Racing Through the Streets of London

This morning was a known, scheduled, early start.  We had booked a full-day trip to visit Windsor Castle, the city of Bath, and Stonehenge, and because it the tour would take all day, it started bright and early - and on-time. The tour would depart from Victoria Coach Station (in the center of London) at 8:45am, so we needed to be there a few minutes before then. Erin woke up at about 6:45am, and then woke James up shortly after. While we were getting ready for the day, both of us were intermittently checking e-mails and using the internet to catch up on things a bit before we left. Last night we decided that if we left the flat at about 7:45am, we would be in good shape for getting there on time.

7:45 would have worked great.  Unfortunately, we both ended up tinkering on the computer until about 8am. When we finally began walking to the underground train station we realized that we might be in a bit of a time crunch.We picked up our pace and began "power walking" to the train station. Luckily, we were able to squish ourselves into the very packed underground train that was pulling into the station just as we entered. Once on the train, we knew that we would have to change our plans a bit from last night in order to get to the bus station. The train we were on (the Northern Line), would not take us directly into the city center – which would have been fine as we had planned to walk about 10-15 to the bus station from one of the departure stops on the train. However, we no longer had time for this.

We also had no access to our subway maps in the packed car.  We asked a couple of different people on the current train for assistance in transferring trains in order to get where we needed to go. By this time, both of us were a bit sweaty from our fast uphill walk to the train station and the anxiety of the situation – and, people around us were noticing (always a great feeling). After we determined which train to transfer to, we got off the train in a hurry and did our best to run through the train station as it was now about 8:30am and we had about 15 minutes to get there. We got on the second train, and had to go three stops – which seemed to take forever. We finally arrived at our final stop, Victoria Train Station – which was about 4 blocks away from Victoria Coach Station. Of course, the train station was congested with people, so getting out of the train station was difficult and Erin squeezed out a few steps ahead of James.

We hit the pavement and both running down the street as fast as we could because it was now 8:45am and we were terrified of missing the tour we had already paid for. We couldn't run down the sidewalks because there were simply too many people, so we had no option but to run down the streets. As we were running, we saw a tour bus from the same company as ours pull out onto the road and both of our hearts sank a bit. However, as we sped into the coach station, we saw a line of people outside our bus's departure area, and noted the buses were still there! We felt so relieved. We were escorted by one of the drivers onto our bus, and a few minutes later we pulled out of the station in route to Windsor Castle. Both of us were so hot and sweaty by this point, it took us about 10-15 minutes to decompress and allow our hearts to return to their normal rates.

You can see the sweat dripping off James's face at the bus station....poor James!

Windsor is only about 20 miles outside of London, so it didn't take very long to get there. Windsor Castle is the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world. (It is currently one of the residences of Her Majesty The Queen of England). Once we were inside the castle gates, we opted for the free audio guides, so we each put on a headset and pushed the corresponding numbers as we wandered about the grounds. Once inside the walls, the first feature of Windsor Castle is moat around the Castle's keep, and although the moat is not filled with water, it does surround the castle and is currently filled with some lovely gardens.

After some further meandering through the Castle walls, we went into St. George's Chapel, which was built in 1575 and has not been altered much since it's construction. Erin thought the chapel was one of the more embellished worship areas that we have seen, as there was an exquisitely-designed ceiling, lots of detailed woodworking, several tombs throughout the chapel (even Henry VIII), and a chamber area dedicated to the current and late knights involved in the "Order of the Garter" - an association James found especially interesting.

We left St. George's and headed over to the doll house and the staterooms to see where the Kings and Queens actually lived and worked. Queen Mary's cousin, Princess Marie Louise, knew that Mary enjoyed miniatures.  Marie Louise worked with Sir Edwin Lutyens to craft the three-foot tall doll house using the best craftspeople in all of England, with a collection of miniature items that actually work, including electricity, working plumbing, and a flushable toilet.  While we were not allowed to take pictures, it was the largest dollhouse either of us has ever seen.

