London/Paris 2011 trip report–part 12

Our main destination today was the Chataue de Versailles.  We took the Metro to the RER (the light rail of Paris) and then 30 or 40 minutes out to Versailles.  It was nearly lunch time so we grabbed a light sandwich and then walked the few blocks to the palace.  Our Paris Museum pass let us go through the short (non existent) line right into the palace grounds.  In a few minutes we, and many thousand of our friends, were touring the King Louis XIV’s house.  Photography is allowed, but no flash pictures.  Since many of the rooms are rather dark, and since there are so many people there, it’s hard to get good interior photos.

I concentrated on the ceilings for photos.  They are each a masterpiece  of their own, each telling a story and making a statement (most generally about how great a person Louis XIV was).  He believed it was his right and duty as King to show the rest of the world just how good life could be and, because he was quite a party animal, the palace was quite an active place.  A couple of generations later the French people would vote against this philosophy right in this same place as they stormed the gates, grabbing some of the nice things their royalty had accumulated and bidding their royalty “adieu.”

We got audio guides, included in the price.  I decided I’d try English – and it turned out to be a good choice since I wouldn’t have understood any of the other 7 or 8 languages they offered.  Seriously, we really liked using the guides, they explain each room in 3 or 4 minutes.  That makes the experience more interesting.

Having seen the inside we opted to not pay for a shuttle ride to some of the other buildings, but instead, to look over the gardens around the palace.  Really, a person could just spend their time at Versailles doing that.  We didn’t see the fountain run, but it was interesting to remember that during Louis XIV’s day he would send out servants to hand pump the fountains so his guests could look out the windows of the Hall of Mirrors and be impressed by the view.  These days, the fountains run at specified times, maybe the servants unionized.

Leaving the palace, we walked back into town.  I enjoyed snapping some shots of Paris as we rode our double decker commuter train back.  We’re a bit leg weary, so we’re taking a few hours of downtime before venturing out to find some supper later on.

 

London/Paris 2011 trip report–part 11

Our morning started early as we finished packing and taking care of the things necessary to leave our London flat in good condition.  We boarded the tube to head for St. Pancras station and the famed Eurostar for a 2 hour high speed journey to Paris.  I was excited about traveling on Eurostar, my first high speed train journey.  It was so good that it nearly disappointed.  That is, the ride is smooth and the scenery flows by almost like watching a film on fast forward.  The journey through the Chunnel came unannounced and the only difference was that it was dark outside!  We arrived in Paris at exactly the scheduled time and we disembarked for our first visit to this famous city.

Things were a bit different for us here because our friends Alex and Karla met us at the station and served as tour guides for our first afternoon and evening in Paris.  After a nice lunch we checked into our hotel and then hopped the Metro for the Arc de Triomphe, one of the iconic symbols of Paris.  From there we walked down the one of the beautiful boulevards of Paris, the Champs-Elysees.  We enjoyed seeing the many shops for big name retailers along the way.  Even more we enjoyed people watching as we walked quite a distance to the opposite end of the boulevard.

We took a bit of a side trip to walk past some of the embassies as well as President Sarkozy’s residence.  Something was going on in the courtyard there, solders dressed in ceremonial uniforms were preparing to greet some, I think, dignitary.  We stopped to watch through the iron gate but a guard came over and encouraged us to move along.  Being an agreeable group, we took his advice!


From there it was through a pretty park and across the grounds of the Louvre.  We plan on visiting there in a few days, but today we just walked through on our way to Notre-Dame.  Unfortunately, we got there just a bit too late to tour the inside so we settled for some outside photos for now.

Along the way we walked across a bridge over the River Seine.  The sides of this bridge are covered with padlocks of love.  Couples take a padlock, write their names on it and then throw the key into the river.  It was fun seeing all the padlocks and I think it is a better idea than carving hearts and initials on trees like we did in the old days.

After a nice supper we headed back to our hotel room.  Ready for a long night’s sleep.

 

London/Paris 2011 trip report–part 10

From the beginning we’ve planned to make Tuesday a laundry-and-not-much-else-planned day and that’s what it’s been.  We slept in and then got started on laundry using the washer/dryer in our studio flat.  For lunch, though, we ventured out to explore more of the huge shopping center a few minutes walk way in Canary Wharf.

One thing Jackie wanted to do was (I know this will amaze you) find the local library, called the “Idea Store.”  She looked it over and then we wandered through the mall before deciding to have some Thai food for lunch.  We had a nice rice/chicken/spices meal along with a couple of pots of tea.  It was quite good and filling.

