Wednesday Kerry and I started our first trip back to Europe since our anniversary trip to Rome and Lake Gondolfo in 2018. Covid intervened and we put our return trip on hold until now. For various reasons, some the restraints of anti-Covid policies and some personal, we determined to travel to Vienna then east to Bregenz for our 34th anniversary, then moving on to Switzerland, France and finishing in the UK.
So, 3rd August we left Brisbane flying QANTAS to Perth then to London Heathrow – what a shitty flight – 5 hours to Perth – a couple of hours there then, 18 hours to London. EIGHTEEN hours is far too long in an economy seat. We overnighted at the Holiday Inn Express Heathrow as we planned to fly to Vienna the following day. We can recommend this hotel for an overnight stay and onward journey. We tried to achieve too much in London after such a long flight and had to take a rain check on dinner with my niece Louise. However, we were chuffed about how well our arrangements were going, how manageable the crowds were, how trouble free everything had been but all that was about to change.
Photos of terminal 4 from our hotel room shows how close we are to the airport and from inside the hotel gives you an idea of the size of it.
Photos
Interior of the hotel and the view of Terminal 4
Whilst in London we travelled into London central and bought Kerry a new pair of runners at John Lewis Dept store and then caught the underground to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. There was a long walk from the station to the park which had been created for the 2012 Olympic Games. We had not been to these areas of London and we were quite impressed with the park.
My photos of the big slide, West Ham United FC home stadium, the Olympic Games Swimming stadium the river where river events were held during the London Olympics, the park walk to the slide tower and random pictures from the tower are below. No we did not slide down (you have to pre-book) and besides it frightened the living day lights out of me just to walk down the400 odd stairs on the outside of the tower.
Photos
After walking down the tower the impact of the flight hit us and we dragged ourselves back to the hotel as we had to catch our plane to Vienna early next morning.
For the last six years we have visited London for the Move It Dance Expo at Olympia Kensington. Although the decision has been made to sell on line and not have a bricks and mortar presence in the UK, we did one more show between February 12 and February 16, 2015.
Our journey started on Thursday February 12 with Kerry’s birthday, a cab trip to Nottingham Coach Station and a three hour forty minute coach trip to London – coach is just so cheap. We arrived at Victoria Coach Station in central London and caught a cab to Olympia at Kensington.
Olympia is an exhibition centre, event space and conference centre in West Kensington, London. Opened in 1886 as the National Agricultural Hall, it was built by Andrew Handyside and covered an area of 4 acres (16,000 m2). The Grand Hall, 450 feet (140 m) in length, by 250 feet (76 m) in breadth, was said to be the largest building in the United Kingdom covered by one span of iron and glass. It now features four event venues and a conference centre.
The event is staged in this building and is filled with Universities (dance and theatre are major courses at Universities throughout the UK), Academies, Dance Schools and vendors in interested industries (like fabric specialist Glitter and Dance). This year we had only a mouse hole sized cubical in which we displayed our fabric and website, meeting all the customers and convincing them that although based in Australia they could still buy our fabrics and costumes.
The days were long and tiring sometimes busy but always deafening from the music and dance troupes performances.
Thursday after setting up our display we dropped our cases at the hotel and caught the underground to Selfridges and the Le Chalet Restaurant. We had seen a documentary on Harry Gordon Selfridge and the emporium he created which wetted Kerry’s appetite to visit the London store. I arranged a booking at the restaurant for her birthday and thereby killing two birds with one stone.
Le Chalet does not feel like a department store eatery as it has its own dedicated lift and is built on the roof in a ski lodge/chalet style. The menu is reasonable and prices on par with other places. The main thing was that Kerry was excited to visit Selfridge’s and be taken to dinner in the same night. After dinner we had a very quick stroll around the store which still attempts to lead the retail industry with presentation and range.
Our room at the hotel was described to us as a small room. This overstatement proved to be wrong – not the smallest room we have stayed in but in that category. Nevertheless we managed and on Friday morning Kerry awoke with disturbed disposition so I walked the 2 klm to Hammersmith Rd with our suitcase of samples and paraphernalia to open the shop. I felt somewhat out of place hiding in my mouses hole and watching the team at Bloch handing out goodies to the passing parade. Kerry arrived around lunch time feeling recovered and we worked through til five o’clock at which time we packed up to go back to the hotel whilst the other retailer’s tried to attract the few remaining members of the public until seven o’clock.
