Wishing I were here again!

Memory is a funny thing, don’t you think? Exactly one month ago today hubby and I were meandering about the gardens of this delightful old Inn and today it seems like nothing more then a faded dream. It’s strange how time swiftly flows from one season to the next.

I could easily imagine myself living in this weence Tudor cottage beyond the enchanted garden gate. On cold misty mornings I’d sit by the window sipping a hot cup of tea while gazing out the leaded glass panes.

Or I may decide to linger by the window seat on the upper landing while listening to the birds serenading in the trees.

Perhaps one would land on the open sill and whistle a tune from exotic lands far far away.

Then I would ready myself for whatever the day might bring.

I’d tip toe out the door, through the gate, and across the lawn to the old stone arch. I’d pass beneath all the brambly leaves and moss growing in its shade. I’d step out into the sun and wish the world a good morning.

All Pictures taken on the grounds of the English Inn Victoria B.C.

The Garden Keepers Cottage

Well, hello again, and welcome back!

You’ve found me wandering the gravel path that leads from one themed garden to the next on the grounds of Hatley Park. While all the gardens were beautiful this particular little patch of ground tugged at the strings of my heart.

In the very center of the garden sat this sweet little Tudor Cottage with its unadorned windows and simple front door. A humble little home that I’m sure has been filled with much love and laughter down through the years.

Imagine waking each morning to the sound of bird song and not another person in sight. 

Quiet solitude! My idea of paradise! I only say this because my cottage is so close to my neighbors that she can peer out her windows to my gardens below. On the other side of the wall are conversations I’d rather not hear at all.

 

“Many morns I have strolled along the red brick path only to find my dreamy thoughts invaded from without.”

The air dripped with the warm scent of lavender bushes that were planted to one side of the gardeners cottage.

And then there was this lovely garden gate leading to yet another garden that lay beyond. But alas, the castle tour was about to begin so back up the path we wandered.

I think next time we’ll meet in the Italian Gardens, if that’s ok with you ;-).

Hatley Park, British Columbia

Or as my hubby called it, "The search for Wolverine."

You most likely don't know this about me, but I'm a HUGE Sci-Fi Fan!!!

HUGE!!! GinORmOUS!!!!!

I can't get enough of Sci-Fi!! Please don't be disappointed with me! I just can't help myself!!!

So, when I found out that X-Men had been filmed at Hatley Park I just had to see it. Now I can die happily knowing that I walked the same halls that Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman walked ;-).

OK! Sorry for the drama...back to the post.

Hatley Castle was built for James Dunsmuir a wealthy Canadian businessman and took 18 months to complete. His father had built a smaller castle in Victoria but died before ever being able to move in so James decided his castle had to be built quickly so he could enjoy it. He was quoted as saying, "Money doesn't matter, just build what I want."

This view is the front of the castle with the huge Port Cochiere and the small Italian garden out front. Can you imagine pulling up in your coach and stepping out under the massive stone structure?
It must have been a sight to see.

These are the front doors and you should see the hardware. It's very impressive. On either side of the door, sculpted out of stone, are a head of James and his wife Laura who are both wearing crowns. There was no mistaking who was head of this castle.

Before the shooting for X-men began, this room was completely repainted in the colors that you see and refurbished for filming, but after all the work not one piece of footage was shot in the room.

The castle is surrounded by many beautiful gardens with different themes. This gate leads to the rose garden and just to give you an idea of it's scale...

That's me standing at 5'-1" peeking out from behind it.

It was a HUGE gate. Only one of many.

That is just a teeny tour of the castle and grounds and there's so much more, but it will have to wait for another day. I'm tired and need some rest.

xoxo Cori

Hello!

Hello! I'm just peeking in for a moment to let you all know I'm still here. And, yes! I remember that I promised a post about Hatley Park, but it'll have to wait until some time tomorrow evening...that's Thursday.

In the mean time, we're experiencing the most lovely rain along with gray clouds and cold weather. How I love the rain and the freshness it brings!!!

Until tomorrow evening I hope you all have a great day!!!

xoxo Cori

Wandering the grounds of the English Inn

Here we are again in the beautiful gardens of the Englsh Inn. They have an exact replica of Anne Hathaways cottage that is the most charming little structure I've seen in a very long time.

