Traveling Home
XXV BLOG Toto Travels
4 June
Saturday morning and time to go back to the USA. We are both up early and ready to go. Fiona offered breakfast early, but we declined. Our stay at 17 Homestead has been a good one. I would probably not stay this far away from central London again, but it is a quiet neighborhood, a very nice small accommodation with easy access to the Underground and to bus service. It is also less expensive than most central London hotels. There are many places to eat within a block or two and a couple of grocery stores just outside Parsons Green Station.
Calling a cab was a brilliant idea. I had originally dissed the idea because I thought the cost would be astronomical, but it was only about 30 pounds and soooo well worth it! Service door to door was very welcome with our luggage, some of the “best” money we spent for sure.
Arriving Heathrow over 3 hours before our flight, security was a breeze. Having said that, it WAS a bit confusing to get through all the different areas for a couple of country bumpkins from basically the rural USA.
We were soon settled into the main area of Heathrow. After a lousy breakfast at Starbucks in the terminal, we did a little browsing, bought David some whisky and the kids one last thing. We are hopeless.
Time to check in arrived and we were off to the gate for AA flight # 109 LHR to BOS.
We had a good, smooth flight back across the pond and landed in Boston just a bit late. After asking some questions again, we figured out the system at customs and were happily back on the USA side of Boston Logan waiting for the shuttle for the Hampton Inn Boston Logan.
This Hampton is a bit isolated so there is a small restaurant and bar in the hotel that serves a limited menu. They also offer a shuttle to two restaurants, both Italian. Mike was exhausted and went to bed. I ventured down to the bar for a bite to eat.
The bar was somewhat crowded, but there were places at the bar and a couple there that looked to be around my age, so I picked the bar stool next to them. They were quite chatty and were from southwestern Iowa about 90 minutes from Kansas City. Nebraska fans, they also had a soft spot for KU.
As we started talking basketball and football, the chap next to them started talking about American Football and the New England Patriots. He was obviously from Scotland! He said something about Glasgow. I told him we had recently been in Glasgow and asked if he lived there.
“No, just north of Glasgow,” he replied in the wonderful Scot accent.
“Ah, around Balloch, perhaps?” I asked.
He beamed and said, “You DO know the area. I lived in Balloch many years, but have recently moved over the hills into the glen.”
“My wife looked down the hill at the school and library near our house and sighed and said, ‘It’s perfect.’ ”
He continued, “I looked up the hill at the golf course and the pub and smiled and said, ‘It is perfect.”
It was a pleasant, enjoyable time spent at the bar, eating a bite and drinking a Sprite, with fellow Midwesterners and a Glaswegian.
Sunday morning, July 3rd, we had breakfast and coffee at the Hampton and then took the shuttle bus toward the airport to the MTA Wood Island Station for a quick ride into downtown Boston, leaving the MTA at the Aquarium Station. I was pretty sure we would not last long, but we walked about Boston’s North End. Some of the sites were the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy garden, Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market and the harbor. The Marriott Long Wharf was the perfect place to print our boarding passes for the flight from Boston to Kansas City tomorrow.
Mike checked into some harbor boat rides, but decided to take the ferry across the Charles River to Charlestown and the USS Constitution. Commissioned in 1797, it is still an active naval vessel with a crew. It actually sails periodically, and it scheduled to participate in the July 4th Independence Day Celebration on the Charles River. What a great place to spend a bit of time looking at history and also at the lovely skyline from the Charles River.
Departing the ferry at the Boston North End Harbor, we decided on lunch at The Chart House. Mike had eaten there years ago when he was here for a workshop. It is a neat old building with quite a history and the food is wonderful. The clam chowder was perfect and full of seafood. And my cod sandwich was more than I could eat, but yummy.
After lunch I was DONE! We walked around a little bit, but I was ready to go back to the Hampton Inn and settle in even though it was only about 4:00 pm. So we took the MTA back to Wood Island and called the Hampton for the shuttle. I was told it would be a 15 minute wait, so I was calling Kristin when the shuttle arrived just a few minutes later. We rushed to catch it, they had decided to stop for us on the way to the airport instead of on the way back – YEA.
Nice short day in Boston, the weather was very pleasant, but we are ready to be home!
Monday, June 6 is the day we go home! Our flight leaves about 11:00 and so we are off to Boston Logan about 9:00. I was wearing my Ireland sheep shirt with several rows of white sheep and one black sheep in the middle of the flock. The TSA lady commented on the black sheep. I told her that my husband thought I was the black sheep. She grinned and held up her marker, “Ok then, we will just write your name right on that black sheep. “ I just love it when people have a sense of humor.
So it was Southwest to Baltimore, a change of planes and then to Kansas City. Kristin was a wonderful sight as she picked us up and delivered us to Lawrence. Dinner at the Mad Greek with Kristin and Jeremiah made us feel like we were definitely HOME.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Last Day in the UK
St. Paul’s Cathedral, Last UK Day
XXIV BLOG Toto Travels
3 June, Friday
Up for a light breakfast and Mike went to the post office to get some boxes to mail our souvenirs home. We always seem to get a bit carried away with our purchases. Packed everything to mail and took the packages to the little post office. We were STUNNED at how much it cost to mail two packages home, well over $100. Yowser!
Fiona offered to call a taxi for us to go to Heathrow Saturday morning. We accepted her offer with relief! She has been so very helpful.
I asked Mike it if was okay if we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral today. In my 3 trips to London – all brief – St. Paul’s was one place that I had not been that was on my “most desirable” list. He said that was okay with him. So here we go on the tube again, avoiding rush hour and off toward St. Paul’s Cathedral.
We were both a bit impatient this morning and it always seems a bit confusing when we emerge from the underground. So I am peering at the map and Mike is yelling – at least it sounded like yelling to me – about where we needed to go. Sure enough, there is a sign that says “St Paul’s Cathedral” with an arrow. It usually makes me cranky when he is right! Sigh.
