In a somewhat last minute manner, I took a 6 day trip to London that was worth every minute of the suspenseful will she/won't she 2 weeks leading to wheels up.
As many of you know (or maybe you don't), my sister Nicole works for GE Aviation, and travels quite a bit. We've frequently talked about me tagging along on one of her business trips, but have never actually gotten our schedules to sync, until now. It was definitely last minute, as she had to pull and then weave together several threads leading to a meeting in London.
So here we are. Landed on a (very) rainy day in London - wow - like we never left home. Except the buildings, history and city are much older and definitely more interesting. We took the Paddington Express from Heathrow to Paddington Station, where we transferred to the tube to Oxford Circus ("Mind the Gap"), and then to the Central line ("this is a Central Line Train to Ealing Broadway") getting off at the Marble Arch stop. Only significant in that when Nicole booked the hotel, Marble Arch Mariott London seems like it would be the Mariott we could see from the tube station exit. No, that is actually the Park Mariott (being across from Hyde Park and all). Marble Arch Mariott is a couple blocks down, right on Edgeware, and then another 4 or 5 blocks. Hmmm....right through little Lebanon where the people are sitting outside under an awning smoking on the hookah day and night. Luckily we got to the right hotel, and got checked in, cleaned up and headed back out (yes, in the rain).
Since we were tired, we decided to tube it to Westminster, and stretch our legs with some walking. Our timing was great, as we got to hear Big Ben (which is actually the bell, not the tower) chime the hour. Westminster bridge over the Thames - look to your left and you have the London Eye - a jarring bit of modern...something...amidst the beauty of the Houses of Parliament to your right. I suppose the juxtaposition makes you appreciate the genius of the historic architects even more.
We walked past Westminster (closed for the day) and around a bit, before being serenaded at a fortuitous loo stop. I could have sworn she was singing 'Sah Dah Tay' but Nicole says not.
On to Harrods for a walk through the "Halls of Luxury". Yes, they really are called that. Nicole fell in love with jewelry by Wendy Yue, while I coveted the beautiful Alexander McQueen bag. Unfortunately it would take a bit more dosh than we currently have to come home with such things. As beautiful as those items were, there was also a tremendous Lladro figure (like 2ft long) upstairs that was sort of spectacular/garish/peculiar all at the same time. Wandering through Harrods, the majority were tourists looking and admiring, with what appeared to be the majority of the buyers transacting in the Halls of Luxury being Arabic or Indian. Draw your own conclusions, I merely observe. On to Leicester Square for dinner at Bella Italia - yum!
Next day (after waaay oversleeping!) we got up and got going. A beautiful sunny! day! First we drew plenty of stares as 2 women sitting down for coffee in the Costa across from our hotel in little Lebanon. Why you wold want to allow in, or live next to, people who hate you, your religion and your culture is beyond me, and I'm sure someday the piper will have to be paid, but that's a whole 'nother blog.
ANYway, Big Red bus #7 to the British Museum. What a beautiful building, and, like the Louvre in Paris, you would need several days to see, much less absorb it all. We focused on seeing the Elgin Marbles (at one point they will be repatriated to Greece, so now's the time). Also saw portions of 2 of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World: Mausoleum of Halikarnassos and a marble column drum from the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos. It truly leaves one speechless. We could have spent quite a bit longer, but they literally kicked us out.
So we walked, and got a pasty to eat while heading to Trafalgar Square. Why you would have a monument to the fire that wiped out your entire city is a mystery to me, but so be it. We actually had a destination, the Strand Hotel where we were to meet up with our Jack the Ripper tour. Our tour guide was a handsome Scot named John, who was knowledgeable and witty, and did I mention handsome? It is certainly one thing to read about Jack the Ripper, and the brutal murders that happened so long ago. It is an entirely different thing to walk the streets of Whitechapel the prostitutes and murderer walked, see the Ten Bells pub they frequented, and stand on the sites where the bodies were found. It's morbid in its fascination all these decades later, but despite the claims of experts, and the many theories, it's doubtful we'll ever know who he was, or his motives.
We finished up the evening at the Sherlock Holmes pub back in Trafalgar Square where we had (another) pint and some grand old fish and chips.
Nicole had her first day of meetings Monday, so I had the entire day to myself. It was another beautiful sunny day, and I opted for the Tower of London. If you know your English history, you will be endlessly fascinated by this place. Begun by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, added to by successive rulers, and with so much intact, I spent almost 7 hours climbing ancient staircases, walking the inner curtain walls, imagining and pondering much. The interactive armory exhibit in the White Tower was great, although I waaay overshot my arrow, and my cannon fire was a near miss. At least I knew my sword, mace, and axe work!
