A Tale of A Thousand and One Trips - The Never-Ending Trip Report

[dolphingirl47]

Most of my time in Warwick was spent at and definitely the highlight of this trip was Warwick Castle. Warwick Castle has the reputation of being the best preserved medieval castle in the UK and I well believe this. It is beautifully maintained. Something very unusual is the fact that this is owned by an entertainment company. There is a bit of a story behind this. Warwick Castle has been owned by the Greville family since 1604. The Greville family had some involvement in parliament and also in various battles, but what they are best known for is for throwing lavish parties, collecting all manner of expensive and rare things and basically living beyond their means for the best part of 400 years. At one stage, there was a fire in the apartment wing that also destroyed the Great Hall. The citizens of Warwick donated very generously and did a lot of fundraising so that the Great Hall could be rebuilt. It did get rebuilt, but only a fraction of the money donated was used for this purpose. The rest of it was used for a lavish Boxing Day party that lasted two weeks. So it is not all that surprising that in the 1970s, the bottom fell out. At this stage, a large part of the collections was sold off, but this still did little to satisfy the creditors. Apparently the then Earl of Warwick blamed his misfortunes on the government and swore that he would never sell to them. This meant that organisations like English Heritage and National Trust were out. In the end, he decided to sell the castle and what was left of the collection to the Madame Tussaud Group, which has since be bought out by Merlin. Merlin also own the Legoland parks, Sealife Centres, London and Orlando Eyes, etc. They have not only done a great job not only preserving this, but also really bringing history to life. They are also investing a lot of money in finding out the origin of pieces of the collection. The Greville family were great story tellers and liked to entertain their guests with stories about the origins about pieces in their collection. Unfortunately more often than not, they were just that – stories. So Merlin is working slowly through the collection to see what they really own.













As attractions go, Warwick Castle is really good value. I booked three days in advance and I had the choice of either paying £15 for one day or an extra Pound for two days. I decided to go for the two days and I am glad I did. I could have quite easily spent a third day there as well if I had wanted to do everything. You can climb on the ramparts and then follow them around and as part of this, you also visit the towers that have some exhibitions in them. I passed on this as I still have a niggling knew injury from December. I can walk and run on this, but my left knee is complaining when I go down stairs. So I figured this was not a good idea as a lot of stairs are involved. I still had more than enough to do.

When I got there, I checked when the various free tours would take place. Unfortunately I had just missed one that I wanted to do, which was called Ultimate Tour and promised to provide a condensed history of the castle. The next tour that interested me was about an hour away. So I headed to the History Tower first. This is an interactive exhibit in one of the towers that was added about a year ago. It starts out with a short film about the early history of the castle. You then move on to the next room where there is a model of the castle that is illuminated to show the changes that happened over the years. There is also another film introducing the Greville family. The last part is then a portrait gallery with talking and moving portraits of the various owners of Warwick Castle from 1604 onwards. I thought this was very well done.

By the time I finished with this, I had some time to take photos and then it was time to get for the meeting point for the tour of the Great Hall and Staterooms. This lasted about 45 minutes and was highly interesting. We started out in the Great Hall and then moved through the various staterooms and our guide pointed out interesting features. Warwick Castle was the first stately home to have electric lighting. Our guide also pointed out portraits that had been cut to size as full-size portraits at some stage had gone out of fashion and the Greville family did not have money for new, smaller portraits. Portraits were not the only thing that they cut to size. Some of the tapestries were too big to fit in the room where they were intended to go. So they cut them and just sewed them back together. Our guide also pointed out various things that were reproductions rather than the real thing. There were still a great deal of very special items there including some beautiful chandeliers, Japanese pottery and the bed in which Queen Anne died.







































After the tour I had a little bit of time before next tour I wanted to do. So I had a look at the chapel and at the Kingmaker exhibit. This consists of various scenes of Richard Neville preparing to go into battle. Unfortunately this is in the basement and therefore rather dark. I only had my iPhone with me and the photos did not come out. However, this was very well done with sights, sounds and smells. The workmanship of Madame Tussaud’s was clearly visible there.