We decided that we would try our hand at the casino over near Edgeware Rd. We caught the underground and quickly found the place. We lined up to register (you must register to join just as we do at home) only to find that our registration from Brighton 7 years earlier was still current. A bit of a worry. Nevertheless we were treated as first timers and given the tour at the end of which we were given a complimentary drink each. We ordered dinner from the bar menu and looked upon the scene of gamblers hunched over the tables hanging on a card or ball. Dinner was fine. As usual with meals over here there was too much carbohdyrates so we shared the chips.
Time to try our hands. Kerry went to the poker machines whilst I tried the roulette games. The poker machine devoured Kerry’s stake so she joined me as I played my 25p roulette machine. My stake rose from my initial £10 to £22 and dropped back to £16 at which time I took the money and ran. Kerry had better luck on these machines but never recovered her earlier loses. Sharna if you are reading – TITO (ticket in ticket out). Home to bed to dream.
Saturday we walked together to Olympia and I then went exploring whilst Kerry watched the shop. I strolled down Kensington High St toward Kensington Palace and Hyde Park, ducking up small side streets and lanes to see what I could see. I came across the Church of St Mary in Kensington Church St and the grave of some poor individual who had been buried in the footpath to be walked over and parked upon for centuries to come. Inside the church the vicar was conducting a baptism and others came to light a candle. I was amazed by the remembrance plaques around the wall dating back to the 18th century and many in remembrance of loved ones who died in the empire but not in Kensington. One chap, a member of the East India Trading Co, had died in service to King and country in Bombay in the mid 1700’s. Outside, the graveyard that once encircled the church had been confined in part to a lane way where the headstones now rested against the wall of the lane and some graves (like the unfortunate mentioned earlier) were now the footpath for the living.
I continued walking ending up in Gloucester St then hung a left to Baden Powell House, the Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and on to Harrods. I had lost track of time so when I rang Kerry I was greeted with “where the hell are you!” and an invitation to return to Olympia by the quickest means possible. Which I did. Finished the day at the show and returned to the hotel, dinner and bed.
Sunday saw the same routine except that this time we packed up and ended our last trip to Olympia and the Move It Dance Expo. That evening we dined at the Checkmate Restaurant in Cromwell Rd. Not bad but they were having a bad hair day in the kitchen and service was slow. Meanwhile I was trying to determine who the players were in a very serious picture of a chess match on the wall. The picture had been blown up to a size where the figures were fuzzy. Even so you would expect the staff to know but No not one. I guessed it was Boris Spassky but uncertain as to whether it was his 1970’s game with Bobby Fisher (when he lost his World Champion title to Fisher) or the 1980’s game with Gary Kasperov (the eclectic Russian Master and World Champion). Later research I found the picture – it was Fisher.
The following day after a stroll through Kensington and a coffee at Carluccio’s and a sticky beak in Bill Wyman’s “Sticky Fingers”, we returned to Long Eaton on the coach – happy to be back home.
We started the day with a visit to St Paul’s Cathedral. The Cathedral is massive and has the traditional dome. We were told later by our guide Corrina on our walking tour that Wren the Architect fought with the Bishop about the rebuild of the church after the Great Fire of London (1666)
On the steps of St Pauls
Wren’s dome
Unto the crypt
Nothing shabby about this crypt
that Dome
Wren wanted a dome like catholic cathedrals but of course this was an anathema to the Bishop of the time. The Bishop wanted an English spire not a dome but Wren outlasted the Bishop hence we have a large dome and two spires on the cathedral today.
It is costly to visit the cathedral but we found the crypt which was free to enter. Here is the coffee shop and gift shop amongst the columns and vaulted ceilings together with statues and monuments all accessible at no cost. After coffee we returned to the St Paul’s Tube Station entrance to meet Corinna. Corinna is an actress also but in the twilight of her career and she does these tours for interest and to keep her active. The weather was a little kinder today. The sun was shining most of the time but the wind had picked up and it was chilly.
Corinna started the tour by taking us across the street to the remains of a church destroyed in WW2. This church had been rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire but devastated in WW2 and turned into a memorial garden. The bell tower has recently been converted into a residence (sold to the current occupier for 4 million pounds). She sat us down and said “London was to Shakespeare and Dickens what Paris was to Balzac. It held them in its thrall, was both their canvas and their inspiration, their workshop and their raw material. They in turn made it their own, imaginatively colonising it. And, like “special correspondents for posterity”, bequeathed it to us. Today, despite the ravages of time, riot, bombing, and especially fire, traces of their London – shipwrecks from the past – still abound in the City. Everything from superb half-timbered Elizabethan dwellings to the magnificent early 16th-century gatehouse where Shakespeare went with his plays to the offices of the Elizabethan Master of the Revels. And from London’s grandest Tudor manor house to crooked little alleys which fed the fires of Dickens’s “hallucinating genius”.” (an extract from the advertising on the web site)
We admired the gardens and looked at various pictures which Corinna handed round. Then off she went; she may have been in her senior years but she was not slowed by them. We chased to follow her to the Candle Makers Guild building, then to the Mayoral carriage on show near another guild hall, then down some alleys to a small garden where a statue of Shakespeare stood. In fact it is a memorial to John Hemminge and Henry Cordell who are credited with compiling and publishing the First Folio in 1623 being the first collection of Shakespeare’ s works. It is located near the Pewterers’ Hall another guild hall this time for makers of pewter.
