eeks in London -- with digressions
 

This is an utterly idiosyncratic trip report. Our choices will not be your choices. Our standards will not be your standards. I hope some of you find some of this helpful and others will at least get the occasional chuckle.
The basics: he, 76, has a pacemaker, a difibrillator, and tendency to angina when rushed or pressured; she, closing in on 70 faster than she'd like to admit, has a cow valve in her heart and an aversion to more than two flights of stairs. They have been living together for almost 49 years and traveling together since 1974. They've made 20 or so trips to Europe, at least a dozen of them including time in London. They still have a sense of adventure, although their sense of balance can sometimes be a little tenuous.
They had a wonderful time.

First bit of good news: It's perfectly acceptable to wear white trainers in London. But if you want to be really trendy, you might choose white, green and orange striped or burgundy and buff in a flame pattern -- and that's only for the men. For women, the important shoe lesson seems to be that you should be able to inflict as much damage with the point of the toe as the tip of the heel. If you can't walk around on shoes that would make it on "Sex in the City," trainers will do, especially if they have some hints of metalicized leather trim.

Second bit of good news: The people you meet are perfectly capable of separating American visitors from American politicians. The former they like; the latter they don't. But they don't much like their own politicians either, and their electoral process -- though shorter -- is becoming as nasty as ours.

Now for the bad news: The dollar stinks.

(more to come)

Okay, I tried to proofread this and discovered I can edit my message, but not the title which should have read "The Geezers Journey: Three Weeks in London -- with digressions.

Waiting on the next installment. Your trip sounds like a hoot.

Looking forward to the rest!

'Eeks in London' works for me!

I don't think I would have clicked on your original title... "eeks in London" aroused my curiousity much more! Looking forward to reading your report!

Looking forward to reading more!

Eeek!! Yes I opened this thread because of the title too. More please, I like your writing style and spunk.

First digression:

Our journey to London began April 10 in Amsterdam where we landed at 8:15 a.m. after an overnite Continental flight from Newark. By using American Express miles we were able to fly Business Class, a decided plus. We were booked for one night into the Radisson SAS Amsterdam, convenient to the Flower Market, the red light district, and the Grand Markt. Our room was ready immediately so we grabbed a quick nap then set out to wander a bit. We'd visited the important Amsterdam sites some years ago and were content just to stroll a few canals, find an ATM, and find a cafe in which to have a coffee and a sandwich. Dinner that night was in the hotel which was enjoying an asparagus festival. I wish I liked asparagus more. The next day was occupied with more wandering until it was time to head for the dock and our next destination, the Ms Douce France, a river cruiser that was to take us through tulip country on a three-day voyage to Antwerp.

We were told when we booked the cruise that we might be the only English speaking passengers on the voyage; the cruise agent was almost right. The principal languages of the passengers were French and German. With apologies from the social director -- who spoke seven languages and thought she'd found kindred souls for us in the only two Japanese passengers but discovered their biliguality didn't include English -- we were seated with three French couples whose English was as limited and rusty as my high school French. We smiled a lot and enjoyed a delicious dinner.

(laundry calls, more to come)

To heck with the laundry--get yourself back over here. You sound like my kind of gal.

VirginiaC:

eeks in London -- with digressions caught my attention and pleased to find a rather nice trip report.

Enjoying your style of writing and want more. Please hurry up with the laundry and post some more.

Sandy

LOL VirginiaC, I am another one that clicked on your thread as I was wondering about the "eeks"..thought something terrible had happened to some Fodorites in London.

Yes, never mind the laundry, get your priorities straight and continue with your trip report please!

Back aboard the boat:

The evening entertainment was an optional canal cruise through Amsterdam which we passed up for a comfortable seat in the lounge for espresso and more smiling and nodding, then off to our small but adequate cabin for a good night's sleep.

The first full day of cruising began with buffet breakfast and a trip to the lounge to watch the scenery as the boat headed for Rotterdam. The scenery was less impressive than we'd hoped -- this was, after all, advertised as a tulip cruise -- mostly trees, highways paralleling the waterway, and the ocassional modern windmill.
Scenery we got in the afternoon with a side trip to Keukenhof, advertised as the most beautiful spring garden in the world. Open only from mid-March to mid-May, it's a riot of tulips, hyacinth, narcissi and alium, mixed with daisies, bluebells, crocus, fountains, ponds, bridges, trees, statues and people trying to take pictures of all of them. As we'd walked up the path from the bus park to the gardens, we'd spotted a large sales area offering snacks and souvenirs. Therefore we bypassed all the small stands within the garden where bulbs were available for sale. On our way back to the bus, we stopped at the shop. It was filled with tulip painted plates, tulip shaped ball point pens, miniature china "wooden" shoes filled with miniature china tulips, little dolls in traditional dress, books on gardening in all languages. And not one stinking bulb. Oh well, the squirrels would probably have eaten them anyway.

On our return to the boat, Nadia -- our cruise director -- had a surprise for us: two English-speaking fellow passengers. Hayley, a retired cruise professional herself, was born in England. Her husband Francois is a port pilot at Le Harvre. They'd booked the cruise as a long weekend break from life with four active children. Dinner conversation was lively and far ranging and the meal itself was a standout with pate,steak, and baked Alaska. After dinner it was back to the lounge for more coffee and games conducted in French.