As we continued on the tour, we entered the staterooms, where we saw pictures created by Leonardo DaVinci and (more) self-portraits of Rembrandt. The collection of art throughout the castle was quite extensive and fun to look at as we wandered about the castle. On our way out of the castle, we caught a few minutes of the changing of the guard before we headed back to the bus to eat our picnic lunch. Luckily, this time, we were not the last people to board the bus.

One of the Ornate Entrances to Windsor Castle

Tabitha helps guard Windsor Castle's Keep

An imposing Windsor tower points out the beautiful English day.

Our next stop on the tour took us to Bath. During their occupation of the now-English territory, the Romans created the Roman Baths around 75 A.D.! This was after the Romans discovered that England was home to several hot springs, about 46 degrees Celsius, which allowed them to take hot steam baths. The Romans built a temple over the baths dedicated to Goddess of Minerva. Many of the Romans presented offerings or curses which they wrote to the Goddess and threw into the baths with the hope that the Goddess may help them with their problems.

We also took the opportunity to wander through the town of Bath. Our tour guide had pointed out where actor Nicholas Cage keeps a home, and we saw a number of small boutique shops, a picturesque bridge, and not one - but three guitarists in different plazas whiling away the afternoon while Bath residents and tourists took the chance to have a snack or a conversation.  Our guide encouraged us to revisit Bath in the future, but in the present it was off to our final destination of the day - Stonehenge.

The ruins of the Roman Baths, on "cleaning" day.

Some of the coins - offerings to the Roman gods - that were recovered from the Baths.

An example of a Roman arch for the Baths' plumbing.

Erin and James on the edge of the Bath's plaza.

Tabitha curious about whether she'll get to take a Roman Bath.

Today's tour took us further and further back in time - from Windsor Castle, about 900 years old, to the Roman Baths, which are nearly 2,000 years old, to Stonehenge, our final stop on the tour.  Stonehenge wins the award - experts believe Stonehenge was built around 3,000 B.C., making it over 5,000 years old!  Sadly, it was built by a culture that left no written records, and that left its own mysteries.  In fact, it is a bit of a mystery as to how Stonehenge was built, because the limestone that used to create the group of large, heavy, rocks came all the way from Wales (a nearby country) – which means that the creators had to cross two very large bodies of water in order to place the rocks. There is also no obvious reason why it was built, although many have speculated that it was a place of worship or burial. Despite the fact that it wasn't much more than a large grouping of rocks, it was still fascinating to see and learn about. 

Erin poses outside Stonehenge on a beautiful, windy day.

James demonstrates a Stonehenge pose of confidence.

Tabitha gets in on the Stonehenge action with the best shot of the day.

Our trip concluded back at Victoria Coach Station, the very place we were so eager to get to this morning. Tomorrow is our last day in England, so we'll be packing things up tonight and trying to get some rest before our early morning departure. We certainly don't want to be running behind tomorrow morning as we have an international flight to catch!

Exhibits and Eating - or Museums and Munching - take your pick!

Today, we slept in a bit – which was quite nice. We didn't actually get up and moving until about 9:30am, and then we both did some computer work and some studying before heading out into the city center. We took the underground train into Waterloo Station to walk around Trafalgar Square and get some better pictures, then headed west, towards Kensington Park to eventually see some of the free city museums.

We made a pit-stop first at Victoria Train Station, as they had a travel center and we had some questions. Erin really wanted to take a day trip out of London to see Bath, Stonehenge, and Oxford University – so, we wanted to find out what might be the most cost efficient way to do this. The travel center advised us that booking with a tour group was the best way to go because it would be cheaper than taking the train or bus individually, and it included all of the entrance fees to the attractions. Based on this information, we booked a trip for Bath, Stonehenge, and Windsor (unfortunately, Oxford was not combined with any of the other destinations we were interested in). We also bought our tickets for the express train to Gatwick airport, which is where we will fly out of when we leave the country in the next couple of days.  Next, we headed back out to Trafalgar Square to take enjoy the scenery and take a few pictures. 

