England~London, December, 2003

Wednesday—Dec 3 Victoria to South Kensington

Joan Konnor and I left LBI about 3:30 and drove in her truck to Philadelphia. Parked at Avistar and were transported quickly to the airport. We were early enough to snag bulkhead seats which made the 7 hour trip more comfortable. Had a snack, boarded and made an uneventful flight. We had to buy headsets ($5) to watch Seabuiscuit, but they will work on other flights. Bad meal, no wine. I had pre-purchased Gatwick Express tickets, so we zoomed right into Victoria Station where we exchanged vouchers for Travelcards (also pre-purchased) good on any bus, tube, or light rail line. Made our way to our hotel, the Caswell, and left our luggage as the room wasn’t ready yet. Walked through Westminster Town and Brompton, passing lots of embassies, to

The Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd., London SW7, England Kensington

Recognizable by the copy of Victoria's imperial crown on the lantern above the central cupola, this institution is always referred to as the V&A. A huge museum, it showcases the applied arts of all disciplines, all periods, all nationalities, and all tastes. Prince Albert, Victoria's adored consort, was responsible for the genesis of this permanent version of the 1851 Great Exhibition. We took in the European Renaissance galleries, including the Raphael Galleries, housing seven massive cartoons the painter completed in 1516 for his Sistine Chapel tapestries. Also enjoyed the jewelry collection and the della Robbias (The museum stays open late on Wednesdays and the last Friday of every month for Late View -- a kind of museum salon, with lectures (for a fee) and a wine bar. www.vam.ac.uk. COST: Free. Daily 10-5:45; Late View Wed. 6:30-9:30, last Fri. of the month 6-10. Tube: South Kensington. Time to SHOP!!-Headed up Brompton Road to

Harrods

A bit disappointing. Nothing is on sale and the weak dollar makes things seem very expensive. Got some Christmas decorations. Walked back along the Embankment to the hotel to settle in. VERY small room with TINY, TINY bathroom, smaller than the one on Elof’s boat. Headed back out to the

Tate Britain Millbank, London SW1, England Westminster

The gallery, which first opened in 1897, funded by the sugar magnate Sir Henry Tate, became Tate Britain with the opening of its younger sister gallery, Tate Modern, on the south bank of the Thames. As the name proclaims, great British artists from the 16th century to the present day are the focus. Each room has a theme and includes key works by major British artists: Van Dyck, Hogarth, and Reynolds rub shoulders with Rossetti, Sickert, Hockney, and Bacon, for example. Not to be missed are the Constable landscapes. The Turner Bequest consists of J. M. W. Turner's personal collection; he left it to the nation on condition that the works be displayed together. The James Stirling-designed Clore Gallery (to the right of the main gallery) has fulfilled his wish since 1987. We looked at all the Turners except the ones behind the £8.75 special exhibit. The annual Turner Prize gets artists and non-artists into a frenzy about what art has come to -- or where it's going. We didn’t understand what it was all about.( A shuttle bus and boat service link Tate Britain with Tate Modern at Bankside across the river. www.tate.org.uk. COST: Free; special exhibitions £3-£7. Daily 10-5:50. Tube: Pimlico.)

Dinner at the White Swan Pub—Roasted tomato soup and a burger w cheddar, salsa, slaw and fires with a good Rioja

Thursday, Dec. 3

We both slept fairly well, a novelty for me, usually I toss and turn the first night. Breakfast, juice, dereal, croissants and an apple. Took the #24 bus (where a nice lady told us to come back at 4:30 and we could sit in the actual choir and here the boys practice) past the Byzantine Westminster Cathedral, London’s premier Catholic church, to the magnificent, medieval Gothic triumph of

