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Front entrance of Middlethorpe Hall, York.
This fall, my husband and I had the great fortune to stay at Middlethorpe Hall, one of three National Trust UK’s country house hotels. Middllethorpe Hall is just a few miles outside of downtown York; the other two National Trust hotels are located in North Wales and Aylesbury, the latter being about an hour from London. All three hotels were acquired by the National Trust by donation.
I recently managed a quick, two-night, mid-week, pre-Christmas getaway with my best friend at the historic Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Mass., in the heart of the Berkshires. The Inn is shown at the right of this 1967 illustration done for McCall’s magazine by Norman Rockwell, titled Home for Christmas (Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas). Rockwell’s own South Street home appears at the far right.
This September, I had the privilege of spending a week in Oxford, England, while taking a course on the history of the British/American relationship. The program was a collaboration between the University of Virginia and Oxford University.
Radcliffe Camera, Oxford.
By Sandra Hutchinson
A newly-opened exhibit at the Old Fort House in Fort Edward highlights significant objects and paintings in the collection, and reveals some surprising information tied to those objects. Click here for the museum’s Web site.
“A Century of Collecting: Treasures from the Old Fort House” was researched by guest curator Jillian Mulder, who serves as curator of the Chapman Historical Museum in Glens Falls.
Tea Island, Lake George, circa 1882-1892. Helena Dewey Little
“I’m hoping that people recognize that Fort Edward has this terrific collection,” says Ms. Mulder. “Go see it. Take some pride in it. It’s worth valuing.”
by Sandra Hutchinson
The Victorian, Mansard-roofed Fuller House, is where guests check in and have their meals. There is also lodging on the upper floors.
Nestled along the southeastern shore of Lake George, in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, is the oldest continuously operating women’s retreat center in the United States. Wiawaka Center for Women was founded in 1903, by Mary Wiltsie Fuller (1862-1943), the daughter of an industrialist from Troy, New York, as a place for the female workers in the textile factories and laundries of Troy and nearby Cohoes, to enjoy an affordable summer respite.
by Sandra Hutchinson
I’m constantly getting notified of posts on blogs and on Pinterest that list writers’ travel tips and hacks. They tend to be repetitive, in my opinion, so I’ve decided to share my own.
Apps and websites for booking airline tickets and planning your trip (these are just a few of my favorites):
Seat guru: check this site — seatguru.com —before you purchase your airline tickets — enter the flight number and airline, and you can find detailed seat maps of your particular aircraft. What looks like a great seat on the chart when you book online through your booking site, may in fact be less than optimal. It may be lacking a window, for example, be next to a bathroom, or not recline for some reason. On the seat guru site, hover your cursor over a particular seat, and a description pops up telling you whether there are any issues. Just make sure you have the correct seat map for your particular aircraft. This image is a portion of a seat map for a large aircraft.
by Sandra Hutchinson
One of my favorite events anywhere, Virginia Historic Garden Week, the oldest house and garden tour in the United States, takes place this year from April 27 through May 4, throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Multiple private homes and gardens are open to visitors, with the purchase of tickets. The 31 tours are organized and hosted by 47 member clubs of the Garden Club of Virginia. Click here to access a PDF of this year’s tour book.
by Sandra Hutchinson
The symbol of San Miguel de Allende — La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, the church in the center of the historic district.
I was fortunate to spend a week in beautiful San Miguel de Allende, in Guanajuato, Mexico, during February, 2019. My best friend from childhood, along with members of her family (from the United States), reside for part of the winter in San Miguel. It is known as a cultural center for artists and writers, and many Americans and Canadians either live there for part of the year, or retire and relocate there (“ex-pats”).
by Sandra Hutchinson
For the last three days of our family’s trip to Colombia in January, 2019, we headed to Bogota, the capital. At approximately 8600 feet, Bogota is the third highest altitude capital city in the world.
The plaza in front of La Catedral Primada, Bolivar Square, Bogota, Colombia.
Mural in the neighborhood Comuna 13, in Medellin, Colombia, sums up what has happened in this city since the decades of violence and civil war have largely ended.
By Sandra Hutchinson
After our family had spent several days in Cartagena, on the northern coast of Colombia, we flew with Avianca, the national airline of Colombia, to Medellin. It was an easy, less-than-an hour flight.
Known as the “city of eternal spring” because of its year-round temperate climate, this city of about 2 1/2 million people was also formerly known as the “murder capital of the world,” as the home of notorious drug cartel leader Pablo Escobar. But with Escobar’s death, and a peace accord between the guerrillas and the democratically-elected president, Medellin has evolved, and it’s now considered a relatively safe place to visit.
I’ll mention the highlights of our two days in Medellin. Continue reading
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