LONDON--DAY 4

Monday, June 4

After two days of eating breakfast (Coffee Americano and pastries) at the Island Restaurant (white tablecloth, small coffee cups, and expensive food) we discovered Caffe Nero, a Starbucks-like chain with locations all over London and the surrounding areas.  Caffe Nero became our “home away from home” while we were at the Lancaster London.  It was about a 5-minute walk from the hotel but was definitely worth it, even in rain and cold temperatures.  Our grande café Americanos were made with not one but two shots of espresso and were so strong that we had to doctor them up with lots of cream and brown sugar.  We treated ourselves to almond croissants or muffins each morning.  So much for the South Beach Diet and the 13 pounds I had lost prior to the trip.  As Glenn says, we are more full of starch than a Chinese laundry.  I could actually feel the weight packing back on with every bite of cream, sugar, pastries, and other carbohydrates, but every carb was worth it.  Like Scarlet O’Hara, I shall worry about that tomorrow.

Because I had watched the movie about Queen Victoria on the flight to London, I was anxious to see the Victoria & Albert Museum.  Our Original Bus tickets were good for an additional day because of the traffic jams and road closures occurring as a result of the Queen’s Jubilee, so after breakfast we headed back to the bus stop and caught the first red double-decker that came by and made our way across town to see what Victoria and Albert had to offer.  We were not disappointed.  Housed in the Museum are decorative arts from all over the world dating back over a thousand or more years.  There are 150 rooms and twelve miles of corridors—no, we didn’t see it all.

Chandelier in the lobby of the Victoria and Albert Museum

The new Medieval and Renaissance Gallery

Samson slaying the Philistine

with the jawbone of an ass

One of the very disappointing things about our time there was the fact that we had to budget our time in order to see as many different things as we could.  We saw only a few rooms of artifacts before we realized it was time to move on and rejoin our tour bus.

One of my favorite rooms included tomb effigies including this one of Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of King Henry II, who is reading a book while dead.

Hungry for American food, we hopped off the bus near the Hard Rock for lunch.  We discovered that this was the original Hard Rock.  It was opened by two Texas businessmen who were in London and were disappointed because they could not find a restaurant that served a really good hamburger.  They made the decision to open their own restaurant.  As the story goes, Eric Clapton enjoyed eating there but didn’t enjoy the wait for a table, so he asked if he could hang one of his guitars over his favorite place and have that sspot reserved for him whenever he was there.  Others followed suit, and soon the restaurant was filled with donations from many popular musicians.  Here is one of Elton John's costumes.

The last thing on the agenda for the day was our boat trip down the Thames.  Excitedly we boarded, found a seat, bought bottles of water (from Turkey) to quench our thirst, and settled in for a long boat ride.  About ten minutes later, the boat docked at the next pier, and it was announced that everyone had to get off.  So much for a scenic river tour.

We returned to the good old Lancaster London via The Tube and enjoyed an evening meal of peanut butter crackers while we watched the Queen’s Jubilee Concert on the telly.  Having seen the ridiculous number of people lining the streets we knew that the Concert was best viewed from our bed.  When the fireworks started at the end, I turned off the sound on the television and listened to them live from across Kensington Garden.  Pretty cool.

LONDON--DAY 3

Sunday, June 3

This morning we attended services at a beautiful Victorian age church about a half block from the hotel.  The first hymn was “Holy, Holy, Holy,” which we knew, but everything else was a bit different from what we are accustomed to.  The service was Anglican, very different from our Baptist worship.  As the service came to a close, the choir and congregation stood and sang “God Save the Queen.”  The congregation was warm and welcoming, as were the vicars, and we were invited to attend a celebration following the services to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  The church bulletin actually stated that they would be serving “fizz” after the service.

 

 

                 St. James's, Sussex Gardens

We also purchased our Oyster Cards today.  Oyster cards are good for seven days and permit you to ride all public transportation (The Tube and buses) by just scanning the picture of the Queen on the face of the card.  We tried out our public transportation skills by riding the Tube to Piccadilly Circus. By the way, it is not a circus.  We then walked through Covent Garden (not a garden but a nice shopping area--Gap, etc.) to Leicester Square (really a square!).  It is pronounced Lester.