WESTMINSTER ABBEY

This is where nearly all of England's monarchs have been crowned amid great heraldic splendor; most are buried here, too. As the most ancient of London's great churches, the place is crammed with spectacular medieval architecture. The vast interior, with its mysterious gloom, displays a fantastic proliferation of statues, tombs, and commemorative tablets. The origins of Westminster Abbey are uncertain. The first church on the site may have been built as early as the 7th century by the Saxon king Sebert; a Benedictine abbey was established in the 10th century. There were certainly preexisting foundations when Edward the Confessor was crowned in 1040, moved his palace to Westminster, and began building a church. One of the architectural glories of Britain is the Henry VII Chapel. On your way to the chapel we passed the huge white marble tomb of Elizabeth I, buried with her half sister, "Bloody" Mary I; then the tomb of Henry VII with his queen, Elizabeth of York, by the Renaissance master Torrigiano. All around are magnificent sculptures of saints, philosophers, and kings, with wild mermaids and monsters carved on the choir-stall misericords (undersides) and with exquisite fan vaulting above. The tombs and monuments began to appear at an accelerated rate in the 18th century; newest additions are ten 20th-century figures, including Martin Luther King, Jr., over the west door of the nave. One earlier occupant was Geoffrey Chaucer, who in 1400 became the first poet to be buried in Poets' Corner. Most of the other honored writers have only their memorials here, not their bones: William Shakespeare and William Blake, John Milton, Jane Austen, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Wordsworth. Charles Dickens is both celebrated and buried in this crowded corner. The Chapter House, a stunning octagonal room supported by a central column and adorned with 14th-century frescoes, is where the King's Council and, after that, an early version of the Commons, met between 1257 and 1547. The Abbey Museum, in the crypt where the monks went to keep warm, includes a collection of deliciously macabre effigies and other fascinating relics. I bought a book with the lineages of all the kings and queens.The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, an anonymous World War I martyr, lies surrounded with poppies buried near the exit in memory of the soldiers fallen in both world wars. Nearby is another of the very few tributes to a foreigner, a plaque to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Photography is not permitted anywhere in the abbey. (www.westminster-abbey.org. COST: Abbey £6 and well worth it; Weekdays 9:30-4:45, Sat. 9:30-2:45 (last admission 1 hr before closing); museum daily 10:30-4; cloisters daily 8-6. Abbey closed to visitors certain weekdays and Sun. during services) Tube: Westminster.

After more than an hour exploring the abbey, we were afraid we would miss the changing of the guard, but we lucked out. We made the 15-minute walk up Birdcage Walk, to the Westminster Barracks where, at 11:20, they were just getting ready to march to Buckingham Palace. Behind the front palace gates, the Changing of the Guard remains one of London's best free shows. Marching to live music, the guards proceed up the Mall from St. James's Palace (There are excellent photo opportunities at St James' Palace and Wellington Barracks) to Buckingham Palace. Shortly afterward, the replacement guard approaches from Wellington Barracks. Then within the forecourt, the old guard symbolically hands over the keys to the palace to the replacement guard. The guards sometimes cancel owing to bad weather; check the signs in the forecourt or phone. Tube: Victoria or St. James's Park. (During December 2003, the guard change takes place only on even days).

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

Supreme among the symbols of London, indeed of Britain generally and of the Royal Family, Buckingham Palace tops many must-see lists. The building has housed the monarch only since Victoria (1819-1901) moved here from Kensington Palace on her accession in 1837. Its great gray bulk sums up the imperious splendor of so much of the city: stately, magnificent, and ponderous. The palace contains 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms -- a prerequisite for the 450 people who work here, and the mere 50,000 who are entertained during the year. The state rooms are not open now. We strolled down the Mall, enjoying the very view the monarch sees when she rides in her gilded coach to open Parliament every year and passing St. James Palace, Marlborough House, and King George IV's glorious Carlton House Terrace. This street was laid out around 1660 for the game of pell mell (a type of croquet crossed with golf), which also gave Pall Mall its name, and it quickly became the place to be seen. The old Mall still runs alongside the graceful, pink, 115-ft-wide avenue that replaced it in 1904 for just such occasions. Tube: Charing Cross, Green Park. Walk through the

ADMIRALTY ARCH

This is one of London's stateliest urban set pieces. Situated on the southwest corner of Trafalgar Square, the arch, which was named after the adjacent Royal Navy headquarters, was designed in 1910 by Sir Aston Webb as part of a ceremonial route to Buckingham Palace. As you pass under the enormous triple archway -- though not through the central arch, opened only for state occasions -- the environment changes along with the color of the road, for you are exiting frenetic Trafalgar Square, the very center of the city. On to the National Gallery, arguably the finest art museum in the land.

