Rosse rose per te ho comprato stasera

Rosse rose per te ho comprato stasersa ...
Red roses I have bought for you tonight ...

A significant birthday looms ... my solution was to run away to a beautiful hotel for a few days and pretend it won't happen. J was at camp for four days with her school so it seemed a perfect time to get away. Mad dash to Cambridge to stay at Langdon Hall on June 16th and 17th and to see a play the next day at nearby Stratford Festival. This is our fourth visit to Langdon which is not inexpensive but I like to reserve our stays for special occasions. We arrived just after five after a snarl of traffic.

I requested a room in the main house which I don't believe we have stayed in before rather than the Cloister Rooms - an adjoining building to the south of the manor. We were in Lady Slipper 7 (gotta love these names!) which faces west and is just above the entrance. I was greeted by a dozen large beautiful red roses which R had ordered and a small package which contained three CDs with music from every year since my birth. He had put a photo of my mom and I when I was about a year old on the cover of the CDs. I was so touched! And grateful for such a sweet gesture.

Great room (pictured above) - with a small anteroom containing a large armoire and tea things set on a chest of drawers, working fireplace, walk-in shower, chaise longue and miniscule TV, unbelievably small, a gorgeous bed in beautiful crisp white linens and russet coloured pillows with drapes to match. We flaked out, tired and cozy on the bed, to wait for dinner in the Dining Room at 7.30.

I love to dress up for dinner, how civilized and fun! The Dining Room has east facing windows all along one side and faces the lily pond and a pretty patio terrace. Fresh flowers, candles, beautifully simple white china - magical and elegant.

The food is wonderful - fresh ingredients from the garden on the grounds, beautifully presented, original recipes, gorgeous venue - a foodie paradise. We ordered lobster ragout and pickerel ceviche for appetizers; beef tenderloin and guinea hen for the mains; and, chocolate torte and citrus pave (a layered cookie tart) for dessert.

We walked the length of the grounds after dinner just after sunset - along the edge of the pond, through the entranceway to the Cloister Rooms, across the croquet lawn, and sat for a while on the back porch.

We saw the stone again that was laid for Catherine Wilks' husband Garth Thomson. Catherine's father, Eugene Langdon Wilks (1855-1934), was the great grandson of John Jacob Astor (on the maternal side). Catherine owned the property until 1982. The history of the property and the family alone is intriguing. The present owners purchased it in 1989 and refurbished it as Langdon Hall.

And were we glad they did!