After lunch we walked over the a community park that is situated right on the Thames.  There’s a very nice walkway along the river and we strolled there for awhile before returning to the flat to finish up laundry.

I did considerable research in finding a place to stay in London.  It would be easy to spend a small fortune just on a hotel here.  Basically, the closer one stays to the main tourist areas around Buckingham, Hyde Park, etc. the more money it will cost.  However, if you are staying for a week or more, it’s worth the effort to find a flat to rent.  Generally speaking the flat will cost a bit more but will give you a lot more room and cooking capability which is nice for breakfast and maybe an occasional meal.  If you are willing to stay farther out, though, you can save some money.  I spent a lot of time on Tripadvisor looking at reviews and found this place; outside the tourist area in, instead, the “Wall Street” of London.  The cost was about the same as a tiny room in a “city” hotel but the accommodations are much better.  One of the main things to think about when planning a London trip is that the tube gives you great access to everything.  If you are close to a tube station you’re never far from the rest of London.  By staying at Canary Wharf we’ve had easy access to a great shopping center with plenty of shops and restaurants plus easy access to the tube, the light rail, the river commuter services – all with Greenwich 10 minutes away one direction and the Tower of London 10 minutes away the other.

We’ve found the people of London to be always in a hurry, always polite, and always willing to help if you ask them.  We think they smoke too much and don’t like having to walk through a cloud of smoke around the doors of nearly every building.  Sometimes we’ve struggled to understand what they say and they’ve struggled to understand us.  We were surprised, though, at how many people there are speaking other languages.  It’s as common to hear people speaking other languages as it is to hear English.  We’ve seen many men in beards and turbans and women wearing veiled outfits.  Those people, by the way, have never made us feel uncomfortable in any way.

We’ve seen less tattoos, more women wearing short skirts, and more men wearing dark suits with white shirts and black ties than we’ve seen at home.  Some of that may be due to being out here with all the business types.

We’ve been especially blessed by the weather.  It has been just terrific with lots of beautiful sunshine and unseasonably warm temperatures.  We came prepared for London’s fall weather and ended up enjoying the best of London’s summer weather instead.  The jackets have been left on the hangers and the umbrellas haven’t been carried.   If anyone asks us about late September/early October London weather we’ll tell them it’s some of the best in the world — of course Londoners will laugh us out of the room when we say it!

Thanks for reading.

 

London/Paris 2011 trip report–part 9

Our destination today was Windsor Castle.  It takes another train ride of about an hour to get there.  Let me say that the British trains are very good.  They are smooth and quiet.  The seats are a bit narrow, but aside from that, they are a great way to travel.  The trains are so quiet that people talk to one another (of course, no eye contact or conversations with strangers!) in subdued tones.  As we did on our way to the Cotswolds we rode in a “quiet car” – no cell phones or music.  It was a restful, interesting ride out to and back from Windsor.

From either of the Windsor train stations it’s a short walk up to the castle.  It’s an amazing place to visit.  The castle has been there for centuries, but the walls are like new.  The Queen doesn’t allow pictures to be taken inside of any building, so I snapped away while outside, but put the camera away as we viewed the Queen’s dollhouse (filled with miniatures – it even has a working plumbing system).  If you’ve never heard of it, google it – it’s really neat.  Then we took a long and interesting walk through the royal apartments.  Every room has portraits of famous members of the royal families painted by famous artists.  The ceilings are works of art, the furniture pieces are all works of art; there’s gold and silver, weapon displays, banners, and lots of other impressive stuff.  Some of the rooms are basically part of a museum (“Napoleon slept here”), while others are actually used for state activities.  Right now the Queen isn’t in residence there, but will be shortly.  That’s actually a good thing because we were able to view some rooms that won’t be available to the public once she arrives.

On the property is another 1000 year old church, St. George’s Chapel.  Again, no photos, but it’s quite a place to visit.  Lots of kings and queens and other royals are buried in the church, and the Quire (I’d call it the “sanctuary”) has seats for the “Knights of Windsor.”  There are shields for all the knights over their seats, and then, there’s an impressive sword and shield for the current knight who claims his place at the church.