My first memory of St. Paul’s Cathedral is from the movie Mary Poppins when Julie Andrews romanticized feeding the birds on the steps of St. Paul’s. In reading and in watching movies about WWII, I learned about St. Paul’s becoming the symbol of resistance. During 57 nights of bombing, the cathedral was not destroyed because of the diligence of St. Paul’s volunteer fire watchmen who stayed on the dome to extinguish fires. Although there has been a church on this site since 604 A.D., this structure was the inspiration of Christopher Wren built between 1675 and 1710. I learned this was the first cathedral built after Henry VIII established the Church of England.
St. Paul’s did not disappoint. Magnificent as we entered, there was also a reverent atmosphere. Again, Mike and I decided that it would be wise to make a time to meet since we would go at different paces and be interested in different aspects.
I picked up the audio tour and listened, not too carefully, but followed the tour for the first 30 minutes or so. Interesting that St. Paul’s offers daily communion services and hourly prayers. Visitors are encouraged to stop each hour and participate in prayers, and guests are asked to honor the silence. Of course, it is a London landmark and so is intertwined with the history of the city with public and political figures memorialized and some are buried at St. Paul’s.
Although I could have spent much more time in the cathedral and in the crypt, I decided to wander up to the whispering gallery and take a look at the central part of the cathedral from above. It was impressive of course. Then I decided to walk on up to the Stone Gallery to take in a view of London from the dome of St. Paul’s. I am not sure what possessed me to continue on up to the Golden Gallery for the complete panoramic view from near the top of the dome, 528 steps above the floor. It may have had something to do with asserting my ability to climb steps after I had fallen down a couple of steps the day before. At any rate, with more ambition than brains but I made it up ALL 526 or 528 steps to the top observation deck to the Golden Gallery. Quite proud of myself I am.
So to celebrate, I went down to the café to meet Mike and smugly announce my feat while munching on a muffin. I have to admit, I was tired and as the day progressed, I was plumb tuckered. Mike and I spent some time in the Gift Shop and picked out a couple of gifts for my cousins. Mike also bought me a very sweet nativity set as a remembrance of our trip, nice souvenir. Thanks to Mike for honoring my request to see St. Paul’s Cathedral, it was a special treat to be able to visit this landmark.
We walked across the Thames on the Millennium Bridge, wandered around briefly and then had a late lunch at The Swan at the New Globe Theatre. Not a great place to eat in my opinion, the food was pretty greasy. We have done quite will selecting good places to eat, but this one was acceptable. The atmosphere was, of course, charming.
I was really tired after lunch, THAT will teach me to climb over 500 steps and still walk around London! We made our way back over the Thames across the Millennium Bridge and toward St. Paul's to catch a bus back to Parsons Green. After some checking, we picked Bus 11 which was great fun for me as the route was along The Strand past the Strand Palace and The Savoy and past Trafalgar Square, tracing all the sites that are London favorites. At some point as we looked at bus routes, we changed to #22 because we knew it went along Parsons Green. Success and a fitting end to our sightseeing in London.
We needed to get back and pack for morning. We had a late lunch and neither of us were hungry, but I did stop for milk and cookies at the store on the way back to the BnB for a light snack. Mike was tired and ready to tuck in even though it was quite early.
I had my milk and checked email on Fiona’s patio. Her son, who lives in the basement area and owns half the flat, came out for a smoke and a chat. It was nice to meet him.
XXIV BLOG Toto Travels
3 June, Friday
Up for a light breakfast and Mike went to the post office to get some boxes to mail our souvenirs home. We always seem to get a bit carried away with our purchases. Packed everything to mail and took the packages to the little post office. We were STUNNED at how much it cost to mail two packages home, well over $100. Yowser!
Fiona offered to call a taxi for us to go to Heathrow Saturday morning. We accepted her offer with relief! She has been so very helpful.
I asked Mike it if was okay if we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral today. In my 3 trips to London – all brief – St. Paul’s was one place that I had not been that was on my “most desirable” list. He said that was okay with him. So here we go on the tube again, avoiding rush hour and off toward St. Paul’s Cathedral.
We were both a bit impatient this morning and it always seems a bit confusing when we emerge from the underground. So I am peering at the map and Mike is yelling – at least it sounded like yelling to me – about where we needed to go. Sure enough, there is a sign that says “St Paul’s Cathedral” with an arrow. It usually makes me cranky when he is right! Sigh.
My first memory of St. Paul’s Cathedral is from the movie Mary Poppins when Julie Andrews romanticized feeding the birds on the steps of St. Paul’s. In reading and in watching movies about WWII, I learned about St. Paul’s becoming the symbol of resistance. During 57 nights of bombing, the cathedral was not destroyed because of the diligence of St. Paul’s volunteer fire watchmen who stayed on the dome to extinguish fires. Although there has been a church on this site since 604 A.D., this structure was the inspiration of Christopher Wren built between 1675 and 1710. I learned this was the first cathedral built after Henry VIII established the Church of England.
St. Paul’s did not disappoint. Magnificent as we entered, there was also a reverent atmosphere. Again, Mike and I decided that it would be wise to make a time to meet since we would go at different paces and be interested in different aspects.
I picked up the audio tour and listened, not too carefully, but followed the tour for the first 30 minutes or so. Interesting that St. Paul’s offers daily communion services and hourly prayers. Visitors are encouraged to stop each hour and participate in prayers, and guests are asked to honor the silence. Of course, it is a London landmark and so is intertwined with the history of the city with public and political figures memorialized and some are buried at St. Paul’s.
