Trip report - Two weeks in London - April 2009

hi glenmd,

that hotel does sound like a bargain, especially with the fridge and m/wave. did you find yourself using it much?

looking forward to seeing London through your eyes,

regards, ann

Day 2 – The day I got lost in Hyde Park

Another sunny day dawned and I decided I would walk from the hotel through Hyde Park, and past Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. (roughly 4km). So I set out around 8:15 (plenty of time I thought to make it to the abbey for it’s 9:30 opening). After about 30 minutes of walking, I approach a monument which I could swear I recognize from yesterday. I check the map again, and sure enough I am now further from the abbey that I was when I left the hotel. <blushes>. So, I reorient myself and make best possible speed to Westminster, glancing at Buckingham Palace on the way (which really doesn’t look that impressive from the outside, and they only run tours in August and September, so the outside was all I was going to see).

Westminster Abbey was my first awe inspiring moment in London. So much history, burial place of monarchs dating back to Edward the Confessor (possibly earlier, his was the one I remember), I particularly liked the notion of Mary I and Elizabeth I being buried together, given the diverging paths they steered the country on during their respective reigns; the coronation chair, complete with graffiti from choir boy … if you go, take the verger’s tour, it helps fill in some of the history (and when I was there, it was the only way to get into Edward the Confessor’s Chapel, due to its’ age.)

I spent about 2.5 hours in total inside the abbey. Afterwards, I walked around the Westminster area bit, taking the obligatory photos of parliament and Big Ben. This was my first real encounter with the volume of tourists in London. I mean, Westminster Abbey was certainly crowded, but it wasn’t until I was outside on the street that realized the full scope of the situation. Everywhere you turned there were walls of people taking pictures, ready to mow you down if you slowed down too much. Anyone who lives or works in that area of city must hate tourists. By the end of the two weeks, I was starting to hate them too, and I was one!

Next up was the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms – mildly interesting, but as someone who knows a fair bit about the history of the period, I wasn’t that in awe of it. One amusing thing I saw in there: There was a sign that was kept updated on what the weather conditions were on the surface, because apparently for a lot of the staff that worked down there rarely got to the surface themselves. Maybe amusing isn’t the right word, now that I think of it.

I popped into the Banqueting House to have a look at the ceiling(the only thing in there basically) and headed across the Thames. Then I proceeded to walk a long the south bank of the Thames, just taking in the city and the people. I stopped for supper, and dropped by Tate Modern for a little while. My interest in modern art in pretty limited, but I figured it was worth a look, plus I had time to kill before the Ceremony of the Keys, which wasn’t until 9:30. Some of the exhibits were… interesting. One that stood out for me: an artist had taken 25 objects made of silver: cutlery, serving platters, a trumpet etc., had them flattened by a steamroller, and then suspended them a uniform 6” from the ceiling. What the point of this was I have no idea.

The Ceremony of the Keys was interesting mostly of the point of view of continuity. Seeing the same ritual that has been carried out night after night, unchanging for 700 plus years was very satisfying to me.

Finally, back to the hotel and a well deserved sleep.

Tomorrow: Sir John Sloan’s Museum and the Imperial War Museum

glenmd, I'm enjoying this a lot. You aren't the only person who gets lost in Hyde Park. I had a similar experience too.

Great report so far. I had similar feelings to yours about the Abbey's verger tour (great) and the Churchill Museum/Cabinet War Rooms (interesting but not completely my cup of tea). Looking forward to more.

annhig: The fridge I used to keep milk and some fruit in mostly, along with leftovers occasionally. The microwave, I used a few times to make supper when I didn't want to go out.

It was definitely handy to have them.

Day three - How fatigue cause me to succumb to a tourist trap.


I set out on foot before 9:00 headed for Sir John Soane's Museum. Encountered a couple of nifty little "green" squares along the way, enclosed with fencing and with benches for sitting. I found these very soothing, even surrounded as they were by roads. Reach the museum about 10:30ish, which was later than I had intended, which meant there was a line to get in (the house definitely has a limited capacity for people). Waited about 10 minutes. Unremarkable from the outside, the museum (which was the man's actual home when he was a alive) was a marvel on the inside. First, the house itself has very little artificial light, there are skylights everywhere of all different sizes. And in every last single square inch of space (and I am NOT exaggerating) was filled with curios, sculptures, paintings etc. Original artifacts stand side by side with 18th century reproductions. And books, many, many books. Well worth the time to go see it.

