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david
and carol
Our Magnificent
Journey | Chapter 1 | Europe 1999 | London, Paris, Venice, Florence |
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Woke around 6:00 A.M., finished packing and
left the hotel in the early morning quiet. Strange to see these
usually busy streets so empty and still now. We were sad we did
not get a chance to say ciao to our sweet friend Eleni,
but we did leave her a thank you note and a tape of our favorite
Andrea Bocelli songs. [After we returned to the States, we received
several email messages from her, and we will keep in touch.] |
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We walked, somewhat depressed, to the train
station, across from the majestic Church of Santa Maria Novella.
Firenze was fairly deserted at this time, and the air was cool.
Sadly, it was time to say goodbye to one of our favorite European
cities. The bells began ringing from the various churches around
the city as we walked, much as they did one Sunday in Paris,
as if to wish us farewell… |
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After a short wait at the ferrovia,
we boarded our train for Pisa, which made several stops along
the way. The Tuscan countryside glistened in the early morning
sun as the train wound its way amidst miles of vineyards and
small towns where everyone seemed to have a perfect garden in
their yards. |
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We arrived at the Pisa International Airport
for our plane to London, and had no time to explore Pisa, the
Leaning Tower, the Piazza dei Cavalieri where "A Night
in Tuscany" was filmed, to look for Andrea Bocelli's
home in nearby Forti di Marmi, or to search for his father's
vineyard. Perhaps next trip… |
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We had a bite to eat at the airport under
a large poster of Luciano Pavarotti and Carol bought some last
minute trinkets in order to dispose of our last few lire. |
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Soon our Ryan Air flight was announced, and
the course from Pisa to London took us over some lovely coastal
towns along the Mediterranean Sea northwest of Pisa, right where
Forti di Marmi should be, and I would not be surprised if we
flew right over AB's house. It looked marvelous down there, and
there were some large and elegant villas along the emerald-green
Mediterranean. This must be where AB lives with Enrica and their
two sons. |
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Further on we crossed over the snow-encrusted
Alps, which were spectacular from the air. The pilot indicated
we were flying over Zurich, where Jim and I ate herrings by the
lake on a mid-summer's day in 1971. |
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A short while later we descended through thick
clouds and landed at London-Stansted airport, a large, clean,
very impressive facility where an automated tram whisks you from
your gate to the baggage claim. It was cold, so we happily donned
our brand new black leather jackets and looked chic as could
be on the 40-minute train ride from Stansted into London's Liverpool
station. |
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Arrived in misty London about 1:00 in the
afternoon. We purchased 2-day Tube tickets and immediately took
the Tube to the Bloomsbury area of London and walked under a
gray sky a few blocks to the Bloomsbury Park Hotel. |
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Our room was small, but nice, and had a very
soft and comfortable bed. Much too short, but definitely soft
and comfortable. We looked out the windows, and below us was
a pub, the Swan, ever so English and inviting. Down the block
were restaurants and more pubs. We were in heaven, again. |
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We unpacked a few things and walked around
the corner in our black leather jackets to the Swan, a perfectly
typical English pub built in the 1700's. Strolled up to the old
polished wooden bar and ordered pints of a very hearty dark ale
(delicious) and I had a beef and ale pie (delicious) and Carol
had a chicken and ham pie (delicious.) A young, sweet South African
girl, Darshana Patel, was the barmaid, and she was very helpful
with tips on tipping and life in London in general. |
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After this wonderful English lunch, we walked
through the cool and damp streets to Covent Gardens and went
shop-hopping. Then we wandered over to bustling Picadilly Circus
and Leicester Square - crowds of people, lots of activity, people
juggling, playing strange instruments, an African dance group,
and many discount ticket vendors for the various shows in the
nearby theatre district. |
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We kept walking towards Soho, and it began
to drizzle, so we got out the bumbershoot. Typical English evening,
and we loved it. However, we were beginning to get hungry again
after all this walking, and we found that it was difficult to
find a restaurant that wasn't French or Italian (been there,
done that) or crowded. After much walking, seemingly in circles,
we found an interesting place called Soho Soho (11-13
Frith Street), another of Carol's internet "discoveries,"
where I ordered a Kronenberg (OK, two,) unbelievable calamari
with incredibly delicious garlic mayonaisse, and an out-of-this
world omelette with gruyere cheese and onions, and french fries.
Escuizzito! Oops, wrong country. Jolly good. Carol ordered
a very delicious pot roast chicken on a bed of tasty mashed potatoes,
with a glass of wine (OK, two.) About $50 U.S. including tip. |
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Sated to our hearts' content, we took the
Tube to Russell Square, which was closer to the hotel than the
Bloomsbury stop. We must say that in our opinion, London's Tube
system is by far the most efficient mass transportation system
we have ever seen. It is clean, fast, easy to understand and
navigate, and there are Tube stops close to everything. Kudos
to London. The Tube stations can become a zoo, however, especially
at night, after folks have been drinking and become rowdy, as
we saw this evening as we got off the Tube and went to board
the "lift" up to the street with a group of young rambunctious
revelers. |
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We made it back to the hotel around midnight,
as usual on this Magnificent Journey of ours, and fell sound
asleep in our soft, short, cozy bed over the Swan. |
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copyright 1998 / david
and carol lehrman / all rights reserved |
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email david@davidandcarol.com |
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