It was as sunny as it seems in the picture, and the water really is that blue!

Tabitha makes a friend.

James decided that he wanted a Fish and Chips for lunch today, a traditional London staple comprised of fried, breaded fish, and "chips" - what we would call French fries. Incidentally, what we call "chips," Londoners call "crisps."  Based on a recommendation from the attendant in Victoria Station, we stopped at a small cafe near the bus station we had arrived at several days before. James had high hopes for his meal, however, it did not live up to its expectations, which was disappointing for both of us.

While it wasn't perfect, it was still Fish and Chips in London!

After our less than satisfying lunch we headed west and entered the upscale area of Chelsea, which included many fancy townhouses and many high-end shops, such as Harrod's. We stopped in Harrod's to look around for a few minutes (and to use the restrooms), and after wandering through some of the expensive departments, we left. Harrod's reminded Erin of the Macy's on 34^th Street in that it had several floors and lots of different sections of branded products to go through. 

This was the closest Erin got to getting anything branded "Prada."

We next stopped at London's “museum mile,” and began at our touring the Victoria and Albert Museum, which housed many collectibles from around the world. There were large tapestries, fine china, and several different types of ceramics. On the way out, Erin commented on the unique blown glass chandelier, and unsurprisingly, James immediately recognized the creator of this brilliant piece hanging in the lobby (Dale Chihuly, or as Erin put it, "Dan Something"). We then headed next door into the Museum of Natural History, where we learned more about the Earth's crust and the effects of water and wind on the land and sea. As the time was drawing near 5pm, we headed to the Science Museum because Erin had expressed the most excitement about this very museum.

At the Science Museum, we learned more about the early aviation and how planes have improved over the years. There were several model planes (both new and old) – it was interesting to see things from a British perspective. (They did have an entire exhibit to the Wright brothers, "wrightfully" so....). After James dragged Erin through an exhibit on 1800's scientific instruments, explaining the concept of "Steampunk" along the way, we ventured up into the human medicine exhibits where we learned more about the history of medicine in the United Kingdom.  Erin was quite fascinated to see how far things have advanced, and how much better we are at diagnosing and treating diseases than we were even 20 years ago. By this time, the museum was closing as it was nearly 6pm and most things in the United Kingdom close their doors around this time.

The Dale Chihuly V&A Rotunda Chandelier

Tabitha picks on someone closer to her own size, if a little older, in the V&A museum.

One of the many exhibits in the British Science Museum

As it was a perfect day weather-wise, it was the perfect time for a post-museum(s) walk through Kensington Park. We followed the main road throughout the park as both of us had memories of another recent park experience (Phoenix Park in Dublin, where we got a bit lost). We were looking for the Princess Diana memorial fountain in the park, but somehow missed it. We saw many cyclists in the park, in part due to London's large bike rental program that has rental stations scattered throughout the city. We finally emerged from the park on Oxford Street, which is one of the major shopping districts in London. From here, we headed to Saville Row, to explore some of the made-to-order tailoring shops. By this time, however, many of the shops on Saville Row were already closed.

One of the London Bike-Rental Stops; this one was near Eaton Court.

As it was dark now, we headed back to the train station with the plan of enjoying a nice dinner out together at an Indian restaurant near our flat. James had had two meal requirements for London: some Fish & Chips, and a good curry meal.  There were three Indian restaurants all right next to each other and all of them looked about the same, so we were a bit confused as to which one we should head into. James suggested we head into the restaurant with no one in it, so we could have a private dinner together. Erin was a bit skeptical of this idea as an empty restaurant is sometimes (often) a bad sign. However, James's instincts were correct – despite a slightly musty smell that soon faded into the background, our dinner was fantastic – nice and spicy, just the way we like it! After dinner we headed back to the flat where we did a load of laundry, watched a bit of British television, and eventually went to bed.

Our Celebratory "Fancy" London Curry Dinner.

