Relics, a Princess, and Six Queens

On October 28, 2019 By Barbara GreenstoneIn LondonLeave a comment

FF93333A-97DC-4DE4-B3D6-20433918C9B3 — The British Museum

This is our third visit to London but, for some reason, we never went to the British Museum. We decided to rectify that today. Our hotel is in Kensington, so to get anywhere we need public transportation. One of the smartest things we did for this trip was to order Oyster Cards in advance so traveling on the Underground is pretty easy.

7CB8FA8D-DFC6-46B6-85EA-09E79C5EB7AE — Head of Horse from Parthenon Statue

The British Museum is huge and we only had a few hours, so we had to have a plan for what we wanted to see. Our first stop was the Rosetta Stone. It’s quite a popular attraction, but I managed to avoid all the selfie sticks around me to get a decent picture. We then moved on to the friezes and sculptures that were either rescued or stolen from the Greeks, depending on how you look at it. The museum kindly provides a little flier that explains their position and why it’s better to keep these relics in Britain rather than return them to their rightful owners. You decide. We continued on to see some of the objects in the museum’s top ten list. I’ll be posting some pictures on the London photos page.

The sun was shining so we thought we might get some fresh air. We took the Underground back to Kensington and took a stroll through Kensington Gardens to see the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. The fountain is more like an oval stream with grass all around, but it’s a lovely, peaceful place for sitting quietly. Visitors are encouraged to get their feet wet, but we opted to just stroll around it and then sit for a few minutes. We continued our walk along the Serpentine to the Italian Gardens and then back to our hotel.

After dinner at a pub (We like pubs!) we headed to our evening event to learn a little more British history. Actually it was a little history in rock concert form. We saw Six, a musical about the six wives of Henry VIII, and we were definitely the oldest members of the audience. I was a little skeptical about this, but I loved it. It’s clever and funny with a very energetic and talented cast and band (all female). I got the feeling that a lot of the young ladies in the audience had seen this show a few times because they knew every word, and could probably name the wives in order by remembering the lyrics, “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.” At the end of the show, there’s an encore, Megasix which they encourage the audience to record on their phones. I couldn’t get my phone out fast enough, but here is video someone else posted. If you look carefully in the lower left corner of the video, you can see Paul and me in the second row of the audience.

Everything is Beautiful at the Ballet

On October 27, 2019 By Barbara GreenstoneIn London1 Comment

Today we said farewell to Scotland, but before leaving Edinburgh we thought we should experience a full Scottish breakfast. In the past few years I’ve tried to follow a low-sugar, low-carb diet, but I try not to be too obsessive about it. I make exceptions for special occasions (like birthdays and vacations), so I didn’t feel guilty about this. And I’ve decided haggis isn’t as awful as I was lead to believe.

After breakfast, we packed and boarded the train for London. Actually, the train only took us to Preston where we had to switch trains, but it was a relatively painless procedure. Out the window we saw many more sheep, some cows and horses, and a lot of wind turbines. I spent a lot of the time on the train reading the The Scotsman and trying to figure out Brexit. The Scots, of course, voted to stay with the EU in the first place, so this paper’s reporting may be a bit biased against Mr. Johnson.

Our evening entertainment in London was the Royal Ballet. We’ve been to Covent Garden in past visits to London, but this was our first opportunity to attend a performance in the Royal Opera House. We had great seats and a gentleman sitting near us pointed out the royal box where the Queen would sit if she ever came to the opera or the ballet. He then described how he once met the Queen and said she’s more friendly than people think. The three dances were Concerto (Shostakovich), Enigma Variations (Elgar), and Raymonda Act III (Glazunov with choreography by Rudolf Nureyev). It was a lovely evening and we thoroughly enjoyed it because (quoting from A Chorus Line), “Everything is beautiful at the ballet.”

Lochs, Glens, and Bens

On October 26, 2019October 26, 2019 By Barbara GreenstoneIn ScotlandLeave a comment

On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond

Today was our day to get out of the city and see some of the Scottish countryside. We thought about renting a car, but the idea of driving on the other side of the road terrifies me, especially with all the roundabouts, so we opted for a 10-hour bus tour. Our guide was a very knowledgeable and personable Scot named Graham who explained that Scottish geography is all about the lochs (lakes), the glens (valleys) and the bens (mountains) and we would be seeing many of each.