One random thought that jumped out at me while I was there, is that I never want to hear the myth of the ugly American tourist again. I watched over and over as others (Italians, Middle Eastern, Indian, French and Asian) blatantly disregarded the no-photography signs of some of the older more delicate items, reached past barriers to touch things, pushed and pummeled past others in crowds, and generally were altogether ill-behaved and appallingly rude.
I left as the Tower was closing for the day, and met Nicole and her work colleagues for a pint at the Three Greyhounds, and then dinner. One of her work mates, Jonathan and I apparently share a similar reading taste, having a great discussion of the 9th century Saxons and Danes, and the rise of Alfred the Great. He also lives smack dab in Cheltenham - horse country and home to the Cheltenham Gold Cup!
Next day - also sunny! This time I headed for Kensington Palace. Today, home of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate), but more interestingly (at least to me) home to Queen Victoria, George (I II and III) William and Mary (only co-rulers) and Queen Anne. The historic and public areas underwent a massive restoration project, and they've done a beautiful job. The room in which Queen Victoria gave her first speech to her Ministers (at age 18), many of her childhood drawings, furniture, writings, photos, etc were fascinating. Moving on to the Georgian rooms, you are invited to play a card game (apparently George I was quite fond of cards, could move up or down in his estimation with successful and witty play). One can collect cards as you move through the various restored rooms, and at the end the 3 cards you end up with each have a letter you use to spell a word. The final room has drawers with 3-letter words on each, match your hand, open the drawer and find your place in the king's coterie. Before you get there, you have an opportunity to play a card game (Commerce - reminds me a bit of poker) with 2 courtiers. I won with a higher flush, thus receiving the difficult to obtain card that gave my final hand of 3 ANT- which, upon opening my drawer- named me Master Politician and member of the King's Privy Council. Huzzah!
One can also walk through the William and Mary rooms, listen to the whisperings of court as you sit in a window seat, and see the sad and ultimately doomed efforts of Queen Anne to produce a living heir to perpetuate the Stuarts on the throne.
I exited to the Orangery (attributed to both Wren and Hawkesworth) and wandered the gardens. Then out into the larger Hyde Park where I walked the rest of the late afternoon away. There is a Princess Diana Memorial Playground that is gated in the Park. It is monitored, and only adults accompanying children under 12 are allowed in. There is also an awesome disclaimer I should have photographed. It was about how all play has a certain element of risk, and while you should supervise your child, taking risks at play better prepares them for the challenges of the outside world. Every American parent should have to read that.
I ended up in Knightsbridge, and went into Harrods again to see the horse items up on the 5th floor. It is mostly people clothing - some of it actually FOR people who ride, but an awful lot for people who want to look like they do. At least as interesting was the bullet proof clothing a few sections away. Apparently there is quite a market for such!
I met Nicole back at the hotel to head to SoHo for dinner. At this point I should mention that a great many people we encountered (as clerks or other service folks) did not speak English as a first language (or possibly even second), which is not typically noteworthy. However, not one of them could tell us where anything was, or how to get where we were asking for directions to - puzzling - and I must say - NOT Olympics ready. That's what made our encounter with the gentleman who directed us to SoHo so unique. English was not his first language, but he knew where we trying to get to, and how to direct us there. We wandered for a bit, and had dinner at a delicious Moroccan/Spanish restaurant - where - from our second floor table by the window - we observed the absolutely ripped naked guy across the street. (he may have only been naked from the waist up - hard to tell from our vantage point).
Next day (again with the sun!) Westminster Abbey. It is believed that the original was begun over 1,000 years ago, (roughly 10th century) consecrated during the reign of Edward the Confessor and has been added and built onto over the centuries in a mix of Norman and Gothic styles. Again - if you know your history, you will be captivated and spend about 7+ hours here (like me). If you are a 'check the box' type, you will enjoy the sights, and be in and out in about 90 minutes and on to the next attraction for you to check off. It was interesting doing a spot of people watching, as you can absolutely tell who wanted to really experience the Abbey and who was checking that box in their mental book.
The Abbey is much larger than you can possibly imagine from photos, and from looking up at the ribbon vaults and ornate ceiling painting(s) to looking down at the inscribed tables underfoot, there is a lot to see. Beyond being a burial place for many (Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Margaret Beaufort, Charles II etc, it is also the place of coronation. It pays to brush up on your lines of descent of the English monarchy, as well as your Latin. For reasons I can't explain, I found the tomb of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (grand-daughter of Henry VII) most beautifully rendered.