From there I walked South a bit, and eventually hopped on a bus to The Imperial War Museum. The museum covers the wars of the 20th century, mostly focused on the 2 world wars. This was period of history I knew a fair bit about, and so I was looking forward to it. I wasn't disappointed. Along with the displays of weapons and uniform and historical information on the course of the conflicts, there were other displays on how civilians were impacted, from rationing to a whole section of how conflicts affected the lives of children. Of course, given the nature of the material, a lot of it wasn't a particularly happy experience (in particular, I remember a copy of a letter written by a child to her before they both got on life boats, unfortunately the child did not survive), but I did find it very informative.
Then there was the Holocaust exhibit. The are age restrictions on who can enter (IIRC, under 14 requires a parent, under 11's are simply not permitted.) There is a reason for this. But honestly, while there where some disturbing images and descriptions contained, the real horror comes from the stark way in which the entire history, from Hitler's rise to power through the arrival of the allies in Germany, is laid out in front of you.

I spent a good 4 hours in the IWM (and probably could have spent more). After grabbing a bite to eat, I started wandering in the direction of the London Eye. I had planned on skipping the Eye (16 pounds seemed like a awful lot of money for what it basically a giant amusement park ride.), but by the end of day 2 I had already realized that my 75 pounds per diem for food and attractions was much more than I needed, so I said what the hell. Plus sunset would be coming in the next hour or two. so the timing was good. I got there and discovered that there were in fact 2 lines. The regular line and the express line. The regular line looked like about a 30 minute wait, just to buy a ticket, then another 45 minute to actually get out the ride. On the other had hand, there was no line to buy the express ticket, and you were permitted to bypass most of the line to get on the ride. So naturally I took the express line. It worked out well, the sun was going down as I went around with wonderful views of the city.

From there it home to bed.

Tomorrow, Windsor Castle.

PS Oh, you want to know how much the express ticket for the London Eye was. Well, if you insist... 27 pounds. Yep, about $50 Canadian.

byw you can book London Eye tickets in advance.....

http://www.londoneye.com/

What's the "regular" price for the Eye?

Loads. About £15 I think. It's been a few years since I was on it. It's expensive but worth it (IMHO).

We brits really do seem to be struggling with the whole camera thing. Some times people think they own their face, some people think you take their soul if you use a camera, some people think if you photo buildings you are going to blow them up and some people think taking pictures of children means you want to have sex with them.

Mad eh

Day 3 Windsor Castle or "What is the point of being Queen if you can't stop every airline in the world(apparently) from routing their flights directly over your kitchen?"

Set off fairly early (by 8 or so) and headed to Waterloo Station to catch a train to Windsor/Eton. Train was on-time. took less than an hour. Windsor Castle is all of a ten-minute (at most) walk from the train station. There were of course oodles of people, but in the outdoor areas is wasn't too terrible. There are regular guided tours leaving from the entrance. There is no additional fee for them and I wholeheartedly recommend that you take one. It was both entertaining and informative. Once humorous tidbit I remember from the tour: Apparently Elizabeth I was a big believer in the virtues of exercise, so much so that she would have her staff gather in the yard on a regular basis to exercise together. If she wasn't pleased with their efforts, she would set the dogs on them. I didn't have the presence of mind to inquire if they were corgis.

During the tour it was occasionally hard to hear our guide, due to the never ending procession of commercial airliners, every 5 to 10 minutes or so one would pass overhead.

After the tour finished up, I headed into the state apartments (or rather, the line to enter the state apartments, about 20 minutes for me). The state apartments are overwhelming in the level of opulence. 50 ft. high ceilings, magnificent paintings on every wall, suits of armour and weapons ... I don't really have the words to describe it all (and of course, no photography is permitted, so I can't show you either ). You really have to see it for yourself. If you are going to Windsor Castle, you definitely need to see the state apartments.