We started with a drive to Stirling Castle and a history lesson from Graham along the way. I’m not up on my British/Scottish history, but he helped us sort out the various Jameses and explained why a lot of Braveheart was fiction. At the castle we were given an hour and a half of free time to wander. We chose to take a guided tour to help us make sense of it all, and that was a good choice. Again, a knowledgeable guide makes all the difference, especially when your background knowledge is sketchy. Our tour guide, Charles, helped us understand the significance of Stirling Castle and why its location made it an impregnable fortress. We didn’t have time to see everything, but it was enough to make us want to come back for more some day.

Back on the bus, we took a scenic drive around the Stirling area and up into the highlands a bit. We saw several lochs and castles and a lot of sheep. One of the castles we passed was Doune Castle where Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Outlanders were filmed. We stopped for lunch, then made our way to the beautiful Loch Lomond, largest loch in Scotland. Of course, on the way there, Graham played the song The Bonnie Banks O’ Loch Lomond, thus creating our ear worm for the day. At the loch we could choose to wander through the shops and pubs or hike along the bonnie banks on the walking path. We chose the latter and it was a beautiful walk. It had rained while we were at lunch and we were afraid we might get caught in a another shower, but we were lucky. It didn’t rain, although the path was a bit muddy in places.

Our last stop was the Glengoyne Distillery for a whiskey tour. When we arrived, our guide, Anna, gave us a dram of 12-year-old Glengoyne whiskey to sample while we watched a video about the history of the place. Then we got a tour while Anna explained the process. We learned that their whiskey is called single malt because all the ingredients are sourced in one place and it’s distinctive among Scotch whiskeys because they do not use peat. It’s also interesting that the whiskey is distilled in the Scottish highlands and aged in the lowlands because the distillery sits on the road that divides the two with the warehouses on the lowland side. I’ve never been fond of Scotch, but I did like this one, although not enough to buy a bottle in the gift shop that we can get cheaper in the States.

On the drive back to Edinburgh we watched the sun set out the bus window and listened to this to replace the Bonnie Bonnie Banks ear worm. On our return to Edinburgh we walked to a pub for dinner as we hummed I Will Walk 500 Miles.

To Edinburgh and the Royal Mile

On October 25, 2019 By Barbara GreenstoneIn Scotland2 Comments

View from the Edinburgh Castle with the Firth of Forth in the background

Before I write anything else, I have to take back everything negative I said about Virgin Trains and how they run late. Not only did they apologize several times during our trip from London to Glasgow, but today we received notice that our fare for the trip has been refunded because of the delayed arrival. If only airlines worked that way.

This morning we took another train (not Virgin) to Edinburgh. We arrived around 10:00 am, too early to check in to our room, so we checked our bags at the hotel and walked around town. By “around town” I really mean one street in Edinburgh’s Old Town known as the Royal Mile. We started at one end where we skipped the Palace of Holyroodhouse (home of Mary Queen of Scots) and opted to tour the Scottish Parliament Building instead. This relatively new building is strange but interesting. The architect included many symbolic features that I would not have understood if we didn’t have a guidebook. For instance, the many high windows in the debating chamber are designed to let in the “light of democracy.”

As we made our way up High Street towards Edinburgh Castle, we passed many shops and restaurants catering to the tourists. We stopped in a cafe for tea and a scone and then made our way to the castle in time for the One O’clock gun. Every day at 1:00 PM they shoot off a World War II cannon to mark the time. Apparently they do it at 1:00 (rather than noon) to save ammunition. (I wouldn’t want to hear 12 blasts of that gun.) The castle is huge and crowded with tourists, but a nice place to spend a few hours. The views of the city and the Firth of Forth (I love saying that) beyond are spectacular. My favorite part was the Scottish National War Memorial where they honor the Scottish soldiers lost in WW I and WW II.

After our tour of the castle, we were able to check in to our hotel and rest a bit before doing some shopping and having dinner at a pub. Our beverage was mulled wine with a shot of Amaretto, the perfect way to end the day.

London to Glasgow By Rail for a Night at the Opera

On October 22, 2019October 22, 2019 By Barbara GreenstoneIn Scotland

Theatre Royal Glasgow

One of the best reasons to travel is to actually see all those places you’ve only read about. I read a lot of novels set in the UK and Ireland and I watch a lot of shows from the BBC, so I’m happy that I get to see a little bit of Scotland on this trip.

