1st snow of the season

Herberts on the Pacifica Pier

The Queen Visits Google London

Kate in Bath

No, I have not lost my mind and decided to post pictures of me in the Bathtub here. Just wanted to share a few views of Bath, England where I was privileged to be invited down for a weekend. Kevin and Lynne Copp, a couple that are providers of Work-Life Balance Training to DoubleClick, invited me for a weekend in the British countryside. 

I took a quick train down from London and Kevin picked me up at the station. We had a few good meals with wine and good conversation with the family in their open air atrium that faces the garden.

We toured Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths taking in thousands of years of history and some good shopping. ;)

The Royal Cresent

The Roman Baths

The Temple pediment showing the Gorgon's head

The temple of Sulis Minerva

My view from my guest bedroom at the Lindens.

For more on my recent adventures click here 

Looking forward to seeing you all in August in Boulder!

Kate

A sunny afternoon in Marlborough, Wiltshire

I also toured the town of Marlborough with the Copps. Marlborough has been an important market town for over 800 years since King John granted its first charter in 1204. Marlborough was a center for much local trade and an important staging-post for those travelling between London and Bath or Bristol.

Marlborough is known for having the widest High Street in all of the UK.

Old St. Peter's Church sits at one end of the high street and just beyond it, in the grounds of Marlborough College, was the site of Marlborough Castle, centered on a huge Neolithic mound in which (local legend has it) Merlin was buried.

The college complete with Merlin's Mound has a very Harry Potter feel to it.  Overall I had a fascinating first foray into England outside of London. 

Cheers,

Kate

Saturday at the Royal Ascot

For more photos click here 

Royal Ascot 2008

 

(for more photos click here http://kateherbert.tumblr.com)

Dad and I had a great day at the races. 

Ascot is the biggest track we have every been too but what really impressed us was the spirit of the English people. 

We saw quite a fashion show of British beauties in every type hat ever designed.  Oh yes and there were horses, too. The races were longer than the US and some were stampedes of up to 30 horses.  They race on grass and one race was over 2 miles long. 

We had a good time after the races as it took us two hours to get to the train as we stopped for champagne and singing and talking with the crowd.  At the end of the day no one was in a hurry to leave. They stay and sing along to British songs and wave flags regardless of the days wins or losses. Despite popular conceptions, they love their Queen.

We head out to Ascot again tomorrow. This time we will be better able to focus on the races. :)

Live from London,

Kate and Dad

Dad's Adventures in London

Dad arrived in London on Friday the 13th. He made it on the red eye and I picked him up at Heathrow without incident. Friday night we had a light dinner and rested up.

Saturday was the celebration of the Queen's 82nd birthday. There was a 205 member band and hours of ceremonial presenting of colors and review of the troops. She had an excellent sunny day for the celebration. After watching this, we set out on the tube to Westminster and stopped there to look around at the Thames and the many many tourists who had the same idea.

We got back on the train to London Bridge and Borough Market. Dad thought it was by far the most lavish Farmer's Market he had ever seen. We spent time tasting the great cheeses and samples and checking out the beautiful produce and fresh seafood, meat and flowers. Dad, being a super critic, could find nothing that needed to be improved. His only comment was that it was very crowded, I told him the Susan Herbert method of beating the crowds was to be there before the farmers.

We went to the Wine Wharf for lunch and had a unique dish of six different dips and pita bread and some wine and recharged our batteries for the journey home. We bought more Monmouth coffee, now a staple of Kate's apartment and jumped on the train home. We had a nice dinner at home and Dad did the dishes, not being treated as company the second night per Herbert rules whoever cooks does not have to do the dishes.

This morning we went to the local mall and got Dad measured for a suit. In true Herbert fashion, mom would be proud, we were there an hour before the stores opened. We could browse for the 1st half an hour but not purchase anything until noon. We rented Dad the full Ascot package including a top hat and bought a race day hat complete with feathers for Kate.

We then made a quick pit stop at home and continued on to find Churchill's Wartime Underground Chambers for directing WW2 operations. We toured the bunker type underground construction and imagined what it must have been like there in the early 1940s during the bombing of London. We listened to some of the conversations between Churchill and Roosevelt on our audio tour. We emerged from our tour exhausted.

We walked to the nearest pub on Whitehall Street. In front of Parliament, many protesters were awaiting the arrival of George W Bush to greet him with anti war banners in hand. We had fish and chips and a beer overlooking the demonstrators and many police. We were right in the action as we walked to the Westminster station to get back on our train home.