Remnant of a Wren church
Candle Makers Guild
the carriage
A square too many
Memorial to Hemminge and Cordell
Plane Tree
Another Guild Hall
After a short stop she charged off again passed a remnant of the wall of London but no time to stop just a quick photo. Onto a memorial to people who had died rescuing others. After that we entered Little Britain St and walked passed St Barts Hospital and through the gates to St Bartholomew Great Church where we paused to hear another anecdote on Dickens as around this area Dickens set a number of his stories. Quite frankly I cannot recall exactly what the anecdote had to do with but everything we were seeing was new and fascinating.
As we left the church yard Corinna pointed out the seamstresses and embroiderer’s guild and then the Hand and Shears Hotel – this had been the sewing and cloth district in the times of Dickens.
Old wall
Square for Remembrance of Lost Heros
Remembrance for Lost Heros
St Bartholomew Gate
St Bartholomew Great Church
Hand and Shears Tavern
We ended up near Farringdon Tube Station. But before she let us go Corinna had to do a little song and dance to finish her tour so here on the footpath in public view Corinna starts singing and dancing – no doubt the residents are used to this performance but I was taken by surprise and delighted. After giving directions to the tube station and the local hotels she vanished.
We elected to go to the oldest looking establishment we could find – the Jerusalem Tavern.
Jerusalem Tavern
It was tiny and inside it was busy with workers from nearby, the floors were worn and the layout was higgledy piggledy but we were able to order lunch and a drink and rest our feet as we sat at the table in the bay window of the pub. After answering natures call I bumped into one of the other tourists on our tour and suggested he join us – tables were in short supply. Andrew did join us and he turned out to be an Aussie from Sydney an actor by profession and visiting his girlfriend in London, We chatted away out of the wind in the warm atmosphere of the pub and after finishing lunch bid Andrew adieu and headed for the Tube station and home.
I hope by now you have read my Remembrance Day post. You will have seen all the fabulous photos of the Poppies. Kerry took a video of the scene and posted it on Facebook. I have been unable to down load it for your enjoyment here but I have attached some other photos which I hope will interest you.
Apart from visiting the Poppies we undertook some guided walking tours of London. We can recommend these to anyone visiting London and wanting to understand what surrounds you. They are reasonably priced (9 pounds per person), you don’t have to book (you turn up and meet your guide at the designated spot) and they take about 2 hours but be ready to step it out as they push along at a quick pace. Check the timetable as the walks change from day to day and different times on different days.
We chose to do the “the Hidden Pubs of London” with Andrew, and “Shakespeare’s and Dickens’s London” with Corrina. I can recommend a visit to their website: http://www.walks.com.
We chose to travel to London via National Express Bus. We were able to get tickets from Nottingham return for 29 pounds; yes 29 pounds for both of us. Of course we had to make our way to Nottingham Bus Station and at the other end from Victoria Bus Station to Queensway in Paddington (the other side of Hyde Park). The ride down was uneventful until we got to Golders Green (clearly a Jewish precinct of London from what I saw) when the traffic became stop start. After Swiss Cottage (yes there is a precinct called Swiss Cottage) Kerry started to become car sick so by the time we reached Marble Arch all she wanted to do was get off the bus believing we were close to Queensway at this point.
After some discussion about catching a cab (dismissed obviously because Kerry was car sick) and consulting google maps, it appeared we were within 11 minutes walk from our hotel. Not so. We walked for about ½ an hour before coming to our hotel. After checking in and changing shoes, we set off to have some lunch and find the Silver Vaults and Temple Church. We purchased our oyster (the tube, bus and train card) and headed for Chancery Tube Station. By this time it had become another grey and drizzling day. Lunch at Nero’s (the coffee shop) then down Chancery Lane to the Silver Vaults.
