Several street performers were in the Abbey yard next to the Pump Room, including a one-man band, two “living statues,” and a gent doing stunts with a unicycle and juggling flaming torches! We watched for a while as we waited for our group to gather. At the last minute, my husband realized he’d left his hat in a vintage clothing shop several blocks away, so I offered to go back for it while everyone else went through the Roman Baths (I got to see them in March). Here you see our group gathered in the upper hall next to the Pump Room, which affords a bird’s-eye view of the Baths. Several opted to take the audio tour, which is fascinating to listen to. Below are Lindsay’s shots from the tour:

Looking down into the main Bath (the water is bubbling and warm).

Ana is enjoying herself!

Looking up at the Abbey from inside the Roman Baths

Two of the historical interpreters wanted my mother-in-law, who is a Latin tutor, to teach them some useful Roman phrases to use on the job!

What a glorious day!

Someone managed to snap our photographer in front of the main bath.

Beautiful Miss Cassie...

After retrieving the hat, I treated myself to tea and scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserves in the elegant Pump Room. Ah, bliss!

Lovely Miss Molly joins me at my table to drink in the trio's music.

Master Chancey decides to "take the waters" in the Pump Room. (Hint: the water tastes like sulfur and iron and comes out of the fountain warm. Not my cup of tea, thanks!)

We had time after the Baths to stroll around some more and get some last shots of beautiful places:

Looking into the River Avon from above. That's Pultney Bridge on the far left.

A flower stall on Pultney Bridge. Heavenly!

Several ladies decided to attend the Baroque Dance demonstration at the Pavilion later that night, and I’ll share photos from that next time!

18th-century gown of silk with silver trimmings.

Now, at the outset, I have to apologize for how dark most of these photos are. It’s not Lindsay’s fault at all. The Bath Fashion Museum has a fabulous collection, but, unfortunately, its displays are just about the worst when it comes to overall layout and, most especially, good lighting. You spend most of your time squinting into glass cases that reflect your own image back better than they showcase what’s inside. Yet some displays have lighting so bright that you have problems with overexposure. Suzi has refused on principle to visit the museum for years–LOL! But, all griping aside, the collection is lovely, and I hope in future they improve the layout and design. There’s such amazing potential in the Assembly Rooms for gorgeous display; it’s bound to happen one of these days. In the meantime, here’s a peek at what Lindsay captured.

A selection of ladies' underthings through the centuries. The ornate slips (teddies) are from the 1920s.

These incredibly detailed men's gauntlets are from the 1600s.

Gorgeous 18th-century saque-back gown, surrounded, oddly enough, by wine glasses. Go figure...

Sleeve detail from another 18th-century gown...

This Regency gown is absolutely covered in silvery beads.

Early 1830s gown with sheer sleeves over the trademark wide, puffed sleeves of the Romantic era.

Mourning dress that belonged to Queen Victoria. She was incredibly short-statured.

Ornate bustle gown from the 1880s.

Stunning ballgown from the 1890s.

And a close-up of the luscious bodice!

Wish I could show you more, but the lighting just didn’t give Lindsay enough help. Next time I’ll share pictures from our gorgeous Sunday in Bath!

Getting settled in our coach...

Friday morning we all gathered bright and early in the hotel lobby with our luggage in tow, ready to board our private coach. Unfortunately, our driver got hung up in West London traffic and didn’t make it to the hotel until nearly an hour later, so, after loading all the bags and settling in, we were already an hour and a half behind schedule. I called Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton as we drove away to let them know we’d be running late, and we bade a fond farewell to South Kensington and London. It had been a marvelous week, and we all looked forward to the delights of the English Countryside, traveling through beautiful Surrey, Hampshire, and Wiltshire on our way to Bath in Somerset.

The day was overcast and rather gloomy looking, and when we pulled into Chawton, the temperature was decidedly chilly. Most everyone pulled on sweaters and jackets, and I hoped this wasn’t a prediction of the weather for our weekend in Bath! But the grey skies couldn’t dampen our spirits, and we eagerly made our way to the lovely little cottage Jane Austen called home for eight years.