There are a couple of pieces of Windsor castle that aren't open every day, both the State Apartments and St. George's Chapel. The day I went St. George's chapel was closed (I had checked ahead of time, but this was the day that fit my schedule, so I was willing to miss the chapel).

After leaving the Castle, I took some time to wander around Windsor and Eton, where apparently they have a healthy swan population (there were 2 or 3 dozen in one small area, with of course a gaggle of tourists on the shoreline watching and feeding them. While wandering near Eton College, I was tempted to see if the gift shop carried school canes (purely for the sense of history, not in any way intended for recreational purposes ), but I thought a) It was fairly unlikely that the official school gift shop would carry such an item and b) I was not really interested in attempting to explain such a purchase to some humorless customs officer.

I think Windsor Castle was my first encounter with police/military types wandering around with semi-automatic weapons. This was something I encountered in a number of places during my trip. I comment on it because I have lived in Canada for 40 plus years and never had this experience, ever. A little bit of culture shock I guess.

I was back in London by 4 or so, took it easy for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow, Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory, Museum in London Docklands.

Following along, and enjoying your report!

Enjoying your report very much, and looking forward to more.

Day 4 - Greenwich
Took the DLR to Greenwich, spent an hour or so in the Maritime Museum, did some walking in the area, including the spot where work continues on the restoration of the Cutty Sark, headed up to the Royal Observatory, then headed back on the DLR, and stopped for visit to Museum of London Docklands.

I had a hard time thinking of much to say about this day. It is not that the places I went were uninteresting, I enjoyed all of the them, but nothing really stood out in my memory. The views North back toward London from the Royal Observatory were nice. The one thing I did find fascinating (and your mileage may vary ) was the historical information on the development of how ships were able to determine their position East-West at sea. The ability to determine how far a ship was from the Equator by using the sun's position had been known for many centuries, but East-West positioning was much more challenging. Eventually it was figured out that if you knew what time it was in a specific place (say London) at midday ship's time, you could use that information to determine how far you were East-West of London. However, that involved having a method of determining the time in London that was both accurate AND not affected by the motion of the ship. Satisfying one of these conditions was easy - but satisfying both of them together proved very difficult indeed.

The Docklands museum is focused on the history of London as a port and was interesting in spite of my inability to recall much by way of detail.


Maybe my lack of memory of this day has to do with my mood at the time. I was traveling alone and I am an introvert by nature, which meant I basically hadn't spoken to anyone since I arrived in London other than servers in restaurants and other commerce related activities. I would never have believed it if you had told me beforehand, but I was actually feeling rather lonely. Yes, in a city of 11 million or so people. I was exchanging emails with a few people back home, but of course that is really not the same. Anyway, I got over it and pushed on with the rest of the trip, but it did shake me a little to realize how much I missed human contact.

Well, since this day was so brief, I will push on to tomorrow in the same post.


Day 5, The National Gallery and Phantom of the Opera

Tuesday started with a visit to TKTS booth in Leicester Square to purchase tickets for Phantom of The opera (and Mamma Mia for the following Tuesday). TKTS, for anyone reading who is unfamiliar with them, are supported by the various theatres as a place to get discounted theatre tickets. If you are looking for a way to save a little money and of course willing to risk the possibility that your favorite show maybe not have any seats available on the night you want to go, then TKTS is the place for you. I should mention that there are many other resellers in the same area, but as they are not backed by the local theatres, it is very much a situation where "caveat emptor" applies.

I then headed to the National Gallery. Like many of the museums and galleries in London, it is free. I do not pretend to have any level of sophistication when it come to art, mostly I just appreciate beauty where I find it, in whatever form it happens to come in. I was completely blown away by a lot of what I saw, both the sheer scale of the paintings and at the same time the level of detail in them. Not to mention the age of the some of works. The notion of looking at the works of people who in some cases had lived and died 600 years before I was born is humbling.

Having seen it, I don't really understand what all the fuss is about regarding Van Gogh's Sunflowers. There were many, many paintings that interested me more. (Seaport with the Embarkation of Saint Ursula by Claude comes to mind as one that stood out for me):

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/claude-seaport-with-the-embarkation-of-saint-ursula

I suppose this is one of those places where that sophistication would have come in handy.