This is an underground safe custody area. One of the vendors told us that before WW2 it had been used as a safe custody area for lawyers at the Inns and that during the bombing of London jewellers had moved their stock down there for safe custody and it had become a sliver ware jeweller’s market ever since. Entry is free and down stairs you are confronted by a huge safe door as the entrance to the market. No photos allowed so I will just have to explain it to you.
Inside the main vault are over 40 minor vaults all being used as a showroom shop for all kinds of silver ware: from silver galleons standing five feet high and six feet long to the finest of jewellery pieces, majestic timber and silver thrones to cufflinks. All too expensive for a pensioner. My favourite piece was a pair of candle taper holders with upright griffins holding up the taper. Exquisite and only 160 pounds! If we stayed we would spend our kids’ inheritance so we quickly moved on.
Just off Chancery Lane
Entrance to the Silver Vaults
It was now dark outside but only 5 o’clock. Rain clouds had closed over London but unlike Brisbane they dripped rain in short squirts continuously through the night putting a damper on things. Undaunted we scurried through the showers along Chancery Lane until we arrived at Fleet Street and Middle Temple Lane. The building above Middle Temple Lane appears to be of Tudor origin with its exposed blackened timbers and quite out of place in a modern Fleet St. We were about to enter the past.
Past Middle Temple down the lane to the Temple Church. It closes at 4.00 o’clock so it went onto the itinerary for tomorrow. Still we took the opportunity to walk around the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple. For those of you who don’t know this is the Barristers precinct in London. We were going to learn a lot more later on our walking tour.
Temple Church and the Square
Temple Church
Entering Middle Temple Lane
The tour started at the Temple Tube Station Entrance at 7.00 pm. We had some time to kill and it was wet and cold. We now moved into the Strand and came upon Somerset House setting up its ice skating rink for the winter. It reminded us of the Rockefeller Centre ice rink in New York. The just about across the road we spotted the Lyceum Hotel. It presented as a warm and dry shelter to partake of a meal and quench our thirst which opportunity we did not pass up.
Somerset House
Skating rink
Xmas Tree
In my next blog I will tell you about the Hidden Pubs of London.
It all started with a 60th birthday and a flight from Brisbane to London. Premium economy seats were very comfortable but not until we reached Taipei – bloody Qantas don’t have premium economy on this shared leg. Arrive in London and onto to the London express to Paddington and then a cab ride through Hyde Park to our apartment. Pleasant surprise it was a one bedroom apartment with kitchen dining lounge large bedroom and bathroom. It also had a balcony which was green as it never saw the sun but received every chilling wind. No thoughts of a BBQ on the balcony. Day one went exploring and found the Natural History Museum a few streets away. After 3 – 4 hours we probably saw 1/3 of the available exhibits. So we needed some shopping therapy. But we went about it the hard way walking to Kensington High Street then along the edge of Kensington Gardens up to Harvey Nicks and Harrods where Kerry got her Harrod’s store card by buying a number of pairs of shoes.
Figure 1Natural History Museum Kensington
The next day Terri and Mick arrive and off we go to explore the Albert and Victoria Museum. Wow! It is difficult to describe the wealth of exhibits at this one place. Whew – off to the National gallery in Trafalgar Square to meet Mick’s sister Margaret for a drink, but not too late as we went to see “Matilda”. Wonderful show with outstanding set design and acting by the whole cast but directed more at kids.
Figure 2 Victoria and Albert Museum
Next day we took the Big Bus to see London. We sat atop the open bus in bloody freezing weather so by the time we reached the Tower of London we decided it was lunch time and found a pub and some warmth. Part of the tour included a boat ride down the Thames from Tower of London to Parliament House caught the bus and then back to Point West. The following day we shared a cab to Victoria Station and there farewelled Mick and Terri and picked up our hire car. Kerry then drove to Long Eaton where we picked up Frances and the entire product for the Move It Trade Show. 3 hours up and then 3 hours back to London set up the trade display (great position). Now we had promised David and Veronica we would catch up with their first born Tiffany and deliver some contraband for her birthday (vegemite, Twistees, and other Australian delicacies). I planned a clandestine meeting that night at an unknown pub off Edgeware Rd. Paddington. Everything went to plan except it was curry night at the pub. So after handing over the goodies we bored her with our travel tales. At about 10.00 pm we farewelled Tiffany who graciously thanked us for a wonderful evening.
First day at the Trade Show
Figure 3 Move It at the Olympiad
and obviously I was not required out side of taking some photos so back to the shops to top up the fridge and complete the washing. I had made contact with an old colleague Angus Innes and his wife Kath. They have been working in the UK for the last ten years but always like to hear from “the old country” so we caught up at La Poule au Pot at Sloane Square. Lovely little French restaurant and great company but now getting a bit tired. Day two and Kerry heads off to Olympia Earls Court and I go to the Natural History Museum to finish off what I did not see before – well after 4 hours I’ve had it and there is still more.
