Our Final Days in London

Tea for two (times 4000):

On Thursday, the Queen hosted a “Tea” for 8000 Brits, the first of four she'll do this year. Having missed the invite (no proximity to a proper toilet would have been a problem anyway), we took a stroll down the Mall where many party-goers, proud as peacocks, were to be seen. 

Hats off to the ladies:

Needless to say, hats at Buckingham were the order of the day.

And yes, everything you've heard about British hat fashion is true.



And, did you know that....

Buckingham Palace, 

the Queen’s official residence, was built in 1702 on the site of an infamous brothel. 

Today, Buckingham Palace has its own police station.

Paddle boating on the Serpentine:

O.K., we weren't punting in Oxford but we did spend a glorious afternoon paddling on the Serpentine, a 40-acre recreational lake, in Hyde Park. Although not the heart of the city (too many other attractions could dispute this claim), Hyde Park is the green lung, if not the oasis, of this bustling city...and a happy destination for thousands daily.

A pub on Fleet Street

And by the way:

Although the Thames may be London's most celebrated river in the city, it's not the only one.  London has submerged a number of its streams and rivers. 

The Fleet River - one of the capital's many buried waterways - still runs under the cellars of the Cheshire Cheese Pub on Fleet Street.

Trooping the Colours

Trooping the Colours:

Held in London annually in June on Horse Guards Parade, partly out of military tradition and partly to celebrate the Queen's Birthday, this A-Activity requires practice. 


After all, not only the Queen but the entire Royal Family will be present. 



Again, we received no invite but thanks to a reliable alarm clock and wonderful collaboration from the police, we managed to secure some fantastic vantage spots to watch the full regalia.

Only her highness herself, was missing.

What a hoot! 

Our chatty neighbor, a knowledgeable 84 year-old, informed us that he had never missed a "Trooping" since he himself had served in the army. 

He did make us feel a tad colonial....i.e. not cultured in the matters of the Queen and her armed forces but.... 

....his presence did enrich our day considerably.

Go away, horsey!

We met many that morning, including this constable.... a delightful person.... with an irrational fear of horses. 

Another female constable we met was sadly somewhat melancholy. She had just left her job with the “dog-unit” due to those famous cutbacks that seem to accompany any conservative government.

All in all, a fantastic beginning to a great day!

Next stop: Harrods...a Mecca?

Week-end shopping at Harrods could be considered a sport.

In that light, Linda and Rebecca are true athletes.

For those who aren't in-the-know, this very upmarket 5-acre-large (20,000 m2) department store, has over a million square feet of selling space with over 330 departments.

Yes, it is the biggest department store in Europe.

You might remember that Mohamed Al-Fayed, (Lady Di's boyfriend's dad) did own Harrods.

According to Al-Fayed, Harrod is a special place that gives people pleasure.

“There is only one Mecca.”, he said.

Then, in May, 2010, he sold it to a Quatar Government investment group. Go figure!

Our Last Sunday in London:

Sunday began nice and slowly. Breakfast, coffee galore, and then a small trip to Notting Hill. We did some research Saturday evening by watching the movie with the same name, starring Julie Roberts and Hugh Grant.

Hikers scaling over the roof of the O2 Center

Millenium:

We then hopped on the tube and went to Canary Island and all the Millennium Buildings there.

PHOTO BOMBER at O degrees Latitude:

Work of a photo bomber

Photo Bomber caught red handed

It just so happened that we were in Greenwich....
....where a photo bomber, having a "Mean Time", took over some of my pictures.

I wonder who that was.

Jeremy and I seized the opportunity to take The Emirates Air Line (also known as the Thames cable car), a cable car link that crosses the River Thames at the O2 center.

It was all part of a fabulous Millenium building project, completed in 2012, with sponsorship from the airline Emirates.

Instead of taking the subway home, we took advantage of a beautiful setting sun to enjoy an amazingly fun and exciting trip down the Thames.

Traveling at high speed, we enjoyed viewing some of London's most beautiful architecture along the banks of this historic river.

Imagine beating the traffic back to the city, all the while soaking up some fantastic views along the way!

One last look:

Rebecca and Jeremy were back to work on Monday so Linda and I took a trip down memory lane, revisiting Parliament, the South Bank, the Millennium Bridge (pedestrian) ...


....and of course, Saint Paul's Cathedral.

And finally:

A huge word of thanks to Jeremy and Rebecca for their incredibly generous hospitality. 

 It was such a blast! 


 A la prochaine!!!

 

Back to London

Rain, rain....go away!!!

It was the coldest (some would say wettest) spring in decades both in Europe and in the U.K.