NATIONAL GALLERY

Jan Van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait, Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna of the Rocks, Velázquez's Rokeby Venus, Constable's Hay Wain… you get the picture. There are about 2,200 other paintings in this museum -- many of them instantly recognizable and among the most treasured works of art anywhere. The institution was founded in 1824, and by the end of the century, enthusiastic directors and generous patrons had turned the National Gallery into one of the world's foremost collections, with works from painters of the Italian Renaissance and earlier, from the Flemish and Dutch masters, the Spanish school, and of course the English tradition, including Hogarth, Gainsborough, Stubbs, and Constable. We especially enjoyed the Rembrandts and the special exhibit of Rubens work, including his “Massacre of the Innocents” (We went back a few days later to buy the exhibit book). (www.nationalgallery.org.uk. COST: Free; charge for special exhibitions. Daily 10-6, Wed. until 9 (special exhibition in Sainsbury Wing, Wed. until 10); 1-hr free guided tour starts at Sainsbury Wing daily at 11:30 and 2:30 (and additionally 6:30 Wed.) Tube: Charing Cross or Leicester Sq. George Mundell had recommended the cafeteria in the crypt of St. Martin’s-in-the-Field, so we crossed the street and had a very good lunch of chicken salad in papaya. Then we walked up toward Leicester Square and bought half priced tickets for “the Abridged Bible” tonight. From Trafalgar Square, we headed south to Whitehall, which is lined with grand government buildings including the Baroque-era Banqueting House, outside of which King Charles I was beheaded, past 10 Downing Street -- the Prime Minister's residence, which was barred by iron gates at both its Whitehall and Horse Guards Road approaches, this is the location of the famous No. 10, London's modest version of the White House. Only three houses remain of the terrace built circa 1680 by Sir George Downing, who spent enough of his youth in America to graduate from Harvard -- the second man ever to do so. No. 11 is traditionally the residence of the chancellor of the exchequer (secretary of the treasury), and No. 12 is the party whips' office. No. 10 has officially housed the prime minister since 1732. (The gates were former prime minister Margaret Thatcher's brainstorm.) Those going in had all sorts of security checks. Imagine what it would have been like last week, when President Bush was here.

HORSE GUARDS PARADE

Once the tiltyard of Whitehall Palace, where jousting tournaments were held, the Horse Guards Parade is now notable mainly for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony, in which the queen takes the Royal Salute, her official birthday gift, on the second Saturday in June. (Like Paddington Bear, the queen has two birthdays; her real one is on April 21.) There are two types of Queen’s Life Guard. A Long Guard consisting of 17 men is mounted when The Queen is resident in London, otherwise a Short Guard made up of 12 men is mounted. I wanted to give one of the horses my apple, but Joan said we would be thrown in the Tower of London, so I didn’t.

HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

Overlooking the Thames, the Houses of Parliament are, arguably, the city's most famous and photogenic sight, with the Clock Tower -- which everyone calls Big Ben -- keeping watch on the corner and Westminster Abbey across Parliament Square. The Palace of Westminster, as the complex is still properly called, has served as the seat of English administrative power, on and off, since the 11th century. The Clock Tower, completed in 1858, contains the 13-ton bell known as Big Ben, which chimes the hour (and the quarters). At the southwest end of the main Parliament building is the 336-ft-high Victoria Tower, agleam from its restoration and cleaning. The building itself, which covers 8 acres, is a series of chambers, lobbies, and offices joined by more than 2 mi of passages. There are two Houses, Lords and Commons. Visitors aren't allowed many places in the Houses of Parliament, though the Visitors' Galleries of the House of Commons do afford a view of the world's most renowned ego chamber. Debate is often drowned out by amazingly raucous and immature jeers and insults. We decided not to stand in line to go in. (www.parliament.uk. COST: Free. Commons Mon.-Thurs. 2:30-10, Fri. 9:30-3 (although not every Fri.); Lords Mon.-Thurs. 2:30-10; Lord Chancellor's Residence Tues. and Thurs. 10:30-12:30. Closed Easter wk, July-Oct., and 3 wks at Christmas. Tube: Westminster. )

