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Published: July 18th 2006
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Jodi and Sara at Beaulieu in New Forest
In the background is the Palace House where visitors can tour a portion of Lord Montague's home. Jodi: the eldest sister and first born; the world's best tour guide; frustrated gourmet chef in a tiny kitchen; implementation guru to Southampton's non-profit environmental center; and generous host to Bryan and me.
We feel so fortunate for the time we spent with Jodi and her flat-mate Jules. They were most gracious to a couple of tired travelers that arrived after 10 PM on July 7th. Although their place was small, it was very comfortable and had the most amazing views of the harbor from the eighth floor. Jodi's cyatic nerve has been giving her many problems, but we still had to convince her not to give up her bed, and even then she only relented half the time.
On our first morning in Southampton, Jodi and Jules took us to a large organic agricultural farm where we could pick our own strawberries for breakfast. The gardener in Bryan was right at home. We were then given a tour of the Netley Abbey ruins located just a few minutes from Jodi's flat. It was here that we found out Jodi has missed her true calling in life. She has the ability to relate a wealth of knowledge on all
Bryan strawberry picking.
Yes, "real men" strawberry pick. subjects without seeming pretentious or laughing at our ignorant questions. She would have made an excellent history professor or tour guide.
We learned that the Abbey, from which the village nearby got its name, was built when a colony of Cistercian monks came from Beaulieu in the 1200's. Monastery life continued for three centuries at the Abbey, until its dissolution by Henry V111 in 1536. Although we visited the grounds on a Saturday, it was very quiet and peaceful with only a few other people there. We were taken by surprise when a young deer jumped out of the forest just feet away.
On Sunday, Bryan and I decided to take a long walk along the beach heading for the site where the Victorian Army Hospital once stood and where Florence Nightingale worked. The hospital was torn down in the 1960's due to it's enormous size and cost for upkeep. In its place is a park with the old hospital chapel still standing in the center. Originally, this would have been about a 6 mile walk, round-trip, but feeling especially spry, I made the mistake of telling Bryan I would go as far as he wished that day.
After a brief stop to see the chapel and park grounds, we continued along the beach all the way to Hamble Marina where we stopped for a late lunch, priced yachts (hey, we can dream) and peaked in windows of boats moored along the Marina. On the way back, we stopped at a pond not far from the beach walk and fed the ducks our leftovers. When we arrived back at Jodi's, after being gone for about 7 hours, she let us know we had walked at least 12 - 13 miles. I can't remember a time my body has been so tired.
On Monday, Jodi drove us to an area called New Forest just outside of Southampton. As we entered New Forest, I was delighted to see free grazing cows and horses. Many of the mares had foals nearby. Jodi let us know that once a year, these animals are rounded up and there is a large auction. We went to an area called Beaulieu owned by Lord Montague. In order to raise revenue, Montague has opened up his grounds and home for touring. We walked the Palace House, Beaulieu Abbey, and visited the National Motor Museum (Montague's
Jodi and Jules
Outside the Netley Abbey ruins. Very peaceful. huge private collection of cars). From there, we drove a few miles to Buckler's Hard which is also part of the Beaulieu estate. Buckler's Hard sits on the Beaulieu River and is the site where many of Nelson's navy ships were built. Much of the 18th century village is still standing and we were able to walk in several of the old homes as well as visit the ship building maritime museum.
Jodi had to work on Tuesday, so she put us on a train to Winchester. There we saw the famous Winchester Cathedral. It's one of those sites that takes your breath away when you first see it. It's almost too overwhelming to the senses and takes a few minutes to get used to. Built in the 7th century, it is the longest Cathedral in England. We were given a tour by one of the volunteer guides and then spent time taking pictures and lying in the shade of the trees outside. Bryan noticed the map had a river nearby, so we walked in that direction and discovered a lovely pub with an outside seating area just above the river walk. The Greek plate of samplers was delicious
and we were beside ourselves with how perfect a spot we had stumbled upon.
When we returned, Jodi had arranged for a neighbor, Terry, to play his bagpipes in memory of Shawn. We walked along a forest trail until we came to a clearing and Terry gave us a demonstration of how bagpipes work. He then played several songs that brought tears to my eyes and I could feel Shawn with us. The thoughtfulness of both Terry and Jodi warmed my heart.
With this lovely note to end our stay, we pulled our heavy packs onto our backs and headed for the train to Portsmouth. We had decided to catch the ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre, France and then take a train to Paris (blog to follow).
Thank you, Jodi. We love you!
And thank you for all the comments thus far on our blog. It's fun to hear from friends and family.
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Eileen-Travel Nurse
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