London 'Tube-less', Fine dining, Fun excursions plus a GTG
 

I haven't written a TR of my last 2 or 3 trips so need to get back in the saddle . . .

In August I injured my knee while visiting Peru and it has slowly improved but I still need to use a brace and at times a cane. Back in early Oct I assumed I'd be all hunky dory by the time my birthday rolled around in early Dec. So I booked a 6 night trip flying out Wed Nov 29 and flying home Dec 6. Unfortunately . . . it ain't back to normal (at least I can walk which wasn't the case 3 months ago)

So I had to make some changes and cut back on all the running around I usually do in London.

Wed/Thurs Flying in and Harry Potter: I booked business SMF > DFW > LHR (and coach home LHR > LAX > SMF - more on that later). AA ordered wheel chairs/cart at both DFW and LHR which were godsends. I can walk but its hard to 'airport walk' the miles involved places like LHR. Plus because of the wheel chair I didn't have to check my rollaboard. I had 4 hours in the DFW Admirals Club followed by an uneventful flight - managed to sleep about 5 hours. At LHR it was literally less than 15 minutes from the gate to the AA arrivals lounge. (being in the front of the plane expedites immigration and the wheel chair whisked me through all the way because I didn't have to wait for luggage). I had booked a justairports pick up about an hour and 45 mins after scheduled ETA because I assumed my room wouldn't be ready and I could have a quick stop in the lounge. When everything went so smoothly I ended up with nearly 90 mins there and managed a shower, snacks and Prosecco

The JA driver was right on time and the traffic wasn't bad. Arrived at Dolphin House in Pimlico approx 12:30 And my room would not be ready until about 3PM. :-( They took my bag to store and I sat in the lobby deciding whether to hang around or head out. Almost immediately the manager came up -- he recognized me from my stay last March - and said he could see if it could be expedited. My room magically became ready in 5 mins :-) And what a room!! They must have upgraded me -- it was on the top floor, distant views of the Eye and Parliament, large lounge, HUGE bathroom, large bedroom w/ two closets and lots of hangers, basic kitchenette and entry hall - all for £150/night.

I unpacked and headed out to Pimlico station an loaded a 7 day travelcard on my oyster. Then I could NOT get on the down escalator!!! Tried 3 times. Just impossible - I am not at all afraid of heights or escalators but with my cane and the speed of the escalator I just couldn't :-( The attendant let me out through the barrier then back in and tried to help me board -- no dice. I finally decided trudging down the looooong-ish stairs (at least it wasn't the Northern line!! ) would be safer than falling down the escalator.

Up escalators are doable so I could get out at Kings Cross and walk down the road to the British Library for my timed ticket to the Harry Potter exhibition. Harry Potter was amazing. Quite extensive, with many original hand written and typed JK Rowling manuscripts with her edits and margin notes, a few of her own original drawings, her VERY detailed spread sheets spelling out the plot lines of the entire series before the first book was written, many of Jim Kay's original illustrations augmented with MANY ancient books and documents re the black arts, magic, apothecary, alchemy etc and a few interactive exhibits in a semi-theatrical setting. Entry is by timed tickets but the Library must not over-book the number in each time slot like many museums do - because it was fully sold out but it wasn't chockablock like many big blockbuster exhibitions elsewhere.

Afterwards I went to the travel center at Kings Cross and converted the 7 day travel card to PAYG since I was obviously not going to be using the tube much. Bought sandwich and bits at M&S at St Pancras and ate that night in the flat, watched telly, and was in bed by 9:30. Slept through till 7:00AM and felt relatively good - no jet lag to speak of..

Thurs was very VERY cold but no rain, mostly sunny.

Next: Friday - 'Impressionists in London' at Tate Britain, and evening Champagne tour of Windsor Castle.

Signing on. Sorry your knee didn't improve faster - definitely a good thing you got wheelchairs. Sounds like a super deal on the hotel, will have to check it out.

Yes, do -- and sometimes they have good deals for the studios on booking.com.

Oh -- meant to add there are lifts at Kings Cross/St Pancras so I didn't have the same down escalator issues there.

Signing on to read all about your trip. I'm glad you were well accommodated with your knee injury.

Friday - 'Impressionists in London' at Tate Britain, and evening Champagne tour of Windsor Castle.

