A Baltic boating adventure TRIP REPORT COMPLETED 11/19 - Page 7 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
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If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Saturday 4 June – part five: this looks almost like a conveyer belt.
We then headed downstairs into the servants’ quarters, which I thought was an odd route to take people, but as we carried on through the house, I could understand why.
This passage was the table deckers’ room, which led into the kitchen.
One reason was because you emerged into this amazing room, which was truly breath taking.
This is where Victoria’s body lay after she died here in 1901, which brought a sense of gravity to the room. Princess Alice, Victoria’s second daughter, was also married in here in 1862.
In the next room, we disagreed slightly over the furniture in here. Mark thought it was too gold, but I liked it, and I thought it lightened up the room.
This is the billiard room that was part of the drawing room, but it allowed the men of the household to sit after dinner, out of the Queen’s sight, but still in her presence.
Then we made our way up two sets of stairs to the nurseries. These weren’t the sort of nurseries that you’d expect a child to grow up. Again, they were very formal, and I just can’t imagine any of Victoria’s children having much fun here. I found all the cots lined up together in one room just spooky, as they looked almost like a conveyer belt.
We headed downstairs…
We then made our way through the Queen’s sitting room, which was one of the few rooms in the house I could actually imagine anyone using. It’s a shame that it has that feeling to it, as I was expecting this place to be more homely. Don’t get me wrong, I still liked it. It just wasn’t what I expected.
The Queen’s dressing room was a perfect example of that. It was a bit freaky, with the bathroom area hidden behind big double doors, and a portrait of a dog above it. Not what you expect in your average bathroom.
We both commented on how small the Queen’s bed looked in the next room…
However, one of the staff heard us and came to tell us that it was all an optical illusion, and in fact it was 6’6”, which really surprised us. However, I do stand by my statement that all of the chairs in the house were very low. Many of them looked like kids’ ones, but they weren’t, a lot were for adults.
As we came out of the room, the guy explained about these…
We thought perhaps they were put in to stop the kids bothering their parents, but apparently they were first put in a few years after Victoria’s death. Remember the house was left to the public? Well, when they were first admitted in 1904, I think it was, it was all still a bit raw for the Royal family, and they decided they didn’t want people touring her bedroom, bathroom etc., so they installed these gates to keep visitors out.
Next: how many places have a gun carriage in their downstairs hallway?
I'm with you, yes it's not feeling very homey. You've visited your fair share of stately homes such as this and, I don't know, but this one seems to rank high up there in the category of..... uncomfortable! It's beautiful for sure, but it's supposed to be like their "vacation" home, right? Just doesn't give a vibe of relaxing, but what do I know.
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I'm with you, yes it's not feeling very homey. You've visited your fair share of stately homes such as this and, I don't know, but this one seems to rank high up there in the category of..... uncomfortable! It's beautiful for sure, but it's supposed to be like their "vacation" home, right? Just doesn't give a vibe of relaxing, but what do I know.
You will see the relaxation vibe eventually, trust me, but not in the main house.
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Osborne House is amazing!! I know it seems a little formal for a country retreat, but I would totally live there! Ok, that bed looks for small. It doesn't look like an optical illusion to me. I would have tried to lay down to test it out
Osborne House is amazing!! I know it seems a little formal for a country retreat, but I would totally live there! Ok, that bed looks for small. It doesn't look like an optical illusion to me. I would have tried to lay down to test it out
I don't think that would've been allowed, tempting as the idea is!
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Saturday 4 June – part six: how many places have a gun carriage in their downstairs hallway?
We made our way downstairs…
Now how many places have a gun carriage in their downstairs hallway? Not many I’ll bet…
This is the horn room. Wondering why it’s called that? Well, it’s because nearly all the furniture in here is made from antlers, which was a bit surreal.
When we got to this area…
… we had a lovely member of staff (or volunteer, to be honest I’m not sure how it works at English Heritage, compared to the National Trust – the people we saw could’ve been either ) who kept saying to us that we’d picked the right time to come, as the place was deserted. I told her that was Disney training, get there at opening for the lowest crowds.
And just like Disney, they saved the best until last. This is the Durbar Room, which is exactly what I was expecting to see inside Osborne House, as to me, this design fitted the more extravagant exterior. I absolutely loved it, and the detail was quite something. Mark asked one of the volunteers what it was all made from, and we were both surprised to find out it was made of a combination of wood and papier mache. Queen Victoria would use this room for banquets.
We headed outside, and again, we had the whole place to ourselves. It was just as if it was our own private palace, which was a lovely feeling.
Mark commented that this reminded him of Coral Gables in Miami, and I could see what he meant.
We decided to make our way down to the beach, and you did read that right. It’s located almost a mile away from the house, and we knew there was a minibus service, as I’d read there were steep slopes on the way back. The walk down was very pleasant, and we got some lovely views of the house.
Next: I can see why Queen Victoria fell in love with this place
Funny, right before I read you saying Mark felt like this reminded him of Miami, I said to myself this looks more like Florida or Spain than England.
That last room of the house is amazing! The ceiling is so gorgeous! Not like any papier-mâché I've made!
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It's beautiful for sure, but it's supposed to be like their "vacation" home, right? Just doesn't give a vibe of relaxing, but what do I know. 
) who kept saying to us that we’d picked the right time to come, as the place was deserted. I told her that was Disney training, get there at opening for the lowest crowds. 
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