Lunch with Lady Katharine & another wonderful dinner

Surrey, England: Such a big day! I have so many photos to post tonight from our exciting day in England.  First, I will start with the promised photos of Pear Tree Cottage, before writing about our fun day.

The house from the garden


The south side of Pear Tree Cottage


This is the original part of the house.
Our bedroom is on the second floor.


The front of Pear Tree Cottage, through a lavender path


The conservatory is only five years old - and a
view of the garden (tennis court is behind the hedge)


The dining room is directly below our room


The living room

I know, I know... how do we survive in these surroundings? I will tell you. Food. Shirley feeds us well and constantly. DT and I were going into Kingston for lunch, so Shirley sent us off with a light breakfast.

Just a snack - do you like Shirley's dishes?

Lisa's good friend, Lady Katharine, and her parents invited us into Kingston-Upon-Thames for luncheon today. This was the first time we had met Lady K's family and we were very excited to finally meet the parents who produced this extraordinary girl. Shirley drove us into Kingston to their home, we had a quick tour of the in-progress remodeling and then walked down to the Thames for lunch. We dined on a shaded patio overlooking the river and had a great time getting to know Lady Katharine's parents and her brother, Andy.

On the river: Lady Katharine and her parents and brother

As you can see, we are enjoying perfect weather! I am not exaggerating when I say we had a fabulous meal too. The restaurant, Frere Jacques, is a very nice French bistro... set in the heart of England. Even our waitress was French. We had flat iron steak, pomme fritte and haricot vert. Yummers. From our table, we had a perfect view out to the river and enjoyed watching the tourists and locals walking and shopping. Many boats were traveling up and down the river. Very nice!

Lady Katharine is so much like her Mother in looks and so much like her Father in personality. The nicest people and in five minutes we were best-of-friends. I will admit that I shamelessly flirted with her adorable brother (22 and single, ladies!). After lunch, we walked a bit along the river and then took a rambling route back to their house.

We had the historic tour! The first seven Kings of England were crowned right here in Kingston (duh, thus the name) and it was a lively commerce center. We passed a church that was built in the 1300's... so though Kingston is not a new town, the Gap and Borders and Starbucks are quite firmly planted in town and the streets were crawling with shoppers. Here are photos of Kingston:

The Coronation Stone: Starting with Edward the Elder
in 900, the first seven English Kings would sit upon
this stone during the coronation ceremony.

Of course - today is The Big Day! The new Harry Potter book is out. I understand it has a different cover than the American version. Also, in the UK they print an "adult" cover so adults won't have to be embarrassed reading a children's book on the tube! There was a street market where I found these gorgeous peppers:
 
 
 
 

Farmer's Market peppers in Kingston

DT and I hopped a train and then a taxi to Pear Tree Cottage, arriving at 6:30 pm. Didn't want to be late for dinner!!!

Dinner with Shirley's parents, Jean & Stan and a friend from Taipei, Janet


Here is a photo of three veteran Taipei Mahjong players, Janet, me and Shirley


Martin & Shirley

I am sorry to have to report that tonight we only had two salads. Shirley served a delicious pasta dish - penne tossed with roasted vegetables and cheese. Martin grilled steaks and we had a tossed green salad and a bean sprout salad. Raspberry cheesecake was served for dessert. Several corks were pulled. It was wonderful to see Shirley's family again and fun to see the always-delightful Janet.