Then it was time for another tour. This one was called Executions and Grissly Deaths, but despite the sensationalist title, this was not gory at all, but highly interesting from a historical point of view. I thoroughly enjoyed this and learned a lot about the War of the Roses and how this involved the Earls of Warwick. After the tour, I had a quick walk through the apartment wing. It was pretty busy and I decided to come back to have a proper look the following day.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The next day, I was there in time for the Ultimate Tour. This was purely outside. We walked around the courtyard of the castle, stopping at various points. Our guide told us when and by whom this part of the castle was built and what went on in terms of history. This again was very interesting. After the tour, I had a closer look at the apartment wing. The theme of the exhibition was a weekend party and they had various wax figures again as well with recorded dialogue. This was really well done and the rooms were truly stunning.

































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After this, there was one last thing I wanted to do. They have a birds of prey show at various times during the day. I went to the first show of the day, which was at lunchtime. Normally they have an arena with seating where the shows take place, but the grass in that area had just been replaced and they were waiting for this to take root. So they had set up a temporary display area and the spectators could either stand on the path or sit on benches in that area. As it was not particularly busy, this worked really well. At the beginning of the show, the falconer arrived minus a bird. He pointed over to the castle walls and advised that he was waiting for Bruce to join us. Bruce is a South American falcon and a very graceful flyer. After a while he decided to check us out. He flew a loop over us and then dived down near the falconer to get a treat that had been put on a pedestal. This was repeated a few times. While Bruce was flying over us, the falconer explained a bit about Bruce. After a while, the falconer put Bruce in a shed and got the second bird out. He was called Merlin and is an American Bald Eagle. Apparently Merlin has just come back from a breeding loan where he spent his days in an aviary and he is currently not particularly fit. This made this proposition all the more fascinating as he was flying quite low over us and we got a fantastic close up look at him. This was one of the most amazing things I ever witnessed.













By that time, I felt that I had done enough sightseeing. I headed into the town centre for some lunch and then went back to our room to chill out for the rest of the afternoon as I was still discovering from a bout of flu and was not feeling 100%.

 

[jedijill]

The castle looks really interesting! Love the history and how they have all the artifacts displayed.

Jill in CO

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm just soaking in all these beautiful pictures, thank you so much for sharing. I had to look up what a chapterhouse was, and also a misericord. I don't quite understand, is it a little seat?

The creepy feeling in the church is more than a little unsettling. Even more so that you and Graham both experienced it.

What a shame that they cut up the portraits to make smaller ones.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The castle looks really interesting! Love the history and how they have all the artifacts displayed.

Warwick Castle is a real gem.

and also a misericord. I don't quite understand, is it a little seat?

The common name for misericords are mercy seats. They can only be found in very old churches on the underside of seats that fold back. When they were installed, church services could last a number of hours and most of that time was spent standing. The misericords are essentially little shelves with ornate carvings that people could lean on when they had to stand.

The creepy feeling in the church is more than a little unsettling. Even more so that you and Graham both experienced it.

It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

What a shame that they cut up the portraits to make smaller ones.

This was essentially a family that had no respect for anything or anybody.

Corinna

 

[tiggrbaby]

What a lovely tour! Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[Pinkocto]

The common name for misericords are mercy seats. They can only be found in very old churches on the underside of seats that fold back. When they were installed, church services could last a number of hours and most of that time was spent standing. The misericords are essentially little shelves with ornate carvings that people could lean on when they had to stand.

Corinna

Thank you for explaining about them

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a lovely tour! Thanks so much for sharing!

You are welcome. It really was a lovely couple of days.

Thank you for explaining about them

This is something I have become quite passionate about.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

WArwick is beautiful! Thanks for sharing. We did drive past when we were last in the UK but didn't have time to stop.

 

[dolphingirl47]

WArwick is beautiful! Thanks for sharing. We did drive past when we were last in the UK but didn't have time to stop.

