Wednesday, September 14, 2016

An Edwardian Hotel, and Tomatoes


Man, I had a bizarre night. I had some crazy dreams, and a long awareness that I wasn't very deeply asleep -- that I was creeping along that border between sleeping and waking. I can't even remember what any of the dreams were about. I just remember coming out of that twilight and thinking, "Whoah."

Dave made steak for dinner last night -- my inner erstwhile vegetarian winced, but it was really good. I seem to remember reading that red meat can cause weird dreams. I'm going with that theory.

Plus, it was hot. Yesterday was a day of record heat for this time of year, and I set up our fan (which I thought I had put away for the season) to keep the air circulating all night. But still, the bedroom felt a bit airless and Olga is like a mobile furnace.

Speaking of Olga, I got our weekend trip to Oxford sorted out. In early October we'll be going here, and taking Olga with us. Looks pretty fab, doesn't it? I stumbled onto that hotel online and it spoke to me instantly. I can just see the dog running wild over all those fields. We've tried to reserve a nice room in the main house, but although the place advertises itself as pet-friendly, I'm not sure the management is going to allow a dog in that room -- I have a feeling we may be banished to the outer reaches of the estate.

I realized yesterday that I need to get my passport renewed pronto. I felt like I had lots of time because it doesn't expire until next May. I was going to do it all after Christmas. But apparently I need more than six months of passport validity for some of the countries we're visiting on our cruise in December. So I'm going to be working on that today and getting it sent off tomorrow. I won't need it for Oxford (obviously) and it should be back in plenty of time for Copenhagen at the end of November. Lord, the bureaucracy.


I can't resist inflicting another tomato photo on all of you. Aren't they pretty? We ate these last night -- well, not the green ones, which fell off the bush prematurely, but the red ones. They're not the best tomatoes -- a bit mealy -- but they're ours! (Dave thinks they're mealy because they're roma tomatoes, which are sauce tomatoes. I think they're mealy because we don't know what we're doing. Could be either or both.)

(Top photo: Rotherhithe/Bermondsey, on Sunday.)

11 comments:

Alphie Soup said...

That's not a hotel - that's a palace!! What a fabulous place to stay.

Those tomatoes (tomahtoes) look good in the photo even if, as you claim, they don't taste the best.

Alphie

Anonymous said...

I'm quite sure I have seen this hotel in various films/series. It will be a great place to stay, you'll let us know about it? Hope they give you a room in the Main Hall.

Your tomatoes look great. I'll plant some next spring, too. Years ago I had some little cherry tomatoes in a pot, they tasted delicious.

e said...

Fried green tomatoes? and let us know about that estate...

Yorkshire Pudding said...

You might not need a passport for Oxford but you need one for Yorkshire plus a visitor's visa which you can purchase from me for only £50. It is possible that Dave secreted an acid tab in your steak - hence the weird dreams.

Shooting Parrots said...

Wow, that's a stately home you'll be staying in! You must let me know how the 'pet-friendly' bit works out. We will be visiting Oxford at some point next year and we can't leave Dottie behind.

Ms. Moon said...

That place looks swank! Better bring Olga's pearls.
And that's more tomatoes right there in that picture than we got all summer. So.

Red said...

I think everybody has bizarre dreams from time to time. There are many theories as to causes but I don't think anybody knows. so stick with your idea that the steak caused it.

Sharon said...

OMG...I too had weird dreams last night and woke up not feeling fully rested. I don't really remember the dreams but I remember enough to know that some of them had to do with missing my flights. I usually start having those kind of dreams before a trip. I guess it's a sort of stress thing. It couldn't be steak because I had fish for dinner.
That place you are staying in Oxford looks absolutely fabulous. I'd love to stay in a place like that!

Marty said...

Hey, at least you have tomatoes. Mine are still on the vine, green and so small I can't remember if they're cherry tomatoes or not.
I'm deeply impressed by your next vacation venue. It looks to be the least likely place to be pet friendly.

ellen abbott said...

wow, swanky place. I think you are right about the room you will get. it says dog friendly rooms on the grounds.

jenny_o said...

Ooo, what a beautiful place to visit! And your tomatoes are impressive! Yes, I think roma tomatoes tend to be much less juicy and seedy - but I wouldn't be speaking from experience, only from remembering something I read years ago.