Comments on Inkwell Inspirations: Royal Sleighs

Deb, Dr. Zhivago is my MIL's favourite film, a...

2012-01-17T17:55:19.497-05:00

Deb, Dr. Zhivago is my MIL's favourite film, although I've never sat through the complete film. Every time I want to, Nelson goads me to change the channel because his mom made him sit through it 15 times or so.

When I come and visit you someday, you'll have to take me to see your carriage museum. I've never been to one. We have the Western Development Museum of Transportation here, but there's only a couple carriages and sleighs. The rest are every type of conveyance you can imagine. Except boats. I don't remember any boats. But there are planes hanging from the rafters.

Wait! Now that I think of it... they have the enclosed school bus sleigh with the stove inside. Wheee! It's 2 hrs west of here, so I'll plan for a spring trip. Perhaps after Victoria Day so I can ride the steam engine. :)

And don't be envious... put it on your bucket list. It's something to strive for. :)

omigosh. Amazing. I think I'm due to watch Dr....

2012-01-17T17:09:39.560-05:00

omigosh. Amazing. I think I'm due to watch Dr. Zhivago.

These are beautiful and you've done such a nice job with the whole series.
Our local carriage museum has some sleighs and supplements their monthly 'carriage ride day' with sleigh rides. Only, our snow is so 'unreliable' these days....

I am a bit envious of all travels everyone has taken. Wow.

You're welcome, Faye. I really enjoyed the
2012-01-17T16:10:51.690-05:00
You're welcome, Faye.

I really enjoyed the Little Men TV show as well, but I didn't catch all the episodes. If I wasn't so worried about the technology changing, I'd buy the DVD set of the series.

Your comment reminded me that we used to use sleighs here on the prairies similar to Catherine's. Not at all that luxurious, but they were enclosed little rooms to bring the kids to school and back. Like a school bus, but with a pot bellied stove inside and pulled by a team of horses. If I find photos, I'll do a post on them as well.

Thanks for your interest, Faye. I appreciate it. :)

Okay, DebH - you win. When it comes time for me to...

2012-01-17T16:05:46.764-05:00

Okay, DebH - you win. When it comes time for me to travel the globe, I'm taking you with me. :D

What wonderful places you've discovered. I hope you have photos to get Guppy interested. I love getting out and 'exploring' with my kids.

I can totally see you as a blogger telling others about your travels.

And about that accent... a Navy accent on one hand ... an Aussie one of the other... hmmm interesting choice. Looks like the Navy man spoke your lauguage. LOL

You've been to the Holy Land, too? You'd be a great resource for a writer of biblical fiction. I'll have to keep that in mind.

Thanks for sharing, Deb. I never knew you'd traveled so much. It's a new facet to your shine. :)

Hmmmm... I wonder how many of those places you've dived in?

Susie - with both you and Suzie talking about the ...

2012-01-17T15:55:20.902-05:00

Susie - with both you and Suzie talking about the miniature museum, I should probably see it as well. It sounds intriguing.

Oh, the Romanov family gems and their Faberge eggs... yes, those intricate works of art would pull me in to the exibit as well.

And yes, I see you and I would have the same trouble in the Smithsonian. It's not a museum you go to just look at... you need time to digest it as well, eh.

One thing about your location, Susie is that you have access to so many wonderful things. That's certainly something to consider when a person is looking to buy a home.

LOL DeAnna - this was going to be the post I did o...

2012-01-17T15:48:20.419-05:00

LOL DeAnna - this was going to be the post I did on Dec 20th, but did my Nativity scenes instead.

It's interesting to note that Queen Victoria's sleigh first went on display to the public at Windsor Castle in 2008. From what I gathered, it's now an annual display (with the crown Christmas tree) from Dec to mid-Jan only. Perhaps the current royal family uses it the rest of the time?

Another Louvre lover. Interesting. (Say that 10 times fast.)