Lots of Walking in London

Erin woke up early this morning to check the football scores; James was still recovering from watching the very, very late Michigan State v. Notre Dame game on the computer.  Luckily, today was one of our planned "explore London" days, with only one time-sensitive plan on the calendar: we were scheduled to meet up with James's cousin Nate, his wife Joanne, and their daughters Evan and Jolynne.

We took the train from Highgate down to Waterloo Station, and walked down to the end of Westminster Bridge to Portcullis House, a British Parliament "working space" only open to the public on Sundays.  There, we met up with James's family and after stopping at one of the myriad Pret A Manger restaurants, we headed into St. James's Park for some catching-up.  Nate and James estimated that, if they had met, it had been well over 25 years ago.  Nate and his wife Joanne have done well for themselves in the meantime; both Iowa natives, Nate is doing post-graduate work at King's College after completing his PhD in molecular biology at Yale; Joanne is busy doing computer and web development while taking care of their young daughters Evan and Jolynne.  Nate did help support a common "Sherer" stereotype - they believe in over-education.

All of the Sherer's in London at St. James Park.

A very people-friendly pelican allowed us to take a picture with it while we were in St. James's Park.  (We were playing with some of the color functions on our camera, which is why the color of this picture may look different).

  After Nate and Joanne said their goodbyes, we headed into London's National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, first stopping briefly outside to see exhibits from the London Design Festival, including the Audi robot exhibit "Outrace," where visitors to the site on the internet control the movements of a complex robot in the middle of Trafalgar Square.  The National Gallery holds a truly impressive collection of art, including some very-well known pieces - the so-called 30 "highlight" paintings.  We especially liked Georges Seurat's Bathers at Asnières, a pointillist painting done with thousands of tiny brushstrokes, and Vincent van Gogh's iconic Sunflowers.

The National Gallery of Art in London, which was filled with famous European art.

Today was certainly one of our London museum days, and we next wandered next door to the National Portrait Gallery, which Erin professed to enjoy even more than the National Gallery.  It was probably the modern work of Julian Opie and his drawing of the British band "Blur" that really did it for her.

After leaving the Portrait Gallery, we wandered into the West End Theater District, where we saw the elaborate facades of London's current plays and musicals.  James even (briefly) dragged Erin into London's Kid Robot store.  We then walked from the Theater District directly into London's Chinatown, which was bedecked with red and pink paper lanterns, and the hustle of people shopping for distinctly Asian groceries.  This route eventually took us to Piccadilly Circus, London's response to (or perhaps the predecessor to) New York's Times Square.  Piccadilly Circus is called London's "hub," due to the five roads that converge in its roundabout, and its close proximity to all of the shows.  We certainly saw a lot of shoppers.

In London's West End, where many of the theaters are located.

London's Chinatown district...lots of hanging lanterns, food markets, and restaurants..

Picadilly Circus - not quite as bright as New York's Times Square.

We left Piccadilly and headed to Hamley's Toy Store, London's largest, and one of the places James remembered best from his first trip to London when he was young.  While we didn't buy anything, it was fun to browse the full five stories of toys from around the world.  Erin also had the chance to spend some time in Hamley's Harry Potter Exhibit, and see wands, maps, and a full-scale "Dobby" up close.  We stopped in another Pret A Manger restaurant for dinner, and while Erin ate healthy with a salad, James bought a sausage roll (imagine a sausage stuffed inside a McDonald's pie shell) from a grocery store and ate it on the way.

The Maruder Map, a special map which is used in the Harry Potter Movies.

To finish up our day, we left the shops behind and started back towards the River Thames.  On our way we passed King's College, where Nate is currently working, the Royal Courts of Justice, and even saw a Barclay's Bank Branch that was originally started in 1650!  Eventually, we made it to the London Bridge as the sun started to set, for some sunset pictures of the Thames, Tabitha, and the loving couple - Erin and James.  One tourist from Eastern Europe even asked to take his own picture with Tabitha!  After our London Bridge photo stop was over, it was still a long walk back to Waterloo Station, but we made it home safe and sound.

Tabitha made her way to London Bridge!