We landed in London yesterday but only spent one night there before hopping on a train to Glasgow this morning. We had been warned that trains to Scotland are often late so we weren’t surprised that the Virgin Train left London 20 minutes behind schedule. Then there was a freight train up the line somewhere that was mysteriously disabled causing a backup that delayed us another forty minutes or so. Other than that, the train was actually quite pleasant. The seats were comfortable and the view out the window was interesting. I think I saw more sheep today than in all my previous 69 years of life.

When we finally arrived, we quickly checked into our hotel and then set off on a short walk to see what we could see. Our plan was to go to Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis where we were told we could get the best views of the city. Along the way, we were distracted by some of the amazing street murals on the buildings we passed, so by the time we reached the cathedral, we were too tired and it was too late for us to climb the hill to the Necropolis. Maybe tomorrow.

After dinner we made our way to Theatre Royal, home of Scottish Opera, for a performance of Tosca. It’s a lovely hall and a lovely opera. We have seen Tosca many times and sometimes I think we’ve been spoiled by the Met Live in HD performances where the sets and costumes are spectacular and every aria is breathtaking. Tonight we saw a very respectable show without the glitz and glamor and top-name stars, but an enjoyable evening all the same. Each time we see Tosca we hope for a happier ending, but tonight was like all the others. She jumped.

Tomorrow we spend our second day in Glasgow and I’m hoping to take more pictures. The internet in our hotel is unreliable, but I’ll try to post some in the photos section.

Here We Go Again

On October 21, 2019October 21, 2019 By Barbara GreenstoneIn PlanningLeave a comment

Fall seems to be a good time for us to travel, so we’re off again. We’re flying back to London, but then venturing on (by train) to Glasgow and Edinburgh for a few days before returning to London. We left home well before the crack of dawn this morning to catch the bus to Boston where we’re now waiting for our Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow. Neither of us has been to Scotland, so we’re really looking forward to this. In Glasgow we’ll hear the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Opera. In Edinburgh we’ll see castles and do a whiskey tour and whatever else catches our fancy. Then it will be back to London for two shows and a ballet.

You can follow our adventures here, on this blog, or catch my posts on Facebook. I’ll try to post daily and include lots of pictures.

See you on the Interwebs!

A Farewell to London

On October 13, 2018 By Barbara GreenstoneIn London1 Comment

Plane wing and clouds — The view out the window on our flight back from London.

After an hourlong bus ride to Heathrow, a seven hour flight to Boston, and then a three hour bus ride back to Brunswick, we thought our adventure had come to an end. Imagine our surprise when the bus finally pulled into the parking lot by the AAA building where our journey began, and we couldn’t find our car! Apparently the management of the mall where our local AAA office is located did not see the AAA card on our dashboard and had our car (and two others from our group) towed. This was especially distressing because it was late. and we knew we had only a couple hours to nap before we had to jump in the car (our other car) and drive eight hours to get to a gathering of family and friends to celebrate the life of my brother who passed away recently. Fortunately, one of our tour leaders was able to work it all out with the police and AAA, and our new friends, Lisa and Dwayne whom we met on the tour, gave us a ride home. All is well, and we’ll pick up our car when we return to Brunswick Monday.

It’s likely we will always think of this trip as an excellent adventure bookended by two misfortunes, one with our luggage and one with our car. But, these were minor annoyances that in no way diminish the wonderful memories we will have of this trip. I have many more photos from London that I’ll post on the London page under the Photo tab of this blog, and I’ll also post some pictures in the Stuff That Amused Us section. I’m going to suspend this blog again until we embark on another journey. Thanks for traveling with us virtually. Until the next time…

History and Fantasy

On October 12, 2018October 13, 2018 By Barbara GreenstoneIn London1 Comment

The Cabinet Room in the Churchill War Rooms

Today was our last day in London, and the Churchill War Rooms is a museum on our list of must-see sights in the city. We went there in the morning, thinking we would spend an hour or two. We actually stayed for four and a half hours. Walking through this underground bunker is an immersion in history. It’s really two museums in one, the rooms that served as a command center for Churchill and the British forces during World War II, and the Churchill museum that tells his life story. We took the audio tour that narrated the exhibits and that included recorded comments from people who actually worked in the war rooms. We learned about the cramped conditions in which people worked long shifts and how they often formed close friendships that continued long after the war. It was fascinating and filled in some gaps in my knowledge of the British role in the war and of Churchill the man. I knew that Churchill was a writer, but I didn’t know he was also an accomplished artist, and I thought his paintings were incredible.