Had a nice, reasonably priced breakfast in the Dolphin Square Bar & Grill. Then I walked cane-less over to Tate Britain for the 'Impressionists in London' exhibition. What a wonderful show! Monet, Pissaro, Sisley and several others who fled to England during the Franco Prussian War and unrest in Paris. Loved it. Afterwards I had my annual visit with 'Carnation, Lilly, Lily, Rose' and a few minutes with some of my favorite Turners. Had a light lunch and wine in the members room.

Walked back to flat to get a warmer scarf and relax a bit. Took a cab to Paddington and caught a train to Windsor, with a change at Slough. Stopped for hot mulled wine in a pub then up to the castle for evening champagne tour. We were a group of 14 and the tour was longer than I expected - nearly 2 hours and we were allowed inside the ropes in most rooms. Beautiful Christmas decorations in many rooms. Surprised to me that the Queen was in residence . . . Have never toured any of the royal residences when she was on site. Were served a quite decent champagne and then we walked down to the gift shop where we received a 20% discount. I took major advantage and filled a medium sized £40 shipping box completing a lot of my souvenir/Xmas list. VAT was over £60 so worked out great and I didn't have to lug anything home.

Trekked back to Windsor Central and caught a train - but just missed a close connection at slough so had to wait 25 mins in the COLD. But the next train was an express so not much later really to Paddington. Picked up and M&S sandwich at the station, caught cab and the traffic was crazy - Edgware rd was PACKED!!! So the meter was nearly £10 just to Marble Arch - £25 total. Sandwich/chips/wine in the flat and another good night"s sleep.

Saturday - Postal train/museum, Cezanne, Portrait Restaurant birthday dinner, 'Labour of Love' at the Noel Coward Theatre:

There is a useful bus route through Pimlico (the #24) that connects to Victoria, Westminster, Charing Cross and Covent Garden/Leicester Square. But for this trip I chose to again cab it because the Postal Museum is way across town near Coram's Field's. You need to pre-book the postal train and it is a hoot :) Then spent about 30 minutes in the Postal Museum and could have spent twice that. It was really (surprisingly) interesting.

Afterwards I took a bus from Grays Inn Rd to Victoria and a cab from there back to the flat. After freshening up/changing I caught the 24 to Charing Cross rd, and collected the ticket for tonight's performance. Then the short walk to the National Portrait Gallery for the Cezanne exhibition. really enjoyed this show -- more than 50 Cezanne portraits from collections all over the world. Then I had about half an hour for a quick look at the Taylor Messing Photographic Prize exhibit before heading upstairs for a 5:30 pre-theatre dinner. Had the very best seat in the Portrait restaurant, very center window seat. Had a bellini cocktail, olives, terrine starter. As for the main - for the life of me I can't remember what it was (do know it was fish but which fish???? A nice white wine and STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING :) The back to the theatre for 'Labour of Love'. Martin Freeman (Watson in Sherlock) and Tasmin Greig were wonderful in their roles. The entire play is staged in a Labour MP's office oop north over a period of 20 years. Freeman is the MP and Greig is his constituency agent. The supporting cast were OK but were sorta unnecessary :) Act 2 was especially good - maybe because I had champagne at the interval. :) But really the play was funny, and poignant and well written.

Took the #24 all the way 'home'. Laundry, choc digestives and tea before crashing. Big day tomorrow.

next: Sunday - tour of the Greenwich Painted Hall ceiling restoration, Eltham Palace and back to central London -- all by public transport without a stair or escalator

on for ride

I was in London after a knee injury and found the Tube to be torture. I am spoiled by US ADA requirements for transport(tho' for how much longer I wonder).I wound up taking buses most places (except to & from the airport) and love that anyway as one sees so much more.

for anyone with a gammy leg take two buses for only £1.50

https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/hopper-fare

buy one get one free

Very interested in how you are getting around, given my health issues this year. The Windsor tour sounds lovely, except champagne gives me a headache!

Enjoying another of your views of London; I always learn a lot! Hope the knee is healing more each day.

hen I walked cane-less over to Tate Britain for the 'Impressionists in London exhibition. What a wonderful show! Monet, Pissaro, Sisley and several others who fled to England during the Franco Prussian War and unrest in Paris. Loved it. >>

That's good to know, I'm going with 2 friends the week after next while I'm staying in Kent. We will have lunch afterwards at the Liberal Club where one of them is a member. I hope that I'll have time to look at the Turners too - the last time I saw them was when I went with DH over 30 years ago.