The Never, Ever, Ending Day

Our day started early today - or, really, just spilled over from yesterday as we started on the same overnight bus.  There was a “comfort” stop, as the co-conductor informed us, a little after midnight at a rest stop outside Edinburgh, and another around 3 am.  We arrived in a cold, dark London around 6:30 am, and James immediately pawed around inside his pack for some warmer clothes and some London-appropriate shoes.  We knew we could not check into our room in Christopher Lodge until at least noon, so we made plans to see some of London in the meantime.  We started in a local café, where we had a light breakfast, and then moved on to another Starbucks to check our e-mail and look at different tourist options.  A note on Starbucks - we were fortunate enough to get several Starbucks cards as parting gifts for our trip and from our jobs.  Erin has endeavored to use these whenever possible, and she has become a guiding light for finding Starbucks in nearly every locale we’ve visited.

Post Starbucks break, we ventured, packs and all, into London proper.  We started by heading to Buckingham Palace, where we lucked into seeing the changing of the guard ceremony.  After some pictures by the fountain in front of the Palace, we walked through James’s Park - that is, St. James’s Park, and brought out Tabitha the Tiger for some pictures.  We walked through the Horse Guards Calvary building and arch, passed as near to No. 10 Downing Street as we could, and then walked over to the Big Ben clock.  A note for our younger readers - No. 10 Downing Street is the home of the British Prime Minister - it is the same as the White House is here in the U.S.   On the other hand, Buckingham Palace, which we also saw today, is the official residence of the Queen of England.

Some cheery smiles in front of Buckingham Palace.  (you can see our heavy packs as well)

No. 10 Downing Street - home of the British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Big Ben, the largest chiming clock tower in the world.

Tabitha perched on the Westminster Bridge in front of the House of Parliament.

After Big Ben, we walked across Westminster Bridge for some Tabitha-included photos of Parliament on our way to Waterloo Station, our first stop on London’s “Tube” system.  Today had been different than our tour of Edinburgh, as there was no locker for our packs.  Instead, we had been up early with little sleep, and had been lugging around over 40-pounds each in our backpacks, touring the city and searching for the train.    At this point, we were ready for a break (well, Erin definitely was).  And, after 12 stops up the Northern Line using our brand-new Oyster Cards for the underground railroad, we found our flat (which we acquired through airbnb) and settled in for a nap.

An hour or two later, and awake if not fully refreshed, we set out to explore the nearby town of Hornsey.  Hornsey’s modern claim to fame seems to be as the home of Simon Pegg, star of “Run Fatboy Run” and “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.”  We did not run into Simon.  We did make it back to the apartment in time for a nice dinner, and a streaming broadcast of Michigan’s narrow win over the University of Massachusetts in this afternoon’s football game.  Erin attempted to stay up to watch the Michigan State vs Notre Dame game, but because it was a night game in the US, it didn't even begin until about 1am here - which was simply too late for Erin's tired eyes.

A note on signs we have seen throughout Ireland and the UK - many of the smaller stores carry an “off-license” sign outside, and Erin and James had debated the sign's meaning.  Apparently, this means that you can purchase alcohol at these stores, but you cannot drink at the stores.  In contrast, an “on-license” establishment would allow you to consume alcohol there - as in a restaurant or a pub.

A Perfect Day in Edinburgh

We woke up around 9 am this morning, and each of us took turns meeting with Mary and her family while the other showered and packed.  Erin’s cousin Natalie met up with us, as well as John, Natalie’s father, who was kind enough to drive us to the Croy station for the train.  Mary gave us a lovely parting gift, and we gave her an assortment of chocolates to thank her for her exceptional hospitality.  Once we arrived at the station and marveled at the high speed trains whizzing past, we caught our connection without a problem and were off (finally!) to Edinburgh.

On the Scotrail train from Glasgow to Edinburgh.

