UK's June Social Season in Full Swing!!

We have had TWO whirlwind weekends of high-falutin' POSH social activities, UK style! First up all four of us attended the Royal Ascot horse races at the Ascot Racetrack. Royal Ascot is 5 days of horse racing with Her Majesty the Queen attending all 5 days. There are several "grades" of tickets you can buy. The Royal Enclosure is for people who have attended for 4 years and you have to apply to get on that list. They have a strict dress code - ladies must wear a hat/fascinator at all times and the men wear morning suits with top hats. The Grandstand Enclosure is for folks that want to pay the big bucks to have a lovely day at the races and there is a dress code as well-same as the Royal Enclosure less morning suits and top hats for the gents. The Silver Tickets are much cheaper, there is no dress code and most people picnic and bring their own beverages. Apparently the past several years, Royal Ascot has gotten a little low-end with some inappropriate clothing choices made by some folks (think super short, skimpy dresses and sky-high stilettos) so this year they appointed  "style police" and produced a "style guide" to outline what was appropriate to wear. While most people abide by the dressing rules, believe me, we saw some doozies! While historically the hats have been what are the real attraction at Ascot, I have to say I saw nothing that was completely over the top. Next year I want to go to Ladies Day which is were the hats really are spectacular!

We met our friends Dina and Darren Grimstead with their two children Gabby and Hunter. We had a wonderful day at the Royal Ascot and it was fun to dress up in our posh, style guide approved clothes! The people watching was spectacular and the horse racing was exciting! There was quite a bit of buzz for a horse from Australia called Black Caviar. He had been undefeated in all of his races in Australia so he came to Royal Ascot with high expectations! It was a close race and in the end Black Caviar won his highly anticipated race! The kids did great and had a blast! It was fun to see the Queen in her grand horse drawn carriage make her way to the Royal box!

The tickets came in a gigantic envelope with a "style guide" on dressing suggestions and
 the rules of attending this posh event.

The Style Guidelines for Royal Ascot

In our Prius car service on the way to Royal Ascot!

Pete and Darren checking out the race papers to prep their bets!

We clean up OK...

The whole family was high-falutin'!

A little rain didn't stop us from having fun!

We arrived early so we could check out the track and secure our seats!

Grimstead and Davis kids lookin' smart!

Henry and Hunter enjoying an ice cream cone.

The Grandstand Admission was full-great people watching!

Close up of my fascinator!

Pete sporting Gabby's sweet Ted Baker shades!

The Americans lookin' good!

I went to the loo and came back with a bag of wine on ice...how did that happen?

It was Pimms o' clock at Royal Ascot for Dina and Jen

Henry's horse won apparently - Black Caviar? That is May under the newspaper-you can see her
little fascinator peeking out!

The Queen and Prince Philip make their way to the Royal Enclosure!

HM parade...she does this every day of Royal Ascot.

The next weekend we attended the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley on Thames (a quick 10 minute train ride from our house). The Henley Regatta is 5 days of rowing for teams from all over the world! I went for a run along the river a few days before we were slated to attend to get a feel for the atmosphere. I was able to get up close to the starting line and watch the umpires get the boats off! It was sunny and hot which would be ideal for a lovely day at the HRR.

Our day's schedule

University of Washington representing!

 We planned this as a kid-free day with a couple of Pete's co-workers and the Grimsteads. We went on a Sunday as the Regatta was winding down and all the races were the finals. While I heard all about the dress code here, it seems as if the Regatta was a little less formal. There were still lots of hats and posh peeps, but more preppy shorts, with a tie and blazer vibe happening. We were really hoping for great weather and eventually it cleared up at the end of the day. We bought tickets for the Regatta Enclosure which had a small bar and not such a great restaurant. There are people lined all along the river bank tailgating and picnicking. The best way to watch the race or enjoy the Regatta would be to be on a boat - easy to rent and a fun way to get up close to the action. We trained it up to Henley from Twyford, mimosas in hand! We had a lovely lunch at one of the riverside restaurants and watched University of Washington crush Brown by 3 lengths! The sun came out as we were finishing the last races and it was a lovely, chill day. We had left the kids at home with Gabby and Hunter for a chill movie/xbox day and plenty of non-choke foods! We got home and the house was in tact, as well as the children!

The crew post lunch-why is the big gal with the big feathers standing in the front?

Pete and I were easy to spot!

The more "flair" you had, the cooler you looked and the more access you had!
 We needed a lot more flair

Finally the sun came out post-races!