We saw this guy there posing as a human statue, and I couldn't resist having my picture made with him.  In appreciation, I contributed a pound to his boot.

One of the things I loved most in Leicester Square was this clock which chimes every hour for about ten minutes.  It puts on quite a show.  Even the cows bob their heads up and down.

This entire area was congested with people headed toward the Thames to watch the Queen’s Flotilla. 

We felt that even if we were able to make it to the River we wouldn’t be able to see much due to the great number of people trying to see the event.  It was raining as well.  We were walking past the National Portrait Gallery, so we went in and did the Rick Steves self-guided tour.  I kept thinking of my friend Kelly, the art teacher, who would absolutely love seeing all of the beautiful portraits on display.

This Gallery contains portraits, statues, or busts of almost anyone you can think of who had anything to do with British government, the monarchy, the arts or the sciences.  Like most of the places you visit in London, photography is prohibited, but Glenn did not realize this until he had taken this picture.

I was sure that our camera was going to be confiscated or at least we would be made to delete that particular photo, but we were only told very politely, so very typical of the British, that that was quite all right--just don't take any more.

After the Portrait Gallery tour we were determined to find our way back to the hotel.  The streets were so crowded with people leaving the Flotilla and it was raining so hard that Underground attendants were actually turning people away from the Tube stations.  We finally found one that we could enter, and we were afraid of being knocked down and trampled by the crowd. 

In time we were able to get on a train and soon we reached the safety of Lancaster Gate and the Paddington area.  We went back to The Swan for dinner.  Glenn ordered Bangers and Mash (three sausages and gravy atop a large pile of mashed potatoes), and I had a jacket potato stuffed with, of all things, pork and beans and covered in cheese.  Strange day, strange food . . . but we were loving it!

LONDON--DAY 2

Day 2 began as a typical London day—cold, damp, and overcast.  After layering our clothing and packing snacks, we set out to ride the double-decker buses and get a little more familiar with the city.  After much consultation with our Rick Steves guide book plus the recommendation of our hotel concierge, we felt that the Big Red Bus line would be  the one that would best suit us.  After freezing at the bus stop for half an hour waiting on the Big Bus Line to pick us up, we chose the other bus line, The Original.

Our first Original Bus tour guide spoke with such a strong British accent that we hadn’t a clue what he was saying and could only pick out certain things like …….. Margaret Thatcher ………… city hall ………… Ian Fleming, so we chose to get off that bus and visit the Tower of London, including the Crown Jewels.

Before we could visit the Tower, I had to take a quick potty break, or as the British say, “spend a penny.”  We found a KFC that had a toilet, but if you didn’t purchase food, you had to purchase your loo visit (50 pence) which turned out to be a tad more than a penny.  Anyway, we shared a chicken sandwich and chips (fries) to fund my potty break.  This was actually one of our favorite meals.  By the way, bathrooms (or toilets, as they are called) are built into very tight spaces, generally up or down very steep stairs, and are usually accompanied by this sign:

The Tower of London was amazing, but unfortunately while there Glenn was the victim of a bird attack.  Luckily, I had a tissue in my bag so I quickly cleaned off the bird poop from his hat and brand-new green jacket.

Glenn loved the moat at the Tower—originally the sewer system—designed with a dual purpose in mind:  for protection from enemies and for waste disposal.  Double protection, you might say.  What enemy would want to swim through sewage to get to you? 

At the Tower we saw suits of armor, canons, rifles,

and the Queen’s Crown Jewels (unfortunately, no pics of the jewels).  You step on to a people-mover which takes you quickly past the jewels.  No one spends too much time there.  

I particularly enjoyed seeing the part of The Tower where people lived.  Here is what the throne looked like:

and one of the stained-glass windows.

We also had our first glimpse of the Buckingham Palace Guards.

About the time I was wiping bird poo off of Glenn, we began to hear canon fire—a twenty-one gun salute--from across the street—later we found out this was the beginning of the Queen’s Jubilee Celebration.