Although I could have spent much more time in the cathedral and in the crypt, I decided to wander up to the whispering gallery and take a look at the central part of the cathedral from above. It was impressive of course. Then I decided to walk on up to the Stone Gallery to take in a view of London from the dome of St. Paul’s. I am not sure what possessed me to continue on up to the Golden Gallery for the complete panoramic view from near the top of the dome, 528 steps above the floor. It may have had something to do with asserting my ability to climb steps after I had fallen down a couple of steps the day before. At any rate, with more ambition than brains but I made it up ALL 526 or 528 steps to the top observation deck to the Golden Gallery. Quite proud of myself I am.
So to celebrate, I went down to the café to meet Mike and smugly announce my feat while munching on a muffin. I have to admit, I was tired and as the day progressed, I was plumb tuckered. Mike and I spent some time in the Gift Shop and picked out a couple of gifts for my cousins. Mike also bought me a very sweet nativity set as a remembrance of our trip, nice souvenir. Thanks to Mike for honoring my request to see St. Paul’s Cathedral, it was a special treat to be able to visit this landmark.
We walked across the Thames on the Millennium Bridge, wandered around briefly and then had a late lunch at The Swan at the New Globe Theatre. Not a great place to eat in my opinion, the food was pretty greasy. We have done quite will selecting good places to eat, but this one was acceptable. The atmosphere was, of course, charming.
I was really tired after lunch, THAT will teach me to climb over 500 steps and still walk around London! We made our way back over the Thames across the Millennium Bridge and toward St. Paul's to catch a bus back to Parsons Green. After some checking, we picked Bus 11 which was great fun for me as the route was along The Strand past the Strand Palace and The Savoy and past Trafalgar Square, tracing all the sites that are London favorites. At some point as we looked at bus routes, we changed to #22 because we knew it went along Parsons Green. Success and a fitting end to our sightseeing in London.
We needed to get back and pack for morning. We had a late lunch and neither of us were hungry, but I did stop for milk and cookies at the store on the way back to the BnB for a light snack. Mike was tired and ready to tuck in even though it was quite early.
I had my milk and checked email on Fiona’s patio. Her son, who lives in the basement area and owns half the flat, came out for a smoke and a chat. It was nice to meet him.
Monday, July 18, 2011
British Musuem Day.
British Museum Day
XXIII BLOG Toto Travels
2 June, Thursday
The bedroom was a bit warm last night, but this morning it is cooler and we slept well at 17 Homestead Road. Fiona fixes a simple breakfast that is mostly toast and fruit and cereal. It works just fine. There was a young couple from southern France at breakfast this morning. Fiona lived in France for a few years, so her French is pretty good, I think. She says it is getting “rusty” but she can make it work. The young man was very friendly and pretty chatty and asked about places to go. His English was quite good. His companion appeared to not speak English, but I suspect she understood what we were saying, but was not comfortable trying to speak English.
Mike had taken our laundry to be done yesterday. He retrieved our laundry while I finished getting ready for the day. On the way down to breakfast I slipped on the carpeted steps and bounced down two stairs on my bottom. I was fine, just sat a few moments to be sure nothing was wrong, but Mike freaked out and wanted to escort me down the stairs, which really irritated me. Oh well, I should be grateful that he is so concerned about me I suppose.
Today is off to Central London with the British Museum as our primary stop. I asked Mike about the London Eye, which I thought he would really like, but he has no desire to do that, so we skipped it.
We took the “fast” way, the Tube from Parsons Green on the District Line, changing at Earl’s Court to the Piccadilly Line to Holborn, near British Museum. Consulting our maps like good little tourists and found our way to the British Museum, after a few stops in shops along the way.
The British Museum is amazing. Mike and I decided to meet in a couple of hours, knowing that our interests and our pace would be different. I had my little guide book and a Rick Steves Audio Guide that I wanted to follow, so off I went. I have read this is the greatest history of civilization on the planet. I started (after I found it – entering the museum was already overwhelming ) with the Rosetta Stone. It was easy to find IF you were looking for the crowd. After making about four passes in that direction over our time in the museum, I gave up getting a long look at the Rosetta Stone, it was always crowded.
Wandering past Egyptian artifacts, mummies, and on to the Assyrian Empire and the amazing artifacts in that area, dating from 9th century B.C. was a living example of the ancient history. Next came the most “modern” of the ancient civilizations, the Greeks. The Elgin Marbles from the Greek Parthenon are absolutely incredible! Apparently there has been much debate over where these historic items should reside. As I look through a sampling of the British Museum offerings, I have to think it is amazing to have such a representative sample of the history of civilization in a place such as the British Museum.
From my understanding, the British position is that those artifacts were obtained honestly (not sure what that means) and that the artifacts are well protected in the British Museum. Many of those various artifacts, if returned to the site of their recovery, could well be destroyed by unrest and revolution. That seems to be a good point, although I can see the logic of the people of Egypt, Greece, etc.
We made a little rest stop at the café in the British Museum for a drink and a bag of chips, then on to Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square. I really wanted to share those places with Mike. In retrospect, that was probably not the best of my ideas since he was so overwhelmed by all the people in the huge city of London. Sadly, I was still on a mission to show him wonderful London, and it was much too late when I finally realized that he just could not appreciate London when it was such a crowded mass of humanity.
As we left the British Museum, there were cabs out on the street, which seemed like a great idea for our transport to Covent Garden. It let us experience the great Black Cab experience in London and dropped us at Covent Garden without the extra blocks of a tube ride and walk. We were both pretty tired of walking at this point. The cabby was , of course, chatty and a fund of information so the ride was a brilliant success. I wanted to show Mike around Covent Garden a bit, but he was hungry and intent on lunch, so we just walked through the edge and started off in the general direction of Trafalgar Square looking for a pub for lunch.
Tucked in a street between Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square we had a delicious lunch at The Angel and Crown pub. No ale for lunch – too hot and too far to wander and walk this afternoon. The Thames seemed to be the place to be for Mike. I hauled him through Trafalgar Square with visions of going to the National Gallery – uhhh wrong plan. Way too many people milled around the central square in London, definitely hot and crowded. So we opted to take another river taxi ride out as far east on the Thames as we could go.
