Off we go to London once again

This morning dawned bright and sunny as it has been doing for several days now. Hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago we were thinking of trading the Mini Cooper in for a motorboat.

Once again we headed off for London on the morning train. This time, since it was Saturday, we knew there would be parking at the train station so we drove the car. We took a wrong turn at first, but soon recognized our error and made it to the station in time to catch the 9:45 heading north. As you know, we booked a B&B in the village of Tunbridge Wells for its proximity to the rail line since I was not planning to drive in London. The train ride has been a real pleasure. The trains are modern and smooth-running, and constantly inform you by voice and by LED just where you are and where you will be stopping next.

Once in London, we knew just what to do and where to go this time. Yesterday, we chose to ride one of the red double-decker buses to our destination at the Imperial War Museum. Today, we wanted to immerse ourselves in the experience of "tube-riding" (see photo top right). Since I spent much time on the tube back in 1973, the technique soon came back to me. Down lots and lots of escalators -- don't forget to stand on the right so escalator-climbers can jog by -- and check out the multi-colored maps that tell you just what line to ride to get where you're going. We haven't tried changing trains yet, but if I remember right, it's pretty darn easy.

We had the necessary cards to ride. They're the same ones you use to ride the red buses. Works great to get them in advance, just like the train passes. Then you just run them through the automatic reader and off you go. Down in the bowels of the subway system, it was pretty interesting to see tourists from all parts of the planet huddled around, staring at the maps, and deciding on their destinations. The system is so easy, I don't think anyone had a problem.

Our intended destination for the day was the British Museum (see photo #2 and #3 above -- Connie wanted me to say, 'Hi Maggie' from her on the steps in #3).

I'm sure you've begun to see a trend by now. Concetta and I like all that old stuff. But this time we were going for the really super old stuff. Contained in the British Museum is an immense amount of archaeological finds from everywhere on the globe that go back thousands and thousands of year ago. Specifically, we were interested in the collections centered on the Greek culture in southern Italy where Concetta's ancestors made their home. Most people don't know that the Greeks had a very strong presence in southern Italy and Sicily several thousand years ago, which probably insures that Concetta has some Greek ancestors if you go back far enough. Interesting that the very first words I ever said to her in that laudromat over 32 years ago were, "Are you Greek." I scare myself sometimes.

Visiting these museums in Britain takes a lot of stamina, we have found. They just have millions of items on display. If you actually stopped to read the description of each display item, your visit would be measured in years not hours. Some of the most beautiful pottery, metal-smithing, sculpturing, and foundry work you'll ever see in your life can be found at the British Museum. My favorite things were the mosaics (see photo 4) and the sculpture (photo 5). I just can't imagine one human having sufficient time and talent to craft such beauty.

Considering that the mosaics are built using one tiny piece of stone at a time (the pieces are called "tesserae" after the Greek word for "four") it's hard to imagine just how long some of these intricate designs might take, not even counting how long it would take to make the tiny pieces of stone in the first place.

The stone carving is just totally beyond my ability to understand how a mere human could turn out such beauty. You've probably seen lots and lots of sculpture in your life, but most are pretty heavily damaged after thousands of years of abuse and neglect. But many of the sculptures at the British Museum are in close to pristine condition. Absolutely amazing. I couldn't stop photographing them. Every once in a while I'd look around to see if the guards were taking an interest in me, thinking maybe I was casing the joint for a later late-night visit. But no one seemed to notice me.

You want to know the very best thing about the British Museum? It's this: as you walk through those hallowed halls filled with the cultural achievements of countless vanished cultures, you hear voices. Lots of voices. I suspect that almost as many modern cultures are present in that building each day as are on display. I heard French voices, Italian voices, German Voices, Japanese Voices, Chinese voices -- and a lot of voices I couldn't identify. They all were there, side by side, enjoying the collections in harmony. What we all wish people would do more often.

Sadly, we didn't stay long enough to do the Museum justice. But by 2:00 o'clock it was tea time and we had to stop. Then, after a nice lunch in the museum cafeteria, we did a bit of souvenir shopping. Finally, we headed for the tube station. For a while we thought of maybe trying to fit one more activity in before normal closing time, but in the end we caught the early train back to Tunbridge Wells and sought out an ale house for a spot of dinner. I had the "Cottage Pie" again as it often turns out to be pretty good. Concetta had the fish, but without the "chips" this time. And then it was home for an early evening and work on the blog. Wonder of wonders, I'm actually going to have this blog finished tonight before midnight. Tomorrow, hopefully, it's the Sherlock Holmes museum and the "London Eye." Can't wait. The time here has flown by and I suspect, just as we've discovered everywhere in the UK, a mere month over here is like taking one lick of an ice cream cone. It's just not going to satisfy us in the end. Guess we'll just have to come back, rent a rose-covered cottage down a country lane, and settle in for -- well, however long it takes.

Ciao, Tutti.