Warwick is gorgeous and the castle is nothing short of spectacular. If you pass this way again, you need to make sure you find the time to stop.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

Wow! I missed this update, I'm glad I caught back up. Warwick sounds like a great stop on any tour. Lots of history and it looks like it is so well presented as well!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Wow! I missed this update, I'm glad I caught back up. Warwick sounds like a great stop on any tour. Lots of history and it looks like it is so well presented as well!

Warwick is a real treasure. We are really lucky that we have a lot of great historical places relatively near by.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Swing Into Spring - A Weekend At Disneyland Paris

Day 1

When I got my annual pass for Disneyland Paris in November, I always intended to come back during each season. I was even more determined to make this happen after my park time was cut short in November. As my leave for this year is maxed out with two fantastic long trips, I had to embark on some creative swapping. I managed to get three days off in a row the first weekend in March and this worked out perfectly as I had an early shift the day before and originally a late shift the day after. This was a bit earlier in the season that I had hoped as the Disneyland Paris spring festival was only due to start on the Saturday of the weekend, but I figured that it was a welcome Disney fix in any case. Since I originally planned this, it transpired that I will get another day in the parks during the spring festival as part of our big holiday in May so it is all good.

Things did not quite go according to plan at work that day and I ended up having to stay a little longer than I had planned. Still, I had plenty of time as my flight was not until 19:45. Even if I had finished on time, there would have been no point going home and coming out again as my office is pretty much opposite the airport. My boss very kindly dropped me off at the right terminal once I was done. I was only travelling with hand luggage and I already had my boarding pass so I could bypass check in and head straight to security. This was probably a blessing as the lines for security were long and as slow as molasses. Eventually I was through and repacked all my stuff as I had a lap top and some toiletries with me that had to be screened separately.

I still had a fair while until I had to be at the gate. My flight was out of terminal 3, which is mainly used for domestic and short haul flights and is kind of the poor relation as far as terminals at Manchester airport go. Essentially it takes you 10 minutes to browse all the shops and there is very little in terms of other facilities. They do however have a lounge that you can pay to access and I decided to treat myself to this. On the way, I had to stop by one shop as I had forgotten to pack an adaptor to plug in my laptop. Everything else I travel with charges via a USB cable and I have a USB dock that has a European plug. I got my adaptor and then I went in search of the lounge.

They are renovating terminal 3 at the moment so access to the lounge was not immediately obvious, but a passing member of staff pointed me in the right direction. When I got there, I checked in and paid my fee. This is a bright and inviting space and has floor to ceiling windows overlooking the runway. There are multiple seating areas, some of which have tables and chairs and others had sofas and armchairs. As I intended to make good use of their Wi-Fi, I opted to sit in the restaurant area. I was not particularly hungry, but I was due to arrive in Paris quite late so I decided that I should have some dinner. I had a cheese and onion pie, which was very nice. I also had a gin and tonic and then settled down with my laptop to catch up online and play a silly Facebook game that I like to play. At some stage I decided to get some cake. They had a mint and chocolate cake that was very nice and I also had a brownie. This was followed by another gin and tonic. It was a really nice civilized way to spend a couple of hours.













Once the gate number for my flight was listed on the screens at the lounge, I headed downstairs and went to the gate. The gate area was quite busy. Soon afterwards boarding started. There were multiple announcements that boarding would be done strictly by row numbers and for everybody to remain seated until their row was called. Of course, just as soon as they called people who for one reason or another had priority boarding; most people got up and crowded the gate area. Multiple further announcements did not change this either and in the end the staff just gave up. They did call row numbers, but they had no choice then to let people in other rows on as otherwise the people who should be boarding could not get to the gate. I really don’t understand people. The plan had been to board the plane so that the people who sit at the back first and then move forward. The plane was a single aisle aircraft so with people that were sitting further forward blocking the aisle while they were sorting themselves out, everything got backed up. Eventually everybody was on board and where they should be and all the hand luggage had been stowed. This was not a mean feat as the flight was also full. We left a little late, but still managed to arrive in Paris ahead of schedule.