Using our Oyster Card, we bought tickets all the way out to the O2 concert venue which is past Greenwich. The river taxi was not crowded and we cruised along looking at the sites in the cool river breeze. Past the Tower of London there are not any spectacular sites until Greenwich which is where most of the people departed. Greenwich looks like a really neat place to explore and spend some time, but it was later afternoon by this time as so we kept going east to the O2 pavilion. From there you could see in the distance parts of the Thames Barriers which have been built to help keep London from flooding in the event of catastrophic events. Mike would have enjoyed going further east on the Thames, but the river taxi did a turn-around at the O2 and we headed back west to central London.
Getting on the tube we rode to Knightsbridge and walked to Harrod’s to do some shopping for the grandkids - as if we did not already have them enough touristy junk. A huge store sitting on four acres it is seven stories of merchandise including a food court with varied and exotic foods. We asked where the stuffed animals and toys were located – fourth floor. Baby and kids clothing, and winding around we found the stuffed animals, about 4 rooms of them. While we were there, we took in the touristy area and also visited the ATM so we could pay our BnB hostess in cash. It was fun looking around the toy area. We did not spend a bunch of time there, but those inclined to browse could easily spend most of a day in Harrods. I had read about the Egyptian themed food court and the memorial to Princess Dianna and Dodi Fayed, so I prevailed upon Mike to endure a bit more of Harrods. He was really a good sport about it and accompanied me down to the bottom floor to check it out.
The memorial was at the bottom of the escalator and was fairly well packed with people, mostly young men that appeared to be of Arab descent. All were taking photos, of course I took a few photos also.
Abandoning Harrods, we took our purchases and took the Underground back to Parsons Green, changing at Earl’s Court again.
The White Horse, aka The Sloaney Pony, was our pick for a light dinner and a pint. The place was pretty busy, but most of the folks were at the bar or outside, so we tucked into a table and had a bite to eat. I again went to the bar since my hearing is better in a noisy place. The barman, as always, was very helpful selecting a fairly mild ale. Now I cannot remember the name of it, but Mike had the milder ale and I decided on a Guinness. Ahhhh, great choices for a mellowing evening.
When we left to walk back to Fiona’s BnB, the pub was swarming with young people. It was an absolute mob outside the pub that spilled onto the sidewalk. Back to our little room, I read and played with my iPad and Mike tucked in.
XXIII BLOG Toto Travels
2 June, Thursday
The bedroom was a bit warm last night, but this morning it is cooler and we slept well at 17 Homestead Road. Fiona fixes a simple breakfast that is mostly toast and fruit and cereal. It works just fine. There was a young couple from southern France at breakfast this morning. Fiona lived in France for a few years, so her French is pretty good, I think. She says it is getting “rusty” but she can make it work. The young man was very friendly and pretty chatty and asked about places to go. His English was quite good. His companion appeared to not speak English, but I suspect she understood what we were saying, but was not comfortable trying to speak English.
Mike had taken our laundry to be done yesterday. He retrieved our laundry while I finished getting ready for the day. On the way down to breakfast I slipped on the carpeted steps and bounced down two stairs on my bottom. I was fine, just sat a few moments to be sure nothing was wrong, but Mike freaked out and wanted to escort me down the stairs, which really irritated me. Oh well, I should be grateful that he is so concerned about me I suppose.
Today is off to Central London with the British Museum as our primary stop. I asked Mike about the London Eye, which I thought he would really like, but he has no desire to do that, so we skipped it.
We took the “fast” way, the Tube from Parsons Green on the District Line, changing at Earl’s Court to the Piccadilly Line to Holborn, near British Museum. Consulting our maps like good little tourists and found our way to the British Museum, after a few stops in shops along the way.
The British Museum is amazing. Mike and I decided to meet in a couple of hours, knowing that our interests and our pace would be different. I had my little guide book and a Rick Steves Audio Guide that I wanted to follow, so off I went. I have read this is the greatest history of civilization on the planet. I started (after I found it – entering the museum was already overwhelming ) with the Rosetta Stone. It was easy to find IF you were looking for the crowd. After making about four passes in that direction over our time in the museum, I gave up getting a long look at the Rosetta Stone, it was always crowded.
Wandering past Egyptian artifacts, mummies, and on to the Assyrian Empire and the amazing artifacts in that area, dating from 9th century B.C. was a living example of the ancient history. Next came the most “modern” of the ancient civilizations, the Greeks. The Elgin Marbles from the Greek Parthenon are absolutely incredible! Apparently there has been much debate over where these historic items should reside. As I look through a sampling of the British Museum offerings, I have to think it is amazing to have such a representative sample of the history of civilization in a place such as the British Museum.
From my understanding, the British position is that those artifacts were obtained honestly (not sure what that means) and that the artifacts are well protected in the British Museum. Many of those various artifacts, if returned to the site of their recovery, could well be destroyed by unrest and revolution. That seems to be a good point, although I can see the logic of the people of Egypt, Greece, etc.
We made a little rest stop at the café in the British Museum for a drink and a bag of chips, then on to Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square. I really wanted to share those places with Mike. In retrospect, that was probably not the best of my ideas since he was so overwhelmed by all the people in the huge city of London. Sadly, I was still on a mission to show him wonderful London, and it was much too late when I finally realized that he just could not appreciate London when it was such a crowded mass of humanity.
As we left the British Museum, there were cabs out on the street, which seemed like a great idea for our transport to Covent Garden. It let us experience the great Black Cab experience in London and dropped us at Covent Garden without the extra blocks of a tube ride and walk. We were both pretty tired of walking at this point. The cabby was , of course, chatty and a fund of information so the ride was a brilliant success. I wanted to show Mike around Covent Garden a bit, but he was hungry and intent on lunch, so we just walked through the edge and started off in the general direction of Trafalgar Square looking for a pub for lunch.
