And so it begins…over a year in the making and after countless hours of personal and collective preparation the day of our departure had arrived…July 10, 2008! Jo & I had managed to pack into two large suitcases and one garment bag for our 15 day adventure when the first incredible event took place, ALL the luggage fit into the MINI Cooper! So it’s off to LAX with the allure of London and the Northern Europe awaiting.
We’re HERE…Heathrow airport in London, and yes it’s every bit as bad as you’ve heard. After 11 hours in the air, minimal sleep on the cross-continental red-eye, small seats (and I heard the Virgin - Atlantic was a great airline - travel agents an honest lot they are) horrible airplane food and some unsettling turbulence the LaBoskys have landed! Oh well, we’re officially on vacation so let the fun begin…hey where’s the Carnival Agent to meet us outside customs? Three hours later, no cell service, no Carnival Agent, $70 US and a communal bus ride we hit our hotel in central London.
Good thing we packed all those summer clothes for our vacation as its low 60’s and raining but that doesn’t stop us from going out and exploring. We are staying at the Park Plaza Hotel – County Square which is absolutely dead centre (catch my British accent) downtown, a block from the River Thames and a courtyard away from the London Eye. I’d love to show you a bunch of really cool pictures from our first day out but I forgot the camera in the hotel room. We walked around for about three hours to get the lay of the land and plan Saturday’s activities, ate some awful “authentic” Italian food, got rained on and hit the hotel for some much needed sleep.
What a difference a day (and a little sleep) makes! Before the adventure details I must digress into English breakfast (at least that’s what they call it) fare; baked beans, do you believe it, baked beans for breakfast, I could go on & on about runny eggs and raw bacon and sausage in form only but let’s talk about something much more appetizing, the sights and sounds of London!
Mom & I started off by walking to Buckingham Palace for the ceremonial changing of the guard. We got there early enough to get a position against the fence and as you can tell by the pictures it was a good thing we did as the crowd was large and energetic. The palace itself will be opened up for tours starting in August (maybe next time I suppose) but the grounds and building itself were truly incredible. Check out the gold coat of arms on the rod iron fencing. We then walked down Pall Mall Street through the Admiralty Arch (see picture) to the National Gallery. Jo & I spent the next three hours taking in the paintings and sketches from the 1200’s-1900’s. Really incredible pieces, Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, da Vinci, they’re all here. No photography allowed in the gallery and we saw a security man make an oriental tourist clear his camera memory, hilarious, go figure a Japanese man with a camera! By this time we’re completely exhausted and sitting in Trafalgar Square with our stomachs growling but what to our wondering eyes should appear but a Subway restaurant (woo hoo real American food)! So $30 and after watching a crazy man get arrested inside the adjoining internet café we sit down in Trafalgar Square to enjoy lunch with the pigeons, did I mention how much your mom HATES birds, I think it’s her fascination with that Hitchcock movie but her shrieks and attempted kicking of the flying turd-houses was worth the price of admission! The odd picture later in the blog of mom “tapping her toes” near a pigeon is the best recreation I could get her to do for all of your entertainment!
After lunch we walked back past Westminster Abbey, the Churchill Statue, Parliament Square and Big Ben towards the London Eye. It’s all so beautiful and the pictures really don’t do it justice. We get to the London Eye which is a HUGE Ferris-wheel looking structure composed of 32 capsules each able to contain 25 people. If it’s one thing the English have down to an art form its “queuing” (for us ugly Americans that can best be translated into “waiting in line”). So we queue 45 minutes for our 30 minute trip around the London Eye but it was certainly worth the wait as the views (and pictures) were incredible.
We arrive back at the hotel just in time to get ready for a night out at the theatre (catch that British accent again)! I love Dudley Moore’s character in Arthur: The best thing about waiters is you ask them for things and they bring them to you, isn’t it GREAT!
Well our hotel concierge scored us 6th row center seats for “Wicked” so with plenty of time to spare JoAnn & I take off to the Apollo Theatre in the Soho district. It’s about an hour from curtain when we arrive at the Apollo only to discover that “Rain Man” is playing there and not “Wicked”. So with the thoughts of killing the concierge after eating $300 worth of prime “Wicked” tickets we find a gentleman in a currency exchange window who tells us to cross the street and take the 38 bus to Victoria Station and the Apollo-Victoria Theatre is across the street. Well, we made it with 20 minutes to spare and the show was every bit as good as we heard it was in LA where it has played since last Fall in Hollywood. After the performance we walked back to the hotel and stopped for a romantic dinner at McDonalds before retiring for the evening. Amazing how good McDonalds tastes when there is nothing else available…off to bed!