Natural History Museum Kensington
The London Bus Tour had introduced me to Primark – cheap clothes and as I packed light I needed some more clothes. $32 and I have 2 new shirts 2 pairs of trousers and some new underwear plus I had a great walk down Oxford St. from Marble Arch to Tottingham Court tube station. Then I had to go to Olympia to pick up Kerry and Frances and all the gear. We were parking the hire car under the apartment along with the Porsche Cayenne the Bentley and 5 Porsche sports cars. The following day its back to Long Eaton but fitting all the gear plus suit cases Frances and boyfriend in a Ford Focus – big ask but we got it done. On the way Kerry gets me to call Babeco and order something which screws up our cash card and HSBC account. As a result we had no cash in Long Eaton. We visited the new show room for Glitter and Dance UK and what a difference. The new premises are far more presentable airy and light but somewhat cold. So we bought some carpet remnants to carpet the office area and the samples area. With the help of Mitch (Frances boyfriend) we laid these bits and cleaned up the kitchen toilet area. We also took the opportunity to visit Nick and Selina Smith at Attenborough Textiles (the old residence of G&D) to introduce Frances, view the new fringing range and invite Nick and Selina to the new premises for a christening drink and dinner at the place of their choosing. After the christening drinks we left Frances and Mitch to clean up while we went to dinner (the boss can do that). Dinner was at the Dayles on a weir in Derby. It would have been picturesque except for the rain wind and snow. Exceptional food and service but we paid for it. But as a thank you to Nick and Selina for the last 4 years it did the trick. The next day we finished off the chores at the shop farewelled Frances and Mitch leaving them with instructions for future additions to the shop. Travelled back to London to find Heathrow flights had been cancelled and there was no room to be found around the airport. We got lucky. A disabled room (a room for disabled people) came available at Premier Inn at Hayes (yes HAYES) 15 minutes from Heathrow by car (with GPS). We dropped the car off the following morning and felt really good that everything was going to plan (even the UK debit card was freeing up). Caught the shuttle to Terminal 3 and headed off to Toronto on my birthday. Well almost – something fell off the plane so we sat on the tarmac waiting for it to be repaired. Premium economy again and it was great. Watched two movies – Cloud Atlas and Lincoln but somehow we were not seated together but on opposite sides of the plane. This enabled Kerry to whisper in the steward’s ear that it was my birthday and I was presented with a bottle of French Champagne. This was to play a role later on as we were carrying a bottle of Grant Burge sparkling pinot (a gift to me for finally retiring). Welcome to Toronto – grey and bleak also. Jumped the shuttle to Niagara Falls 1 hour late not knowing this was not a direct shuttle but a journey through the suburbs and villages to Niagara Falls. Two hours later (about 8.00 o’clock at night) we arrived in a windy freezing and empty Niagara Falls. Checked in ordered room service and looked out our “Falls view” window to see mist but no falls – they don’t light them up at night during winter. So we put the French bottle in the bar fridge and popped the top out the Grant Burge and tucked into dinner. The end of my birthday and I am now 59. Up early next morning to see the Falls – mist and more mist. But there are two! The semi circular falls on the Canadian side and the USA falls and we could not see either clearly. Determined to see the Falls we set off on foot with brief directions from the staff. We discovered an alternate route (all usual routes being closed for winter!) through the Casino (YES a Casino). Even so it was a 20 minute walk to the edge of the Niagara River and our first view of the USA Falls and the Canadian Falls in the distance. But the camera died apparently I had to recharge the battery. So a further frosty walk up to the Canadian Falls (the weather was cold Kerry was Frosty) and what a sight to behold. Then a brain storm – we would walk back to the hotel and recharge the camera and come back by cab to the Falls on the way to the station.