After a few hours, the crowds began to wear me down (a theme that was to recur in the days to come.), so I headed out. There is a shop in London that sells high end wooden chess sets (Chess & Bridge, 44 Baker Street). I spent some time looking various sets, eventually settling on one for about 250 pounds. This admittedly was an extravagance, but one I had budgeted for at least.

Then I had an early supper (or late lunch, however you choose to look at it) at a pizza express. I had a lot suppers there. There were a couple things about my dining experiences I should relate. One, the concept of toppings is very different from North America. My first night in London, I ordered a pepperoni pizza. It arrived at my table and there were maybe 8 or 9 tiny pieces of pepperoni on the entire pizza. In North America, there would be more pepperoni on every slice than that. The amount of cheese was similar. After two weeks of this, I kind of got used it. It certainly is healthier anyway. On the other hand, my first day back in Vancouver, I went to restaurant near my house and was very happy to have a "normal" amount of toppings, so perhaps I wasn't entirely convinced.

The other dining related adjustment I had to make was regarding the bill. I finished my meal that first night, continued reading my newspaper and awaited the arrival of the bill. And waited, and waited, and waited some more. Understand, the service to this point had been excellent, so I was taken aback. Normally at home the bill would arrive at my table a few minutes after finishing my meal. The notion that I would have to ask for it never occurred to me.

I headed home to change, then went out to see Phantom of the Opera, which I very much enjoyed.

Tomorrow: Hampton Court Palace.

Glen, great report. Two weeks is a nice time to have in London.

Certainly it can be a bit lonely to be an introverted solo traveler. Taking walking tours (like with London Walks) is a good way to meet interesting people to talk to for a bit.

I travel solo a lot, and when I get "lonely" (ie, wanting to have a conversation), I just chat up with neighboring diners or other folks standing in line (to an attraction, eg). It's easier in the UK, cuz at least most speak English. It's harder when I'm traveling in a country where I don't speak the language. In any case, I enjoy talking to strangers - be it locals or other travelers. Some of you may remember, when I traveled solo to London 2 years ago, I ended up sharing a table with a Hollywood star and we had a lovely converstaion over dinner!

TTT

I am enjoying your trip report and shared your sense of loneliness on my last trip to London, in May, even though I was actually in contact with other people I knew part of the time.

Day 6 - Hampton Court Palace

Traveled out to Hampton Court Palace, home of Henry VIII (well, one of them. Apparently Henry's court couldn't stay too long in one place, since like a plague of locusts, they would devour all resources in a area fairly quickly). Lots of history here, very enjoyable. The state rooms weren't quite up to the standards of Windsor Castle, but fairly amazing all the same. And the largest fireplace I have ever seen (in the kitchens, like I said, the court went through a lot of food). There was also a fairly pleasant garden, complete with hedge maze.

Was beginning to slow down by this point in my trip. I spent a little over half a day at HCP, getting back to London around 3:30 or so. But I didn't particularly feel up to going anywhere else, especially since I knew tomorrow would be a long day.


Day 7 - British Museum

The British Museum was an anticipated trip highlight for me, one of the main things that drew me to London in the first place. It didn't disappoint. I spent 6 and a half hours in there, but I am pretty sure I could have spent 6 and half weeks and not run out of things to look at. Coming out of there, I could only assume that Greece and Egypt have no historical artifacts left, since apparently they are all here.

Mummies, cutting tools that are 10,000 years old, ceramics from every corner of the globe, a collection of Chinese jade, pieces of sculpture from the Parthenon ... the size of collections is almost beyond imagination. If you are coming here, plan a whole day.

The British Museum was one of the few places in London where picture taking was permitted inside, which was both good and bad. Yes, it allowed me to take a few pictures to show folks at home, but unfortunately, there where another 20,000 odd people with the same idea.


One thing I noticed in walking around London was that a of lot of the crosswalks have notices indicating which way the traffic is coming from. I can only assume that the authorities got tired of scraping dead tourists off of their roads.


