architecture

Vienna: The Spanish Riding School and Hofburg Palace

girlintheprettydressLeave a comment

There was so much to see in Vienna that it would be impossible to fit it all into one post so let me start with showing you guys The Spanish Riding School and the Hofburg Palace.

The Spanish Riding School was #1 on my list of things to see in Vienna. We were lucky enough to book tickets to one of the last shows before the stallions have their annual summer break. It’s a place steeped in tradition and it completely lived up to all my expectations.

The Museum’s quarter in Vienna was formerly the imperial stables, but the horses are now stabled across from the Spanish Riding School. There is so much to see and do in Vienna, but with the weather being so glorious we spent most of our time outdoors taking in all the beautiful sights. (I have every intention of going back one winter to explore inside the many museums and palaces.) The Spanish Riding School was pretty much the only time we spent indoors – as well as the show we also booked onto the Behind the Scenes Tour of the facilities, which is worth doing. It’s prohibited to take pictures of the horses at any time (for good reason) but I did manage to get a sneaky shot of the stable cat!

Something for the Weekend: Lyme Park

girlintheprettydressLeave a comment

A couple of weeks ago we were blessed with a rare springtime blast of sunshine and warmth (you all know by now how much I love the sunshine!) so I decided to take myself off for the day to Lyme Park. I’ve visited it in the past but I was about 5 at the time and purely there to see Santa – and so understandably I wasn’t so fussed for the gardens or the house.

Lyme Park is pretty recognisable as it’s been used in dozens of films and TV programmes in the past (a rather soggy Colin Firth famously climbed out of the lake here, when he was playing Mr Darcy in the BBC’s adaptation of ‘Pride and Prejudice’) and luckily it’s not too far from where I live.

The house and grounds used to belong to an old aristocratic family but after the second world war it was sold to the National Trust – who now manage and maintain it. The National Trust is a charity I am very proud to support as they do a lot of work maintaining hundreds of sites of historic importance. I was so impressed by their work on my visit that I signed up for a year’s membership – which gives me free entry to all their properties for the very reasonable cost of just £60 (if you are 25 or under it’s just £30 for a year.)

Sadly taking photographs inside the house isn’t allowed – but trust me when I say it is worth seeing. A lot of the artefacts and paintings are on loan from private collections and every room has a fascinating bit of history attached to it.

The last building pictured is known as ‘The Cage’. I didn’t have as much time to explore the grounds and deer park as I’d have liked on my visit so I will no doubt be going back again soon…