The flight was smooth and very quick. I read during the flight and when they came round with refreshments, I had a Coke, but passed on the sandwich as I had already eaten. Considering how full the flight was, we were all off the plane really quickly and I made my way through passport control. This time this was a lot quicker than it had been in November. I managed to get connected to the airport Wi-Fi and checked if Graham’s plane had landed as he was flying in from Birmingham as he had been down there for work. Our planes were supposed to land at the same time, but mine had arrived quite a bit earlier. By that time he had landed, but quite a bit after me. I used the bathroom and then I sent Graham an email that I would make my way towards the airport station. I was not sure if he would come through the same passport control that I had. The Air France terminal at Charles de Gaulle is pretty big. When I got to the baggage hall, I noticed that the luggage for the Manchester and Birmingham flights were coming out on adjacent carousels. Like me Graham had travelled with only hand luggage, but I figured he still would have to come through the baggage hall. I stuck around for a while, but he did not turn up and I noticed that staff was looking at me rather nervously. So I pushed on towards the train station. Once I got there, I called Graham who for once picked up his phone. He was now in the baggage hall and had hoped that he
would bump into me there. I told where I was and that I would be waiting for him. I checked out where we needed to go and then found myself a seat along the corridor that he would be coming down. It did not take long until we were reunited.

We went upstairs towards the area for the hotel shuttles, which is on top of the train station. As we were arriving quite late and leaving very early on the last day, I had booked an Ibis Budget near the airport for the first and last night. They offered a complimentary airport shuttle. We had a bit of a wait for the shuttle. We must have just missed one as they run every 20 minutes and we were waiting about as long. Once we were on the shuttle, we went on a bit of an epic journey. The shuttles are on a circular route and coming from the airport, we stopped at terminal 1, the Air France crew building and one other hotel before we eventually got to our hotel. The advantage of this was that on the way to the airport, we headed straight there. Eventually we did get to the hotel. I had received an email prompting me a few days before to do online check in and I had done so. Earlier that day, I had received an email with what looked like a receipt, but as I French is very limited, I did not really understand what I was looking at. We went to the check in desk and had to wait a little while as somebody was in front of us. When it was our turn, I mentioned that I had done online check in and was handed a print out of the same document. I turned out that amongst other information, it had our room number and the access code printed on it. They don’t have keys at this hotel, but a keypad at the door where you have to enter the code that they provide you with.

The room was nice and comfortable. Graham would have appreciated an extra pillow, but I was happy with what was provided. We spent a little while catching up as we had not seen each other since Monday. I then put our gadgets on charge and we got ready for bed.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice start to the trip. Shame about having to wait for a shuttle at the end.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Nice start to the trip.

I could get used to the idea of starting my trips in a lounge.

Shame about having to wait for a shuttle at the end.

It was not too much of an issue, but it was chilly.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

The lounge sounded like an excellent splurge, a relaxing comfortable way to wait for your flight.

That would have driven me crazy the way people weren't listening to instructions while boarding.

Nice that your schedule worked out

 

[dolphingirl47]

The lounge sounded like an excellent splurge, a relaxing comfortable way to wait for your flight.

I really enjoyed this and could get used to this.

That would have driven me crazy the way people weren't listening to instructions while boarding.

It did not sit too easy with me either. I am a rule follower by nature and in this case even more so as it made perfect sense.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 2

After the relatively late night the day before, we were in no particular rush to get up that morning. One of the pleasures of having an annual pass is that there is no need for packed days where I am in the parks from rope drop to closing time. This applies even more as I have two further visits planned already. So I had set the alarm for 9:30. We got up and ready and headed for the shuttle stop. We must just have missed the shuttle as we had a bit of a wait. Still, neither of us was on a time table, especially as the sky looked like the end of the world was upon us. Eventually the shuttle came and the trip back to the airport was pretty quick.

It turned out that there was quite a big gap between TGVs going via Marne La Vallee/Chessy and I had just missed one. Still, even with a bit of a wait at the airport, I still think it was quicker than taking the RER. Graham was in no rush to get anywhere either as he was hoping that the weather would brighten up so he waited with me. I got my ticket and we found somewhere to sit down. I noticed that opposite, there was a kiosk selling pastries, sandwiches and various drinks. We did not have any breakfast so I decided to get a snack for us. I was ever so proud when I managed to order a croissant, a Fanta, a white chocolate cookie and an orange juice in French. I did French for four years in school, but dropped it when I was 16. However, I have noticed that some of it is coming back.