We're here! Calling on Miss Austen...

My sweet mother-in-law, overseas for the first time, is thrilled to visit Jane Austen's house!

A glimpse of the garden behind the house with its ivy-covered wall...

Miss Molly stands in the gateway of the garden wall...

Since the last time my husband and I visited Chawton in 2007, some amazing improvements have been made. The museum foundation has built a beautiful new visitor’s center in the back garden, using period architecture to make it blend in to the whole. The stables have been remodeled to house the new and vastly improved gift shop, which overflows with all things Austen. And the house itself has undergone some very tasteful renovations, using period wallpapers and paint colors to brighten the rooms and make them more like they would have looked in Jane’s day. The only unfortunate “update” is the addition of several inauthentic costumes sprinkled throughout the house. Our dear Suzi walked through the house grimacing and pointing out errors — such as the Tudor lace over modern chiffon on the “1820s” ballgown reproduction you see at right. Another mannequin boasted an empire-waist “work dress” with a modern kitchen apron tied around its natural waistline, a full foot below the waist of the gown itself! Much muttering and shaking of heads…. Happily, there were several authentic pieces on display as well, plus a couple of movie costumes, which I’ll share below.

The kitchen, which is at the back of the house.

The reception room, which includes a secretary filled with books from Rev. Austen's library and many first-edition volumes of Jane's.

The dining room/front room, which has the china set used by the Austen family. Jane's writing desk is tiny and tucked over in the corner next to the window, where she could observe village life.

One of the upstairs bedrooms with a costume from "Becoming Jane" (a film I do NOT recommend, by the way!)

Detail of Tom LeFroy's costume from "Becoming Jane"

The quilt hand-stitched by Jane, her sister Cassandra, and Mrs. Austen.

A very pretty dotted Swiss bib-front gown in the back hallway upstairs.

Okay, and now for some garden shots for all of you who love English gardens as much as I do!

Beautiful blooms, even in September!

Still more blooms...

Stopping to smell the roses climbing next to the back door...

And, finally, Lindsay had to capture a shot of Cassandra across the street at the tea room named after Jane’s sister. It’s an absolutely wonderful place to eat, but they don’t do large groups (sigh), so we had to push on to Winchester…

She's right at home!

Next time: Winchester Cathedral and Bath!

Admiring tiny ivory carvings in the sculpture gallery above the medieval plaster cast gallery.

We had an absolutely wonderful morning at the Victoria & Albert Museum, right here in South Kensington. We had a bit of trouble finding my friend, costumier Suzi Clarke, as we came in from the tube tunnel rather than Cromwell Road, so we took a little side detour into the sculpture gallery. Once we managed to find Suzi, we immediately launched into the costuming-focused displays. Instead of going straight into the fashion gallery, though, we took a side detour into the Asian Textiles exhibit, which had several gorgeous gowns made of India muslin and block printed Indian cotton:

A 1780s gown with tabbed bodice over petticoat -- made of scrumptious block-printed Indian cotton.

Close-up view of the tabs...

Yet another block-printed 1780s gown, this one with a simpler pointed front (the front closes with pins, which go into the stays and don't stick the wearer!).

Close-up of the bodice front...

Side view to show the back silhouette...

Detail of the wonderful printed cotton...

Regency gown of tamboured India muslin

Close-up of the tambouring on the bodice...

And sleeve detail -- look at that design!

Here is the "sister" dress to the first two block-printed gowns. This one has a jacket with tabbed front and flounce around the hips.

Close-up of the tabs crossing over the plain stomacher...

Sleeve detail (I tell you, folks, we were all drooling buckets by now! )

We moved on into the main fashion gallery, where Suzi and I took a seat in the center. Everyone else enjoyed wandering through the exhibit, photographing and sketching. Several came back to our central point with questions, which called for Suzi’s expert analysis and years of costuming wisdom — what a treat to have such a fantastic guide! Lindsay continued to shoot photos as we talked. She apologizes for the dimness of some of these, but lighting is deliberately kept low to prevent fading of the fabrics, so getting clear shots is a bit of a challenge.