Then we decided to walk back to see the 4 o’clock Parade Horse Guards inspection of The Queen’s Life 4 o’clock. We decided to take the lady on the bus up on her suggestion and went back to Westminster to sit in the choir. It was Evensong service and I wish we had one here on weekdays. Just a half hour of music and prayers—it was wonderful. Plus it provided a glimpse of the abbey in its full majesty, accompanied by music from the Westminster choristers and the organ that Henry Purcell once played.

We found Piccadilly and had dinner at an Adam’s Rib, a nice restaurant on the second floor where we could watch the passers-by. We ordered their special platter for two. Joan had a Hang 10 (vodka, rum, blue curacao, lemon, coconut cream & pineapple) and I tried for a martini, but, after returning to the bar, settled for gin. We thoroughly enjoyed the show at the Criterion and headed home to rest at about 10:30 £.

Friday, Dec. 5. Victoria to Green Park

Explored St. James's and Mayfair, the core of London's West End, the smartest and most atmospheric central area of the city. Lots of very expensive flats and classy shops. Saw Shepherd’s Market and the Connaught Hotel. Across from the Hotel is a little passageway to St. George’s Gardens, surrounded by the Mount St Mansions (a class of lower formers were coming out of church and heading across the park to school). Then shopping: Bond St., Saville Row, the Queen's grocers--Fortnum & Mason, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, and lots of arcades such as the 19th century Burlington (where we picked up some Christmas gifts. Passed the ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS in an aristocratic mansion--home to Britain's first art school founded in 1768

Lunch at Boswell’s, a very staid and laid back pub. Joan finally had her steak and kidney pie and I had a cheese omelet. Then on to the

WALLACE COLLECTION

Assembled by four generations of Marquesses of Hertford and given to the nation by the widow of Sir Richard Wallace, bastard son of the fourth, this collection of art and artifacts is important, exciting, under-visited -- and free. The Hertford House itself, a late-18th-century mansion built for the Duke of Manchester, is part of the show. We saw Rembrandt's portrait of his son, Gainsborough and Romney portraits, the Van Dycks and Canalettos, the French rooms, and the porcelain. There is a fine collection of armor and weaponry in the basement. But the Rubens landscape was closed for a lecture. (www.the-wallace-collection.org.uk. COST: Free. Mon.-Sat. 10-5, Sun. noon-5. Tube: Bond St. Free general General Guided Tours of the Collection are usually given on each weekday at 1pm, also Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11:30am, and Sundays at 3pm These are sometimes replaced by specialist gallery talks covering aspects of the Collection in more detail, often given by members of The Wallace Collection staff. Tours are scheduled to last one hour, except for those in the Brief Encounter series which start at 1pm and last for 20 minutes.)

Went to the Marble Arch and SPEAKERS' CORNER

This corner is the site of one of London's most public spectacles. Here, on Sunday afternoons, anyone is welcome to mount a soapbox and declaim upon any topic. It's an irresistible showcase of eccentricity, one such being the (deceased) "Protein Man," who, wearing his publicity board, proclaimed the eating of meat, cheese, and peanuts led to uncontrollable acts of passion that would destroy Western civilization. The pamphlets he sold for four decades up and down Oxford Street are now collector's items. Then home to prepare for our

OLD BAYSWATER PUB WALK 7:15 Marble Arch (Executions, Mews, and Secret Pubs)

Went first to Founder’s Arms where I had been before and watched the Lord Mayor’s Day fireworks. Then the Market Porter where they are rebuilding the old market place. Finally we crossed the Millennium Bridge, one of four monuments to the change in the century (the London Eye—Ferris wheel is another), which had to be closed shortly after it opened because it “wobbled” but is OK now to the Tate Modern, where our group did formations under a mirrored ceiling. We walked along the river to the site of the new Globe Theatre and Southwark Cathedral. We left the group before they went into the third pub, George’s Inn and found an Indian Tandoori restaurant where we had several lamb dishes, eggplant and mushrooms.Wander south through the crooked streets of Blackfriars to the new Millenium Bridge and cross the Thames to Southwark; stop at the Tate Modern art gallery