Day 8 - Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

V&A is open late on Fridays, so I decided to go there last. As it turns out, this was an error. Both the Science and Natural History Museums had line-ups to get into them (it was a holiday), the Science museums seemed shorter, so I started there. Both museums are heavily geared towards families with small children, which limited their appeal to me. I did enjoy looking the various steam engines on display in the Science Museum.

The Victoria and Albert museum was much more interesting, but unfortunately even though the museum is open late, many of the galleries close early.


Day 9 - Tower of London

First rule: If you want to see the crown jewels (and why wouldn't you?), go early and go see them as soon as you get there. I waited maybe 5 minutes to see them, later in the day the lineup stretched for blocks.

This was another trip highlight for me. As is frequently the case, the guided tour is free and completely worth doing, it fills in a lot of the history and is entertaining.

I felt bad for the ravens. (There is a legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower, it will fall. So, naturally they cheated and clipped their wings ).

Possibly because I went on the Saturday of the Easter long weekend, this was the place where I had the greatest problems with lines. Not so much to get in, but even to get inside individual buildings frequently had a 5-10 minute wait.

After leaving the tower (spent a good 4 hours or so). I headed South over the Tower Bridge, intending to go to see the HMS Belfast. However, the line-up to get onboard was fairly long, and I had spent enough time in lines for one day. Instead, I made for the Old Operating Theatre, which is fairly close by. There wasn't lot to it, but it was informative. I am glad I am not going to need to go to a 19th century hospital.


Day 10 - Kew Gardens

After the crowds of the last few days, this was a welcome reprieve. It's not that there weren't a largish number of people there, but once you clear the entrance area, there is a lot of room to spread out in, so I felt much calmer. The Gardens are remarkable in the sheer variety of plant types they have, especially including the contents of the various greenhouses. Everything from cactus to plants from Alpine meadows. Kew Palace is also on the grounds (and requires a separate entry fee).

I encountered a bird while there, very large and tropical, tail feathers at least a foot long. Not understanding it's place in the scheme of things, it steadfastly refused to stay still long enough for me to get a good picture (I do have a few of it walking away from me and one where only it's tailfeathers are in the shot ) While I was attempting to negotiate with the bird a mother and her approximately 4-year old daughter came by. The daughter was of course instantly smitten with the bird and started following it around. Her mother attempted to dissuade her from doing this (though honestly, the bird didn't seem particularly put out), and when her initial effort failed, she said to her (in the tone that all mothers seem to possess, that lets their children know that is time to start listening) "Abagail, that bird is special. Go bother the pigeons instead." Poor pigeons get no respect.

I spent a good 5 hours there (as I said, the gardens are quite extensive).

Next up: My scheduled trip to York.

Were there lots of blooms at Kew Gardens in early April?

Amusing info about the ravens at the Tower:-

http://www.historic-uk.com/DestinationsUK/TowerRavens.htm

I loved Kew Gardens, and as you said, it can be a nice reprieve from the crowds.

It was April 12 I was there, and yes there were plenty of blooms . Of course, never having been there at any other time, I had nothing to compare it to, but it seemed like everything was flowering.

Day 11 - my aborted trip to York.

I had planned a day trip to York for today, two hours there and back by train, about 8 hours in the city. Enough time to walk the city walls, and stop to see York Minster and the railway museum.

I arrived at Paddington station in plenty of time to catch my train. Unfortunately, I soon realized that in fact I needed to be at a completely different station (St. Pancras). Looking at the tube map, St. Pancras was only 5 stops away and if it had been my first day in London, I might have deluded myself into thinking I shot of making the trip. However, I knew didn't have a chance in hell. London Tube stations are huge (some of them anyway), and it can take 5 minutes or more just to reach a different line.

In the absence of knowing what else to, I set out for St. Pancras anyway. Sure enough, I was at least 10 minutes late. I went to the ticket counter where I discovered I could either, wait until 1:30, which is the time the next train from the same company was running, or buy a new ticket for a 9:30 train.

Partially because I was thrown by my plans being derailed , and partially because I didn't want to spend the money for a new ticket, I decided not to go to York. The not wanting to spend money on a new ticket is highly amusing, for reasons you will see in a minute.