I also envy you seeing Tamsin Greig in the flesh - you probably know that as well as doing a lot of TV work, she plays "Debbie" in the Archers of which I' m a big fan. Sounds like a good night out.

Enjoying your report. Like thursdays, I have mobility issues this year, so am interested in how you are getting around.

Really enjoying this, and feeling your pain as I've made half a dozen voyages in recent years with foot problems. PITA, but it'll never stop me from traveling.

Loving your TR. I'll have to check out the Windsor champagne tour. Looking forward to your next installments.

Enjoying your TR as well! Glad your injury didn't give you too much trouble...

Grrrr :`( Wrote a long entry covering Sunday & Monday but the frickin' site quit on me and I had to start over. Here is the Sunday bit . . .

Sunday - tour of the Greenwich Painted Hall ceiling restoration, Eltham Palace and back to central London -- all by public transport without a stair or escalator

Today is my acid test for covering great swaths of London with mobility issues. Several months ago jamikins (I think it was) posted info re tours of the ceiling of the Painted Hall at Greenwich and it sounded like something I'd enjoy. Last time I tried to visit the Hall it was closed for a special event. When I pre-booked the tix in October I 'assumed' my knee would be fine by December -- wasn't/isn't. So I panicked a little when a follow up e-mail received a couple of weeks before I left home reminded that there are 65 steps to the ceiling/platform. But there was a note that there was very limited lift access (one person allowed up the lift per tour) So I rang them up and was thrilled that no one on my tour (there were 10 of us) had booked the lift. Done over the phone - all's well. Then on Friday night when I returned from Windsor there was an e-mail suggesting I cancel or re-schedule because the disabled access lift from the ground up to the Ground floor of the painted Hall was temporarily out of service. I e-mailed back right away (didn't want to lose my lift access ticket) explaining that I can walk with a cane and am not wheelchair bound. and want to keep the booking. I am very familiar with those steps and it is really only about half a flight.

My booking was for 11AM so a little before 10 I head out to catch the #24 to Westminster, where I took the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf. (Thank goodness for the Jubilee Line!!! It is basically step free all the way from Green Park to its eastern terminus at Stratford - seems weird that west of Green Park it is pretty much as bad as the rest of the tube system). Then from CW I caught the DLR to Cutty Sark/Greenwich. (Thank goodness for the DLR!!! :) ) Arrived early so walked through the market for a few minutes then stopped in a cafe for tea and a croissant.

Arrived at the Painted Hall just before 11:00 and got kitted out in vests and hard hats and sat through a very informative introduction and video. Then the rest of my group trudged up the stairs and I was escorted up in the lift. WOW. The platform - covers the entire Hall so sort turns the ceiling into an attic space with none of the ceiling visible from the floor below. The platform is barely 8 feet above this temporary floor -- maybe less. So you can almost reach up and touch the painting. They give you hand mirrors to examine areas in detail without breaking your neck. But most simply lay down on the floor and looked straight up. I couldn't do that cuz' of the knee and maybe/probably not being able to get up again :( But using the mirror helped a lot. They also give you a large fold out map of the entire ceiling so you can tell the cast of characters (and HUGE cast it is). I didn't time it but I think we were up in the ceiling about 45 minutes.

After returning to terra firma, I took the DLR to the end of the line at Lewisham, where I caught the train to Mottingham. From the station its about a half mile, FLAT, walk to Eltham Palace, maybe a little farther by the time you get to the visitors center/entrance. I will have to visit again when the gardens are in bloom because they are vast and must be lovely in the Spring. The house was built in the 30's but the Courtaulds only lived there until 1944 when it was taken over by the army. It was opened to the public in the '90's. Such a gorgeous place -- I had been once before maybe 12-15 years ago, but new areas have been opened including Ginnie's wardrobe and the basement with a wartime bunker, Billiards room and darkroom, and it is a more complete visit now. If anyone is interested in modern domestic architecture you MUST visit Eltham Palace. It really is a wonder.

Had a lovely cottage pie and red wine in the cafe then walked/semi hobbled by this time, back to the station where I caught the train to Charing Cross, and the #24 home. Relaxed for a while then went down to the on-site Bar & Grille for a light dinner of (massive) tiger prawns, wine and some lovely gooey chocolatey thing for dessert.

next: Monday - Balenciaga and a little opera at the V&A, lunch at Outlaws (WONDERFUL!!!!!!!), evening GTG with PatrickLondon and flanneruk . . .