 The flower beds were over-grown and needed a wee bit of attention, but I think that added to the over all enchantment of the grounds. The colors were amazing what with the leaves turning and the boxwood dressed in bright yellow and orange. You can see a peek of them in the picture below and two more down.

The cottage roof needed a bit of repair work as some of the thatching was missing and I wondered how many birds have stopped there to pick up some home improvements for their own nests.

 

Looking out from the garden to the buildings beyond.

 

 Hubby stopped to examine the construction of the crude Medieval chairs that were surprisingly comfortable. He actually preferred these to the chairs in the restaurant we had eaten in the day before...hmmm.

Oh look! Could it be?

Is that the lamp the leads to Spare Ooom and the lands beyond the Wardrobe?

The gardens and grounds did have a magical feel about them.

Almost as if we were there.

 

The trees adorned in their autumn colors.

The Village of Shakespeare was all but abandoned.

Not a soul in sight.

 

One morning hubby and I decided to have breakfast in the sunken garden. We wandered through the path and down the stone steps that led to the garden follie at the heart of the garden. Strolling across the lawn something caught my eye. When I turned to look he was about four feet away and staring right at me. Mind you, I've been attacked by a deer before so what do I do? I stop...say hello...and back out of the garden ever so quietly. He stood as silent as a statue the entire time we ate. Hubby offered him a peice of his bannana, but he just sniffed it and went back to standing watch over his beautiful garden so we left him in peace and went about our way.

There are so many pictures of the grounds that I'd like to share with you, but there were other places we visited and other garden to share...like Hatley Park...that I believe was my favorite so I'll share it next...
until then, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Oh Ellen B., have you been to Hatley Park?

You may need to go visit it very soon :-).

The English Inn

Well, we are back from our vacation, or as the English call it, "Holiday," and we had a wonderful time. Our first nights stay was in the small island town of Anacortes where we were to catch the Ferry bright and early the next morning. The place we stayed was made up of a series of tiny cottages dotted about the hill side. Our little room was very cozy with a beautiful view overlooking a huge lawn that became the forest and eventually rolled down to the waters edge. We could see the ferry moored at the dock and the islands beyond. It was a very peaceful, quiet place filled with deer, squirrels and birds singing in the trees.

(The picture of the lawn with the Adirondack's was just outside our room).

The next morning we got up, boarded the ferry and cruised through the San Juan Islands. The ferry made several stops to take on more passengers and one of those stops was at Orcas Island. I almost booked one night in the Victorian Inn overlooking the ferry...now I'm kicking myself in the derriere for my stupidity...isn't life that way some times?

Once we reached Vancouver Island we had to find the English Inn where we'd be staying for the next three days. It was in an older neighborhood across the harbor from the Empress Hotel and just down the street from a Tim Horton's...so exciting!

As we drove through the neighborhood we came upon a stone gate and turned up the drive to find this beautiful arched driveway.

We then turned under the port cocheire and entered the massive oak doors to find a blazing fire in the old stone fireplace. Sounds romantic, doesn't it? Well, I have to admit, I may have exaggerated a wee bit as there was no fireplace, but it was beautiful all the same...a huge room with oak paneling and a massive staircase in the center of the room that led to the second floor landing...

with these gorgeous stained glass windows.

This is where the fireplace was located, with a cozy seating area and the only place in the entire Inn where you could access the internet...via a wire. The lovely apparatus on the desk was a broken computer with a note on it saying it was out of order. I found this to be a bit strange, but what else would one expect from a lovely old Inn?

(A view  from the gardens)

Our room was filled with antiques and had a lovely glassed in porch with a balcony that overlooked the sunken garden and beyond to the sea, plus a claw foot tub. Hubby and I both agreed that we could stay in that room for the rest of our lives and be perfectly happy. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to go back in three years for my fiftieth birthday...unless of course one of us dies or we get raptured out of here before then...ha ha ha!!!

Anyway, there was so much to see and do and so much that we wanted to see, but didn't have time to do so another trip is definitely on the horizon.

Now I have to unpack and get some things done around my weence little cottage AND HOPEFULLY I'll be able to post about the gardens tomorrow.

Until then, I hope you all have a great day!

xoxo Cori

Greetings to all of my wonderful friends out in Bloglandia!

I just wanted to let you know that I may be missing from the neighborhood for a few days. Hubby and I will be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning to fly up north for about 5 days. We'll be spending three days in a lovely old English Inn surrounded by 5 acres of English gardens and it's own replica of Anne Hathaway's Cottage. I can hardly wait to wander the grounds each morning and explore the little village.