Tucked in a street between Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square we had a delicious lunch at The Angel and Crown pub. No ale for lunch – too hot and too far to wander and walk this afternoon. The Thames seemed to be the place to be for Mike. I hauled him through Trafalgar Square with visions of going to the National Gallery – uhhh wrong plan. Way too many people milled around the central square in London, definitely hot and crowded. So we opted to take another river taxi ride out as far east on the Thames as we could go.
Using our Oyster Card, we bought tickets all the way out to the O2 concert venue which is past Greenwich. The river taxi was not crowded and we cruised along looking at the sites in the cool river breeze. Past the Tower of London there are not any spectacular sites until Greenwich which is where most of the people departed. Greenwich looks like a really neat place to explore and spend some time, but it was later afternoon by this time as so we kept going east to the O2 pavilion. From there you could see in the distance parts of the Thames Barriers which have been built to help keep London from flooding in the event of catastrophic events. Mike would have enjoyed going further east on the Thames, but the river taxi did a turn-around at the O2 and we headed back west to central London.
Getting on the tube we rode to Knightsbridge and walked to Harrod’s to do some shopping for the grandkids - as if we did not already have them enough touristy junk. A huge store sitting on four acres it is seven stories of merchandise including a food court with varied and exotic foods. We asked where the stuffed animals and toys were located – fourth floor. Baby and kids clothing, and winding around we found the stuffed animals, about 4 rooms of them. While we were there, we took in the touristy area and also visited the ATM so we could pay our BnB hostess in cash. It was fun looking around the toy area. We did not spend a bunch of time there, but those inclined to browse could easily spend most of a day in Harrods. I had read about the Egyptian themed food court and the memorial to Princess Dianna and Dodi Fayed, so I prevailed upon Mike to endure a bit more of Harrods. He was really a good sport about it and accompanied me down to the bottom floor to check it out.
The memorial was at the bottom of the escalator and was fairly well packed with people, mostly young men that appeared to be of Arab descent. All were taking photos, of course I took a few photos also.
Abandoning Harrods, we took our purchases and took the Underground back to Parsons Green, changing at Earl’s Court again.
The White Horse, aka The Sloaney Pony, was our pick for a light dinner and a pint. The place was pretty busy, but most of the folks were at the bar or outside, so we tucked into a table and had a bite to eat. I again went to the bar since my hearing is better in a noisy place. The barman, as always, was very helpful selecting a fairly mild ale. Now I cannot remember the name of it, but Mike had the milder ale and I decided on a Guinness. Ahhhh, great choices for a mellowing evening.
When we left to walk back to Fiona’s BnB, the pub was swarming with young people. It was an absolute mob outside the pub that spilled onto the sidewalk. Back to our little room, I read and played with my iPad and Mike tucked in.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Tower of London Day
XXII BLOG Toto Travels
1 June – London Day 1
After a light breakfast, Fiona suggested we take the bus to central London if we were not in a hurry. It seemed like a good way to see the city, so off we went, taking a left from our BnB a few blocks to Parsons Green Park. We passed by the Parsons Green tube station on our way to the park. It was a lovely green as we walked through to the bus stops for the 22 bus to Piccadilly.
It was a pretty neat, although long, drive into central London. The traffic moved well for about 40 minutes then we were surrounded by buses and traffic came to a stand still. We departed the bus around the royal Academyof Arts and walked to Piccadilly Circus. Then to St James Park and around to Horse Guards Road. I wanted to wait to see the horse guards a bit more and asked Mike about watching the changing of the guard, but he didn’t want to do that. We wandered around and he
didn’t really have a plan, I was waiting for Mike to decide what he wanted to do. That really never happened, so I took us toward Big Ben and went across the Thames on Westminster Bridge and by the London Eye to the rooftop gardens. The South Bank is pretty nice now. Mike finally decided he wanted to go to the Tower of London.
I was getting hungry and cranky and insisted on eating something at Waterloo Station before we took the tube toward the Tower of London. So we ate a pretty lousy sandwich at Waterloo station before we took the Jubilee line to London Bridge. Walking toward the Thames again, we found very neat shopping areas and much better restaurants. I had to agree with Mike that I wish I had waited to eat lunch. Oh well. We walked across Tower Bridge and around the Tower of London walls to get to the west side entrance. We spent almost two hours touring the Tower of London, it is my third trip and I enjoy the history here very much. This time there were several multi-media presentations which makes the history come alive. Mike would not queue up for the Crown Jewels so I was glad I had already seen them twice. Of course I don’t remember specifics about them, just a large diamond, many other jewels and an impressive display.
Mike was ready to move on, so we walked to the tube and took the District Line to Victoria which is where we were meeting the Kennedys for dinner. Since we were early, we relaxed in a pub – The Duke of York – and had a pint of Young’s London Gold ale. It was great and good to sit and relax. Since Young was Mike’s Mother’s maiden name, made it extra special.
We walked out, turned the corner, crossed the street and met the Kennedys. After some discussion, we decided to eat at Seafresh and have fish and chips. They had found a favorite pub, Queen Arms, but it was too crowded. The Seafresh was very good, but not as good as it was in 1997 and 2003.
The Queen Arms was still busy after dinner, so we popped into the Warick Inn and had a Guinness with Mike and Karen. A very nice evening with the Kennedys and it was time to take to tube to Parsons Green and walk back to our B and B.
1 June – London Day 1
After a light breakfast, Fiona suggested we take the bus to central London if we were not in a hurry. It seemed like a good way to see the city, so off we went, taking a left from our BnB a few blocks to Parsons Green Park. We passed by the Parsons Green tube station on our way to the park. It was a lovely green as we walked through to the bus stops for the 22 bus to Piccadilly.