Off to London on a fine sunny day

Well, the weather has finally turned fine here now. This morning our B&B hostess delivered us to the local train station (see pix) and off we went to the magic city of London. I had pre-paid for 3-day train vouchers so we didn't have to figure out how to buy tickets at the station. We just waved our vouchers at the ticket agent and boarded the train. The ride was smooth and comfortable and we enjoyed it very much. I've always been drawn to the idea of taking the train to work every day and riding in comfort while I read my morning newspaper. The closest I ever got to it was when I lived in Chicago. Had I stayed in Chicago when I got out of the Navy, I might indeed have commuted to work via rail. Alas, it was not to be. But this morning I got to see just what it would be like as we rode amidst the many London commuters on their way to work.

Concetta's request for the day's activities included the National Art Gallery (photo 2)and the Imperial War Museum. Both sounded okay to me so once we arrived at Charing Cross Station, we wandered out onto the sidewalk looking for clues to the proximity of our quarry and before long had literally stumbled over the National Gallery. It was only a half block from the station. The museum is free, however Concetta and I sprang for the cost of the audio tour to the tune of about fourteen dollars. The audio is really worth it as your eyes would probably give out long before you managed to read the captions under every painting. I say every, but it would take days and days to view every painting AND listen to the background and interpretation on each one. We viewed as many as we could, but didn't get much beyond the 16th and 17th century art. There's a wonderful collection there to see, but it would take many visits to do it justice. Around two o'clock we finally returned the audio gear and headed for the dining room for a spot of tea and a muffin.

Once rested we set out to find the Imperial War Museum (photos 3 & 4). This destination proved more elusive. Just as I did with the train vouchers, I had purchased the necessary tickets to ride London's red buses months ago and they had been delivered by mail right to the house. It's definitely worth it to get these items in advance and save yourself the headache of trying to figure it out "in country."

There was only one problem: no one told us that specific buses stop only at specific bus stops. We thought naively that every bus eventually would come by the stop where we were patiently waiting. Well, after we had stood at the Trafalgar stop nearest the train station for thirty minutes without once seeing our Number 3 or Number 159 bus, we finally got smart and re-read the sign there. Yes, indeed, we had to go around the corner and wait at the correct bus stop before the 3 or 159 would be coming by. Well, once we got the little gray cells working properly it was a piece of cake to catch the bus and ride to the War Museum.

For those of you who are wondering why Concetta might want to visit a war museum of all things, I'll tell you that she's been reading a couple of different series of novels, each of which takes place in the WWI time period. All the descriptions of miserable trench warfare, vintage flivvers hauling endless loads of wounded from the front lines, and cloth-covered Spads and Jennies winging overhead made her want to experience some of these things in person. And let me tell you, experience it we did. The Imperial War Museum has the finest depictions of warfare I've ever seen. The displays of uniforms, equipment, and firearms are second to none. Each display area comes complete with audio and video depictions in addition to masterfully-crafted display cases. I was just enthralled.

One of the most moving exhibits in the museum is the one on the impact of war on children. Here we experienced the stories of thousands of displaced kids, many of whom were sent to other countries by Jewish parents caught up in the maelstrom of Hitler's advance into their respective countries. Most never saw their parents again. But British children also experienced separation from parents as many were sent into the countryside to live with friends, relatives, and even perfect strangers in hopes of saving their lives as the bombing of English cities took place.

We also toured the Holocaust exhibit. While we have not had an opportunity to view the Washington D.C. Holocaust Museum yet, we certainly found the story they told here at the Imperial very, very moving. The museum sought to individualize the stories with pictures and letters and personal items from the murdered people and through audio interviews with survivors as well as news footage shot by the Nazis at the time. It's not a "feel-good" experience, but one everyone should try and acquaint themselves with.

One high point at the museum for Concetta and me was the display devoted to the personal effects of Thomas Edward Lawrence (bottom photo). You may know him as "Lawrence of Arabia." Concetta and I have been fans ever since we saw the epic movie with Peter O'toole. To be just inches away from his uniform, weapons, and, most spectacularly, his personal motorcycle was just thrilling.

Sorry for the lateness of this post. I had it all done last night and suddenly Google just erased about 1/3 of everything I'd written and all but two of the photos. So, I had to do it over this morning.

Ciao, tutti.

Lodging booked through 3rd week

lThis morning I nailed down the last of the formal B&B reservations for the trip, which will carry us through the 22nd of September. For the last week of our trip, it's my plan not to make formal reservations as we'd like to be free to alter our plans if, during the course of our travels, we decide to spend more time exploring a certain region. Maybe we'll want to do something that we can't even imagine at the moment. Who knows? Our five-day stay at The Old Barn B&B was chosen to make it easy to ride the train into London for sight-seeing. It's located near the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, some 45 miles from London. Though the thought of driving on the opposite side of the road all the way down from Scotland doesn't bother me, driving in London does. I thought that riding the train would be a much less stressful. We had planned on staying on the seashore in the Brighton area. However, once I started contacting B&Bs, I discovered staying in Brighton would be more expensive -- sometimes as much as 50% more than the 60 pounds a night that I have budgeted -- and noise and congestion would be a problem in that touristy area by the sea. We might even have to pay to park the car. So, in the end, we opted for the quiet countryside. I'm sure we'll visit Brighton. After all, the photo ops should be wonderful. So, now that the lodging has been nailed down, my next job will be to sign us up for whatever formal guided tours we want to take. Those are always informative and help you decide what you want to go back and see at length. So, that's all for now. Thanks for tuning in.