Her happy energy made me smile too and we might have been there still except the Tesco cashier said, “next please”. We waved to each other as I left the shop and she made me think I could – maybe – crack the social anxiety.
Planes hang from the ceiling of the huge hanger…
The thing someone loves about their life is magical, just talking about it has the potential to change their energy. And not just their energy, ours too. And that’s why I went to the Imperial War Museum. It wasn’t too bad, I only felt sad when I saw the empty bag of fertiliser in the Northern Ireland exhibit. Denis didn’t see it, he saw lots of technology and really loved it.
Up up in the clouds
Summary: People are very interesting in the way they love different things. Encouraging someone to talk about the thing they love can have magical effects. Query: What do you love?
This is an apple tree under one of the front windows. Can you see an apple?
Urban Huttleston Rodgers Broughton (also known as Lord Fairhaven) bought Anglesey Abbey with his brother in 1926, he continued to live in the house after his brother had married and moved out. In 1966 when he died he left the house, its contents and the gardens to the National Trust.
The John Constable painting
The library is upstairs at the end of a long corridor. It has high ceilings and lots of books but the first thing you see as you enter the door is a huge painting on the wall opposite. It’s a John Constable original called The Opening of Waterloo Bridge, from 1817.
The shelves are recycled wood from Waterloo Bridge
I hadn’t noticed the painting when I first walked in but a volunteer in the Wardrobe Project told me to go back and have a look when I said I found it very interesting that the the wooden shelves with the books are made from salvaged wood… from the Waterloo Bridge. I didn’t check but I’m guessing the bridge needed updating after a hundred years of service and Urban was looking for wood. But maybe he was also interested in recycling? A man ahead of his time? But there’s something else that’s interesting about the library – the window.
This is the window in the library…
A different volunteer asked me if I’d heard about the window, no I hadn’t. So she walked me to one end of the room and pulled back the curtain. Do you see the signatures? No. No way, yes I do… is that…? Urban was very friendly with royalty, the late queen and the present king included. And here scratched on the glass were their signatures.
…and here’s a close up of a section. Can you see the names scratched on the glass?
The Wardrobe Project involves cleaning all 12,000 pieces of Urban’s clothing using a very particular vacuum cleaner that can be set to gentle with a very odd attachment – a goat haired brush. After cleaning each piece of clothing is tagged with a six digit inventory code which is printed on a label and stitched to the piece of clothing. And two of the people involved were vacuuming what looked like plus-four trousers when I walked into the room. I wanted to ask questions but they had more than enough to be doing with the cleaning.
The inventory tag
As I mentioned in the previous post my favourite part of the house was the kitchen because it was full of familiar old things. Like the red melamine table and chairs set – we had one of those when I was little!
Little red melamine table and chair
And the fairy soap? Ok we didn’t have the soap but we had (and I still use) fairy washing up liquid. And the weighing scales with the individual weights? The grocery shop in our street used a weighing scales with weights to weight out biscuits and cheese.
Fairy Soap at the kitchen sink
The kitchen was made up of a few different rooms downstairs and it was the last section of the house visit. Next was out into the gardens. I had already walked by the lawn and forested section but now I was on my way to the Dahlia garden. There seemed to be a lot of interest in the Dahlias, so I considered skipping them but I’m glad I didn’t.
Individual weights on the weighing scales
Visiting the Dahlia Garden reminded me of something long forgotten… I almost bought dahlia bulbs to plant in the garden when I was a young Mum. They were so vibrant and colourful and something about planting an ugly bulb that would surprise me by growing into something beautiful caught my attention. But as soon as I read the bit on the instructions where you have to dig them up at the end of their season and replant the following year I put them back. Knowing I would forget to dig them up and then feel guilty when they died had put me off.
Teatime
The bed of dahlias were first planted in 1952, there are 60 varieties and contain all the colours of the rainbow plus white. They are hidden behind a hedge and set in a curve so that you only see one or two colours at a time as you approach. There’s a quote from Urban on the information board, “The subtle thing about garden design is that no one can resist seeing what happens around a curve.”
Dahlias
I was taking lots of close up photos when I heard a couple chatting… to the flowers? There are full time gardeners employed here at Anglesey Abbey and one of them was in among the flowers, deadheading. The couple were talking to him and asking about taking up the bulbs at the end of the season. There’s no way they dig up the bulbs from all these flowers. Is there? And if they don’t dig up the bulbs then maybe I could give dahlias another chance.
Happy Dahlias!
It turns out they don’t exactly dig up the bulbs… they dig up pots. They plant each new bulb in a pot and plant the pot in the garden. Then at the end of the season they dig up the pots with the bulbs still in and store pot and bulb in the (potting?) shed until next year.
Dahlias and the gardener
Summary: Lord Fairhaven (Urban) was a man before his time. Interested in recycling, garden design, reading and long lasting clothing, he had lots of friends and he let the royal ones graffiti his windows. Query: Will the Dahlias die if I don’t dig them up?
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