It was a pretty neat, although long, drive into central London. The traffic moved well for about 40 minutes then we were surrounded by buses and traffic came to a stand still. We departed the bus around the royal Academyof Arts and walked to Piccadilly Circus. Then to St James Park and around to Horse Guards Road. I wanted to wait to see the horse guards a bit more and asked Mike about watching the changing of the guard, but he didn’t want to do that. We wandered around and he
didn’t really have a plan, I was waiting for Mike to decide what he wanted to do. That really never happened, so I took us toward Big Ben and went across the Thames on Westminster Bridge and by the London Eye to the rooftop gardens. The South Bank is pretty nice now. Mike finally decided he wanted to go to the Tower of London.
I was getting hungry and cranky and insisted on eating something at Waterloo Station before we took the tube toward the Tower of London. So we ate a pretty lousy sandwich at Waterloo station before we took the Jubilee line to London Bridge. Walking toward the Thames again, we found very neat shopping areas and much better restaurants. I had to agree with Mike that I wish I had waited to eat lunch. Oh well. We walked across Tower Bridge and around the Tower of London walls to get to the west side entrance. We spent almost two hours touring the Tower of London, it is my third trip and I enjoy the history here very much. This time there were several multi-media presentations which makes the history come alive. Mike would not queue up for the Crown Jewels so I was glad I had already seen them twice. Of course I don’t remember specifics about them, just a large diamond, many other jewels and an impressive display.
Mike was ready to move on, so we walked to the tube and took the District Line to Victoria which is where we were meeting the Kennedys for dinner. Since we were early, we relaxed in a pub – The Duke of York – and had a pint of Young’s London Gold ale. It was great and good to sit and relax. Since Young was Mike’s Mother’s maiden name, made it extra special.
We walked out, turned the corner, crossed the street and met the Kennedys. After some discussion, we decided to eat at Seafresh and have fish and chips. They had found a favorite pub, Queen Arms, but it was too crowded. The Seafresh was very good, but not as good as it was in 1997 and 2003.
The Queen Arms was still busy after dinner, so we popped into the Warick Inn and had a Guinness with Mike and Karen. A very nice evening with the Kennedys and it was time to take to tube to Parsons Green and walk back to our B and B.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Glasgow to London
XXI BLOG Toto Travels
31 May – Glasgow to London
Happy end of May and up and to London today. We enjoyed Glasgow so much when we were here with Kimberly and Russ, it would be great to stay a while and enjoy Glasgow and he area, but not this trip. Our train leaves about 9:40, so we are up and on to breakfast at the restaurant in the Jury Inn. Mike must be distracted and concerned about the train trip, he put his scrambled eggs directly on his tray, no plate. He looked for a minute and started laughing, sheepishly grabbed a plate and started over.
There were some young businessmen sitting next to us and one heard us talking about London. He asked about our trip and told us he had lived in London for several years, then launched into lots of tips about the tube, sights, and getting around. Much of it was welcome advice, but we were amused by his fervor about London. His colleagues were almost snickering. I suspect that lauding London in the city of Glasgow is seldom welcomed.
We arrived for our train in good shape and checked bout using the Britrail passes. The guy at the counter told us to go to the train. It's a good thing Mike wanted to get on the train early because when he checked, we had to go back out to get his pass validated. But all was fixed up and we settled on the train for a scenic, interesting, easy ride to London.
On the "fast" train we don't have many stops: Glasgow, Carlisle, Oxenholme, Lancaster, Preston, Wigan North West, Warrington Bank Quay, London Euston.
As we are stopped on the train in the countryside around Carlisle for about 10 minutes, Lady behind me calls her friend, in a most precise English accent, "Hello, Clare - Rosemary here, there's been a delay on the train, don't put dinner out just yet. They've found elephants on the line or some such.."
Love the British wryness.
Along the canal boat route. We saw several of the long canal boats and thought of our friends, Johnie and Linda Miller who did a canal tour a few years ago. Overall, this is a great way to travel – fast train, nice countryside.
Our arrival in London was uneventful, although Mike insisted on carrying both of our larger bags., and trooping through Euston Station, getting on the tube and having to make changes was not easy. We arrived at Earl’s court under the impression getting a cab would be easy Wrong! Another couple of blocks to drag the bags until I stopped in at a hotel to check on a cab. The lady at the Lord Kensington Luxury Rooms and Suites was very helpful and called a cab for us.
We arrived at 17 Homestead Road, our B & B in Fulham, a little after 4:30 pm. It was good to be settled. Mike was frazzled and frustrated, but recovered enough to go out for dinner around 6:00. Our hostess, Fiona Grant, was most gracious and gave us suggestions and directions for pubs and places to eat.
The nearest good pub is called The White Horse and is very popular with the younger set. Fiona said it had a good selection of drinks and good food. It is called by the younger set The Sloanie Pony. The name comes from Sloane Rangers which is a group of younger yuppie types. Princess Diana was a Sloance Rangers and she frequented this pub, hence the name Sloanie Pony.
Fiona also recommended a lighter fare restaurant for dinner – Cote, which was just a few dors from the White Horse. The food was delicious and we chatted with 6 1/2 year old Max and Lucy and Serena the adult ladies that were with a cute Max. He told us all about what toy stores we needed to find.
Back to our room and tucked in. I talked to Karen set up dinner plans for tomorrow night.
Leaving Scotland was sad. I was definitely not ready to leave, especially the countryside and the highlands. Such beautiful and rugged country!
31 May – Glasgow to London
Happy end of May and up and to London today. We enjoyed Glasgow so much when we were here with Kimberly and Russ, it would be great to stay a while and enjoy Glasgow and he area, but not this trip. Our train leaves about 9:40, so we are up and on to breakfast at the restaurant in the Jury Inn. Mike must be distracted and concerned about the train trip, he put his scrambled eggs directly on his tray, no plate. He looked for a minute and started laughing, sheepishly grabbed a plate and started over.