Niagara Falls
You have not felt cold until you have been to Canada. The walk back about 40 minutes in bright sunshine was still extra cold due to the wind but we got there and then after setting the camera to recharge we went to get a coffee at the Casino. Fabulous and grand it drew us in like fish into the net. But we only had yankee dollars a situation fixed with an aussie credit card. Kerry won as usual. But returning to the main story we caught the cab and down to the Falls and Kerry got her photos. Now to the station – then we learn that we have to go to the USA – across the Rainbow Bridge (which we could see was jammed with traffic),
Canadian / US border Rainbow Bridge
and through the border gates to the Amtrac station. Well it was 11.45am and our train left at 12.35pm (we thought the train left from the Canadian side). Homeland security refused us entry at 12.20pm. Our visas only permitted entry to the USA by air not land (F**K!). As we had travelled by taxi we had to be accompanied by our driver to get our visas. The driver assured us that we would get our visas and still get the train -“they are very quick”. As soon as we walked in I knew it was not going to be quick, Oriental families, Latin families and various couples were there in front of us. It took two hours to get our visa, Kerry sweet talked the ticket officer to transfer our tickets to the following day and our cab driver( oh yes he was still with us) took us to a hotel for the night. Just as Niagara Falls is pretty and modern Niagara USA is a dump. Our hotel was 3 stars but a dump. Just depressing and old but beggars cannot be choosers. The Marriott was well and truly behind us. It was at this time I found that I had left the GPS cover in the hire car at Heathrow and that I had packed the opened and unsealed Grant Burge and left the French champagne at the Marriott. Well our train left at 6.35 am and we did not want to miss it so up at sparrow fart caught a cab (yesterday’s fare ended up being USD$120.00) and caught a train to New York. Well if it wasn’t the most tedious, boring and prolonged journey – nine and half hours – to New York. I saw some of the dirtiest litter strewn parts of North America. But New York made up for it. After arriving at Penn Station (Pennsylvania station) Kerry took charge and led us in a circle eventually finding our Hotel in 32nd street “Korea town”. It turned out to be a great location for us. After booking in we wasted no time and went shopping – Lord and Taylor in 39th street then on to 42nd street Times Square and points beyond then walked back to the hotel. Friday was over. Saturday we bought our underground passes and went downtown walked around the World Towers site.
World Tower work site
then onto the Hudson River board walk and walked for an hour down to Battery Park did the ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Is. Then the helicopter ride over New York. Walked to the subway and went up to Bloomingdales – by the time we got out of the subway it was snowing and we were glad to get indoors. Sunday was a big day starting off with a trip over to the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens (they call it Long Island City for some reason). We took the 36th street train and talk about broken down and ramshackle and yet once we walked over to the Museum the surroundings changed dramatically for the better. The museum was great fun – a history of the moving image and interactive tools we felt like kids at the kindergarten. Back to the Big Apple – Manhattan Island – and we went over to the Intrepid Museum – an old aircraft carrier moored in the Hudson River with old fighter jets, the Concorde and space shuttle on display. After that we walked from 12th Ave over to Times Sq. (Broadway and Sixth Ave) to purchase theatre tickets to Spiderman.
the USS INTREPID
Spiderman (a musical) is some thing to behold – arial stunts and bizarre costumes as well as song and dance. On the spectacle element it is hard to beat but the underlying story and music was average. Late night so we plan a sleep in tomorrow. Rise and shine it is a work day. We are to visit Nipkow, Spandex House and Fred Franknell but another load of washing first. So back to 30th Street and while Kerry was washing i went for a walk from 5th Ave to 9th Ave around the block and back again a full half hour at a quick pace. Then over to Penn Station to collect our tickets and check out where we had to go to catch the train- we were not going to miss this one either. Nipkow (Jackie and Regina) was interesting viewing all the fabrics and listening to their gossip but had to run to meet Mark at Spandex House. A very quick walk along a few blocks to 39th St and there it is. Strange it has a familiar look – glitter everywhere with cardboard tubing in use for all kind of things. Mark was a charming 68 year old Jewish gentleman very glad to be in our company. Off to lunch at his favourite pub accompanied by Asvir – an Indian from near Bombay (the accent was still distinct) and Fiji. He has family in Brisbane and is familiar with Australia. No fabric just lunch. Then off to Fred Franknell which turns out to be a woman (third generation of the Franknells) and we collect a parcel and view the sparkly trims. The parcel is quite heavy so we hike back to 32nd Street to off load. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some shopping and then resting for the next leg of our journey – Philly. Snow begins to fall about 6.00pm suggesting it will be a wet trek to Penn Station which it was. We arrived in time and caught the train Business Class down to Philadelphia. Upon arriving we were impressed by a large almost Roman looking station and immediately got the impression that life was not as hectic here. Caught a cab beneath tall Ionian columns and travelled to the old part of the city. The cab driver looked puzzled when we told him the name and address of our hotel – not a good start. However we travelled directly to city hall and the traffic and into Chestnut Street – #2000 Chestnut Street and our hotel – 300 Chestnut! Well when he pulled up at 3rd and Chestnut and said here it is I could not see any hotel. There was a run down pub and then I spotted it the awning over the single door saying “Society Hill Hotel”. It turns out this is one of the oldest areas in Philly and this was likely from the revolution. Rang the bell and we were finally greeted by the cleaner who told Kerry that we were 4 floors off the ground, there was no lift, that the room had only been paid for 1 night and we could not have our room for another couple of hours. Well all I could see was me carting the luggage to the nearest 5 star hotel but the cleaner showed us a room (after much pleading) and explained that our suite had a lounge as well as the bedroom. Resigned to our fate we took the luggage to the 2nd floor and then set out to explore Philly. As it turned out we were located in the heart of the old city. We took the bus tour for the afternoon and then walked around our area finding some very interesting spots like Elfreth St, with the same house from 1770 and a Union Jack flying from one of them. Quite surprising how much of the British influence is still apparent. We had a nice dinner and planned our next day. Back on the fourth floor we found our suite which was comfortable but very basic. The next morning we found our favourite breakfast spot – a cafe which had two “u” shaped benches and stools along either side. You ordered a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 and got a cup of coffee or in my case tea on entry as you sat down. Office workers and tradesmen came and went and carried on a familiar banter with the staff. They did a take away service as well. Fully provisioned we set off for the visitor centre a huge building purpose built to inform on the city from its foundation through the revolution as capital of the United 13 States up to the present day. we were lining up to get our tickets to Independence hall where the colonies met to determine the future of the colonies as British subjects where the constitution was signed and the declaration of independence was signed.
Independence Hall
The city is all about the heritage and formation of the USA – most interesting. We saw the liberty bell and some of the other heritage buildings relating to that time.
Liberty Bell
Our bus tour the previous day had singled out the Penn University Archaeological Museum and the Mutter (pronounced “Mooter”) Museum of medical specimens. The first museum (there are three major main universities in the city itself) had vast quantities of artefacts as it conducts its own digs world wide but most interesting to me was the information on the Zuni, Hoppi, Navajos and Apache tribes of New Mexico and Colorado. Then on to the Mutter and thank God we had lunch before going there. Gruesome specimens in jars, skeletons and pock mark faces. For example the cast of the skeletons of conjoined twins who lived conjoined at the belly button had wives and 21 children and the intestine of an individual who had 42lbs of faeces in this blocked intestine. Very interesting but not nice! The next day was time for some shopping therapy on foot so we walk over to Reading Terminal Markets which is similar to South Melbourne or Phrahan Markets but located in an old disused railway terminal in the centre of town onto which they have tacked a modern exhibition centre and hotel. Around the corner is city hall but wait there’s Macys. Now that is an impressive building with the world’s largest organ still operating inside. But there is no one to play the organ today. After therapy we proceed at somewhat of a dead end (tired from trying to do too much) and we walk past the South East Pennsylvania Transport Authority building and see an old trolley car in the basement so in we go and we end up in the subway riding to 69th street in West Philly. Oh dear some of this is not pretty and the people begging. We witness what we thought was a genuine person in need of help being evicted from the car by SEPTA personnel. Back in the city we felt like doing a movie and saw “EMPEROR” with Matthew Fox and Tommy Lee Jones. Good show. We had dinner at National Mechanics and then home to bed. Another busy day coming up as we are travelling to Washington. Next morning after breakfast at our favourite spot we returned to the rail station bound for Washington DC.
An uneventful journey through boring country side but I had plenty of time to continue this story. We arrived at Union station. Shit! It is huge and impressive on the scale of Russian buildings in St. Petersburg and just as ornate. This is going to be some town if this is just the railway station. A short cab trip over to K Street and Pennsylvania Ave (that’s right they have named their streets after the alphabet, the states, and the numerals – hardly seems that original). The Sofitel Hotel was also impressive with the staff thinking they were in Paris greeting us in French but the luxury and service was outstanding. Our room was on the top floor but no view except we could see all the other apartments without a view. We had a huge king size bed, glorious shower – every thing that we did not have in Philly. Once again it is a great location. We could not waste any time so off to the Concierge and book the night tour and a play for Saturday at the Ronald Reagan Centre. Then out into the open air – wow! It must have been -2C. Rugged up, we went on a walk and said hello to our neighbours (within 300m) the Obamas. A kindly coloured family living in a plain white house – lots of fuss though with blokes on the roof with binoculars and guns.
White House
They told us there would be a good service for Palm Sunday at their church – St Johns just across the park and they would be mighty pleased to see us there on Sunday. We said we would think about it.