MILLENNIUM BRIDGE

This is not just another bridge, but the first pedestrian-only bridge to open in central London in more than a century, the last being Tower Bridge in 1894. The bridge has only one moving part -- it pivots upward when it opens for ships passing below. The bridge connects the old City -- St. Paul's Cathedral area -- with the Tate Modern art gallery. On the south bank side, the bridge marks the middle of the Millennium Mile, a newly devised walkway taking in a clutch of popular sights. The views are breathtaking: from the bridge, you can look downriver to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and beyond, and up to Somerset House, with the London Eye and Big Ben rising above the river's bend. You'll also have perhaps the best-ever view of St. Paul's Cathedral. Tube: Mansion House, Blackfriars, or Southwark (p 164-65).

TATE MODERN

This offspring of the Tate Gallery resides in the Bankside Power Station. Shuttered for decades, the station has glowered magnificently on its Thames-side site ever since it was built in the 1930s. Now it has been renovated by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron to make a dazzling venue for some of the Tate's overflowing treasures. For decades, the old Millbank Gallery of the Tate Britain had been so overstuffed the curators had to resort to a revolving menu of paintings and sculpture. The power station and its 8½-acre site now house the surplus, running from classic works by Matisse, Picasso, Dalí, Moore, Bacon, and Warhol to the most-talked-about British artists of today. www.tate.org.uk. COST: Free. Sun.-Thurs. 10-6, Fri.-Sat 10-10. Tube: Blackfriars or Southwark.

Saturday, Dec. 6

Covent Garden--Walked around the shops waiting for the Great Pudding Race—it was sort of a flop—nothing like Chowderfest, then on to my personal favorite

BRITISH MUSEUM

Inside this museum, housed in a ponderously dignified Greco-Victorian building, we found some of the world's greatest relics, including the Elgin Marbles (Room 18) and the Rosetta Stone (Room 4). The collection began in 1753, when Sir Hans Sloane, physician to Queen Anne and George II, bequeathed his personal collection of curiosities and antiquities to the nation. The focal point is the Great Court, a brilliant techno-classical design with a vast glass roof, which highlights and reveals the museum's best-kept secret -- an inner courtyard. The revered Reading Room is a wonderful sight with its restored blue and gold dome, and ancient tomes lining the walls. Upstairs are some of the most popular galleries: Rooms 62-63, where the Egyptian mummies live. We had lunch at their restaurant-The Court, top-notch cuisine albeit a bit expensive (wildboar terrine with pistachios. (www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk. COST: Free (suggested donation of £2). Museum Sat.-Wed. 10-5:30, Thurs.-Fri. 10-8:30. Great Court Mon. 9-6, Tues.-Wed 9-9, Thurs.-Sat. 9-11, Sun. 9-9)

Courtauld Institute Galleries

Somerset House, North Wing. We saw a wonderful Reubens exhibit with an explanation of how this 17th century painter worked: studies for his studio and also as comps for patrons Outside are the Church of St. Mary-le-Strand and St. Clements. Watched skaters at the British version of Rockefeller Center ice rink.Tried to find our way home and walked quite far. To the Strand and Victoria Embankment and Gardens, passing the Savoy (Queen’s Chapel), and viewing Cleopatra’s Needle, guarded y two Sphinxes. Had dinner at the Italian restaurant on the corner of our hotel, O Sole Mio (this is NOT being an Atkins vacation).