So, I decided I would move for itinerary for the next day forward to today. However, someone had mentioned to that St. Pancras Station was worth a quick look in it's own right, so I decided to have a stroll first. That's when I saw the sign advertising the Eurostar to Paris. Well, to make a long story very slightly less long, 10 minutes later I had booked passage leaving for Paris about 7:00AM the next morning and return to London at 10PM that night. I had mentioned previously that I overbudgeted what I would need for food/entertainment costs. Well, all the money I had saved was spent in those 10 minutes, return ticket cost me, brace yourself ... 289 pounds. For the record, you can buy advance tickets for about 107 US. No explanation really for what possessed me to do this.

Still reeling in shock over what I had just done, I headed for St. Paul's Cathedral, stopping along the way to pick up a map of Paris. St. Paul's was awe inspiring as expected, lots of memorials and tombs in the basement - Lord Nelson, Chrstopher Wren, John Donne among others.

Gotta run to work now... one more post to go, the balance of my Monday (Tate Britain, Globe Theatre) and the big day trip to Paris. Plus reflections on the trip as a whole.

Loving your trip report! Great information and a fun writing style.

Because of your report, I'm now trying to cram more into my short time in London at Christmas. There's only so many times I can decide that I need more time here, here and here and that I want to add in more places to visit while I'm there.

Day 11 - continued

Tate Britain - The first painting of Turner's that I recall seeing was at Sir John Soane's Museum. I don't recall what it was titled, but it was a seascape that I liked it quite a bit. I mention this now because Tate Britain has many of Turner's works. Unfortunately... well I don't think I can do better than to reproduce my Facebook update after going there:
"... in what is sure to be regarded as proof of my ignorance of all things artistic, was seriously underwhelmed by Turner's paintings (most of them, anyway). Abstract or not, make a choice, but please spare me the endless barrage of landscapes that look like they were painted by someone suffering from severe myopia."

From Tate Britian, I took the Tate boat back to the Tate Modern and went on the tour of the Globe Theatre. The tour was interesting, the number of people that would fit into the size of the space during performances seemed impossible. Apparently there were so many people in the standing area in front of the stage, that once the play started, you were stuck there until it was over. If you needed to go to the bathroom, you went where you stood. Sadly for me, I was about a week too early to see a performance.

I headed back to the hotel. By this point in the trip I was very tired and starting to come down with a case of the sniffles. I walk a lot at home (averaging 10+ km a day during the week), so I thought that I would be fine keeping up my energy, but I hadn't really considered the impact of all the time spent standing around in museums. I was dragging myself from place to place now.


Day 12 - Day trip to Paris or "The day I learned the correct answer to the question, "Do you speak English?" is no."



Got up around 5:30, and headed back to St. Pancras. Train left on time, and I settled in with my map to try to plan my day.

When planning my trip to London, I had thought about taking a day trip over to France. I had decided against it, partially because there was plenty to see in London and partially because I was worried about language issues. But after two weeks in London, I had determined that since I wasn't talking to anyone anyway, what difference did it make whether I could speak the language or not.

Since I hadn't planned to go, I had done no research on Paris. My only aid in figuring out a plan was a tiny little map of the city, which helpfully came with a list of top attractions. The first thing I discovered was that the Lourve was closed on Tuesday's (oops). This was probably a blessing in retrospect, since it would have eaten up most of my day, and I think that walking around the city was a better choice.

I got in around 9:30ish and headed outside, walked around the area of the train station, (which, unlike the airport, is reasonably central) and then took the metro to the area around Notre Dame. I couldn't understand what anyone around me was saying, but again, since they weren't talking to me, who cares!

