The Inevitable Day of Departure......bittersweet but what more can we say!

Well, as we look back to this day (6/20) it is now not quite a month later.  Today is Tuesday (7/15) and we are approaching the 1 month anniversary of our return to normality.......haha, whatever that means these days.  Certainly a lot has happened since we have returned and the 'drifting' days of our trip seem like wonderfully simple and comforting escapades in hindsight! We are thankful for the good times.......we are very, very lucky and privileged to have these experiences.

To start this off, I have to admit that I am bolstering my mood on several fronts.  First, we just had a great dinner at the Tack Bar in Lincoln.  This place is a real standout on the local food scene and we had a wonderful meal supported by some cold summer beverages!  It is still 80 degrees outside at 9:30!  

Secondly, I have shifted my inspiration from an earlier 'listening' of Mahler's 5th Symphony on my way to work this morning.  Mahler's Fifth Symphony is undoubtedly his most famous work, thanks to its serene fourth movement, the 'Adagietto', written as a love letter to his beloved wife Alma. It was written in the summers of 1901 and 1902.  This guy was amazing. On the way home this afternoon (I escaped the office early at around 1:00) I listened to Ravel's Mother Goose Suite.  Written only shortly after in 1910, I have always found this piece to be both beautiful and soothing........as it should be! 

Now, guess what........a real shift.  I am listening to a Grateful Dead concert from 1977 in Passaic, NJ.  These guys had a real impact on our college years, and especially the parties!  Although this concert was a few years after our graduation, it is a great video to watch.......crazy in black and white! Are we that old!  Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and Micky Hart.  It sounds a bit different now, but that's probably because we missed the 'appetizers'!  Listening to this reminds us that memories are so formative to who we are......and that we need to keep them hanging around!  It is easy to jump on the internet and find a concert.......and we want to make it easy to find our blogs as well.  It is all part of the same celebration!

Enough of the sentimental reflection, I need to get down to the essence of our last travel day.......if I could only remember what we did!  Haha, not that difficult.  We started with enough time to have a relaxed breakfast and trip to the airport (although we did use our phone alarm for one of the few times on our trip).  Breakfast was great......a very nice buffet and a nice table on the terrace.  Guess what?.......another wonderful sunny morning!

I guess it is a bit easier to do all the writing up front and then show the pics.  We left the hotel around 10:00 and had another wonderful 'pony' or 'horse' experience on the way out of the New Forest.  We are not sure which they were, but they were clearly roaming free......and so close to the road!

The car drop off at Heathrow was much easier than our crazier experience in Florence!  It all went smoothly and we spent an enjoyable time in the business lounge at British Air......until they announced the gate for our flight.  Trick here is that they only announce the gate 1 hour in advance of departure. We we in a totally 'distant' terminal and had to make a fairly energized hike and train ride to get to our gate.......along with 480 others on our flight.  The plane was an Airbus 380......which is two full levels high and seats 500 passengers.  This all seemed a bit crazy to us, but trust in technology is our mantra these days!

It was a very smooth flight and we arrived without incident in Boston.  Our luggage arrived intact and we took a nice cab ride back out the Mass Pike to arrive home in our 'cottage in Wayland.'  It is bittersweet.  Nice to be home but also hard to conclude such a wonderful trip.  

Che viaggio fantastico ed è così bello essere a casa!

And we cannot forget the Fit Bit Log!

This year produced a more relaxed pace..........only about 64 miles of walking!

Lympstone to Beaulieu and the New Forest!

Now this is becoming increasingly challenging to move forward creating a stimulating blog!  We are now about 3 weeks 'downstream' from the actual day we are describing........so remembering the details is somewhat challenging.  We had a great time at Lympstone and now we are off to spend our last day traveling to the New Forest and our hotel destination - the Montagu Arms in the village of Beaulieu.

The day started with a wonderful breakfast in the main dining room at Lympstone.  As last night's diner was at the Pool House pavilion, it was nice to have a chance to experience the main dining room.  We had a great table at a window and the food was wonderful, part buffet and part ordered from the menu.  