4896D330-A203-446E-9FD5-9E993A9948A0 — Pelicans in St. James Park

We had planned to spend the afternoon at the British Museum or the National Portrait Gallery, but we spent so long in the Churchill War Rooms that we were mentally exhausted. We decided instead to stroll through St. James Park. to Buckingham Palace. St. James park is an excellent place for observing waterfowl and very aggressive squirrels who are used to being fed by tourists. We took some pictures at Buckingham Palace and then walked back through the park along the other side of the lake and headed toward Trafalgar Square. We stopped at a pub for a pint of cider and an early dinner before heading back to the hotel.

The evening’s entertainment tonight was Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. This is a musical that most members of our group had seen, but Paul and I had not. We were in New York not long after the show first opened and we could have seen it then, but we didn’t know much about it and opted to see Thoroughly Modern Millie instead. We didn’t have another opportunity to see it until long after Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel had left, so it wasn’t very high on our priority list. We’ve watched a bootleg recording of it with the original cast on YouTube, and we’re very familiar with the music, so we knew what to expect. It was a good show to end our tour with because no one hates Wicked, even when some of the actors are less than stellar. In long-running shows you often see understudies and that was the case last night. All three female leads were off, but we saw an excellent Elphaba and an okay Glinda and Madame Morrible. I have heard Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel perform songs from this show many times, so maybe it’s unfair for me to compare. In all, it’s a clever and engaging show and that makes up for some mediocre performances.

Tonight we pack for our departure tomorrow. I’ll post some final thoughts about our London Adventure tomorrow. I’ll also upload more pictures.

An Eye, a Clipper, a Globe, and some Meat Loaf

On October 11, 2018 By Barbara GreenstoneIn LondonLeave a comment

Thames River — View of the Thames from the London Eye

When we visited London in the late ‘90s, the skyline looked much different. Many of the new buildings hadn’t been built yet and the London Eye, that big wheel of pods over the Thames, did not exist. Today was another good-weather day, so we decided to join all the other tourists for a bird’s eye view of London. We had heard that it was faster and cheaper to purchase tickets online, so that’s what we did. There was a bit of a wait in the queue, but we finally boarded one of the pods for the half-hour ride. Although many websites listing “sights you can miss in London” include the Eye, we thought it was great fun and worth the admission and the wait.

We had tickets for an afternoon play and some time to kill, so we decided to take a quick look at the Tate Modern. We still have plenty of credit on our Oyster Card, but we didn’t want to take the Tube, so we headed for the MBNA Thames Clipper. This is a ferry that goes up and down the Thames, and on a nice day it’s a quite pleasant way to get where you need to go. It’s like a cheap cruise.

That Tate Modern, like many other museums and galleries in London, is free so we don’t feel bad if we only see a part of it. As with most modern art galleries, we saw several pieces we liked and some we didn’t. Much of the crowd there consisted of school groups and I think they were doing what we were doing – killing an hour or so before the play at the Globe.

We missed the Globe Theater on our previous trip to London because it was undergoing renovations, and I was eager to experience a play in Shakespeare’s theater. The play today was The Winter’s Tale and I enjoyed it immensely. The Globe is an open air theater so we were grateful for the good weather until we realized our seats were right where the afternoon sun was the brightest. Even with sunglasses it was difficult to see the stage until an usher came around and handed out visors to everyone in our section. The planes flying overhead were also an annoyance, but the actors were quite good at pausing or increasing volume to overcome the noise from outside. (I imagine in Shakespeare’s day there were other kinds of noises drifting in from outside as well.) It’s always a joy to see Shakespeare performed by good actors. I don’t know this play as well as some others, but I had no trouble following it, and it was never boring. It was fun to see how the actors played to the groundlings (members of the audience who stood in front of the stage) and interacted with the hecklers.