There were some young businessmen sitting next to us and one heard us talking about London. He asked about our trip and told us he had lived in London for several years, then launched into lots of tips about the tube, sights, and getting around. Much of it was welcome advice, but we were amused by his fervor about London. His colleagues were almost snickering. I suspect that lauding London in the city of Glasgow is seldom welcomed.
We arrived for our train in good shape and checked bout using the Britrail passes. The guy at the counter told us to go to the train. It's a good thing Mike wanted to get on the train early because when he checked, we had to go back out to get his pass validated. But all was fixed up and we settled on the train for a scenic, interesting, easy ride to London.
On the "fast" train we don't have many stops: Glasgow, Carlisle, Oxenholme, Lancaster, Preston, Wigan North West, Warrington Bank Quay, London Euston.
As we are stopped on the train in the countryside around Carlisle for about 10 minutes, Lady behind me calls her friend, in a most precise English accent, "Hello, Clare - Rosemary here, there's been a delay on the train, don't put dinner out just yet. They've found elephants on the line or some such.."
Love the British wryness.
Along the canal boat route. We saw several of the long canal boats and thought of our friends, Johnie and Linda Miller who did a canal tour a few years ago. Overall, this is a great way to travel – fast train, nice countryside.
Our arrival in London was uneventful, although Mike insisted on carrying both of our larger bags., and trooping through Euston Station, getting on the tube and having to make changes was not easy. We arrived at Earl’s court under the impression getting a cab would be easy Wrong! Another couple of blocks to drag the bags until I stopped in at a hotel to check on a cab. The lady at the Lord Kensington Luxury Rooms and Suites was very helpful and called a cab for us.
We arrived at 17 Homestead Road, our B & B in Fulham, a little after 4:30 pm. It was good to be settled. Mike was frazzled and frustrated, but recovered enough to go out for dinner around 6:00. Our hostess, Fiona Grant, was most gracious and gave us suggestions and directions for pubs and places to eat.
The nearest good pub is called The White Horse and is very popular with the younger set. Fiona said it had a good selection of drinks and good food. It is called by the younger set The Sloanie Pony. The name comes from Sloane Rangers which is a group of younger yuppie types. Princess Diana was a Sloance Rangers and she frequented this pub, hence the name Sloanie Pony.
Fiona also recommended a lighter fare restaurant for dinner – Cote, which was just a few dors from the White Horse. The food was delicious and we chatted with 6 1/2 year old Max and Lucy and Serena the adult ladies that were with a cute Max. He told us all about what toy stores we needed to find.
Back to our room and tucked in. I talked to Karen set up dinner plans for tomorrow night.
Leaving Scotland was sad. I was definitely not ready to leave, especially the countryside and the highlands. Such beautiful and rugged country!
Friday, July 1, 2011
Last day in Scotland
30 May, Killin to Glasgow
Our last day in the Highlands. We awoke to somewhat fairer skies in Killin at the Dall Lodge Guest House. Time to condense our packing as much as possible for the train trip to London tomorrow, but first order of the day is breakfast. I was looking forward to the porridge as Sally had told me that she starts making it the night before, and it was the best! Pin cut oats that were cooked all night produced an amazing porridge. It is a fine oat meal that Sally says she cannot get in England, only in Scotland. Mike and I agree it is the BEST porridge/oatmeal we have ever eaten! Fresh hot press coffee always impresses me as I sip the rich mix with pleasure.
Our bags were loaded since we had acquired souvenirs – way too many again. And we added to the stash through the day! After leaving Dall Lodge, we stopped in Killin at the tourist center to check out the watermill and to browse some of the shops. The other great event for me was to photograph, IN THE SUN, the Falls of Dochart. And I stood a while just relishing the rushing water hearing and seeing such a lovely piece of earth.
Back to A85 and to A84 toward Callander. At Balquhidder turnoff, we saw a sign to Rob Roy's grave and decided to check it out. We passed a little junction turned up a narrow road – yes, even more narrow than usual, into an amazing glen and Loch Voil nestled between mountains. On the side of the hill was the parish church with Rob Roy McGregor’s grave in the cemetery. Arriving about the same time as an Asian tour group, I listened in to part of the commentary. Rob Roy himself did not look anything like the film version, Liam Neeson – now there’s a surprise – he was actually very short and had unusually long (and strong) arms which made him one tough warrior.
The cemetery had the usual very old graves and recent ones as well sprinkled in the ruins of an old church or abbey. The newer and existing parish church stood off to the side. I definitely left an impression, of my fanny and knee, that is when I slipped on the wet rocks and toppled over on my side in the wet grass. No harm done, it was really pretty funny.
Back to the junction, we stopped at a little store near Balquhidder, that had way too much “cute stuff” including adorable stuffed animals - I wanted to buy most of them for me and one each for the grandkids. Still have the stuffed animal gene even at 60 years of age.
Winding our way slowly toward Glasgow via A821 to Loch Katrine and Aberfoyle, still in the Trossachs National Park, yep it is awesome. Planning to eat lunch at Loch Katrine, we abandoned that idea when the restaurant was less than impressive. We did talk a little walk, however, good to get a little exercise.
By this time, we were ready to find a place to eat, so we drove of the mountains and through the glen to Aberfoyle where we found a gem, The Fourth Inn. Another meal of wonderful, fresh fish and chips and Belhaven Best on tap. Mighty fine, yes indeed.
On to Glasgow airport we go, across Dumbarton Bridge, over the River Clyde to turn in our Kia Venga. There was our usual detour to find a petrol station and a few turnarounds to find the exact return point for the rental return.