By the time we had our breakfast; it was not long until my train was listed. I said goodbye to Graham and headed down to the platform. There I ended up doing my good deed for the day. I was approached by two ladies who asked me if I spoke English. They were mighty relieved when I said I did. They came from Vancouver and had been travelling around Europe. They were staying at the Marriott resort near Disneyland Paris and had no idea how the trains worked or where they needed to get off. I checked which coach they were on and they happened to be in the coach next to mine. I took them to the right boarding zone and told them that they needed to get off at the first stop. When the train came, we said goodbye and headed to our respective coaches.

When I arrived, I headed up the stairs and straight to security. I was curious how this had changed since my last visit. This ended up being pretty smooth and efficient. The luggage screening is now 100% done by x-ray machine. This is actually quicker. As I approached the machine, I was asked to open my coat. Once I collected my stuff, there were tables set up and security did random checks on people with metal detector wands. I must have looked honest as I was waived straight through.



Once I was through security, I dropped off my hand luggage at the left luggage facility. This is a really nice perk of my annual pass. There are turnstiles right by the left luggage facility and by 12:30, I was inside the park. I stopped at Town Square to take photos of the spring topiary and the decorated lamp posts. The little pavilion in this area had been decorated with the penguins from Mary Poppins. I got really excited to be in the park.









When I got onto Main Street, I noticed that Marie was out. So that was my next stop. Her line was not particularly long. Her house had been decorated for spring. I noticed something kind of neat this time round. When it was time for Marie to go in for a saucer of milk, the phone inside her house rang. Once the phone started ringing, she finished off meeting with the family she was with at the time and then she went inside. She was back again a couple of minutes later and soon afterwards, it was my turn to meet her. I had a fun interaction with her and then said goodbye and carried on exploring.







I moved on towards the hub. On the way I saw a great spring topiary and then I saw the first of the character Easter eggs. I really liked them. I took the obligatory photo of the castle and then moved across to Discoveryland. I had some aliens to zap. It was my lucky day. Out of habit I checked the time slot for which Fastpasses were available. At the time, the Fastpass return was for about 20 minutes later and the standby time was 15 minutes. So I got a Fastpass and then got in the standby line. By the time I was done and had the photo added to my Photopass, Fastpass window was about to open. I had a quick look around the shop. Before I got in the Fastpass line, I got another Fastpass that again was for about 20 minutes later. I enjoyed my ride and then had a wander around Discoveryland for a bit. In the process I discovered more character eggs. I had thought that they only had them at the hub, but they were in Discoveryland, too. I was very happy to see a Stitch egg. I used my second Fastpass. At that stage I figured that I had done that ride often enough for now and headed over towards Fantasyland.





















One of my priorities this trip was to do It’s A Small World as this was closed during my trip in November. On the way I decided that it was time for some lunch. I passed Pizzeria Bella Notte and had a look at the menu. That actually looked rather nice and I decided to give it a go. I had a meal deal consisting of lasagne, garlic bread, tiramisu and a soft drink. With my annual pass discount, this came to EUR11. This was good size portion and the food was really nice. There was only one fly in the ointment. The restaurant was pretty busy and yet they had a whole section closed off. After a couple of loops around, I did find a table.



Once I came out of the restaurant, it had started to rain. Fortunately I did not have far to go as It’s A Small World was just across the way from the restaurant. I probably waited 5 minutes from when I entered the queuing area for the ride until I got on the boat and most of that was spent walking through the line. I had heard that there was a possibility that they would install the characters that they have at Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland during the refurbishment, but that did not happen. I still really enjoyed the ride.