St John’s Church
Down the road is the Renwick gallery and around the corner this bloody great obelisk comes into view. So we wandered around made friends with some furry locals and after walking for a couple of hours and seeing all these huge sandstone buildings home for a rest before the big night. The night tour started at 7.30pm -2C and a 25 knot breeze giving a wind chill lowering the temperature to -8C. Capitol Hill was first and after that every major monument in the city. If it had lights on at night we visited it. So by 11.00pm we return to the hotel. The tour was far too long the commentary very amateurish and the bloke expected a tip – he was back on the job after doing something else for 6 months and had not rehearsed his dialogue. Still it was a good way to see the sights even though I was frozen to the bone. The thing they don’t tell you is that most of these monuments and public buildings are a great distance from bus parking – we walked a few further miles that night.
Capitol Hill
A late start the next day and we took the circulator bus over to Georgetown – an older part of town and very much worth the visit. We walked through the main street (the same silly naming system applied) and down to the Potomac River where the old wharves had been converted to parks and walk ways. Following our noses we came across the John F Kennedy Performing Arts Centre – a bit hard to miss as it was two city blocks in size. Just fantastic but well off any pedestrian track so when Kerry saw a shuttle bus we jumped aboard where ever it may go and ended up at George Washington University Hospital and two blocks from the circulator bus stop. Siesta time so back to the hotel – we were going to the theatre. That night we made our way to the RR theatre to see “Capitol Steps” to find out it is a political satire that has been going on for more than 30 years satirising the government and parties and a lot of other things in song. Fantastic! It was so slick and parodied every bit of the stupidity you read about in the papers – the pirates of Somalia plea for financial aid was just side splittingly hilarious. Another late night! So what do we do the next day Sunday we thought we would take up the invitation from those nice folks at the white house and we went to church. After church a healthy breakfast at the hotel then we get the metro out to old Alexandria town. In the beginning Maryland and Virginia were to provide the land for Washington so the port of Alexandria was handed over to the Feds but Virginia changed its mind and took all that part south of the Potomac River back including Arlington and Alexandria. On the way we dropped into Arlington Cemetery, and saw the memorial to women in war saw innumerable headstones and the Kennedy memorial. I don’t think he would have been that famous if he lived. Then we went onto King Street at Alexandria (finally some proper names). Older than Georgetown and in some respects prettier. After walking a few miles around there we headed back to the hotel and rest. Feet up on that big bed order room service and relax.
Arlington Cemetery
Last day with our flight to JFK in NY at 7.00pm so we went to the Newseum. This is a museum on the reporting of the news starting with books from Aristotle to Magna Carta and part of the history of the printing press and television. Some areas are also interactive so in some respects similar to the Museum of the Moving Image. One last visit to the Sofitel to get our luggage then off to Ronald Reagan DCA and our flight to NY and London. Over night a snow depression has moved in so guess what our flight is delayed so our connector to London will be missed. At least we have not got to pay for the cab driver to wait with us this time. We managed to catch a connector to London at 12.00 midnight arriving in London at 11.00am approximately and a two day stay at the Kensington Close Hotel.
Unpack the luggage and extract the diamontes collected in NY to send on to Frances. We picked up the package from Babycoe for Carly. Clearly we were not going to fit these into our suitcases. Down to the Post Office we send the diamontes and then onto the underground to go to Harrods. We had lost the greeting cards when losing our travel folder so Kerry wanted to replace them. Very tired so room service and off to sleep. Next day a late start but a big day planned. Into town we visit the Shard. Viewing platforms start at 69th floor and go up to 72nd floor of this unusual building. The railways look like toys from this height. Unfortunately the day was over cast and visibility is not very good and the camera battery flat.
The Shard
Next we went to see the Textile and Fashion Museum. Unexpectedly it was about a bloke that knitted and not what we expected at all. We then went into the West End planning to see a show. We settled on “the Thirty Nine Steps” and after buying our tickets we went to a Casino near by – Kerry won again. We had dinner at the Slug and Lettuce Pub followed by the show which is an unusual performance by 4 actors two of whom played multiple parts from secret agents to highland inn keepers and coppers. Very funny! Next day repack again for the flight home. Then we fill in time with a walk through Kensington Gardens -wind blowing and temperate VERY COLD – but we find a nice restaurant in Westbourne Gardens called Cote so we settle in for a long lunch after which we walk over to Portobello Rd and then catch the underground back to the Hotel. Now the wearisome return journey begins.
After what seems a lifetime of travel we are met by Kerry Hayes at Brissie Airport. A great holiday which once again demonstrated how lovely Brisbane is as a place to live.
glendon1954 