SURVIVING LONDON IN A WEEK

London wraps up our Journey in the United Kingdom and Ireland 
June 9-16, 2016  

Being first time travelers in London can be daunting and challenging for anyone. It is a city not to drive in, especially if you don’t know the lay of the land. We had enough finesse to turn in our rental car at Heathrow Airport on the outskirts of London ahead before entering the City Center. Checking our entire luggage into Airport Access Baggage Storage (except for a few items to hold us over in our day packs for a week) was a worthwhile move. It freed things up and made for ease orienting ourselves in the crowded underground metro.

One could spend weeks seeing all the sites and landmarks of London. Having seen so many castles in Ireland and Scotland over the past two months we decided to  forego visiting royal castles around London for its other famous city attractions. JR is not usually keen on spending time in big cities, as he prefers being outdoors in the countryside or cruising on the water. London was on my travel bucket list, so he did succumb with some reluctance.

Like a pair of lost souls in a maze,  by the fourth day we somehow were
able to conquer transportation on London's underground Metro rail 

Painted Hall at the Royal Academ

Above ground, taxicabs were not part of JR's m.o. So we hoofed it on foot most everywhere in London during the first part of the week. Gradually we understood how to read the underground metro signs and maneuver terminal levels 

A day of rain drenched us both on the upper deck of a Hop On, Hop Off and as well while waiting in the crowds with high hopes for the changing of the Royal Guard at Buckingham Palace.

500 Year Old Tapestry 

The British Museum is an incredible museum for visitors but gets crowded if you arrive in the afternoon. One gets overwhelmed by the volume of artifacts they have on display.  It was exhausting to try and assimilate everything in half a day. 

Seeing the Rosetta Stone under glass and touching a replica was really cool. There were similarities to the Smithsonian Museum across the Pond back in the USA. The Egyptian and Assyrian and Medieval sections are a definite must for history buffs at the museum if you ever get there.

The crown jewels, Buckingham Palace, Camden Market…

In London history collides with art, fashion, food, and good British ale. A perfect day is different for everyone; culture aficionados shouldn't miss the Tate Modern and the Royal Opera House. If you love fashion, Oxford Street has shopping galore. For foodies, cream tea at Harrods’s or crispy fish from a proper chippy offers classic London flavor. Music and book buffs will love seeing Abbey Road and the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street of course.

JR and I agreed to take to the streets and streamlined ourselves to a few key attractions that were of interest to us both.We came upon Londoners taking to the streets for the Trooping of the Colours on a Saturday. In June every year the Sovereign's birthday is officially celebrated by the ceremony of Trooping the Colour.

Monument for Queen Victoria

There was an impressive display of pageantry taking place by her personal troops, the Household Division, on Horse Guards Parade, with Her Majesty the Queen herself attending and taking the salute.

Over hundreds of officers and men were on parade, together with two hundred horses; over hundreds of musicians from ten bands and corps of drums marched and played as one. The parade route extended from Buckingham Palace along The Mall to Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall and back again.

Buckingham Palace

Naturally we got caught drawn to the mix ourselves. What fun it was seeing English men in their suits and top hats and ladies decked out in their clothes and high fashion hats along the crowded streets all vying for a viewing spot to see the Queen and Royal Family carriage in the parade procession. 

It was difficult getting close enough to actually see the pageantry up close for us, but we were there and got a glimpse of the celebration hoopla. The Brits do honor and love their royals. 

Visiting Henry the VIII's Hampton Court

The assortment of boats and estates along the river was amazing to see as well as passing through several locks.

Another river tour on the Thames passed  underneath  London Bridge on the way to Greenwich. 









At our leisure there we visited the Maritime Museum, Royal Naval Academy, climbed the steep hill to the Royal Observatory with its travel and time measurement inventions and stood on the Prime Meridian line between the east and west hemispheres.