The last full day of the cruise took us to Antwerp, where after a lunch of charcuterie, a guided tour of the city was offered. Since we were planning to spend a few days in the city on our own, we opted for a nap. A final gala dinner with our new friends, a show by the crew in the lounge, and it was off to pack up for disembarkation after breakfast. We will be among the last to leave the ship since we are not part of a tour group. Nadia will see that we have a cab.

(Coming soon, 3 days in Antwerp)

Antwerp has a magnificent cathedral replete with paintings by Peter Paul Reubens and sculptures and paintings by other Flemish artists. A guided tour, offered once daily in English, is thorough and fascinating and takes about an hour. It ends at the cathedral bookstore where religious items and guide books are available. You can't get out without going through the bookstore; you can't get back in without making the expected offering for maintenance of the church. Fortunately, we didn't feel the need to pray.
Antwerp has a fine square; like Brussels' Grand Plas it is surrounded by fine guildhalls.
Antwerp has a market square from which a tram will carry you about the city for an hour, showing you the major points of interest, some of which have been buried since the 16th Century.
Antwerp must have about 7,000 restaurants, including an amazing number specializing in pizza and at least one McDonald's. The squares surrounded by the restaurants were almost alarmingly unpopulated except for the gaggles of tourists following the upraised umbrella that crossed them from time to time.

We'd booked three days in Antwerp. We contemplated moving on to Brussels for a day and a night but couldn't find an available hotel room in an area with which we were familiar for less than $600. We made Brussels a day trip and had a good time exploring again the Grand Plas and the Galleries St. Hubert, marveling at the restaurants on the Rue des Boucheres, and paying our respects to the Mannequin Pis.

Our train trip back for one last night in Antwerp was notable in that the train stopped one station before Antwerp Central and we watched as all passengers prepared to depart. A kindly fellow passenger explained in English the announcement that had been made in French and Flemish: the train was running late, so it was decided to send it back to Brussels so it could catch up with the schedule. Passengers for Antwerp should wait on the platform for the next train. There would be no charge for this service.

(Next, the "eeks" head for London, via Eurostar.)

eeks! This is <b>Most</b> enjoyable reading!!

I like your style. More please!

I thought the eeks was either over the exchange rate or maybe you saw some rats in a tube station. Great report so far &amp; looking forward to more!

<font color="blue">Fortunately, we didn't feel the need to pray.</font>

Very funny, Virginia! Looking forward to more adventures of the &quot;eeks&quot; . . .

Don't keep us waiting too long, Virginia.

Count me in with the happy-to-find-the-eeks crowd. More, please :-)

There are three rail stations in Brussels: Nord, Centrale and Sud. The Eurostar leaves for London from Brussels Midi. Please forgive me for thinking that Brussels Centrale and Brussels Midi were the same thing. Midi-Middle/Centrale-Center, how could I have been so dumb? Better yet, get me a cab from Brussels Centrale to Brussels Sud -- where Brussels Midi is located.
But we are on the Eurostar, chugging our way into its new St. Pancras -- I LOVE the names of London railroad stations -- hub and as soon as we disembark and find an ATM, we'll be catching a cab for our home for the next three weeks, Oxbridge Apartments, 8 Collingham Road, SW5.

Oxbridge Apartments are not for everyone. The furniture is shabby; the plumbing requires understanding; the linens, dishes, cutlery and cooking utensils couldn't be more mismatched if they were purchased from the remainder bin at a church jumble sale. But the location is wonderful -- a 10-minute walk to Gloucester Road Underground, practically across the street from a Sainsbury's market and a laundromat that does service washes, and it's cheap. We'll have a one-bedroom flat for approximately $100 a night. Since we're saving on accommodations we've been extravagant and shipped a large suitcase directly to the apartment, allowing us to travel with just a 22-inch rolling bag and a shoulder bag each for the first week. In addition to more -- and lighter weight -- clothing, more books and gifts for some friends' new grandson, the bag holds the real necessities for Oxbridge living -- a decent paring knife, a good corkscrew, a supply of disposable cooking pans, pot holders, and tea towels. It was there, waiting for us.
When making our Oxbridge reservations, we had requested an apartment at the front of the building. There was none available, but maybe we could be moved in the morning. We settled into a poky, overheated back apartment, unpacked only a few necessities, and headed for Sainsbury's to buy our traditional first night in London meal -- a heat-and-eat steak pie and salad, and a bottle of Scotch. We watched a few hours of British television and were reminded that Masterpiece Theater skims off the top 1/2 of 1 per cent; the rest makes American Idol look good.
In the morning, we are regretfully informed that no front apartment is available. Under the new management, choice of apartments is not guaranteed. We are dismayed. We are despairing. We give them a list of all the things that must be repaired in the flat to which we have been assigned.
An apartment in the front of the building suddenly materializes. It's the same flat in which we lived on our first visit to Oxbridge in 1994 and it has a brand new kitchen and bath. We're unpacking. We're taking the laundry to Bobo's Bubbles. We're stocking the fridge and the cabinets. We're calling friends and family and giving them our phone number. We're home.

(Coming soon: Happy Birthday, Shakespeare. Happy Birthday, Your Majesty. Hurray for St. George.)