What a wonderful trip!

Meant to emphasize that the ENTIRE day there were no stairs or escalators (except for the 8 or so steps up to the ground floor of the painted Hall and stairs down to the basement at Eltham Palace).

Hi Janice,
Interested to read about your latest London trip and please to hear that the physical constraints didn't stop you enjoying the things you'd planned to see.
We found Eltham fascinating too, it makes such an interesting contrast to so many "stately homes" and I loved the Courtauld connection. We'll be in London for five days at the beginning of January so I've enjoyed hearing about the current art exhibits in town so thanks for posting.

oh dear, yet more places in London that I've never been to. one day I will treat myself to a stay in the capital and do all the things you and others have written about.

Hi Janisj, we saw the Cezanne too, and loved it.

Wasn't it COLD in London that week! And you managed to see so much with a bad knee, good for you!

Hi janisj - yes, it was me that posted about the painted hall, isn't it amazing??

Sorry we missed you when you were here!

Can't wait to read more...

Hi Janis,

Enjoying your report and empathizing about walking with a cane. I found it NO FUN AT ALL last spring in Scotland. Hope you are continuing to heal.....

Waiting for the next installment.

Enjoying your report! And I'm also keeping your report in mind for ideas for our trip next September. Looking forward to more - and I hope that your knee gets better fast. You are managing well, though, despite the physical limitations, and I'm very impressed!

Trying to catch up/finish . . .

Monday - Balenciaga and a little opera at the V&A, lunch at Outlaws (WONDERFUL!!!!!!!), evening GTG with PatrickLondon and flanneruk . . .

Had tea, OJ, fruit and a croissant in the flat and set out for what will be another biggish day. Could have taken buses but it would have involved 3 so I just hopped in a cab to the V&A for the Balenciaga exhibit. I really enjoyed it - about 2/3+ was devoted to his career, designs and his Paris and Madrid fashion houses and 1/3 to his influence on modern designers. It isn't the BLOCKBUSTER that was the Alexander McQueen ( that was one amazing show) but I found it very interesting and he was very much ahead of his time.

The other big show on currently at the V&A is the Opera: Passion, Power & Politics. Unfortunately I'm in a bit of a time crunch so only have a few minutes to pop in -- From the quick visit it looks REALLY interesting and immersive. Unfortunately it ends in Feb so I don't think I'll have a chance to get back :(

I'm meeting a friend for a 1:30 birthday lunch at Outlaw's - my b'day was on Sat. but I'll let anyone treat me any time :) She is from here in California but has lived in London for 2 decades. With her and my travel schedules we haven't actually met up in nearly 5 years so I was thrilled when she would be in town the same time. She asked where I wanted to have lunch and I suggested Outlaw's -- assuming we'd be going dutch. When she insisted on treating me I wished I had picked a slightly less posh place (not really truth be told ;) )

It was a decent day (every days was nice weather really) so I decided to walk up Brompton Rd to the restaurant -- it is in the Capital Hotel tucked in around from Harrods in Basil Street so not far. My friend was waiting in the lounge bar and we went straight to our table. We caught up on all sorts for family and friends news and had a great time. I love LOVE this place -- third time I've dined there. Just a really lovely (and small) dining room with impeccable service. It is mostly known (and I think its michelin star is based on) fish and seafood. But for some reason this time the non-seafood choices just sounded better. The amuse bouche was a sort of cod roe terrine which was sooooo tasty (isn't it often the case that an amuse bouche is so good it should be on the starters menu? ). Then my starter was venison with beetroot which may be the 2nd best venison dish I've ever had - though just in a starter size. The main was this most amazing duck breast with carrots three ways. Absolutely wonderful. I really couldn't face dessert -- but they brought out a small cake with ice cream and candle that we shared.

We parted ways promising not to wait 5 years til the next time and I walked up the block to Harrods and caught a taxi to Victoria station. The idea being to catch the #24. But the roadworks around Victoria are really REALLY disruptive and I couldn't find the correct bus stop so just decided to walk to Dolphin House. It really isn't that far, less than a mile for sure, and on a stronger knee it would have been a doddle. But I was quite beat by the time I got home.

I have about an hour to relax/recover and was feeling good by the time I had to leave at 5:00 to meet PatrickLondon and flanneruk at 5:30 in Covent Garden (well, actually it was supposed to be a 5PM but I got my wires crossed and they a a 30 minute head start by the time I arrived :D ) We pretty much talked/drank and ate (me - not so much eating involved) non stop til 9:30. Solved just about all of the political issues on both sides of the Atlantic ;) Flanner had to leave to catch the last train and Patrick and I left right after - I caught a 24 in Charing Cross road and was home in no time.