Our last stop at The Tower was the torture chamber.  We saw the "chopping block" where many lost their heads.  They also had other lovely objects on display that were used on some of their most unfavorite fellows.

After several hours at The Tower, we left, rejoined our Original Bus Tour, and ended up on Fleet Street, where we found Ye Old Cheshire Cheese pub, which Glenn had heard about on The Ticket, his favorite sports radio station.  This pub was frequented by Samuel Johnson, who wrote the first dictionary, and who we discovered lived just a short walk from the pub.  Others who once were regulars were Charles Dickens and Mark Twain.  This was evidently the "Cheers" of London.  The original pub was destroyed by the great fire of London in 1666 and was rebuilt in 1667.  Here are some pictures:

As you can see, there is little head room at Ye Old Cheshire Cheese,

 and women have not always been welcomed there:

Exhausted, we returned to our hotel and decided to eat dinner at the Island Restaurant.  Our breakfast that morning had been really nice, and it was such a beautiful place.  This turned out to be a meal we regretted getting.  My London hamburger was nothing like the hamburgers we get here, so Glenn offered to exchange plates with me.  His fish and chips with mushy peas were nothing like what we had eaten the night before at The Swan, so we made the decision to not eat again at The Island.

We were really happy that we had taken peanut butter crackers and trail mix on our London trip.  No more white table cloth meals for us--it would be pub food from now on!

AND THE EVENING AND THE MORNING WERE THE FIRST DAY

We arrived at DFW Thursday evening with plenty of time to spare—at least enough time to have one last Tex-Mex meal before leaving the country.  With tongues burning we made our way to the booth that converts your hard-earned American dollars into British pounds.  Then we discovered that our flight had been overbooked and they were literally begging people to give up their seats to accommodate the thirteen stand-by flyers.  We knew we were not interested—no matter how high the offer.

We eventually boarded and realized that we were not only in the back, but we were in the VERY back behind first class, business class, and the first section of coach.  We were not fortunate enough to get window seats; in fact, we sat in the middle of the section of five seats.  This was not a very comfortable way to spend the night. 

Once we were airborne, the flight attendants began serving up a pre-dinner snack—about thirty minutes later we were offered a choice of cheese ravioli or beef and rice for dinner.  We felt that the cheese ravioli was the safer choice.  Not bad for airline food.

I watched The Young Victoria and really got into the spirit of all things British. About ten o’clock, the lights were turned off for the evening. We dozed until about 3 o’clock Texas time when they started hurriedly handing out breakfast which consisted of a croissant, butter, jam, yogurt, orange juice, and coffee. They rushed us through breakfast and then encouraged us to visit “the toilet” before landing. We also had to fill out Landing Cards if we were not citizens of the UK. We used these to get through customs.

We found everyone at Heathrow to be friendly and accommodating. Customs was a breeze.  So was locating the Train to Paddington Station. Finding our hotel was a little more of a challenge, but after a short walk we arrived and checked in.  We were thankful we arrived without being run over by a bus or cab since it takes a while to train yourself to look the opposite direction before crossing a street.

The Lancaster London is situated across from Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The Italian Garden,

which flows into The Serpentine, is just across the street. This cottage is also in the Park just across the street from our hotel:

We took a long walk late afternoon trying to get some idea what might be around our hotel.  Mostly we are situated in an area of nice apartment houses, very old, small churches, a hospital, some hotels and restaurants, lots of traffic, and most importantly, Paddington Station and Lancaster Gate, our entrance to The Tube (Underground Train System in London).  Our walk took us to Edgware and a largely Middle Eastern section of the city—Lebanese, perhaps.  We found a McDonalds and some very strong coffee which helped wake us up and become more acclimated to our new surroundings.  The walk back took us past quite a few pubs, restaurants, small businesses, and eventually back to the hotel.  We set out a few minutes later to find something for dinner and discovered a pub just about a block from the hotel called The Swan.  We had been told that pub food was reasonably priced and also some of the better food to be found in London.  We placed an order for one plate of fish and chips after we saw the size of the fish.  It comes with “mushy peas” which we were not sure about until we took our first bite.  Yummy fish, yummy chips, yummy mushy peas!

