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    London Meowing

    Cat crazy in London: High tea with kitties, Year of the Cat concert add purrfect touch to overseas jaunt

    Jane Howze
    Jun 14, 2015 | 12:27 pm

    I had not been to London as a tourist since I graduated from law school, and my best friend and I spent two months backpacking through Europe. Of course I’m in London for business trips and changing planes, but I had not had the opportunity to play tourist. My friend and I, who had not traveled together in over 30 years, both shared a desire to attend a concert at the famed Royal Albert Hall and a love for musicians dating back to our law school years.

    Last fall we learned that Al Stewart, the popular Englishman who penned Year of the Cat, would be performing the entire album with his original band at Royal Albert Hall. We snagged our tickets and figured we would fill in the rest of the trip by asking for recommendations for the four-day stay from our Facebook friends.

    Boom town and tube town

    Like many global cities, London is booming. Everywhere we looked there were new buildings and cranes. Real estate prices outstrip even those in New York. There is a booming tech center and many more U.S. companies have set up shop in the downtown area known as the “City.” Although traffic is as bad as we remembered it, the London tube system remains the best in the world, and even 30 years later we easily got around.

    A stroll in the parks

    No matter how many times you have visited London the parks and gardens never fail to enchant. On our first day we walked from the Piccadilly area to Regent Park, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Park (where Prince William and Princess Kate reside) and St. James Park.

    A museum worth visiting

    Museums have never been my passion. I tend to people-watch, walk and spend more time outside. The idea of spending a day — even two hours — indoors at the British Museum sounded boring. Boy was I wrong. It truly is one of the finest museums in the world.

    The museum is free and is arranged so that you feel like you are taking a trip through time as you walk through the wide halls that are not overly crowded.

    Established nearly 300 years ago, the British Museum is devoted to human history and culture. Its permanent collection, numbering some eight million works, is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence and originates from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.

    The museum is free and is arranged so that you feel like you are taking a trip through time as you walk through the wide halls that are not overly crowded. And although the busiest rooms were those housing the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles (Amal Clooney has been representing Greece in their attempts to have them returned) and Egyptian mummies, we found much to like in the less-crowded rooms.

    One of the current exhibits shows how cultures then and now deal with death. On the flip side of the coin (pardon the pun) is a room devoted to the history of money. It was interesting to see the world’s first credit card, which dated back to the 1950s. The time we spent at the museum flew by. To do justice to the museum you need at least two full days. Prepare to walk a lot.

    Movie-loving church

    Most tourists high tail it to Westminster Abbey, where Prince William married Kate Middleton, or St. Paul, where Prince Charles married Princess Diana, but we were tipped off to visit St. Bartholomew the Great, which was founded in 1123 and is London’s oldest surviving church.

    Although the church is not on the tourist trek, it has appeared in several big movies, including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Shakespeare in Love, Amazing Grace and The Other Boleyn Girl. The church was largely tourist free, perhaps because there was a wedding take place, which made for even more beautiful pictures and seemed like a good omen for the rest of our trip.

    Kinks musical

    There is no shortage of good theater in London. Despite several U.S. imports now playing (The Jersey Boys, Beautiful and Bradley Cooper’s Elephant Man), we decided to see something both decidedly British and with a wink back to our law school days.

    Sunny Afternoon is the story of '70s Brit band The Kinks and their rise to stardom. The show had won a number of Olivier awards — Britain’s version of our Tony’s — so off we went. While The Kinks didn’t have the catalog of the Four Seasons or Carole King, the play had so much heart and energy, and the actors so captured the clothing and the mood of the '70s that we left wondering if we should pull our bell bottom pants from the attic.

    Royal concerts

    As a fluke we learned that Eric Clapton was performing at Royal Albert Hall for his 70th birthday the night before Al Stewart, and were able to snag a couple of tickets. The arena opened in 1871 and is only used for concerts. There is sacredness about this hall. Although RAH holds over 5,000, it is built so that the upper levels are pitched toward the stage, so it seems much more intimate.

    Even though our tickets were in the nose-bleed section, we were almost sitting on top of Clapton. The audience, while appreciative, did not stand up and dance in place as is typical at U.S. venues. Perhaps it was the venue itself, or the fact that those in the upper levels literally had no room to do so and risked falling onto the stage if they did.

    Clapton was quite different than he was when he performed in the Toyota Center the last couple of years, when he barely said hello. He was appreciative of his audience, and as he paused to tune his guitar the audience broke out into a spontaneous "Happy Birthday," whereupon Clapton flashed a delighted grin. And by golly, this time he sang “Layla,” although I would have preferred the non-acoustic version. It was his 200th Royal Albert Hall performance and what a performance it was.

    Al Stewart and his full band also played to a sold out crowd at Royal Albert Hall a night later, and although he had played many gigs there earlier in his career, this performance was a bigger deal because he now mostly plays small clubs with one back-up musician and little fanfare. (He usually plays the Dosey Doe venue north of Houston once or twice a year to enthusiastic audiences.)