 Luckily, back here in London, the weatherman saw fit to grant us a 36 hour-window of clear skies. What to do?

A view from
Trafalgar.

After a great meal on Jeremy and Rebecca's deck, we did some planning....

First stop: an outdoor concert at Trafalgar Square.

What a classic!

It was a beautiful day but also a bank holiday. 

 We left early to have good seats and a picnic.

Rebecca, Charles, Linda,
Jeremy, and Dave

As the 7 of us watched and listened to The London Symphony Orchestra play... 

The LSO at Trafalgar Square

...Hector Berlioz's “Symphonie fantastique”.

we also  heard stories of his tempestuous life involving his plotting a murder, stalking, and of course, composing. 

Jeremy and Rebecca at the LSO

Despite some street noise from a large group of banner waving and slogan shouting right-wing groups...

...a wonderful time was had by all.

A meal at "Spaghetti House" 

We topped off the evening...

with some wonderful Valpolicella ...

...and of course, Italian pasta.

The British Museum

Bad weather on Tuesday didn't stop us.  

The British Museum

First stop, the British Museum.  

What a magnificent place!

Waiting for Jeremy.

The next stop...another musical!

"Once"

But first, a bite before heading to the Phoenix Theater to see...

...."Once".

 Next Day:

Entrance Fees?  None!

A few minutes north of St Paul's Cathedral and 

overlooking the remains of the Roman city wall ...

...is the Museum of London, a wonderful surprise with a well-documented social history of London.

The British Museum.     Entrance fees?   None!

By the way, there is no entry fee to the public museums in London. 

Everyone, from all walks of life, no matter how big or small their wallet, has full access to London's 22 national museums. 

 It was simply fantastic to see so many people making such use of their museums. 

"Wicked"

And then we were off to London's “West End”...

...where there are more than 50 of London's 100 theaters,

... to see our last musical, "Wicked",
... at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.

And that's another glimpse of London....but not our last.  

See you soon.

Dutch Treat - Part II

Welkom bij Utrecht! 

An evening walk on a
country canal.

Welcome back to the land of windmills, tulips, and canals, ... oh, and of course where the colour "orange" takes centre stage.

With Tineke (at the seashore0

Our cousin Tineke, drove us all the way to Utrecht, to our cousin Karen's, for the next stage of our trip. 

We had just enough time to unpack, 

...and have a bite to eat

....before we were off  

...to see beautiful tulips and coastal villages. 

We simply had a wonderful day together!

About Utrecht

Situated in the heart of Holland, the city was 
founded over 1200 years ago by the Romans.

The "Dom" tower in Utrech

With almost 316,000 people, Utrecht is the fourth biggest city in the Netherlands, and the lively, beating heart of Holland

... all built around the Dom tower, the city's tallest building, yet it has managed to preserve its local character.

Karen, our cousin.

Karen and Charles

Karen is a wonderful hostess, a

proud citizen of Utrecht, 

and great story teller about its history. 

Her enthusiasm was contagious.

Marion, Linda, Ad, and Charles

Meet-Up

We were overjoyed to have had a chance to meet up with Marion and Ad de Cort, two travellers we had the pleasure of meeting in New Zealand.

We all had a wonderful time drinking, eating, talking, and laughing.

Basic facts about Amsterdam

A parking garage for thousands of bicycles

Who’s Riding All of These Bikes?

Many statistics regarding Amsterdam simply make you wonder. For example, there are over one million bikes within the city limits, yet there are only about 700,000 people in Amsterdam. This leads us to the top 10 weird facts about Amsterdam.




Amsterdam May Soon Disappear

The majority of Amsterdam is below sea level. At its lowest point, it is 6.7 metres below sea level. If climate change causes even a small increase in global sea levels, Amsterdam may go the way of Atlantis.

Note the slant of the house.

Amsterdam Was Built on Stilts

The entire city of Amsterdam was built on piles of massive stakes driven into the ground. These piles laid the foundation for every building in the city. Over 6,000 piles are used to hold up Central Station. Regular maintenance keeps these piles in load-bearing condition.

The Rijks museum has just re-opened.

Amsterdam Has the Most Museums in the World

When measured by museums per square metre, Amsterdam has more museums than any other city in the world.

Despite the "Dam" rain, Amsterdam
was a beautiful experience!

Amsterdam Has More Canals Than Venice

Venice is the most famous canalled city in the world, but Amsterdam with its 165 canals, is often called the “Venice of the North” .



What a visit!  A huge word of thanks to Karen for her incredible hospitality. We had a fantastic time.

Hartelijk dank, Karen.

And tomorrow we're off to London.

Until then!