Painted silk saque-back gown ca. 1770s...

Detail of the back...

Embroidered silk--this one a jacket over a skirt and petticoat...

A set of stays from the 1780s. I love the tabbed waistline on these.

We next attempted to get up into the Textile Room, which is buried in a far back corner of the third floor. The V&A is almost as confusing to navigate as the British Museum because of staircases that only go to every other floor with “half floors” in between in many places. We managed to get from two to four but couldn’t find our way to three without going through the British Galleries. However, these are some of my absolute favorite galleries to visit (one on the second floor and one on the fourth). I highly recommend them if you visit the V&A, as they are filled with beautiful portraits, furniture, and, yes, many historical garments (including James II’s wedding suit!). We tried our best to hurry through to the Textile Room, but it was like herding reluctant cats to get 24 people all heading in one direction! I didn’t mind. I know how distracting these galleries are, and there is so much to photograph (to see pictures of what’s here, check my posts from 2006).

We did finally make it up to the Textile Room, where frame after frame of fabric, embroidery, lace, and such awaits the eager student of fashion. Here are just a couple of things we pulled from the upright files:

Embroidered 18th-century stomacher

And here's another one...

You could spend absolute days in here, poring over beautifully preserved examples from the 1600s onward. But we began to run short on time, as half our group was headed to Suzi’s after lunch to view her private collection! So we all gathered for a delicious luncheon in the V&A Cafe’, which is one of the finest museum cafes anywhere with hot and cold dishes prepared by expert chefs. Some of our ladies continued to explore exhibits, while those going to Suzi’s headed to the tube.

Suzi's delicious tea spread, ready for our ladies!

Suzi shows off one of her Worth bodices.

And here's another beautiful one in turquoise silk...

And a Victorian bodice...

I’m speeding through highlights only in this post. We have hundreds upon hundreds of photos from yesterday! Wish I could share them all, but it’s just hit midnight here, and we’re heading to Greenwich at 8:15am to the Fan Museum! I’ll post about today’s fun tomorrow night.

Here are two final photos from yesterday — these of some of our ladies waiting in line at the Globe Theater for the evening performance of “As You Like It.”

Carilyn, Cassie, and Amanda, hamming it up and having fun.

Two mother-daughter pairs and one of our Aussies...

All but three of us opted for “Groundlings” tickets, which means standing room right around the stage — really the best view in the house. Being rather pregnant myself, I opted for a seat in the second tier right at the railing, renting a cushion to sit upon! We thoroughly enjoyed the play, complete with spectacular costuming as usual. Wish I could share photos, but no photography is allowed during performances. You’ll just have to come over here and get to the Globe yourself!

See you tomorrow!

I’ll be “live blogging” during our tour, September 10-17, and then again during our weekend extension to Bath for the opening of the Jane Austen Festival. Stay tuned for lots of wonderful photos by our group photographer, Lindsay Keen of Deep South Images.

We arrived rather breathlessly at 10:45am, 15 minutes late for my appointment with the costume curator, Susan North. Now, in my folly, I had not printed out Susan’s note with her phone extension on it, and when I asked for her at the desk, I said, “Susan Hunt.” Why I did this is beyond me, as Suzi had already corrected me on this in an early email when I got the name mixed up! I guess the mistake just stayed in my head. The poor ladies at the desk could find no “Susan Hunt” in the directory (naturally!), and when they called up to the fashion and textile office, they got an answering machine. They also called the other information desk to find out if anyone was waiting for me or had asked for me. No dice. So, Bria and I headed into the fashion exhibit, telling the ladies at the desk we’d be there if Susan Hunt ever turned up (which, of course, she didn’t!). I forgot to take out my camera the entire time, so these are all Bria’s from the V&A.