There has been plenty of activity in the backyard of Kate's flat as well. From picnics to ballgames there is always something to watch. However, no fox sighting yet for Dad.

That is it so far, a memorable Father's Day and the best London weather any of my visitors have had.

Cheers from London,

Kate and Dad

Durga on Glass

I finished another painting, the goddess Durga on her tiger. Note the mirrored edges and all the glitter and gold. The other photo is the reverse side -- the side that is actually painted. This one took about two weeks of work. (Click on the photo to see the intricate detailing.)

More Madrid from Aunt Paula

Kate in Madrid

Madrid

Aunt Paula and I had a great time in Madrid.
We dined the first night by the Palacio Real de Madrid.



We walked Paseo del Prado

The botanical gardens were beautiful.

We walked until we could walk no more!

Julie Gets a Ride

Yes, Julie has her place on the scooter, right at Chooch's feet. Jack straddles the back seat and away they go.

My Little Roommate

Julie will be staying for a week with me while her family is in Shirdi. She has already settled into her favorite chair. We spent some time this morning playing "chase me" and she skittered from room to room and under beds. What a perfect joy she is. A great little roommate!

Another painting

I've just finished my second glass painting. It's baby Krishna getting into the butter. You can recognize traditional Tanjore paintings because they are always embellished with gems or at least glitter and gold. I only wish I had taken this up when I first arrived in Chennai.

Packing Our Bags!

Jack is already to zip up his carry-on. And Namy is ready to go. Are they excited about their return to America? What do you think.

Jack the Explorer

Just home from lunch with Jo. She sent me this great picture of Jack the Explorer from the trip to Rishikesh. 

Spring finally comes to London!

Ganesh

This is the Ganesh mom painted in her class. 

It is hard to get a good picture of it as it is painted on glass. 

It is proudly displayed in my hallway to welcome people and remove all obstacles. 

Spotted

I feel like the local Paparazzi ready to take a picture every time there is a fox sighting in my backyard. This is the best shot I got this morning. You can see his (her?) golden eyes. 

Touring London

Beefeater Tour Guide

Tower of London

Borough Market

The Tube

City Hall

My holiday in London is fast coming to an end. I leave tomorrow for Chennai and I am taking many great memories with me. Besides all the fun things we did together, I also toured London on my own. I became familiar with the Underground and took it to revisit Borough Market one day. (Kate and I had spent time there earlier in my visit and I really enjoyed the colorful displays of food, the milling crowds, the invitingly warm restaurants.)

Yesterday, I left with Kate in the morning. She went to work and I went to see the Tower of London. One of the Yeomen, or Beefeaters, led a tour of the site, pointing out all the grisly beheadings that had taken place there. Of course, I marveled at the Crown Jewels with their enormous diamonds and other precious gems.

From there I walked across Tower Bridge, past glass sphere that is City Hall, and back to Borough Market for one last go-round and a chance to buy some real coffee and a goodie.
Then back to Kate's on the Underground. It was a cold, windy day and I was happy to sit by the fire.

Mom comes to London

Kate in front of her fireplace. Her flat

with its gas log fire is a warm welcome

after hours on foot, touring the city.

We walked for hours and hours. The

day was cold and rainy, warm with

sunshine, dark with hail, all within

a few hours. We walked the

Embankment, stopped at little cafes,

had teas, sandwiches and walked

some more....

The London Marathon during a cold, rainy

spell. We think we walked 26 miles at least.

Saw a variety of racers including a dog, a

superhero, a Santa Claus and a naked man.

Also saw Buckingham Palace, Covent Gardens,

Fortnum and Mason and more..

Kate's cozy flat, complete with a fox that

visits the garden every morning.

We walked Portobello Road as part of our

Saturday tour on foot. Also saw Kensington

Palace, ate at Diana's favorite cafe, got caught

in the rain, shopped on Kilburn High Road,

went to the movies and saw "27 Dresses."

Royal Ascot

Got tickets for Dad and me to Ladies Day June 19th. 

Finding the right Ascot hat and outfit is all important for Ladies' Day at Royal Ascot

The venerable Gold Cup is run on Ladies' Day at Royal Ascot, when everyone shows off the latest fashions and the loveliest (or most outrageous) hats. In 2007 the Gold Cup race was 200 years old - 100 years younger than the track

File that under things that don't happen in NYC

a fox in my backyard!

Namy Dancing

Namy is now taking dance lessons. She is learning the traditional kartik dance. Note her dance outfit with all the bells on her ankles.