There were hundreds of people standing around in front of Notre Dame (it was a pleasant sunny day). While taking in the crowd and the exterior of the cathedral, a woman, dressed in flowing robes, approached me and asked me if I spoke English. After I answered yes, she handed me a note that indicated she was from Bosnia originally and was in difficult circumstances and asking if I could help her. I work in an area of Vancouver where having people asking for money is not an unusual occurrence, and I suppose I have developed a rather hardened attitude about it. I handed the note back, said "No, sorry" and moved away from her. I was feeling a little guilty about this, if not the refusal that rather abrupt way in which I did it, when another woman, in very similar dress approached and asked if I spoke English. in then next 5 minutes, 2 more women did the exact same thing. At this point I stopped and looked around the area. There were at least half a dozen of them and 3 of them got together for a little meeting while I watched. This kind of organized activity doesn't occur in Vancouver.

Anyway, back to Notre Dame. There was a line up outside, but it seemed to move at a reasonable speed, so I don't think I waited more than 10 minutes to get in. Unlike Westinster Abbey and St. Paul's in London, there was no charge to get in and photography was permitted inside. The cathedral is magnificient as you would expect. There was in the central area some kind of service or prayer going on. This did not stop some rather rude people from taking pictures more or less on top of the service. Understand, the cathedral is huge, there were lots of places to go and take pictures away from this central area.

Also fairly close by is Sainte Chapelle, a 13th century Gothic chapel. The stained glass is incredible, if you are in the area, you have to see this.

From there, I strolled along the Seine, making my way towards the Eiffel Tower. This is actually not that close, you are probably better off taking a bus, but I just wanted to soak up the sunshine and see some of the city on foot. A couple of hours later, I reached my destination. Before going to Paris, the Eiffel Tower had not been a high priority spot for me. Having been there, I have to say it is a lot more impressive in person than in pictures. There were 4 separate and very long lines to enter each of the legs of the tower for the ascent. Three of the lines allowed you to take an elevator up, the fourth was for people who wanted to walk.I waited a good half an hour before I entered one of the legs and began my ascent (I took the stairs).By stairs, you can only reach the second deck, at least when I was there. The views of the city were reward for the climb.

After climbing down, I crossed the Seine, snapped off a couple of pictures of the Tower, and headed to the Arc de Triomphe. As I walked along, I was amazed at the number of scooters around. They are everywhere. Arriving at the Arc de Triomphe, I was initially perplexed as to how to cross the road (4 or 5 lanes of cars who, in what I can only assume is some of sort of punishment, are forced to spend all day driving around in a circle.) Eventually I discovered a tunnel underneath the road.

From there, I headed down the Champs-Élysées taking in the scenery and passing the exterior of the Lourve, eventually arriving back at the same metro station I had gotten off the morning. I headed back to the train station and home (well, my home away from home anyway). Arriving in London, I walked back to my hotel, only about 10 minutes walk, however it was pouring rain and I got soaked to the skin. This was not a happy development.

Actually, this was the only occasion I encountered any serious rain in my time in London. There were a few showers and clouds some days, but mostly I was sunny, with highs between 15 and 20 C.


Day 13 - I go home.

I woke up at 7 (my usual time in London), and immediately wished I hadn't. Every muscle in my body ached, I had a fairly nasty cough and generally didn't want to move. Apparently 2 weeks of pushing myself too hard and not eating enough had caught up to me. I had planned on taking a quick look at the Wallace Collection, however that was now off the table. I somehow managed to get to the airport, it took me a lot longer than it should have, since I was moving very slowly, with lots of stopping to lean on my luggage. I was actually a little worried that when the folks at the airline got a look at me, they might not let me on the plane (ghosts have more colour than I did; more life too actually ). However they did let me on. Happily, the return flight have plenty of empty seats, so was able to sit by myself. Of course, anyone who had been sitting next to me would have taken one look at me and asked to me moved anyway. I did eventually arrive at home in one piece.

Thoughts on the trip as whole:

1. I had a great time, my primary goal was to soak up as much history as possible, and I certainly feel I accomplished that.

2. Next trip, I need to pace myself better. Even before I got sick, I was too tired a lot of the second week, which detracted from my endurance and my ability to take in what I was seeing.

3. Less walking, more using public transit. Of course, I want to be able to do some strolling around neighbourhoods, but given that I was on my feet most of the time even when in museums and galleries, a little moderation would be helpful. see point 2.