We stayed for the Evensong service and just happened to be there for a special memorial service for one of the Windsor Knights who recently passed away.  We heard another all male choir (the boy sopranos in particular were impressive).  However, the most interesting thing was the processional of around twelve Knights of Windsor.  These are all older men, mostly heroes from WWII.  They were dressed in what reminded me of Admiral outfits: red coats with tails, feathered hats, etc.  These men have all had distinguished military careers now and serve St. Georges.  There was lots of scripture and singing (obviously, quite “high church”) and a sort of memorial sermon by the man’s son.  We would have felt like intruders except for the fact that we, once again, found ourselves sitting in the Nave rather than in the Quire.  We could see through the opening into the service and hear everything quite well, but were actually sitting outside the service.  As I understand it, normally visitors are invited into the main sanctuary for the daily Evensong service but since there were many dignitaries there those seats were reserved for them.  To tell you the truth, I don’t think Jackie or I would have wanted to be inside anyway, we were way underdressed for the occasion as I left my Admiral suit home on this trip.

And yes – we got the obligatory photo with the guard.  He wasn’t very polite.  I said “thanks” and he didn’t even blink an eye!  If you ever come to London – don’t miss Windsor – it’s a “must see.”

 

London/Paris 2011 trip report–part 8

For Sunday our intention was to take a breather from sightseeing and make it a day of worship and rest.  We started our day at Westminster Abbey at their 10:00 worship service.  We got there just after they closed entry to the part of the church where the main service was taking place and ended up sitting in the “Nave” with 20 or so other people.  We could see through into the service well enough to see the men and boy’s choir as well as see the clergyman as he delivered a Sunday sermon.  Also, the organ was beautiful.  Every inch of the church has statues, etc. but we were able to focus on worship.  There’s something powerful about stating the Apostle’s Creed in the place where it has been said for over 1000 years.  Also, the singing of the Lord’s Prayer was deeply moving.  The sermon was quite good and we came away feeling we had genuinely worshiped.  To keep tourists from coming to church just to keep from paying a tour fee they have a strict “no pictures” policy on Sundays.  It’s quite understandable but we wish we had been able to take at least a couple of photos to help us remember the meaningful worship service.

For lunch we headed over to Greenwich market.  However, the crowds were so large that we walked though just to see what the food and other venders had and then, out on the street we spotted a real English Fish and Chips restaurant.  We split a meal and had food left over!  We walked over the the Maritime Museum that we visited the day we arrived.  At that time we were sleep deprived that we only saw a small part of it.  Today we saw a bit more before making the short jump back to Canary Wharf.

This area of London is considered to be the “Wall Street” of London with skyscrapers and lots of people in suits hurrying around.  The tube and the DLR or “light rail” intersect here as well as public transport via the river Thames.  Our 7 or 8 minute walk to public transportation takes us across a nifty bridge and into a large shopping mall surrounded by office buildings.  We’re taking it easy through the afternoon here at the half way mark of our trip.

 

London/Paris 2011 trip report–part 7

As we planned this trip of a lifetime one of the things we decided to do was make at least one trip outside of London to get a better look at the country.  We decided a visit to the Cotswolds area would be just the right destination.  The area is north of London and has rolling hills, lots of sheep and other farming, and many small, picturesque towns, filled with limestone houses dating back over 500 years.

This trip is more complicated than getting on the tube and getting off at the right station.  It includes train travel and a chartered bus.  Beyond that, one needs to know where to go to get a nice overview of the area in just a day.  We decided to take a “London Walks” tour.  Happily, we concluded our day sure we made good decisions on this tour all around.

Our morning started at Paddington train station where we met the tour group and handed our train/bus/tour fees to the tour guide.  He took wonderful care of us and 50 other travelers for the day.  After an hour and a half on the train we were met by the tour bus for another 30 minute ride to outside the town of Chipping Campden.  The area is filled with hiking trails and we hiked down a pathway about 10 minutes into the town.  We enjoyed looking at thatched roof houses and homes that have been in existence for over 500 years.  Later on, we walked from Upper Slaughter to Lower Slaughter and a bit beyond.  Just gorgeous. It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed the beautiful area and all it’s history.  We highly recommend the London Walks and our tour guide, Richard, who did a fantastic job.

I loved our train ride up.  The car we were in was a “quiet car” – no cell phone conversations allowed!  It was quiet, fast, and comfortable.  Our return train wasn’t quite as nice, but the seat was still comfortable.  In fact, I took a bit of a snooze as we journeyed back to London.

It was getting rather late when we arrived back at Paddington so we decided to grab a quick supper there.  Jackie and I have both remarked on how many McDonalds we’ve seen so we tried the one at the station.  When I tasted the French Fries I was taken back many years.  These fries were made the way McD used to make them – not with the more healthy peanut oil they use these days.  They were go-od (not for you, but in taste)!