So until I return I hope you all have a lovely time enjoying the beginnings of Autumn.

xoxo Cori

The first fog of Autumn was so lovely here at Brambleberry Cottage.

Angelino Heights

Los Angeles is home to some of the most beautiful Victorian Architecture, but there's one neighborhood in particular that is filled with cottages and homes that have been perfectly restored to their former glory. That is the neighborhood of Angelino Heights.

Several months back my s-i-l, Donna and I went to a tea at Heritage Park Square and a few days ago my friend Ellen B of The Happy Wonderer posted about her trip to the Park.

It was then that I remembered Donna and I driving around L.A. tired and worn out from a hot day in the sun, but determined to find these architectural gems just so I could take pictures of them for you ; ). Plus she and I really wanted to see them for ourselves.

Construction in the Angelino Heights suburb of L. A. began in the mid 1880's and came to a sudden stop due to the banking recession of 1889. The neighborhood is made up of several different styles including Queen Anne, Eastlake, Mission Revival, and Craftsman.

Many of the homes in the neighborhood are used in Hollywood films and TV shows. Have you ever seen the series, "Charmed"? I can't say that I've ever watched it, but the house used in the series was just down the street from this one.

Donna and I wandered around the neighborhood for awhile and found no one to stop and talk with. Well, there was one old guy who was the caretaker of one of the homes. He kept giving us little facts and tid-bits about the goings on, but that was several months ago and I simply can't remember a thing he said.

Old doors. How I love old doors. You never know what you'll find on the other side. Hopefully a warm hearth and a steaming cup of tea.

Prescotture

Prescott + Architecture = Prescotture. I just made it up...
I know it's lame, but I couldn't help myself...
sometimes a girl just has to be that way...smile!

The sun rising on Prescott Arizona. Such a pretty sight, don't you think? I took this shot through the hotel room window Saturday morning. I was so excited to greet the day that I hardly slept the night before.

When we drove into town we came upon this huge hill and as we crested the top all you could see was the Arizona flag proudly waving beside the beautiful flag of the United States of America.
Our flag, yours and mine. Another beautiful sight.

Sweet hubby behaving like the goofball that he is. Our first night in Prescott he decided he wanted to eat steak and to be waited on so I let him choose the restaurant. We found ourselves in a bar-b-que joint with funny signs everywhere. One said, "Your mothers not here so clean up after yourself." Another, "We prepare our food fresh everyday! If we say we've run out that means we have no more food, so please come back tomorrow!" And no, we were not waited on but waited on ourselves, picked up our food at the counter, and threw our trash in the trash can, but what GREAT bar-b-que we ate!
See hubby's shirt? He's a proud blood donor and wears this shirt quite often. Every time he puts it on he asks me if he looks dumb and my answer is always the same, "yes Honey, you look very dumb, but your still cute!" Do ya think maybe it's time to go buy new clothes? Yah! ME TOO!

During the evening the sky looked very strange and all the colors disappeared into shadows.

We were told its been a cold spring and all the beautiful trees that line the square haven't even begun to bloom. All was grey but beautiful still.
The town is built with the old court house at the center.

It was so cold in the evenings that we could wear our loady jackets. Here's sweet hubby sitting on the steps of the court house. Such a darling man!

Some of the sweetest little Victorian cottages line the street along Senators Highway...

This one is brightly painted with the same colors as the Arizona flag...
how DARLING IS THAT!!!

This is a church done in the Romanesque style, but I don't remember what type of church. I was making hubby nuts with all my picture taking and he informed me that his life should not be dictated by the whim of my camera shutter...all I had to say to that was, "WELL!" and kept clicking away. He was of course kidding :).

This is the Post Office. Isn't the architecture beautiful? I think it's considered Renaissance Revival or maybe Beau Arts. Don't you love all the half facts I give you and can you image what kind of a tour guide I'd make? Not one with good facts, that's for sure!

That was just a small sampling of the architecture in Prescott, but there is so much more and I'd hate to bore you with it all so I'll just leave you with one last picture of our trip...

The sun setting on Prescott Arizona. There's almost nothing prettier in life than an Arizona sunset. This one was taken through the trees as the sun set over the Palace Saloon. One last pretty sight...sigh.