Next: Tuesday - My last day in London, lunch at the top of the Gherkin and Modigliani at Tate Modern

Interesting read. We visited London in the Spring (with lots of advice from janisj) with my husband having a knee injury shortly before we left home. We enjoyed taking buses alot & had no problems getting around. We did take the tube 2 minutes from our apt quite a few times.
Hope your knee gets back to normal.

Tuesday - My last day in London, lunch at the top of the Gherkin and Modigliani at Tate Modern

Today I'm visiting the Modigliani exhibit at Tate Modern and having a 12:30 lunch at Searcy's at the top of the Gherkin. The original plan was Tate early then walk or cab across the river the St. Mary Axe/the Gherkin. But I slept in and flipped the order of things. There is very strict security at the Gherkin (one has to pre-register their name to even get in the bldg) so I was instructed to arrive by 12:15. So about 11:15 I jumped on a #24 and intended to get a #15 in the Strand at Charing Cross, take it up Fleet St etc, get off near St Paul's and cab from there. Well, I tried to catch a 15 or other bus down the strand and towards St. Paul's but the traffic was horrendous due to temporary and longer term road closures. My bus terminated at Aldwych and I jumped in a cab - I still had more than 30 mins to get to the Gherkin. Okaaaay - by 12:15 when I was supposed to arrive we had not quite reached Bank. And by my booking @ 12:30 we were near Leadenhall Mkt. Really just inching along. I rang (using the cabbie's phone) and told them I was stuck (seriously) in traffic and they replied they would "TRY to accommodate me" :( Seriously, if it wasn't for my bum knee I could have walked from Aldwych in 30 minutes! It is only maybe 1.5 miles maybe a tad more.)

But finally at 12:40 we pulled up . . . And they could not have been nicer. I was rushed through security and given me a badge and off I was on a two lift ride to the top if the Gherkin There is a second security check on the 34th floor before ascending a different lift to the 39th floor . . . Just WOW. I again had one of the best tables in the house right on the window. Amazing to be eating looking DOWN on the Walkie Talkie and other signature bldgs. I was facing west so saw all of the City and up river over west London. Had a champagne cocktail, salmon starter and asparagus risotto main, a glass of a lovely Pinot Gris (which I don't usually select but the wine steward suggested it and it was good) and a WONDERFUL cheese course w/ port . . . All for £73 including service/tip which seemed very reasonable. And the VIEWS!!!

Then, knowing about the total gridlock, walked (very slowly) south towards the bridge and flagged down a cab for the rest of the way to Tate Modern for the Modigliani. This is a really good show of his portraits and nudes plus an entire room of his sculptures of which I was pretty unfamiliar. There is a totally immersive virtual reality bit worth waiting in the queue for. You sit in a chair, fit a VR 'helmet'/goggles and get 360* views of the interior of his Paris studio. Sounds hokey and the goggles take some getting used to but REALLY effective/interesting. Then up to the Members Room for a sparkling water and views over the river/City.

Caught an rv1 bus to Catherine street, walked across Covent Garden, stopping in a Tesco to buy a sandwich/crisps, caught the 24 home and bought a small bottle of wine in the on-site off license. Watched telly until about 9PM and spent an hour sorting out/tossing out/and packing.

Wed: Leaving London :( and upgrading to Business :)

I booked justairports and he was right on time. It was an easy (mostly) drive to LHR. I had booked business over and economy back (they put me in main cabin extra). But I really could not bear the thought of sitting for 11 hours with my knee bent. So I went to premium check in and prayed there would be room to upgrade to business. I would have paid almost anything but that LAX flight usually is pretty full. OH JOY! Not only was there a seat - I was able to upgrade Business to LAX and on to SMF for a grand total of $353!. Surprisingly, if I used 25,000 miles it would have cost a little over $500 due to calculating the departure fees differently or some other confusing reason. I am one HAPPY camper!!!

Spent about 90 mins in the Admirals Club having a mimosa and light breakfast. They called me a motorized cart to the gate. Only very minor kvetch about the flight - I was in row 1 in the center (so no window) facing backward. But except for feeling a bit weird during takeoff it was perfectly fine. Really wonderful food too - in fact the best meal I've ever had on an airplane. A poached salmon starter that was one of the best dishes I've ever had in the air, and a guinea fowl main which was surprising and very tasty. Followed by a hot fudge sundae. I passed on the afternoon snack and we landed at T4 about 15 mins early.