Musical vibe for the Chapter: The Clash: “London Calling”
Towel Fun: Not yet…good things come to those who wait!
We’re HERE…Heathrow airport in London, and yes it’s every bit as bad as you’ve heard. After 11 hours in the air, minimal sleep on the cross-continental red-eye, small seats (and I heard the Virgin - Atlantic was a great airline - travel agents an honest lot they are) horrible airplane food and some unsettling turbulence the LaBoskys have landed! Oh well, we’re officially on vacation so let the fun begin…hey where’s the Carnival Agent to meet us outside customs? Three hours later, no cell service, no Carnival Agent, $70 US and a communal bus ride we hit our hotel in central London.
Good thing we packed all those summer clothes for our vacation as its low 60’s and raining but that doesn’t stop us from going out and exploring. We are staying at the Park Plaza Hotel – County Square which is absolutely dead centre (catch my British accent) downtown, a block from the River Thames and a courtyard away from the London Eye. I’d love to show you a bunch of really cool pictures from our first day out but I forgot the camera in the hotel room. We walked around for about three hours to get the lay of the land and plan Saturday’s activities, ate some awful “authentic” Italian food, got rained on and hit the hotel for some much needed sleep.
What a difference a day (and a little sleep) makes! Before the adventure details I must digress into English breakfast (at least that’s what they call it) fare; baked beans, do you believe it, baked beans for breakfast, I could go on & on about runny eggs and raw bacon and sausage in form only but let’s talk about something much more appetizing, the sights and sounds of London!
Mom & I started off by walking to Buckingham Palace for the ceremonial changing of the guard. We got there early enough to get a position against the fence and as you can tell by the pictures it was a good thing we did as the crowd was large and energetic. The palace itself will be opened up for tours starting in August (maybe next time I suppose) but the grounds and building itself were truly incredible. Check out the gold coat of arms on the rod iron fencing. We then walked down Pall Mall Street through the Admiralty Arch (see picture) to the National Gallery. Jo & I spent the next three hours taking in the paintings and sketches from the 1200’s-1900’s. Really incredible pieces, Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, da Vinci, they’re all here. No photography allowed in the gallery and we saw a security man make an oriental tourist clear his camera memory, hilarious, go figure a Japanese man with a camera! By this time we’re completely exhausted and sitting in Trafalgar Square with our stomachs growling but what to our wondering eyes should appear but a Subway restaurant (woo hoo real American food)! So $30 and after watching a crazy man get arrested inside the adjoining internet café we sit down in Trafalgar Square to enjoy lunch with the pigeons, did I mention how much your mom HATES birds, I think it’s her fascination with that Hitchcock movie but her shrieks and attempted kicking of the flying turd-houses was worth the price of admission! The odd picture later in the blog of mom “tapping her toes” near a pigeon is the best recreation I could get her to do for all of your entertainment!
After lunch we walked back past Westminster Abbey, the Churchill Statue, Parliament Square and Big Ben towards the London Eye. It’s all so beautiful and the pictures really don’t do it justice. We get to the London Eye which is a HUGE Ferris-wheel looking structure composed of 32 capsules each able to contain 25 people. If it’s one thing the English have down to an art form its “queuing” (for us ugly Americans that can best be translated into “waiting in line”). So we queue 45 minutes for our 30 minute trip around the London Eye but it was certainly worth the wait as the views (and pictures) were incredible.
We arrive back at the hotel just in time to get ready for a night out at the theatre (catch that British accent again)! I love Dudley Moore’s character in Arthur: The best thing about waiters is you ask them for things and they bring them to you, isn’t it GREAT!
Well our hotel concierge scored us 6th row center seats for “Wicked” so with plenty of time to spare JoAnn & I take off to the Apollo Theatre in the Soho district. It’s about an hour from curtain when we arrive at the Apollo only to discover that “Rain Man” is playing there and not “Wicked”. So with the thoughts of killing the concierge after eating $300 worth of prime “Wicked” tickets we find a gentleman in a currency exchange window who tells us to cross the street and take the 38 bus to Victoria Station and the Apollo-Victoria Theatre is across the street. Well, we made it with 20 minutes to spare and the show was every bit as good as we heard it was in LA where it has played since last Fall in Hollywood. After the performance we walked back to the hotel and stopped for a romantic dinner at McDonalds before retiring for the evening. Amazing how good McDonalds tastes when there is nothing else available…off to bed!
Musical vibe for the Chapter: The Clash: “London Calling”
Towel Fun: Not yet…good things come to those who wait!
1 comment:
You should've tickled the guard! :)
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