We decided not to return to the hotel to catch the group bus to our evening show. Instead, we took the tube to the theater and then found a pub nearby for dinner. Tonight’s show was Bat Out of Hell featuring the music of Meat Loaf. Many members of our group are seniors like us, so knowing it would be loud, we were given earplugs. In retrospect, I wonder if I would have enjoyed this show more without them, because much of the time I was just bored with it. The music was good (and familiar – it’s Meat Loaf!), the dancing was energetic, but the plot was nonsensical. The story was a remaking of Peter Pan, but in our after-show discussion it was clear that many in our group didn’t get that. The show included a lot of cool stage effects including pyrotechnics, but in the end I felt I would have liked it better if it had just been billed as a rock concert and not musical theater. Maybe the worst thing was that I couldn’t get “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” out of my head, but I guess you should leave a musical humming the tunes.

Tomorrow is our last day in London. We’ll have a free day for sightseeing, and in the evening it’s Wicked.

On a Picture Perfect Day You Take Pictures

On October 10, 2018October 14, 2018 By Barbara GreenstoneIn LondonLeave a comment

If you’ve been to London you know that bright, sunny, blue-sky days are few and far between. Today was one of them and a great day for taking pictures. We had booked a daylong tour with many others from our group, and it was a perfect day for taking pictures. I will share a few here and upload others to the London photos page.

Our tour started on one of those red double decker buses, but we shared the bus with another group who boarded before us and they took all the top seats. We had to settle for the lower deck, so picture taking from the bus wasn’t easy, but we enjoyed listening to our tour guide give us a little history lesson about London architecture.

The first stop on the tour was the Tower of London. Paul and I had been there before (20 years ago) but what I remembered most were the Crown Jewels and the ravens. We had plenty of time to explore on our own (this time without the company of a 12-year-old) so it was a pleasant morning. We arrived just as the gates were opening, so it wasn’t crowded until jseveral large school groups arrived just before we left.

Our next stop was Borough Market. It was lunchtime so the market was very crowded. We had eaten a large breakfast, and knowing we were having afternoon tea, we decided to forgo the food and explore the area instead. We walked past the Golden Hinde ship to the river, and past the Globe Theater to the Millennium Bridge. The center of this walking bridge is the perfect place to take pictures. Many other tourists were taking advantage of the lovely weather, so it was very crowded and selfie sticks were everywhere, but it was fun.

Back on the bus, we headed for Westminster Abbey, another place we visited 20 years ago, but it was good to see it again. I read a lot of British novels and I watch Masterpiece Theater, so visiting these iconic London settings is always fun. Our tour guide talked about royal weddings and funerals, but her best story was about the Westminster Abbey verger who, feeling relieved that nothing went wrong at Prince William’s wedding and thinking all the cameras were off, started doing cartwheels down the aisle. Of course, one camera was still recording and someone posted the footage on social media.

Our Westminster Abbey tour ended with afternoon tea. Although I’ve modified my diet in the past couple years to avoid sugar and carbs, I try not to be too obsessive about it, so I considered this a special occasion worthy of an exception to my eating rules. I tried everything including scones, little tea sandwiches, and various tarts and cakes. I ingested more sugar in an hour than I’ve had in the last two years.

We walked back to the hotel and got ready for the evening show, one I’ve been looking forward to since we booked this trip. I first saw Company on Broadway when I was in college and I’ve seen several other performances since. It’s one of my favorite musicals, but it’s very much a 70’s show. This production was an updated version that changed the male lead to a female which necessitated many other changes in casting, book, and lyrics. I had read about this, so I knew I was going to see something different, but I wasn’t sure whether this would make the show seem fresh and new or would just kill it.

From the opening, I knew it was going to work. The sets were clever but simple, the orchestrations were updated (in a good way) and the gender changes made sense. It gave me a whole new way of thinking about the themes of marriage and commitment. Rosalie Craig was strong in the role of Bobbie until the song Being Alive in the second act. I thought she didn’t really sell it, but that may get better over time. In all, I enjoyed the show, especially seeing Patti LuPone play the part of Joanne and hearing her sing The Ladies Who Lunch with all her exaggerated consonants.

Tomorrow we see two more shows – a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theater and another musical in the evening. This week is flying by and it’s been exhausting but I’m loving every minute of it.

To Italy and Beyond

Author: Barbara Greenstone