The rain did not stop us!

Huskies beat Brown by a mile!

The Leander Club (affiliated with the Outrigger Canoe Club-we need to
work that connection next year!) We had no flair to get in there!

Preppy rowers everywhere!

Topsider boat-like ya do!

Punting-this gentleman was working hard!

Shoe boat taking a break!

Shoe boat up front at the action!

Dina's hidden stealth photography!

Our lunch time neighbor taking a snooze and a cigar!
Wonder how many years he's been coming to the HRR?

Due to high wind conditions, Pete's menu flew into his lipstick leaving a mark!

So the hats are stored away, our posh clothes are hung up and some great memories were made in the last couple of weekends! The Olympics are quickly approaching and the torch will be passing through Henley on Thames next week so we might try and catch it! The kids are still in school until July 20 so the next three weeks are filled with end of year activities! Henry heads to his new school for next year for a day to get the lay of the land, May was picked to run for her school in an inter-school relay on Thursday, I start my new job this week to meet the new kids coming in September, Henry is performing in a play next week, the kids both participate in the school's swimming GALA and Henry has his graduation/promotion and Year 6 Leaver's Prom to attend! Whew!

Photography disclaimer: All photo credit for the Royal Ascot and the Henley Royal Regatta photos goes to Dina Grimstead! She was the Shutter Master for both days! Thank you!

Until next time! Cheers

The Queen of Idaho's Royal Visit

Well the Queen of Idaho has come and gone. We had a wonderful visit filled with loads of laughs, love and RAIN! I literally planned every second of our 10 days and Gig was a trooper and kept on truckin'! While maintaining a balance of getting Gig to some London touristy spots and letting her experience our "new" life in the UK was tricky, we all made it through with flying colors! Gig was able to check out Twyford, walk the kids to school, take a train by herself from Windsor back to Twyford, cook in our crappy kitchen, sit shotgun while I drove (and not get queasy), check out Costco (shhh...don't tell) and see Kennsington Palace, go the Cotswolds, check out Blenheim Palace, shop at the designer outlet mall, ride the London Eye and see The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre! I got tired just writing all that! She is truly a STUD!

Her RH arrives at Heathrow!

Hiking in the Cotswolds with Zulu (our borrowed lab from the B&B)

We had a wonderful time in the Cotswolds. While we made a quick stop at the Bicester Village (designer outlet shops...yay!) in the pelting rain and wind, we arrived at our B & B in Broadway just in time for dinner and drinks. The Olive Branch was lovely, quiet and quaint. We especially enjoyed the Black Lab named Zulu who was always ready to play, be pet and go on a hike with us!

On Saturday morning I lead the troops on a Death March up to Broadway Tower. It was a short hike until I pulled my typical "oh let's just go around and do a loop and take a different way home" trick. I think they are on to me...90 minutes later, after bushwacking through nettles and climbing over sheep fences, we made it to the 13th century church I had promised to show them! We proceeded to check out Stow-on-the-Wold which is a charming, yet touristy, Cotswold town. I have found all Cotswold's villages to be charming yet touristy. Broadway was darling and didn't have that super touristy factor so I like that!

The Three Stooges atop Broadway Tower

English Setter in Stow-on-the-Wold-was gorgoeus!

Gig and Zulu-black labs never far from her mind!

Broadway in the Cotswolds

ET phone home

Kew Gardens

Cool bamboo

This was my fav part of the Kew Gardens-the waterlily conservatory

The tip top of one of the conservatories!

An old broad with an old piece of wood! Sorry MUM!

More Broadway-sorry out of order...

My mummy...too bad it is blurry!

Gig found her very own house in the Cotswolds!

Stopped in at the Hartwell House for tea and lunch! A beautiful hotel to stay near Oxford!

Sorry these are a little out of order but too lazy to change it around (or really I don't know how to with out totally mucking it all up!) The picture above is a lovely hotel south of Oxford called the Hartwell House. It is very Downton Abbey with beautiful manicured grounds and very old and ornate furnishings!

Kennsington Palace-fantastic, updated and current exhibition of Queen Victoria and her Diamond Jubilee

Chihuly and Hyde Park

Inside the Hartwell House

Abbey Road at the Hartwell House

Walking in Henley on the Thames in the POURING rain...