London/Paris 2011 trip report–part 6

We headed out for another day of sightseeing in London.  Let me mention that the weather has been unseasonably warm here…highs in the upper 70’s are summer like for this area.  It’s delightful to be outdoors, not so much on the tube or on the bus.

We started our day by heading for Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guard.  The pageantry is quite impressive, taking about an hour.  We found a spot on the rail around the monument, facing the palace.  It was a real good spot to see it all.  The only better place would have been along the tall iron fence looking right at the courtyard.  There, you would miss some of the parade, but you’d see and the saluting and such as well as be able to better hear the music from the marching band.  All in all, though, ours was a satisfying experience.

From Buckingham we wanted to travel a good distance to the British Museum.  We opted to ride a double decker bus all the way from Victoria Station to the museum.  It was quite a ride.  Listen to me very carefully here: you don’t want to drive in London.  It’s beyond impossible!  Still, sitting in the upstairs front seat is worth the ride and I highly recommend it as a way to see the city from an entirely different perspective.

Our afternoon was spent at the British Museum.  It’s an amazing place.  We spent a great deal of time in the Egyptology area, checking out everything from the Rosetta Stone to seeing several mummies.  The Greek and Roman exhibitions are just as impressive.  We walked and looked and sat and rested and walked and looked some more.

Since we enjoyed our bus ride to the museum, and since we knew the tube would be packed and hot, we opted to ride the bus out of the downtown area and at least part of the way back out to Canary Warf.  It started out as a stroke of genius.  We got a front seat and watched the city go by.  Things went well till we were about 20 minutes from where we needed to switch to light rail.  Then, everything ground to a halt.  We never did see what happened, but we sat still watching motorcyclists ride between cars and buses, having to weave back and forth to keep from hitting mirrors and bicyclists who must have a death wish riding right with them – and nothing else moving.  Finally, people started getting off the bus and we followed suit.  It was only then that we realized that the tube we ride nearly everyday had a stop about 3 blocks from where we had sat for so long.  We crowded in and were back at our stop in about 10 minutes.

 

London/Paris 2011 trip report–part 5

After three days of serious sight seeing we decided to take the morning off.  Jackie did some reading and I took a serious mid morning nap!  Around 11:30 we headed out for some lunch and a “softer” afternoon.

 

We hopped on the tube for Kensington and a tea shop I found on the internet.  We wanted a fairly “local” experience and the Muffin Man was just the right place.  It’s on a side street, but fairly easy to find (that is unless one misses the street and walks a few blocks before deciding they must have missed it!).  We checked out the local map at a bus stop and found that our street was the very first one we crossed a few blocks earlier.  One thing about London, the streets aren’t very well marked.  Your best chance is to look up on the sides of buildings near an intersection.  Even then it doesn’t always work out.  Anyway, we had a nice lunch with some tasty Earl Grey tea and then Queen Mother’s Cake for dessert.

 

From there we boarded a double decker bus to the world famous Harrod’s Department Store.  I think it’s the biggest store I’ve ever seen and it reminds me of Macy’s but with a wider variety of merchandise.  Jackie had a terrific time looking around.  I had to restrain her from buying granddaughter Sarah a $600 party dress and grandson Matthew a diamond covered model car.  I couldn’t stop her at the chocolate confectionary though and she blew through a few English pounds on chocolate pretty fast.  She nearly persuaded me on a few $1000 men’s suits, but I managed to hang in there.  I did seriously check out a $3000 comfortable chair (on sale, mind you) for about a half hour while she looked around.  Visiting this store is, seriously, an event not to be missed.

As I said, we were taking it easy today so our next stop was nearby Hyde Park.  London has several wonderful parks, but I think Hyde is the best known.  The weather was perfect and the park was filled with people enjoying the late afternoon.  We sat on a park bench and people watched as joggers, skate boarders, and bicyclists passed by.  A lot of people were out on the the grass picnic style – and I mean a lot – thousands of people enjoying the park.

We waited till around 6:30 before getting on the tube to head back out to Canary Wharf, hoping the rush hour would be backing down.  No luck.  We were packed in like sardines.  It’s rather comical really.  All these people obviously standing too close for comfort, hanging on to the rails, bouncing and swaying in rhythm…and no one talking or even acknowledging one another.  No eye contact.  It’s not that people aren’t courteous, they offer seats to the elderly, make room for one more “sardine” to be packed in till there’s literally not room for another person.  It’s quite an experience.