 Once we arrived, we walked from the train station to the bus station, and for only £5, we were able to place our backpacks in a locker and begin our walking tour of the city.  We started in the local grocery store, a Sainsbury’s, and after picking up lunch, headed back to St. Andrew’s Square for an open-air picnic.  From St. Andrew’s, we made our way South, heading down Princess Street to the National Gallery of Scotland.  At the National Gallery, we absorbed the sights of some of Scotland’s artistic treasures, and James was scolded twice!  Once, for taking a photo (in James’s defense, there were no signs) and the other when a guard was concerned that James’s bag might hit a painting.  That certainly would have been an embarrassing end to our Scotland adventure.

Eating our picnic lunch - rice cakes and hummus.  Yum!

The National Gallery of Scotland, which housed paintings by famous artists such as Monet, Degas, and Rembrandt.

After finishing up the Gallery, we headed further south - but much higher in elevation.  We made our way up Ramsay Lane to the outskirts of Edinburgh Castle, easily the largest castle we have seen thus far on our trip.  Because we were (now) proud holders of Scottish Explorers Passes, we were able to bypass the (rather short at this point in the day) ticket line and quickly joined a tour.  Our guide began by explaining that it was her very first day on the job, but we thought she did a serviceable job.

Just inside the entrance gate at Edinburgh Castle.

The high points (no pun intended) of our Castle tour were the Great Hall, where we saw our second “hammer beam” roof, constructed without nails in the form of an upside-down ship.  The first was in the Stirling Castle.  We also enjoyed our tour of the Scottish Crown Jewels, where we saw someone else get in trouble for taking photos for a change.  James liked the “Dog Cemetery,” where the Castle’s former mascots were buried with full military tombstones, and “Mon Meg,” a present to James II of an enormous canon that could shoot stones over a distance of 2 miles.  We also toured the National War Museum, the Prisons of War Exhibition, the Royal Scots Regimental Museum, the Dragoon Guards Regimental Museum, and the Scottish National War Memorial.  At this point, we had reached our quota of war-related exhibits.

The Great Hall of the castle with the hammer beam roof, lined with swords and armor.

The dog cemetery at the castle.

Mon Meg, the record-setting cannon used at the castle.

The prison, which was in the dark, cold basement of the castle.  The prisoners slept in hammocks or lined the beds below.

A recruiting poster for the Scottish Army.

One of the rooms in the castle - the decor was all very ornate, just as you would imagine a castle to be.

An outside view of part of the castle.  We couldn't fit the entire castle in one photo because it was so large!

To change up the pace, we finished our Castle tour and headed down High Street/Cannongate roads, otherwise known as the “Royal Mile” on our way to the Palace of Holyrood, stopping only briefly at St. Giles Cathedral.  Not 6 hours earlier, the Queen of England had hosted the Pope at Holyrood, but at this point most of the tourists had cleared out, and nearly everything was back to normal.  We explored the town, but once we made it to the Palace, it was closing.  However, from the Palace of Holyrood’s gates, one can see the majestic Salisbury Crags towering above Holyrood Park to the southwest.  James immediately wanted to climb up, but Erin was skeptical as it looked like it would take quite a long time and she was afraid it might be dark out when we finished.   But, after hearing from a local storeowner that it would take little more than an hour to climb, Erin agreed.

Salisbury Crags, the site of our climb.

We took a path called the “Weaver’s Mile” up the mount, and The views from the top of the path up the Crags were nothing short of breathtaking.  This was in part due to the unimpeded views out across Edinburgh, to far-off cities and to the Firth of Forth far to the north.  By the time we came back down off of the Crags, it was starting to get late.  We headed back into downtown Edinburgh by way of a Starbucks visit for tea, and after spending an additional bit of time in a Burger King to use their free wifi, we walked down Rose Street, a pedestrian-only street festooned with restaurants, bars, boutiques, and lots of Scots heading out for their Friday night activities.  Our night led in a different direction, and we headed back to St. Andrew’s Square to board our overnight bus down to London.

We stopped to catch our breath and to take a few photos about halfway up the mountain.

Finally at the top!  We met some Americans on the mountain who offered to take our picture.

Looking appropriately "nackered" on the bus from Edinburgh to London - mid-way through our overnight journey.