England 2013: January 4th

Victoria and Albert Museum, Nottinghill
Melissa and I spent the day walking around London.  It is our last day in the city and it is bittersweet.  We walked back through the park to Victoria and Albert Museum and them decided to end the day shopping  on Portabello Road in Nottinghill. (Red door is Hugh Grant's door from the movie Nottinghill).  We shopped all the Vintage clothes stores and we even saw the actress Neve Campbell with her child.  I found some old WWII Royal Airforce patches for Trevor.   Tomorrow it is off to Stonehenge and Windsor Castle.

England: 2012/2013 January 3rd

January third we went the The British National Gallery, King's Cross bus station, and Harrods.
we started the day with a long walk across London through Kennsington Gardens to visit with Peter Pan one more time and grab some of the dirt near his statue.   The statue rests on a little knoll overlooking a small lake.   It is a ovely place, and while we were there a woman and her children were feeding seagulls.  She took each piece of bread and tossed it into the air.  The birds snagged them right from mid-air.   However, after a while, the birds called all their friends and the scene soon became one right out of the movie "The Birds."   The woman's husband even stepped back, and proclaims, "this is going to end badly."  hahahaha   There were dozens of them.

We moved through the park to King's Cross Station and platform 9 3/4 (yes that one).   Melissa nerded out in the Harry Potter Store and had her picture taken running into the platform pillar.   (photos to follow).  :-)   There was a giant line snaked around the train station of kids, and adults, waiting in line to put on the Harry Potter scarf and have themselves immortalized at this famous landmark.

The museum was great!   Did you know that museums are free in England?  Yep, they ask for a donation, but it is not required for admission.  What a system, making knowledge and histroy free to everyone.   Hmmmmmmm.   What a great idea. Oh, and the paintings and exhibits were grand as well.

We also visited the British Library where we saw original works by: Chauser, Austen, Blake, Shakespeare, and Mozart.  It was brilliant!!

We decided to approach Harrod's Department Store one more time.  We have been there on the 31st and the lines for everything were sooooooo long that we fled in terror.  This time we made it in safe and sound and purchased a couple of wedges of cheese, some still warm bread, and a few goodies for family.

On the way back to the flat we stopped at our (new) favorite spot and had a sandwhich and some yummy fruit tart.
Back to the flat to eat some dinner and watch part two of the BBC special on "Victoria's Children."

Photos to follow

England 2012/2013: January 2nd

 

Yesterday when we arrived at The Tower of London it had closed so we went back for a second day.  The Tower was built in the 11th century for William I (William the Conqueror).  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Conqueror  It was his primary residence, other royals lived there and it was the famous and brutal prison where Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII's second wife and Queen Elizabeth I's mother) was executed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London. The tour took us through the prison cells and towers as well as the living quarter of many generations of monarch.  It currently houses the royal crowns since the 12th century, the royal jewels, septors and swords.   The crown Queen Elizabeth II wore for her corination, andshe wears each year for the opening of parliament is housed there.   We spent a lot of time in the castle and then walked back past St. Paul's and up Fleet Street.   We splurged at ate out at a yummy Chinese restaurant. We have used buses, cabs and the tube with ease.  I sure wish we had such effective public trasnportation.   Melissa said this was her favorite day.  We got back to the room in time for the second of a three night series on Queen Victoria's children. 

 

  

 

 

England 2012/2013: January 1st

 

New Year's Day was sunny and warm.  We started the day with a tour of the Old Globe on the south side of the Thames.   As we made our way to the Tower of London we passed a man standing in the Thames playing a guitar.  He had gathered quite a little crowd around him.  Melissa and I split a basket of chips and watched him for a while.  We moved farther down the Thames and London Bridge rose up out of the distance.   It is so much larger in real life than I expected.   We toured the old Clink Prision, where heritics and debtors were chained and  dunked in the hole.   Crossing the Thames on the Lodond Bridge we made our way to the famed Tower of London.   The crown jewels are stored here, and it is also where many, including Anne Bolyn, lost their lives.  Although we found out that Elizabeth I executed more "heretics" than any other monoarch.   We headed back toward London Central and to St. Paul's Church.  It is the church that remained standing during the blitz of WWII while one square mile around it burned.  The dome was designed by the famous Wren. 



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