Yes, the Smithsonian is definitely going on my bucket list. Plus a week or 2 to discover it all. Will that be time enough, I wonder?

The British Museum? Hmm... I'm not familiar with it as most things British that catch my eye seem to be in castles. No, I'm not talking princes, although they are distracting.

Thanks, Suzie, I'll have to check. Every provi...

2012-01-17T15:41:05.052-05:00

Thanks, Suzie, I'll have to check. Every province has a provincial museum of history or natural history or something and it's hard to keep track from one province to another.

Yes, the rotunda paintings sound similar to other provincial legislature buildings. For your info, the actual Parliament buildings are in the nation's capital of Ottawa in Ontario. The rest are called legislature buildings.

Hmmm... I wonder if High Tea at the Empress Hotel can be considered a museum tour? Certainly its historic. And it's one of the few items - so far - on my bucket list. :)

Dina! You could've ridden in the reindeer-pull...

2012-01-17T15:34:11.626-05:00

Dina! You could've ridden in the reindeer-pulled sledge if you wanted! Awesome! Or maybe you did and aren't telling.

The story that went with the Crown Prince and Princess of Norway told how they both fell out of their sleighs when someone spooked the reindeer, but they laughed about it and got back in. I thought that was admirable.

Hmmm... Notre Dame. I know it's a Basilica... in London? I'd have to google to be sure, but I've seen pics. It's Gothic, isn't it? Very dramatic, too. Very nice architecture. Always knew you had good taste.

(Are you sure you haven't met a reindeer?)

Lovely post! I enjoyed the pictures and history of...

2012-01-17T15:14:48.747-05:00

Lovely post! I enjoyed the pictures and history of sleighs so much. The other night I was watching one of my all time favorite TV shows from the 90's Little Men, where a sleigh was featured and I thought that it was so cool that they actually found a sleigh! Thanks, Ms. Draper :)

oh, i've been to the museum in Israel where th...

2012-01-17T15:05:44.302-05:00

oh, i've been to the museum in Israel where the Dead Sea Scrolls are as well. How could I forget my visit to Israel and all the sites there? Masada and the Dead Sea... just everything there.

And the Great Pyramid at Giza. Rode a camel there too...

as always, loving this post Anita. the size of Cat...

2012-01-17T15:03:13.624-05:00

as always, loving this post Anita. the size of Catherine's sleigh boggles the mind. hard to imagine such wealth to be able to create such a vehicle along with the entourage that accompanied her.

i've visited a Bottmingen Castle in Basel, Switzerland, a couple of museums in Germany (one at checkpoint Charlie before the fall of the Berlin Wall), and a few Soviet museums in the Ukraine. The armour at the Swiss castle amazed me because all the armour was so tiny. The most interesting museum was the one near Kiev which was about all the cities abandoned after the meltdown at Chernobyl and the health results on families and especially children there from the fallout.

I love traveling around the globe. I've yet to reach the Orient (the Phillipines don't quite count) and Australia. I always joked when I was single that if I visited there, I'd come back married because I adore the Aussie accent.

Anita, if you're anywhere near Washington D.C., any of the Smithsonian museums are a must-see.

Great post, Anita! I am still agog over Catherine&...

2012-01-17T15:02:00.175-05:00

Great post, Anita! I am still agog over Catherine's sleigh. Wow-ee.

I've been to the miniature museum and the Parliament building in Victoria, too, Suzie--both were very interesting to me.

I've been able to see some fascinating exhibits on tour at local-ish museums, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Romanov family gems and their Faberge eggs.

The Smithsonian is wonderful, DeAnna. I could spend weeks there. Goodness, I barely saw anything while I was there, yet I saw a *lot* if that makes sense.

Oh, those are neat. Sleighs always make me feel C...

2012-01-17T14:39:18.527-05:00

Oh, those are neat. Sleighs always make me feel Christmassy. :D

I've been to the Louvre and the British Museum (and the surrounding ones).