Gig and I had a great day walking in Henley on the Thames, shopping and having a nice lunch of French Onion soup...all on a very blustery and rainy day! With the weather a bit better, we made our way into London the next day. We trained and Tubed our way to the infamous Portobello Road in Notting Hill, Kennsington Palace, shopping at Selfridges, Mayfair, Bond Street and the edge of Hyde Park. We had an amazing dinner at Sketch in Mayfair -- a crazy restaurant/art gallery with the most interesting bathrooms we had ever been in! Little individual egg pods (porta-poddies?) that played chirpy bird music while you loo'd! In the Gallery, where we ate, not one utensil, chair, table, centerpiece, or wineglass were the same. Luckily, the decor and the food were fantastic!

The next day we drove to Kew Gardens and walked every inch of the place! They had several very old conservatories full of ferns, rare plants, waterlilies and rose gardens. We then met my friend Dina in her cute neighborhood of Richmond and a lovely lunch at Petersham Nurseries. Richmond is home to Brangelina and we were on the lookout but no luck on spotting them!

Notting Hill and Portobello Road

Queen Vic's chair (not really)

Sketch Restaurant in London...crazy contemporary restaurant with several different themed rooms for eating and drinking. Great food too!

Deconstructed Gin and Tonic/Mojito---soo much ICE!

The batrooms at Sketch-crazy, individual pods playing bird song inside of them.

Petersham Nursery in Richmond-lovely spot for lunch with the FAB Dina

Crazy port-a-poddies at Sketch

Even Henry has to mind his head!

Fav dinner at new fav neighborhood spot-The Crown at Playhatch

May's dinner-grilled chicken and frites with rocket

Henry's massive RIB dinner-YES he ate it all!

Mussells and white wine-thought of you Dad the entire time I ate it!

Changing of the guard at Windsor Castle

We had a lovely day of touring Windsor Castle and caught the ceremonious Changing of the Guard. Although I had been to the town of Windsor several times to walk the Long Walk and shop their great High Street, it was the first time I had been in the castle. It was stunning and I am sure it will be on our "visitor's" list for all future visitors! We followed it up with a lovely lunch at Gilbey's in Eton with a friend of Gigs from her college days at University of the Pacific (well she did. I had to go home to a sick Henry!). Gig took the train home all by herself!

The Band!

The Queen's Courtyard with one lone Royal Guardsman

The Dudes

The Ladies

Gig and her grandkids

Stamford - Pete and I took a night away...they hung people on that sign back in the day

Being the Super Stud grandmother she is, Gig took the kids into London over the weekend to stay in a hotel and see the Lion King on stage! They manuevered throughout London like experts, had a great time at the play and took a trip on the London Eye. Oh and they met the Fonz at their hotel during breakfast on Sunday morning! He was in town doing a book tour for his children's books he has written. My mom said he was the nicest man and quickly ran out to his car to get the kids autographed copies of his books!

Pete and I were able to sneak away for a night in a "quirky" hotel in the village of Stamford. Charming village, great hotel and a tour of Burghley Castle concluded with a much needed trip to Ikea, made for a quick 24 hour escape for us!

Contemporary dog in an old British village

Such good manners

Burghley Palace-fantastic!!

Ah... a well constructed bench that seems true to size-Pete was a happy man!

Fits the tall man perfectly!

Stunning-wish we could have taken pics inside-a MASSIVE art collection

Attached to the palace was a cool sculpture garden-this is a worm made of plastic bags.

cool cows grazing

There were little art treasures aound every corner. Pete was a mad man with the camera!

This was the "ice house" - they would chip the ice in blocks off the nearby pond, insulate with hay and the ice could stay here of 2 years!

They also added a water garden where kids can come and jump through fountains...really cool.

Our hotel: the William Cecil in Stamford

On the London Eye

"Big Ben, Parliment"

Buckingham Palace

The Fonz, aka Henry Winkler

Burghley Castle - the servant's bells - very Downton Abbey!

Henry saying goodbye (till December) to Gig and off to camp!

Packed up and ready for camp! He had a ball!

Sorry for all the pictures being jumbled up...not sure how to rearrange without losing all of it!
Henry spent a week with his Year Six class on Hayling Island. He bunked with his mates, rock climbed, built rafts, did a blind trail through mud, rapelled, discoed, swam and came home uttterly exhausted! He was so lucky to be able to go with his classmates given his late entry to school.

Next blog up:  last weekends Royal Ascot and this weekends Henley Royal Regatta!
Next visitor: Tom Bice next weekend!
Cheers!