Sue Hyde The Guide

06/06/2026

04/06/2026

10/05/2026

15/04/2026

SueHydeTheGuide loves a bit of Islamic art because I studied Arabic and I’ve lived in and visited many Muslim countries. So today did I visit a souk in old Aleppo? Did I enter a mosque in downtown Cairo or a Caravansarai on the Silk Route? Nope! I visited Lord Leighton’s House in Kensington west London. He had his late 19th century house and studio turned into thing of Islamic beauty with designs and artefacts from Turkey, Syria and Egypt. It is truly a stunning house and then off to Sambourne House to visit another Victorian artist. This one was the home of Linley Sambourne, a cartoonist for the satirical Punch magazine and his house has pretty much been preserved as it was as a family home from the 1870s. It really helped me to understand Victorian houses. Notice also the stunning Wisteria on another house nearby - you could smell it from across the road. What an interesting day in west London! • • • •

27/03/2026

Look at this lovely Thank You card given to SueHydeTheGuide today. It was hand drawn by one of the lovely students from Williams Honors College, Akron University in Ohio. I’ve been guiding them all week and we’ve all gone through some pretty tiring days out of London to Bath, Cotswolds, Windsor, Stonehenge and Oxford today but they’ve been troopers and kept smiling and laughing even at my jokes! I love the drawings showing their week in London and beyond. • • • •

21/03/2026

SueHydeTheGuide has just finished a 7-day fun-filled packed-in tour with a really super group of students from the University of Illinois. I took them to the usual London sites via Tube and train, but as many of them study Sports and Tourism as part of their degree course we had 2 days focused on sports. So we went to Lords for cricket, Wimbledon for the tennis, Stamford Bridge for Chelsea footie plus of course Wembley Stadium as the spiritual home of footie. Some of the boys were experts at the beautiful English game and English accents! Farewell my lovelies and see you again! • .in.london • • •

11/02/2026

Last but one day in India for SueHydeTheGuide. Yesterday in Jaipur we say how they block print by hand and I bought even more stuff to bring back to the UK -it’s addictive! Then early ish start for 5 hour train journey to Agra. Then all us ladies in the group changed into various colours of saris and headed to the place of dreams - The Taj Mahal or Crown Palace. Built in the mid 1600s by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan for his beloved 3rd wife Mumtaz after she died giving birth for the 14th time - poor woman. It’s even more beautiful than you think it’s going to be even with the crowds. Aaah Incredible India! • 🇮🇳 •

10/02/2026

SueHydeTheGuide Day 2 in Jaipur. Today was pretty touristy so lots of on and off a minibus, endless photos, people trying to sell stuff and lots of tour guides 🫨. However, take away the tourism and try to imagine a time not that long ago when the real Maharaja of Jaipur and his many wives lived in the Amber Fort. The building is stunning and a much smaller version of the Great Wall of China surrounds the huge complex. In the UK (amongst other countries) we have ONE monarch, while India had about 500 until Independence in 1947 when they had to give up their titles for the new post-colonial country ! No wonder the old East India Company were dazzled by the richness to be found here in the early years of the 17th and 18th centuries. Indian opulence, colour and skill offered far greater treasures than Europe had to offer. Anyway.. off to see how they block print the fabric here then an evening with a local family learning to make chapatis and bhajis. Another great day! • •