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david
and carol
Our Magnificent
Journey | Chapter 1 | Europe 1999 | London, Paris, Venice, Florence |
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Slept quite well in our soft, short, cozy
bed. Got up, showered in the tiny shower, dressed and went downstairs
to the Hotel Bloomsbury's dining room where we had a perfectly
typical "English breakfast" of rolls, coffee, fruit,
fried eggs with darker than usual yolks, bacon (similar to Canadian,)
sausage, beans, fried bread and hash browns. A true Weight Watcher's
special. Not. |
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We then walked (waddled) to nearby Russell
Square where we bought 24-hour tickets for the "Hop On /
Hop Off" bus tour of London. These are the familiar, red
double-decker open-air buses. We took the number 8 "Grand
Tour" bus, and it was fabulous - we saw the main sights
and attractions of London as a guide offered information over
a loudspeaker along the way. We saw Buckingham Palace, Westminster
Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, the National Gallery,
Number 10 Downing Street, the Globe Theatre, the Tower of London,
Cleopatra's Needle, Fleet Street, Trafalgar Square, Harrods,
Piccadilly Circus, MI5, the Defense Building (most of it underground,
like an iceberg,) the Royal Stables, St. James Park, and many
other landmarks of London. |
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Finishing our tour at Trafalgar Square, we
walked to vast Harrods where we drooled all over the place as
we shopped for about an hour. This is the ultimate
department store. Its massive scale staggers the imagination.
The tea department alone could fill Tucson's Macy's. The perfumes,
teas, coffees, cigars, wines and foodstuffs filled the air with
an aromatic blend that ought to be bottled and sold. We were
awestruck. There were Bobbies everywhere who insisted that one
not carry one's backpack over one's shoulder, for two reasons:
1) you can knock something over and 2) you are an easier target
for pickpockets. In the cigar department, specializing in the
various Havana brands, clerk John Sedeno kindly gave me an empty
Cohiba box and an empty Partagas box, both highly acclaimed (rightly
so) Cuban labels. Very nice young English gentleman. Quite helpful.
We bought some tea on the way out. |
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Next we strolled through the beautiful green
St. James Park, along its pastoral duck ponds and flower gardens,
to Her Majesty's Buckingham Palace. Took pictures, but since
the Queen was out of town, we moved on to an "Aroma"
café, where we sat outside for a bit of lunch and a cigar. |
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Then we walked (hiked) to Westminster Abbey,
which, once again, was highly emotional. For me it was second
only to Notre-Dame in its aura of spirituality. Amongst these
ancient stones and pillars are the graves and monuments of Shakespeare,
John Donne, Lord Byron, Lewis Carroll, Mary Queen of Scots, Edward
I, T.S. Eliot, William Blake, the Unknown Warrior, Lawrence Olivier,
Oliver Cromwell, Emily Bronte, Handel, Winston Churchill, many
knights, kings and queens, many religious personages and too
many others to mention. The original throne of England is here.
We had to sit down for a while and absorb its powerful, overwhelming
vibe. The physical structure of this magnificent cathedral staggers
the imagination. It is so very old, and one can feel the palpable
presence of the ghosts and spirits of all these great men and
women who walked upon these cobblestones before us. Some of the
wooden floor thresholds are visibly worn down into grooves from
many years of use and multitudes of feet upon them. Outside the
front and near the frieze are a group of relatively modern martyrs,
and Martin Luther King is recognizable among them. It was very
difficult to leave this place, and we did so reluctantly. |
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We found a bus stop and tried to help a Spanish-speaking
couple with directions, then went back to the pigeon-covered
Trafalgar Square (the only place in London where pigeons are
"officially" allowed to roam and be fed.) We agreed
that tonight was the night we would do a little "pub-hopping,"
which officially began at the Salisbury (between Covent Garden
and Leicester Square,) where we had hearty ale and fish and chips
with vinegar ($17 U.S.) Then we caught the Tube to Notting Hill,
since the desk clerks at our hotel recommended this quaint area
full of antique shops and pubs. When we got off the Tube at Notting
Hill there was a chemical spill or leak nearby, and one of the
Tube stations on the way was actually closed. Since bombings
are not rare occurrences in London, we were a bit apprehensive.
We saw many signs, bulletins and fliers during our few days in
London warning us to be wary of "strange looking packages."
At the chemical spill there were Bobbies everywhere and we could
not get near to investigate, so we walked around the police barricade
and found our way to the Leincester Inn pub, a pub recommended
to us by an American fellow we met as we got off the Tube. We
sampled pints of delicious Boddingtons ale, which I buy in cans
at Trader Joe's. It is surprising how similar the canned ale
is to the fresh draught! Had a cigar, flirted with two women
and watched cricket on the TV (there was a world cup cricket
tournament in progress.) It was a typical smoky English pub and
we loved it. |
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We walked down Bayswater Road to the Swan,
another pub recommended to us by the American, and not at all
related to the Swan near our hotel. Here we savored pints of
thick dark Guinness, which was excellent. More cigars as we listened
to a rowdy group of people singing tunes up the stairs. We were
becoming tired, so we walked arm-in-arm for a little while longer
and then caught the Tube back to Russell Square. Outside the
Tube stop was a shop where we bought a cinnamon roll and water,
then staggered back to the hotel and fell into bed and a deep
sleep. |
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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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