After browsing the fashion exhibit, we headed into the wonderful British galleries (1500-1780s), Bria stopping to snap lots of pictures. After that, we walked over to the medieval galleries, which were in the midst of being revamped. The only place open was the plaster cast room, which contains life-sized replicas of some of the most famous sculptures (pagan and Christian) in the world. Many were breathtakingly huge, and we wondered how on earth they were placed in the room! An artist was in this room with a large sheet spread out on the floor, sketching the exhibit in charcoal. Her work was really spectacular. Along one side of the gallery were many tomb effigies from the 12th and 13th centuries:

We wandered around, open-mouthed and exclaiming like a couple of Mark Twain’s “Innocents Abroad” until we decided it was time to head to Kensington Palace. We had noon lunch scheduled in Kensington’s Orangerie with Suzi Clarke and her friend, Anne, and we wanted to be in time for that!

The walk back to Kensington was cold but worth it. We went through the long park, passing the incredible memorial to Prince Albert placed by grieving Queen Victoria. It really is a sight to behold–more like a pagan shrine to a god than a memorial to a mere man, I must say! But we all know how Victoria loved Albert. He sits there in gilded majesty, looking kinglike save for the missing crown. He is surrounded by intricate sculptures, and paintings adorn the sides of the pergola under which he sits. There’s a big fence around this memorial that didn’t used to be there years ago — a testament to the times, I suppose. Though I can’t see why a terrorist would want to blow up Albert, as he sits alone in the middle of a vast park! Below is a close-up of his statue. It really is amazing.

We wended our way through the long park, enjoying the spring flowers beginning to peek out, and finally making our way to the palace proper. We passed this statue of Queen Victoria on our way around to the entrance:

As we passed the sunken garden, we could see the Orangerie on the right:

In Victoria’s time, this would have been a hothouse to grow fruit. It has now been transformed into an utterly charming restaurant:

We had arrived a few moments early, so we took our seats to wait for Suzi and Anne, who arrived only a tick or two later — perfect timing! Somehow in all the fun of greetings and eating, I totally forgot to get a photo of us together. Phooey. Suffice it to say that lunch was delicious and dessert exquisite. I had the traditional beef stew, while Bria had a rich broccoli soup. For dessert, Bria tried the raspberry meringue, and I had the special “Orangery Cake”–lemon and orange with citrus frosting. And, naturally, I added a pot of Earl Grey to my lunch! It was all prepared perfectly and served beautifully, and the atmosphere so friendly and warm. It will be such a delight to take our entire group to this wonderful place for lunch in the fall! Suzi and I talked over the itinerary, she providing lots of excellent suggestions for our day in Greenwich and talking about settling our museum dates. I told her I hadn’t been able to find Susan at the V&A, and she gave me a look of blank astonishment when I said, “Susan Hunt.” She then reminded me that the name was Susan North, and I felt like such an idiot! So I’d missed our appointment for no good reason–just my bad memory! I wrote an email of apology to Susan that night!

After a lovely hour’s visit, we parted ways, Bria, Benjamin, and I heading into the Palace for our short tour. Photography is, unfortunately, not allowed inside the palace, which is a shame. We skipped the audio tour, as we were short on time, but I hear it is excellent, and that’s what we’ll be doing this fall. At right you see the front exterior of the palace behind its low brick wall (close-up below). It has a wing to the far left as well. The interior has its grand spaces and amazing rooms, but when you see the Princess Victoria’s bedroom, you’re rather astonished that it isn’t grander. Then you recall her rather unhappy childhood and realize it’s just as it would have been. In one room is an exact replica of the dress Victoria wore on her first day as queen when she met with her privy counselors. It’s a black dress (mourning for King William) with a white pelerine–really very pretty. And when you see it, you realize afresh how small Queen Victoria was. She’d have come just above my shoulder.