 

We found that The Swan had an interesting history dating back to the 1700s.  It was once a place where prisoners were taken for their last drink before they were placed on a wagon and taken to what is now known as Marble Arch for hanging.  They believed that the men were easier to handle and their necks broke easier if they were drunk before execution.  We learned that when they were taken to The Swan for their last drink, that was known as having "one for the road."  Once they had had their last drink, they were placed "on the wagon," meaning they would never have another drink.  This is where we get the idioms "one for the road" and "on the wagon" which are commonly used today.

After dinner I was determined to see Kensington Palace since the map showed it was no more than a mile from us.  We walked into the Park and eventually found it.  Here are a few of the pictures we took of the garden area surrounding the Palace:

 

 

 

 

 

Our first day was great fun, and by the end of our long walk back to the hotel we were exhausted and ready for our first night's sleep in London.  Little did we know then that the sun sets at 9:00 and rises by 4:00.  Needless to say, the next morning came early!

 

(If I have one complaint against our camera it is that we are having to constantly reset the date on it; therefore, while most of the pictures taken on our trip have the correct date, some are stamped with the date 01/01/2006.)

 

 

THE END of an ERA

A dream that began over fifty years ago came to an end today.  When I turned in my keys, I felt invigorated.  If only I could have somehow worked up a tear or two, maybe at least it might have looked better to others.  After all, I was the dinosaur on campus--one of the longest surviving soldiers in the trenches.  Would it not make sense to be sad to leave what had been my "home away from home" for so many years?

Today, my teaching career ended--a career I had dreamed of for many years.  Officially, it won't end for another few days, but for me it is over.  And I couldn't be happier about it.  They said I would know when it was time to go; and beyond the shadow of a doubt, I know that the time was right.  Will I miss the students?  Of course, I will.  Sweet girls spent days writing me notes and drawing posters on notebook paper.  Shy boys drew close for a quick hug and to say they wished that I would not leave.  The students I will miss, but I am overjoyed to know I never had to attend another faculty meeting or grade another paper, struggle to submit grades before the 4:00 a.m. deadline, or, heaven forbid, rack up professional development hours.

My future is bright with the hope of tomorrow.  I will watch cooking shows and do my best to turn out enticing casseroles and quiches.  I will read books again, and they will be books that I WANT to read.  There will be days that I will sleep until I am darn-well ready to get up, and sometimes I will shop until I drop.  Yes, the future is ripe with promise, and I am ready for the harvest.

What an exciting few days we have ahead of us!  Late this week, we depart on the trip of our lives to celebrate our 40th anniversary.  On the way to the airport, I will drop by my retirement party, eat a piece of cake, and spend a few minutes saying goodbye to some dear colleagues who have been a part of my life for many years.  Later that evening we will leave for London and an adventure beyond our current comprehension.  We will sleep on the plane and arrive Friday, June 1, at Heathrow Airport at approximately 4:30 a.m. Central Time.  That would be 10:30 a.m. London time.  Friends have advised us to spend our first day in London, Europe's largest city boasting approximately eight million citizens, riding the double-deckers to become oriented and fighting the inclination to go to our room and sleep.  Hopefully, we will be able to do this.  I am overwhelmed.  So much to do prior to leaving--cleaning out my classroom, finishing grades, saying goodbye, and what I can't wait for--turning in those keys that have been in my possession for so long.  That will be the icing on the cake for me--I will join the ranks of the unemployed.  Wow.  Sounds like a dream-come-true. 

My plan is to blog each day about our adventures and experiences, post pictures along the way, and keep family and friends updated on our whereabouts. 

Hopefully, I will be more faithful to this blog than I have been over the past four years as it lay dormant.  During that time, my life was consumed with the woes of the educational system--a whole 'nother story--and my only desire has been to return home at night, find a corner, get in the fetal position, and suck my thumb--not really--but I trust that a brighter future awaits. 

London awaits.  Cheerio!

CHRISTMAS 2008