Another interesting thing is what a hurry everyone is in.  No one really walks – but, instead, they move at almost a jog.  A sign on the escalator advises people to “stand right” so all the runners can charge by on the left.  They’re in a hurry to where ever it is they are going.  In similar fashion to the tube, people generally don’t acknowledge one another.  If you ask someone for directions, they will politely help you out, but otherwise, people seem invisible to one another.

We’re finding it easy to get around so far as the big picture is concerned but a bit harder to find exact places because of the lack of street signs.  Of course finding one’s way is half the fun!

 

London/Paris 2011 trip report–part 4

 

Tuesday night’s sleep wasn’t as good as we hoped for.  We’re experiencing the “other” part of jet lag.  The first is just being worn out from the trip and trying to hit the ground running.  The other is that our bodies are struggling to adjust to getting up at what feels like 2:00am and going to bed at 5:00pm in the afternoon.  Still, the only way to beat it is to press on, and press on we did!

The only biggie on the agenda for the day is a visit to Tower of London.  The construction began there  before 1100 when William the Conqueror built a tower on the river Thames as a defense against invaders.  Now, it draws millions of visitors each year.

It’s famous for, I think, three things.

First, of course, is it’s history.  The Beefeaters lead tours and serve, in general, as congenial hosts.  These are all retired military men who take their jobs as historians and protectors of this place quite seriously.  Their tours are fun and informative.  When some ladies ignored the warnings to not take photos in one building, the gentleman stopped them and then made them erase the photos to his satisfaction before they could go on.
We enjoyed several floors of displays in the armory.  There’s armor worn by kings, weapons, and lots of other really neat things to see.

The second big deal is that the British Crown jewels are on display here.  I’ve never seen so much gold and diamonds and other precious stones in my life.  Of course, that’s one of the “no pictures” parts of the place.  In fact, to view the crown jewels, you stand on an escalator sort of deal that moves you along.  You can go back and ride as many times as you wish, but you can’t stop in front of any of the main displays.   However, there are other amazing things you can stand and see – almost beyond description.

The third reason the Tower of London is famous is because of the many prisoners who were held and tortured and executed there including a couple the wives of King Henry VIII.

In the face of how some were mistreated at the Tower I shouldn’t complain too much about how leg weary Jackie and I became during our hours there.  Up and down stairs, standing, walking – by mid-afternoon our legs were starting to call the shots!  It was time to head “home” for a break.  We found our way to the light rail and made our way back to nearby Canary Wharf.  Maybe by early evening we’ll have enough energy to go to a nearby restaurant for a nice supper!

 

London/Paris 2011 trip report–part 3

Monday night came early and we were glad for it.  We went to bed about 8:00 local and 2:00 “home time.”  After going pretty much without sleep overnight Sunday and then hitting the ground running for a day of sightseeing, we struggled to stay awake that late.  Jackie pretty much slept all night.  I conked out for about 4 hours and then woke up.  I’m no fan of sleeping pills, but I took one and then slept the rest of the night.  We both woke around 8:00am feeling refreshed and ready for the day.

We walked a few blocks to the Canary Wharf pier and to the Thames Clipper into the heart of London, passing under Tower Bridge and seeing many of the famous sights of London from the water.

After taking some photos of Big Ben and Parliament we walked over to the Churchill War Rooms and Museum.  It was here that Winston Churchill lead England through WWII.  It’s quite an interesting place and we surprised ourselves by staying about 2 hours.

We grabbed some sandwiches from a shop that is part of a chain, Tesco Express.  Prepackaged sandwiches, chips and drinks.  We ate, sitting on a wall with many other locals and tourists, right across the street from Big Ben.

From there we hopped on the tube headed for our next destination.  It’s easy to see why Londoners have a love/hate relationship with the tube.  You can go about anywhere on the tube and trains are quite frequent, generally less than 5 minutes apart.  However, the trains are very crowded and not air conditioned.  On one journey we made people were packed in, standing room only.  Hardly anyone speaks and everyone reads the paper or a book – I guess it’s a way to isolate oneself in such an uninsolated situation.

Our other big stop of the day was the British Library.  One room, in particular is worth visiting.  It is full of rare books, etc.  including 400 year old Bibles, original Shakespearen manuscripts, and one of the earliest handwritten copies of Handel’s Messiah.

We found our way back to Canary Wharf, the Wall Street of London.  It also has a huge shopping mall.  At one end we found a big grocery store and bought some supper to take back to the flat.