    Music has a way of touching your heart, bringing the past back to the present and reminding you of where you have come from. Hearing this plucky talented musician still at top form, singing our favorites from a distant time at a distant place brought tears and joy to my friend and me. It was an emotional night.

    Year of the Cat turns to Day of the Cats

    No vacation is complete unless one does something really crazy. Crazy for us meant taking the advice of a Facebook friend to visit Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium. Why would we run across town and pay 35 pounds ($54) each to visit cats when we both have our own? Go figure. Lady Dinah’s opened last year after using crowdfunding to raise 108 thousand pounds (about $168,000).

    These cats are savvy social media creatures and each has his or her own Twitter account.

    Lady Dinah’s is located in a hip part of the city, with a dozen cats rescued from a local animal shelter, and its guests can pay six pounds an hour to just hang out with the cats, or do as we did and pay 35 pounds and have high tea with the cats, which included delicious cakes and cookies, in a special room with Victorian furniture for both the adults and the cats. Each cat has its own personality and picture on the wall describing it. These cats are savvy social media creatures and each has his or her own Twitter account.

    Before you laugh and wonder how a business like that could survive, tea times are sold out through June. I predict there are enough crazy cat people (including me) that this idea will catch on here in the States. Who knew our “year of the cat” concert trip would end up with “afternoon tea with the cat?”

    A purrfect ending to a nostalgic trip.

    Cat fancy at Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium in London, where you can have high tea with these kitties.

    Lady Dinah's Cate Emporium in London
      
    Courtesy of Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium
    Cat fancy at Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium in London, where you can have high tea with these kitties.
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    Riverside Reno

    Fresh makeover turns Hill Country hotel into modern riverside refuge

    Brianna Caleri
    Jun 12, 2025 | 2:36 pm
    Hacienda Del Rio Hotel and Bar
    Photo courtesy of Hacienda Del Rio\u200b
    No matter how cosmopolitan the hotel gets, nothing can beat the trees around this pool.

    After a two-year renovation and rebranding, Hacienda Del Rio Hotel and Bar has opened in Gruene, a historic district within New Braunfels. Formerly the Gruene Outpost River Lodge, the property along the Guadalupe River now has 48 renovated rooms, new outdoor sports like pickleball, and updated amenities at the pool.

    The River Lodge's previous aesthetic was DIY and rustic, but the new Hacienda Del Rio has a much more cosmopolitan, contemporary design. The new look is full of midcentury styles, but with other eclectic elements mixed in. A press release declares the space was "designed in the spirit of Spanish colonial architecture," but don't expect anything old-fashioned.

    Hacienda Del Rio\u200b Hotel and Bar interiorThese earthy tones mellow out an otherwise energetic space.Photo courtesy of Hacienda Del Rio

    Texas-based hotel group French Cowboys was behind this major makeover, which started in April 2023. That puts Hacienda Del Rio in a family with Camp Comfort and The Meyer Hotel in the Hill Country town of Comfort; the Claire Hotel near Canyon Lake; the Gruene River Inn and Heidelberg Lodges in New Braunfels, and Webber East in Austin.

    The Hacienda can accommodate up to 178 guests in a variety of room layouts including kings, double queens, and suites. Bathrooms and showers are new, and rooms are outfitted with smart TVs, plus custom steel doors and windows. Photos of guestrooms, although they are colorful, show off a streamlined sensibility.

    A new clubhouse and cocktail bar draws guests who may not be staying overnight. Coffee and breakfast will be available in the morning, followed by daytime snacks, and finally a full bar in the evening. Anyone who stops by can enjoy beer, wine, and signature cocktails, plus shuffleboard, a pool table, and even some workspace. There will also be a new conference room for presentations, retreats, and more.

    Hacienda Del Rio\u200b Hotel and Bar interiorThis lounge is open to hotel guests and the public.Photo courtesy of Hacienda Del Rio

    Departing from the artsy interior to New Braunfels' beautiful surroundings, guests can play pickleball, beach volleyball, and basketball on a half-court, plus fire pits near the river and kayaks, paddleboards, and floats. River adventures will be facilitated by Paddle Texas, which will offer rentals and experiences. Finally, a renovated pool and deck provide more leisure space.

    “‘Del Rio’ reflects the area’s deep connection to the Guadalupe River, where guests can jump in, float, or just hang out by the water, whether it’s at the river or our pool," said French Cowboys co-founder Dylan Petrich in a press release. "And Hacienda captures our vision of creating a vibrant, social place where people can kick back, enjoy the outdoors, and grab a drink, all in one of the Hill Country’s most iconic destinations, without breaking the bank."

    Rates start at $125 per night, and the food and beverage space is open every day. Introductory rates are available for those who book through December 31, 2025.

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