This is still a 'working' church, and there is a pause for prayer each hour, which, even though I am not Christian, I found beautiful. I'm not sure a lot of people realize that many of stones they are walking on are burial tablets, and on quite a few, the inscriptions are nearly worn away. I asked a curate about preservation, and apparently, since they receive no monetary support from the government, and rely solely on donations and proceeds from entry, they can only afford to have the important stones re-inscribed. One could pay to be buried at Westminster up until the 1800's, and many of the wealthy did, only to be forgotten several generations later, and so their engravings fade away. Somewhere in there is an important allegory about wasting your money on buying remembrance in perpetuity, only to be forgotten in the end.
I exited Westminster, and opted to walk through St. James Park, the "Birdcage" walk to Buckingham Palace. It seems a fairly cold looking heap of rock, particularly when compared to some of the other palaces. The flag was not flying, so apparently The Queen was not at home.
I continued my walk up Constitution Hill to Green Park and then Burlington Arcade to Picadilly Circus. I impulsively bought a ticket at The Lyric theatre in Covent Garden to "Thriller - Live, a tribute to Michael Jackson. It was a sold out show, and I had a great seat in the dress circle, front row. It was a terrific, high energy show that involved the crowd; including a full on Smooth Criminal number. There was a German group behind me, and while they didn't know all the words to the songs, they knew the chorus of many. It was pretty cool to see MJ's global influence, and it reminded me of being on the Spanish Steps in Rome, and hearing all the nationalities sing "Help" by the Beatles..."Help" being the only only word commonly known/sung in that song in that place.
Next day - grey with off and on drizzle. London must be trying to tell me its time to go. Nicole and I had breakfast together, and a bit of shopping. We encountered the greatest saleswoman, she was honest and funny and told me I deserved a "WOW" dress, that the one I tried on wasn't it (color or cut). Loved her! We walked through Selfridges, they have "Rooms of Wonder" - seriously. Then Nicole was off to work and I was off to the London zoo. What a terrific zoo! Their enclosures are huge and naturalistic - and you can be so close to the animals. I loved it! I walked out through Regent's Park, and had a bite at the Honest Sausage. Then Paddington Expressed it out to the Renaissance Heathrow to meet up with Nicole for dinner.
I loved London, and can't wait for a return trip. It may not sound like I saw a lot, but I curated my choices carefully, and spent long, quality hours with each. What I didn't see that I plan to on my next trip: Hampton Palace, the Tate, National Gallery, Museum of London, Cheltenham, Stonehenge, Brighton.
Random Notes:
Oyster cards are genius. Bought an unlimited one for 7 days (good on tube and buses) and got 5 pounds back when we turned them in. Brilliant!
Of COURSE on day one I found the horse racing channel!
I realize that the majority of Olympic events will be held outside of London's environs. HOWever, there will also be a HUGE influx of tourists during the games. Sadly, I have to say, with only 3 months or so to go, London does NOT seem Olympic ready. What started out as a joke (zip bands holding together some of the bars outside the Queen's Gate at the Houses of Parliament) became a running observation. Olympic Ready v Not Olympic Ready. Pictures were duly snapped of both. Additionally (and shockingly!) it seems the only Olympics gear shop is in Paddington station. Boy are they missing a giant revenue opportunity.
I never did get a photo of the random green horse head pointing nose down in Hyde Park. I gotta google that
Giggling like a 4 year old whenever the Tube announcement of destination was Cockfosters or Shephards Bush
Bacon Butties - my breakfast best friend
F-bomb dropping mayoral candidate (and winner!) Boris Johnson - affectionately known as BoJo
A saying I want on a T-Shirt, bumper sticker and permanently engraved for me: Just because I understand, doesn't mean I care"
Favorite quotes:
"Wait! You're AMERican???" "Hey you're the one that asked ME buddy!" - exchange between tube passenger and Nicole in tunnel between tracks
"something or other going up, repeat twice, SHEFFIELD!" - drunk footy fans on tube
"Holy Shit!" - Nicole and Michelle in unison upon realizing what time they slept till on Sunday
"Why do you need a napkin for a beer? Jesus Christ!" - Nicole to Michelle at a pub in Whitechapel during Jack the Ripper tour after a wee spill
"Do you need help finding somewhere? If you want to go and mingle, go up there a couple blocks and turn left" - quite possibly the only man in the entire area of London who recognized that we needed decent directions, and what we were looking for. It didn't hurt that he was very good looking, and, as we deemed, quite Olympic ready.
"I'm doing this as a courtesy, not because you are travelling with her" - snotty KLM airport agent to Nicole and I at Heathrow
I will definitely miss the tube announcements in that lovely plummy accent "this is a Central Line train to Ealing Broadway." "this is Oxford Circus, change here for Jubilee and Victoria lines"