4. Was Paris worth it? YES! Of course I wish I had planned ahead so I didn't end up spending so much to get there, but it was a great day. Plus, it helped reassure me about being able to function in a city where I don't speak the language. This sets the stage for next year's trip to Italy (with a couple of days in Switzerland)

5. Don't wait 6 and a half months to write a trip report next time! There are probably lots of interesting details I could have added if only I could remember them.


Well, I am done here. Questions, comments?

How did it feel being in a foreign country for the first time? Or did London not 'feel' all that foreign to you? I remember when I first visited the US from the UK, expecting to feel right at home, I was actually surprised how alien it felt in parts.

I know you were only in Paris for a day, but how would you compare the two cities in your opinion?

What was your highlight? Your biggest disappointment? Would you go back?

Always interested in what other people think of my home town.

Thanks for the report!

I really enjoyed your report. I think your unplanned day in Paris was just right. You walked around, saw some sights, and soaked in the atmosphere. But you still need to go back to see York!

Italy next--but, did Paris interest you enough for a longer return trip?

Thanks for the interesting report.

I don't know that London felt all that foreign to me, but there were a couple of things that I noticed. One was a a sense of age. Not just at the big tourist attractions, but just wandering around the city, it seemed like every time I turned a corner I ran into a building that had been standing since before Vancouver even existed. The other thing that comes to mind were the crowds. Again, I don't mean at tourist sites and around them. I remember being on Oxford St. one afternoon and having challenges just walking up the street due to all the people.

Well, one thing I noticed very quickly is that London Tube cars are much cleaner than the metro in Paris. Granted, maybe the 2 metro rides I took weren't representative, still the difference seemed fairly dramatic.


If I had to pick one place, I would say the British Museum. It such an amazing collection of artifacts to be assembled in one place. I thought when I was leaving that if I ever won a lottery, I might come back and try to volunteer as a janitor or night watchman, anything to be able to spend some time wandering the collections without the crowds.

The biggest surprise to me were the paintings. I had never been in a serious art museum before, so had no idea how blown away I would be by seeing them up close. Now that I think of paintings, I realize I left out a small portion of my trip.

On the day I went to British Museum, the crowds had worn me out by 4:30 or so. When I left, I started wandering South until I realized I was fairly close to the National Portrait Gallery. I had originally intended to go there on the same day as the National Gallery, but had felt too tired, plus I had plans for that evening. So, I decided to head in (The Portrait Gallery has late opening on Thursday.)

It was a very enjoyable couple of hours. I was interested in the group paintings, where you could see the interaction between people. Plus, there weren't that many people there. Don't get me wrong, it was hardly deserted, but I didn't feel this constant pressure to move on to the next painting.

I think the biggest disappointment for me probably involved things I didn't end up doing. I fully intended to attend a performance at the Royal Opera House, but that didn't work out. And as much as I enjoyed my excursion to Paris, I do regret not getting to York.

Would I go back? In a perfect world, Yes! In reality, things are a bit more challenging. I only have a finite amount of time and money, and there a lot of places I want to see. I have this very vague plan that over the next five to six years, I will see most of Europe. The highlights anyway, I mean if I couldn't see everything in London I wanted in two weeks, I am certainly not going to manage all of Italy in that time. Next year, Italy, and then a trip a year: Germany, France (yes to spending a little more time in Paris!),Spain/Portugal, Scandinavia, another trip to see the rest of the UK etc. Not too mention the rest of the world.

But you never know, with luck I will make it back.

Oooh....take me with you!

I think Glen has been bitten by the travel bug! For a first trip out of the country, Glen covered an amazing amount.
So many don't make it to the Ceremony of the Keys until a 3d, 4th, or 5th trip. Good for you.
I think you must have done more research than most for a first time there. Doing intensive research before a trip is one key to making the most of a trip.
Really enjoyable report, Glen.

"One thing I noticed in walking around London was that a of lot of the crosswalks have notices indicating which way the traffic is coming from. I can only assume that the authorities got tired of scraping dead tourists off of their roads."
Particulary good section.

I think the bird you saw at Kew may have been a peacock.

Great report!

Fun report. My daughter and I were haunting some of those same spots around the same time; nice reminder.