Big Ben and the House of Parliament

 

The heart of London for us was the Westminster area where most of the iconic buildings are located. very close by near the metro station stands Big Ben the famous tower clock that chimes on every hour, 

The House of Parliamentt 

 There is so much history and stunning beauty in the Westminster Abbey. 

One can’t help but admire the stained glass windows and the magnificent ceilings

The London Eye Carousel, and Westminster Abbey. The beautiful grand church is incredible and awe inspiring like none other filled with numerous chapels and the tombstones of people such as Issac Newton, Jane Austen, Darwin, Chaucer, Handel, Charles Dickens, Mary Queen of Scots, monarchs like Henry VIII and Edward I and their consorts, etc. I found it a really odd mix of monuments, tombs, statues and memorials that felt disconnected. 

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palac

All good trips come to an end and it was time to bid this great city farewells. Making our way back to Heathrow Airport for the flight home was a breeze. We smiled and laughed aloud our favorite phrase traveling which is “Local knowledge is King.” 

After all, we had already done the airport terminal recon scenario prior in the week having turned in a rental car and stashed our luggage in Access Baggage Storage to pickup. 


We certainly had become experienced foreign travelers after clicking 4500 miles off the odometer exploring Ireland and the United Kingdom.

With a last name like ours one would think the Queen would   have invited us to drop by the palace for a cup of tea or something huh.

JR was a gem of a driver for us the entire trip. Click the bottle in his hand to see
what he gained from a week of "city" life.

Read below to learn more about our 8-week journey by car in the UK and past forays travels around the USA and Canada in a motor home in the blog archives. Retirement finds us busier than ever, but “Life is Good”.

A DAY IN BATH, ENGLAND

June 8, 2016

The elegant city of Bath in the county of Somerset, England is located 97miles to the west from London. It is where the first British King was crowned, once the home of Jane Austen, and known for Roman-built baths constructed in the 7^th century. Sure, you could attempt to conjure up this thriving historic city by reading Pride and Prejudice in your tub, but as Bath has a lot more history than your bathroom (we assume, anyway) you'd be missing out. 

A stroll through Bath felt like visiting an open-air museum, with roughly 5,000 buildings in the city drawing notice for their architectural merit. Bath has virtually no parking around the town center. Staying in a lovely private home outside of Bath with one guest room, the owner clued us in that there is virtually no auto parking around the town center. She gave us directions for the free city parking lot at the Park and Ride bus service, which the locals use at the hilltop two miles above Bath to reach the town center.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Standing proudly on the slopes of the River Avon, beautiful Bath was the first city in England to be designated an UNESCO World Heritage site. The gorgeous 15th century Bath Abbey, the stunning Georgian architecture, the romantic Pulteney Bridge, modeled on Florence's Ponte Vecchio, are all sights that linger on in the memory of our day.

 

Bath Abbey altar

The hike up the hill to see the crescent-shaped 30 terraced houses took some effort. No.1 Royal Crescent is a museum that showcases authentic Georgian interior design and furnishings. The house was initially built to accommodate members of the English aristocracy and their servants.  A short walk away we gaze at The Circus, which was another circular group of Palladian style buildings of Georgian, designed townhouses being washed from soot.

No tour of Bath would be complete without a visit to the famous Roman baths that gave the city its name. This beautifully preserved bathing complex still flows with water from Britain's only hot spring. Unfortunately we learned after the fact later that one can marvel at the dazzling torch-lighting ceremony as dusk falls (not applicable in summer) and sip Bath's healing waters in the Pump Room. It is a stunning neo-classical salon where hot spa waters are drawn for drinking. Oh well, something for the bucket list another time.

Some tips to remember if you ever travel to Bath:

* The Bath Abbey is a good signpost - given its grand stature- to find your way

back to the city center if lost.

* Wear appropriate comfortable footwear. Bath is better by foot and your feet will be grateful after hours of pounding the many cobbled streets and sloping roads around the city.

•  Join a local guided city historical walking tour. It is worthwhile and free.

•  Keep energy reserves high as this is one city in England worth running around for and quite wonderful.