We headed out around 10:00.......difficult to leave Lympstone.  The drive was only a couple hours and, for the most part, we were now back onto larger roads and highways.  We made it to Beaulieu around noontime, just in time for lunch at the Montagu Arms.  The fun story here is what we found upon entering the New Forest.  We really didn't know much about this national park, but it turned out to be a fun experience.

The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featuring in the Domesday Book.

It is the home of the New Forest Commoners, whose ancient rights of common pasture are still recognized and exercised, enforced by official verderers and agisters. In the 18th century, the New Forest became a source of timber for the Royal Navy. It remains a habitat for many rare birds and mammals.

Welcome to the New Forest, where age-old tradition meets modern day innovation. Where folklore breathes life into ancient woodland and the earth beneath your feet reminds you that you're part of something much bigger. Here, stories aren't just told, they're lived, shaped by generations who've walked these paths before us and continue to care for the land today. 

Escape to a world a million miles from your everyday life where ponies, cattle, donkeys and deer roam free...  and all just 90 minutes by train from London. Experience the peace and fall in love with the forest's idyllic glades, ancient woodland, open moors, heathland and cliff top walks. 

The New Forest National Park has been a cherished destination for generations - a place where time slows, nature thrives, and every visit brings something new to discover. With its ancient woodland, open heathland, and free-roaming ponies, this is a landscape shaped by people and place, past and present. Whether you’re visiting for the first time or returning to a favorite spot, the New Forest is ready to welcome you.

The most amazing thing for us was the  ponies and horses running free.  We had no idea that this was a feature of the forest.......and it was quite a surprise for us, as we almost ran into one within 5 minutes of entering the forest!  What a great ride this was!

Beaulieu is a village located on the southeastern edge of the New Forest in Hampshire, England. It is home to both Palace House and the National Motor Museum. In 2020, it was named the fifth most beautiful village in the UK and Ireland by Condé Nast Traveler. Situated at the head of the Beaulieu River, the village dates back to the 13th century when the village grew up around the abbey, founded in 1204 by Cistercian monks on land given to them by King John, who had a royal hunting lodge at Beaulieu.

Following Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s, Beaulieu passed into ownership of present Lord Montagu's ancestors and has remained with the family ever since. The present Lord Montagu of Beaulieu founded Britain's National Motor Museum, which houses more than 250 vehicles and includes legendary motor vehicles from all over the world, including the record-braking Bluebird.

In the sleepy New Forest village of Beaulieu, the Montagu Arms Hotel is the hub of the area, with a 3 AA-rosette fine dining restaurant the Terrace, and a 1 AA-rosette brasserie in the cheery country pub Monty's Inn. The wisteria-clad 19th-century building is Grade II-listed and full of historic charm with roaring open fires, exposed brickwork and wooden beams. With just 33 rooms and suites the service is personal and friendly and you can choose between a four-poster bed and wood paneling in the main house or a stylish contemporary two-story barn conversion suite in the grounds. Enjoy croquet on the lawn in summer and board games by the fire in winter and plenty of walks in the forest directly from the hotel.

We checked into the Montagu Arms around 1:00.......and were escorted to a wonderful room in one of the renovated outbuildings.  It was the largest room of our trip and was situated in some remarkable gardens with a nice terrace.  The timing was great to have a very nice lunch in the patio off the main dining room......relaxing in a wonderful setting. 

After lunch we wandered a bit through the gardens and ended up back in our room for a peaceful afternoon (and the obligatory travel 'nap'!)  In mid-afternoon we were up for a walk through the village.  It was a quite an enchanting place with historic buildings and interesting shops......very low key, but absolutely charming. 

DINNER AT MONTY'S INN

We had a great meal at Monty's Inn, which is the pub restaurant associated with the hotel.  It was right on the grounds, a bit closer to the main village street.  The food was great.....only interrupted now and then by the couple at the table nearest to us with a very little baby.  She was pretty well-behaved, other than a loud screeching call to her parents every 4-5 minutes......amazing lungs!  Otherwise, top notch, and nothing a few drinks could not cure!

We both had amazing fish entrees!

GOOD NIGHT!