A quick and helpful cab ride from Glasgow airport into the central city brought us to the Jury’s Inn which is just down the street from Central Train Station where we depart for London tomorrow morning. Mike was tired, so after a quick walk to be sure we knew exactly where to go in the morning, we went back to the hotel and settled in. I took the iPad and went down to have a salad and check email. In our short walk to Central Station it was obvious that walking around that part of Glasgow alone was probably not the smartest decision, so I stayed tucked in at the hotel. The Jury’s Inn was okay, actually a fair deal for downtown Glasgow. I had booked a bigger room and what I THOUGHT was complimentary internet access, but I did not read the fine print, so paid more than we needed to probably, but oh well. It was a comfortable room.
Scotland has been - Ahh well . . . Scotland- Still my favorite place of all, definitely one of my best happy places.
Taking the route up to the western highlands that George recommended, no traffic and jaw-dropping gorgeous the whole way was a brilliant decision. Our journey included Dunoon, Inverary, Oban, Mull, Iona, Fort William, Glenfinnan, Glencoe, Killin, and through the Trossachs to Glasgow. The entire 5 days in Scotland have been magical, comfortable and beautiful for me. I feel as if this place could be home, and I would like to come back to see more of this fascinating country. The weather has been wet most of every day, so we have not walked as much as we would have, and the vistas were not as sweeping as a bright sunny day would have produced.
I hit a low place of frustration yesterday grumbling about the soggy days. Had to have a bit of a "come to Jesus" meeting with myself.
We have had a wonderful, magical trip with only a few minor hassles which have already faded in my memory.
Our last day in the Highlands. We awoke to somewhat fairer skies in Killin at the Dall Lodge Guest House. Time to condense our packing as much as possible for the train trip to London tomorrow, but first order of the day is breakfast. I was looking forward to the porridge as Sally had told me that she starts making it the night before, and it was the best! Pin cut oats that were cooked all night produced an amazing porridge. It is a fine oat meal that Sally says she cannot get in England, only in Scotland. Mike and I agree it is the BEST porridge/oatmeal we have ever eaten! Fresh hot press coffee always impresses me as I sip the rich mix with pleasure.
Our bags were loaded since we had acquired souvenirs – way too many again. And we added to the stash through the day! After leaving Dall Lodge, we stopped in Killin at the tourist center to check out the watermill and to browse some of the shops. The other great event for me was to photograph, IN THE SUN, the Falls of Dochart. And I stood a while just relishing the rushing water hearing and seeing such a lovely piece of earth.
Back to A85 and to A84 toward Callander. At Balquhidder turnoff, we saw a sign to Rob Roy's grave and decided to check it out. We passed a little junction turned up a narrow road – yes, even more narrow than usual, into an amazing glen and Loch Voil nestled between mountains. On the side of the hill was the parish church with Rob Roy McGregor’s grave in the cemetery. Arriving about the same time as an Asian tour group, I listened in to part of the commentary. Rob Roy himself did not look anything like the film version, Liam Neeson – now there’s a surprise – he was actually very short and had unusually long (and strong) arms which made him one tough warrior.
The cemetery had the usual very old graves and recent ones as well sprinkled in the ruins of an old church or abbey. The newer and existing parish church stood off to the side. I definitely left an impression, of my fanny and knee, that is when I slipped on the wet rocks and toppled over on my side in the wet grass. No harm done, it was really pretty funny.
Back to the junction, we stopped at a little store near Balquhidder, that had way too much “cute stuff” including adorable stuffed animals - I wanted to buy most of them for me and one each for the grandkids. Still have the stuffed animal gene even at 60 years of age.
Winding our way slowly toward Glasgow via A821 to Loch Katrine and Aberfoyle, still in the Trossachs National Park, yep it is awesome. Planning to eat lunch at Loch Katrine, we abandoned that idea when the restaurant was less than impressive. We did talk a little walk, however, good to get a little exercise.
By this time, we were ready to find a place to eat, so we drove of the mountains and through the glen to Aberfoyle where we found a gem, The Fourth Inn. Another meal of wonderful, fresh fish and chips and Belhaven Best on tap. Mighty fine, yes indeed.
On to Glasgow airport we go, across Dumbarton Bridge, over the River Clyde to turn in our Kia Venga. There was our usual detour to find a petrol station and a few turnarounds to find the exact return point for the rental return.
A quick and helpful cab ride from Glasgow airport into the central city brought us to the Jury’s Inn which is just down the street from Central Train Station where we depart for London tomorrow morning. Mike was tired, so after a quick walk to be sure we knew exactly where to go in the morning, we went back to the hotel and settled in. I took the iPad and went down to have a salad and check email. In our short walk to Central Station it was obvious that walking around that part of Glasgow alone was probably not the smartest decision, so I stayed tucked in at the hotel. The Jury’s Inn was okay, actually a fair deal for downtown Glasgow. I had booked a bigger room and what I THOUGHT was complimentary internet access, but I did not read the fine print, so paid more than we needed to probably, but oh well. It was a comfortable room.
Scotland has been - Ahh well . . . Scotland- Still my favorite place of all, definitely one of my best happy places.
Taking the route up to the western highlands that George recommended, no traffic and jaw-dropping gorgeous the whole way was a brilliant decision. Our journey included Dunoon, Inverary, Oban, Mull, Iona, Fort William, Glenfinnan, Glencoe, Killin, and through the Trossachs to Glasgow. The entire 5 days in Scotland have been magical, comfortable and beautiful for me. I feel as if this place could be home, and I would like to come back to see more of this fascinating country. The weather has been wet most of every day, so we have not walked as much as we would have, and the vistas were not as sweeping as a bright sunny day would have produced.
I hit a low place of frustration yesterday grumbling about the soggy days. Had to have a bit of a "come to Jesus" meeting with myself.
We have had a wonderful, magical trip with only a few minor hassles which have already faded in my memory.
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