What I'd really like to see is the Smithsonian!

Anita, yes, it is in Victoria. And I do believe th...

2012-01-17T12:08:54.584-05:00

Anita, yes, it is in Victoria. And I do believe the name is the Provincial Museum. Also, if you go there, you should also go to the parliment building. It's right across the street and they give an amazing tour. The paintings on the rotunda ceilings are stunning.

The cool thing about the wax museum is that the royal family is the first display you come to, and it includes the current family, Diana, and many past members including Henry and his many wives. Oh, and they have Perry Mason there, too. Lol.

My brother in law lives in Stockholm, so I've ...

2012-01-17T11:45:07.142-05:00

My brother in law lives in Stockholm, so I've been there twice.

Favorite old building to date, Notre Dame.

Oh, Lisa, how fascinating. You must have so many m...

2012-01-17T11:40:02.012-05:00

Oh, Lisa, how fascinating. You must have so many memories to share in your books. :)

Catherine's sleighs are mentioned in detail in many documents including her memoirs. Online photographs give attribution to them being at Catherine's Palace as well as the Hermitage. There is also a reference to an exhibition of her carriages and sleighs, which I assumed was on display at the Hermitage instead of their permanent home at Catherine's Palace.

Researching this topic is inciting me to travel overseas - something I had thought of but never dwelled on. Yet the museums and castles which house these conveyances are magnificent and the likes I don't think will ever be built again.

Anita.

Suzie, that's exactly what I'm looking for...

2012-01-17T11:25:47.044-05:00

Suzie, that's exactly what I'm looking for. :)

By provincial museum, I'm guessing you mean one in Victoria, British Columbia (BC), but what is the title? I might get a chance to swing by this summer before I meet you.

I've been to the wax museum in Niagara Falls. I was amazed at how life-like the figures were.

And although I've been to the US, I've never been to an American museum. I'm hoping to rectify that this summer. :)

So actually, you, my dear Suzie, have more foreign museum explorations under your belt that I. :o Haha.

anita.

Oh, and for what it's worth I've been to l...

2012-01-17T10:50:59.205-05:00

Oh, and for what it's worth I've been to lots of foreign museums, including the Louvre and the Hermitage. Although I don't remember seeing the sleigh on display there.

Anita, I'm going to have to include a sleigh i...

2012-01-17T10:49:47.179-05:00

Anita, I'm going to have to include a sleigh in my next story, just I can use some of this information. So interesting! I'm still trying to wrap my head around Catherine's sleigh. I guess it makes sense that the Russians would have perfected that particular means of transportation.

Oh, wow. These are simply gorgeous. I love Catheri...

2012-01-17T10:48:21.523-05:00

Oh, wow. These are simply gorgeous. I love Catherine's sleigh with the embroidery on it. The Norway prince's sled made me laugh.

Although I'm sure I've been to a museum in Japan, I don't remember it. I do remember going to the emperor's palace, though. That was kind of like a museum. They had a lot of things on display.

In Canada, I've been to the Provincial Museum three times. It's a lovely place. And I've also visited a miniatures museum in Canada and a wax museum. Not exactly what you're looking for, Anita, I know. But that's the extent of my foreign travels. I would absolutely love to go to the Louvre.

Dina, that's wonderful that you got to see the...

2012-01-17T10:24:45.927-05:00

Dina, that's wonderful that you got to see the Louvre. All those old masters must be truly a sight. Same as the Swedish royal jewels.

Although I can appreciate their beauty, I probably wouldn't have joined you on those tours, but I would've been right beside you for the old architecture. :)

Did you go to Sweden or were the royal jewels on exhibition in Paris?

Anita.

I visited the Louvre in Paris and also another art...

2012-01-17T08:39:27.213-05:00

I visited the Louvre in Paris and also another art museum there in an old train station. I love art museums and old architecture. I also got to see the royal jewels in Sweden. They were kept underground in what looked like a really clean dungeon.