We had a lovely time going through the rooms and halls of the palace, though we had to carry Benjamin’s stroller up and down several flights of stairs. Good exercise! There is a current exhibit about the last debutantes presented at court (to Queen Elizabeth II in 1958). The debutantes donated many of their gowns, stockings, gloves, and even lipstick to the exhibit. There’s a fun room where you can try out dance steps of the 1950s or learn a proper curtsey (the deep, bending kind you give to royalty at court). All in all, it was a fun stop, and I know our fall tour folks are going to enjoy it, especially as the gardens will be fuller then (they were just stirring to life while we were there).

From Kensington, we were slated to hop a bus to Brompton Cemetery so I could perform a favor for a family friend. I had in my possession a giant skeleton key to one of the most famous mausoleums in all of London. According to legend, this tomb inspired the father’s tomb in “The Phantom of the Opera.” It dates back to 1915, when oil tycoon James McDonald I was buried there. His wife and son are also buried with him, but no one since. James McDonald V lives in the states and asked if I’d drop by and check on the mausoleum, as it hadn’t been opened in years. He wanted to ascertain its condition and see if any cleaning or repairs needed to be done. Needless to say, this was a very exciting errand! Having been provided with a map to the cemetery, I was armed and ready. Bria and I headed back over toward South Kensington Station to find the right bus stop for our bus, but it eluded us. It was not in the spot the map told us it should be, so I finally went into a Whole Foods market that offered home delivery, figuring they should know what is where. Sure enough, they knew where we needed to go, and as we trotted up the street, we spotted our bus just reaching the curb. Hurrah!

It took about fifteen minutes to get to Brompton, but the street we stepped out onto provided no clues as to the location of the cemetery, and I wasn’t sure if we should turn right or left. Looking left, I spotted a funeral home office and knew they’d be able to direct me. I popped in the door and was greeted by such a stereotypical sight that it was all I could do not to burst out laughing. Two grave men (pun intended, I assure you!) were seated at matching desks, both wearing black suits with vests and black ties. Oh, how English! It was like something out of a Dickens novel. I fought back my smile and tried to look appropriately sober as I asked for the way to Brompton Cemetery. The younger man stood up and asked my business at the cemetery, to which I replied, “I’ve got a key to a mausoleum that I am to open and inspect.” He did not even bat an eyelash but replied, “Quite right; quite right.” Then he led me back to the doorway and pointed out where I needed to go — just two blocks down to the right. I thanked him and rejoined Bria, grinning at the whole scene. I’m sure it’s probably beyond normal in Britain to encounter Victorian-looking undertakers with three-piece suits, but it just tickled me!

We walked briskly down the street and entered the enormous cemetery gates. I was pretty sure we were at the wrong end of the cemetery, as this did not match my map, so I stepped into the “Friends of Brompton” office for assistance. The chap who came out positively pounced on the key and exclaimed, “We don’t have a copy of that; any chance you could have a duplicate made?” I promised I’d ask and followed his directions through the cemetery to the other side, passing the gigantic cemetery office in the center:

Now, this cemetery is famous for more than this mausoleum, of course. There are many well-known people buried here, but it is best remembered as being a favorite haunt of Beatrix Potter, who found on tombstones names for many of her beloved animal characters. There is a “Tom Nutkins” buried here, as well as a “Peter Rabbet” and a “Jeremiah Fisher.” You can read about this fascinating discovery HERE. There are many beautiful tombs and monuments in the cemetery, including lots of carved angels (so popular during Victorian and Edwardian times). Here are a couple I snapped as I passed:

We finally reached the mausoleum at the far end of the cemetery. It was certainly on the largest plot, surrounded by a large patch of ground where other tombs were positively crammed together. Quite an impressive sight–very art nouveau and very ornate, guarded by two angels on either side of the door:

Years of pollution and rain have made it look like the right-hand angel is crying. The door also had a green patina from years of rain and snow. It was no doubt bronze or possibly copper (more likely bronze):

As you can see, the glass has been broken out of the bottom of the door behind the floral design–a great pity. This must have occurred many years ago, as no traces of glass remain inside the tomb. You can see what the glass used to look like in this detail shot of the upper door:

It was now time for the moment of truth. Out came the key, and I swung aside the little rectangle covering the keyhole. Bria snapped a shot of me trying the lock:

The key turned in both directions, but, after a certain point, it would not budge. Vastly disappointed, I determined to see if I could find someone to help at the cemetery office. Accordingly, I marched back to the center of the cemetery and knocked at the door. No answer. I’d passed a policeman on a bicycle on my way around the building, so I headed back in his direction. He was just finishing up a conversation with an elderly gentleman when I walked up. I asked him if he might be able to assist me, and, when I showed him the key, his face lit up. In a thick cockney accent, he said, “Oi was just about ta ‘ave a cup uv tea over in the office, love. Why don’t you step in and ‘ave a look at the keys we ‘ave ‘angin’ around?” I followed him through the massive green door and watched as he fished around through several drawers before triumphantly producing a grocery bag absolutely loaded with skeleton keys. He dropped it with a clatter on the counter and began pulling out large groups of keys on chains. He knew which ones belonged to the cemetery gates and discarded those. I could only marvel at the sheer amount of keys in the bag–none of which were labeled. How on earth could anyone know which one would open which crypt? Not a single key matched the one I held in my hand, which I’d suspected after the Friends man told me they had no copy. Disappointed, the policeman asked if I could “wait a tick” while he had his tea. I told him I had a friend waiting and would head back down to the mausoleum. He promised to catch up quickly.

By the time I’d reached Bria and Benjamin, I could see the policeman heading towards us on his bike. It’s a good walk halfway through the cemetery! He came up and held out his hand for the key. I explained that it would turn, but only so far, and I was afraid of breaking it. He mentioned that leaning into the door might help. At any rate, he gave it his best try, but, finally, afraid of breaking the key off the lock, gave up as well, every bit as disappointed as we were not to get inside! He said, “You’d best ‘ave a locksmith out ‘ere to get at the lock, Oi’d say.” I mentioned that my husband would be coming through in a couple of weeks and could have a go at it with WD-40. He thought that might be worth a try. We stood around talking about the tomb for quite a while, and the policeman was extremely knowledgeable about the cemetery and its occupants. Turns out he is an absolute history nut and reads voraciously when he’s not working. He had anecdotes about all kinds of famous people buried in Brompton, about Beatrix Potter, and about all kinds of other historical figures in and around London. It was quite an amazing half hour we spent with him!

Since I couldn’t get into the tomb, I put my camera through the lower half of the door and photographed the interior, which is exquisite. Below you’ll see the altar, stained glass windows, tall vase, and vaulted ceilings.

Note the black marble columns flanking the altar. Extraordinary. Below are photos of the tomb vaults:

I also snapped a few more pictures outside the mausoleum. You can see beautiful little snowdrop lilies just starting to bloom in the yard around the tomb:

At the very front is a gateway with hinges bearing evidence of the gate that used to hang there. The yard is also surrounded by posts that used to have chains in between, all missing now.

The helpful policeman told us that many gates and chains were taken for scrap metal during WWI and never replaced. As this would have been right around the same time the last English McDonalds were buried there, it’s no surprise they were never replaced.

I snapped a few more pictures before we left, capturing the stained glass from the exterior and the cross on top of the front:

At long last we made our way to the gate, obtaining directions to the nearby station from the policeman on our way. We left the angels guarding the locked tomb and turned our thoughts toward high tea back at our host home in Dulwich. After two brief train rides and a short bus hop, we were back home and so happy to get into the warmth! Benjamin was thankful to see his bed, and Bria and I sat down to a delicious supper (“tea”) and a final evening’s visit with our friends. It was a lovely evening all ’round. We couldn’t believe our journey was already over and we’d be flying back across the ocean in half a day’s time! Our trip to the airport next morning was uneventful, and we boarded right on time. We arrived home ready to crash, get over jet lag, then share pictures with you! All in all, it was a fun quick stopover, and I look forward to fall all the more!