Sunday, Dec. 7 Greenwich

Took the tube to Tower Hill, where I remembered a huge sundial with the history of London around the edges. Visited the church where William Penn was baptized and saw where we would enter to go to the Tower. Off to Greenwich (another “London Walk” with guide) on a boat commandeered for our trip. It was much smaller (and slower) than the ones they normally use. It was an interesting tour. The Observatory ball rises 2/3rd up at 3 minutes before one, then to the top and falls in the final minute. The Painted Hall was hosting a medieval fest. We enjoyed the Thornhill painting, including a self-portrait of the artis with his had out asking for more money. We had lunch at a pub, where Joan waited in line 40 minutes to get our lunch. On Sundays, they have flea markets all over town and it was very crowded. Back to the National Gallery to get the Reubens book. Also saw the last night of a special exhibit, Pontiello de Caravaggio. Ended up on our bus (#24) going the wrong way. So we rode it to the end of the line, above Camden Town, which was packed full of all sorts of flea markets and shoppers), then back. We weren’t alone, however, as there were two Spanish couples who were also going the wrong way. Walked to a pub near the Pimlico tube stop and had a good meal with lots of friendly people, “The Gallery”.

Monday, Dec. 8

TOWER OF LONDON

We arrived early, as the Towere doesn’t open on Monday til 10 am. We had pre-purchased (@£17.50 at any tube stop) tickets so we didn’t have to stand in line (on Sunday, the lines were awful), but we had to wait about 20 minutes for the Beefeater guide. He did a great job on he tour.Nowhere else does London's history come to life so vividly as in this minicity of melodramatic towers. It has housed the Royal Mint, the Public Records, the Royal Menagerie, and the Royal Observatory, but its most renowned and titillating function has been, of course, as a jail and place of torture and execution. Quite a few pints of royal blood were spilled on the stones. A person was mighty privileged to be beheaded in the peace and seclusion of Tower Green instead of before the mob at Tower Hill. In fact, only seven people were ever important enough. The little chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula conceals the remains of some 2,000 people executed at the Tower, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard among them. The most dazzling and most famous exhibits in the Tower are, of course, the Crown Jewels, now housed in the Jewel House, Waterloo Block. Finest of all the jewels is the Royal Sceptre, containing the earth's largest cut diamond, the 530-carat Star of Africa. We spent most of the morning here. (Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) guides leave daily from Middle Tower, subject to weather and availability, at no charge, about every 30 minutes until 3:30 in summer, 2:30 in winter. www.hrp.org.uk. COST: £17.50. Mar.-Oct., Mon.-Sat. 9-5, Sun. 10-5; Nov.-Feb., Tues.-Sat. 9-4, Sun.-Mon. 10-4 (the Tower closes 1 hr after last admission time and all internal buildings close 30 mins after last admission). Tube: Tower Hill. ) Tried to follow the Roman Wall walk, but got hopelessly confused and stopped for lunch at the Angel Pub.

ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL

We decided not to tour here as the admission was £7. The symbolic heart of London, St. Paul's will take your breath away. In fact, its dome will already be familiar, since you see it peeping through on the skyline from many an angle. The cathedral is the masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), who completed it in 1710. Miraculously, it was spared destruction during World War. Climb the 259 spiral steps to the Whispering Gallery. Whisper something to the wall on one side, and a second later it transmits clearly to the other side, 107 ft away. Back downstairs, the poet John Donne, who had been Dean of St. Paul's for his final 10 years (he died in 1631), lies in the south choir aisle. There is Wren's own memorial, with an epitaph by his son. Behind the high altar is the American Memorial Chapel, dedicated in 1958 to the 28,000 GIs stationed here who lost their lives in World War II. A visit to the crypt brings you to Wren's tomb, the black marble sarcophagus containing Admiral Nelson, and an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington on top of his grandiose tomb. A café and gift shop are also in the crypt. To catch Wren's facade and dome at its most splendid, make a return trip to see St. Paul's at night. www.stpauls.co.uk. COST: Cathedral, crypt, ambulatory, and gallery £7. Cathedral Mon.-Sat. 8:30-4 (closed occasionally for special services); ambulatory, crypt, and gallery Mon.-Sat. 9-5:15. Shop and Crypt Café also Sun. 10:30-5. Tube: St. Paul's.

England has won the World Cup of Rugby and 750,000 crowded into Trafalgar Square today for a celebratory parade. We went back to Piccadilly to do some more shopping and when we got on the tube to go home, 749,999 of them were on the same train. Had a nice dinner in another pub, then home to pack for our flight home tomorrow.