Wheel chair was waiting for me and because I didn't have checked luggage I only had to go through Global Entry right there and didn't have to trek over to Tom Bradley to retrieve bags and go through customs. From gate to admirals club in T4 took a grand total of 19 minutes!!! And people ask why I never check a bag if I can help it.

Unfortunately my flight to SMF was delayed two hours so instead of 3+ hours in the Admiral's CIub, it was nearly 6 hours. But my driver was waiting at SMF and I walked in my door just after midnight.

Thanks for the report

We are going to London in early April and staying in Pimlico.
( St. George's Square)
May I ask the rate justairports charge to LHR from Pilmico ?
Last time I took a taxi to Paddington and Express train to LHR.
Thx

One funny thing about Global Entry . . . I was sitting in the wheelchair at the kiosk. Could have stood up but the attendant was having none of that so I scanned my passport, scanned my fingerprints, answered the questions and it took the photo . . . Only I was sitting down and it didn't get even the very top of my head. I passed through the GE checkpoint and turned a very clear photo . . . of the man standing behind me in the queue :)

danon: LHR to Pimlico was £32+parking. Pimlico to LHR was £28. (that is for a saloon w/ no checked luggage - if you need a larger car it would be a little more each way)

. . . I've stayed in St George's Square twice -- once in a two story penthouse with a former Chancellor of the Exchequer living down stairs -- met him in the lift twice.

That's very interesting about GE! So much for security.

Envy you the views.

Welcome home and best of luck with the knee.

Thanks...for the two of us , it makes more sense than H Express + taxi.

We travel with carrying only.

danon: "Thanks...for the two of us , it makes more sense than H Express + taxi."

Even for just one passenger it is cheaper than The HEX + a taxi. Especially when the traffic is bad. What could be a £12 or £15 cab ride from Paddington to Pimlico is more like £25 - £30 because of the traffic situation -- especially right around Paddington and around Victoria. So justairports' fare is less in from LHR - and going TO the airport it is less than just the taxi ride to Paddington.

Plus it is a lot more convenient with no lugging bags through Paddington and LHR.

When I was in London in July , I paid 15 pounds to Pimlico, but the traffic was moving . You make a good point about possibility of a different situation.
Thx.

Good news . . . I am (was) just a tad short of making platinum for next year -- even booked a mileage run for tomorrow to DFW and back to get me almost there, but still about 3,500 miles short.

Didn't think of the LHR > LAX > SMF flight. Yes, I was in business but I thought it was just considered an upgrade and I'd only get the Economy class mileage credit as originally booked. Just checked my account and they are giving me the Business class bonus miles so I'm over the threshold :)

Still need to do the mileage run because for some reason I don't get credit for the $$ I paid for the upgrade. So I still need the $325-ish base fare to DFW and back. But that is all I needed.

Happy birthday janis- remembering the lunch you had with us at. The Portrait gallery .
I had a quite restricted 5 weeks in London just 3 weeks ago due to health issues . It's amazing what can be done with planning.
I really enjoyed Eltham Palace this trip especially the hall where Henry V111 lived - interesting the Art Deco part but not my favourite part . Liked the cafe and the bright yellow dahlias were stunning .

What a delightful trip, Janis. Happy birthday!

Thank you for a wonderful report. I've made some notes for my upcoming trip. I hope your knee gets better soon!

Great read Janis! Sorry we didn’t connect this trip but my week was packed...it sure was chilly a few days but at least sunny on those days. Did you see the new Sackler Courtyard at the V&A...it’s a nice addition. I managed a trip this time to the ballet at the ROH...a first for both!! Gotta love London...and so festive at this time of year.

Hi everybody, thanks for the kind words (I'm posting from the Admirals club at DFW in the middle of my mileage run . . . Platinum baby :D ) -

Kmowatt: maybe next time, I think you would have enjoyed meeting Patrick and flanner.

northie: I thought about you guys when I was at the Portrait. That time was your anniversary, this time was my birthday. nice place to celebrate :) Sorry to hear you are having health problems

Tulips: Yep, it WAS cold most days, but the weather was actually pretty decent. Mostly sunny and didn't need my umbrella once