 

[dolphingirl47]

When we came out of the show building, I could see that it was raining really heavily. Fortunately by the time we got to the loading dock and had got off the boats, it had eased off a little. I decided to go and check out the waiting time for meeting Mickey. At least the line for this is inside. I was very surprised when the posted waiting time was 20 minutes and the actual waiting time was only 15 minutes. I was amused by a Castaway Cay sticker on a trunk in the room where Mickey meets. I had another nice interaction with Mickey.





By the time I came out, it had stopped raining. I walked over to Adventureland. I wanted to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. Again there was a minimal wait and the boat actually went half empty. I enjoyed the ride and then wandered towards Frontierland as I wanted to do Phantom Manor. I got about half way, when Abu passed me with an escort. He waved at me. I took an about turn and decided to check where he was heading.



He was heading for the area near Cafe Agrabah. What I found there deeply amused me. As a bit of background, in a lot of the catchment area for Disneyland Paris, queuing up for anything is not really the done thing and that tends to show at Disneyland Paris. This drove me crazy in November. When I caught up with Abu, a queue had started forming and multiple cast members kept people not to queue up as this was a free flow meet and greet. They did not have much success as a queue kept reforming. This made me smile. I stayed around the edges of the area and did manage to meet Abu. One of the cast members with him kindly took some photos with my phone.



I then continued on towards Phantom Manor. On the way I had a look in one of the shops. I found some really nice spring ears and I ended up getting a pair on my way back. I also spotted the character eggs on the way. When I got to Phantom Manor, I pretty much walked straight into the stretching room. I enjoyed the ride. I spotted something that I had not spotted in November. There is a figure in the same spot as the Hatbox Ghost at Disneyland. In Paris, it is a gravedigger.





When I came out of Phantom Manor, I took some photos of Big Thunder Mountain. This looks decidedly sorry for itself with the moat drained and scaffolding all over the place. I then went back to the shop to get my spring ears.





At that stage I decided to call it a day. My plan had been to stay for Disney Dreams, but it was threatening to rain again and I figured there was a good chance that this would end up being cancelled. It was cold and damp and I had enough for one day. I took some more photos of the character Easter eggs near the hub and had a look at one of the shops on Main Street and then picked up my luggage before heading to the station.









There was a train sitting there when I got to the platform, which left shortly afterwards. When I got to the hotel, I asked at reception if Graham had already checked in, which he had. I was given our room number and went upstairs. I warmed up for a while and we were talking about what we had been up to before going out to dinner.

On the way, we had to make one stop. Graham had a really nasty cough and wanted to stop at the chemist near the restaurant to get some cough mixture. For all its proximity to Disneyland Paris and the international visitors that this should bring, English is not very widely spoken in Champs sur Marne. So this was an interesting proposition. Still, with a bit of English and a bit of French and a lot of goodwill from both sides, Graham managed to get his cough mixture, which he duly pronounced the nastiest and most effective cough mixture he ever had. It seemed to do the job.

With this taken care of; we went to our favourite Chinese restaurant for some dinner. We were seated at the same table where we were sitting in November. I was reflecting on how much had changed and evolved since we were sitting there last time and were discussing plans for this year. We were offered an aperitif and this time we accepted. I am not entirely sure what we were drinking, but it tasted like a dry rose wine and was very nice. We decided on the buffet again and had another bottle of the Muscadet that we enjoyed so much in November. Graham went for some salad and seafood for his first course. I went down the dim sum route and had some steamed dumplings and the spring rolls that I like so much. We then both had a plate with small tastes of some of the hot dishes. I had some egg fried rice with chicken in satay sauce and beef with onions. Graham had some sweet and sour chicken and some seafood based dishes. We both had some lychees for dessert and I also had some ice cream. I thought it was toffee, but it turned out to be coffee. It was still very nice. After enjoying a cup of espresso and a cup complimentary sake, we paid our bill and walked back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel, we spent a bit of time just chilling out and playing with our respective gadgets and then we got ready for bed.

 

[Pinkocto]

The character eggs are too cute!!! I must admit the Stitch one is my favorite, those ears are perfect

Sounds like you were in the right place at the right time to be able to help those ladies with their train, that was very kind.

The Mary Poppins decorations are cute too, love seeing the differences between the parks.