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Saturday: Our Last Whirlwind Spin Through The London

Our last day in London and still so much to see, but see it we did. Our first stop was to Oxford Circus Underground Station and pick up our day travel passes. Pretty cool, for about $18, you can travel to almost anywhere in the city, make as many transfers as you like, and get back to where you started.




Our first stop was to see the utterly beautiful and unbelievable St. Paul’s’ Cathedral. This is an amazing structure built about 500 years ago. Actually the first structure was built in 604 but burnt down in 1087.
Later that same year a new St. Paul’s Church was begun. In 1666 St Paul’s is again reduced to rubble after the Great Fire. In 1708 architect and designer Christopher Wren lays the last stone upon completion to the magnificent church. The dome at 360 feet is the second largest in the world and simply breathtaking. I still can’t fathom how they built theses kinds of buildings that many years ago without the cranes and building equipment we have today – it still astonishes me.

St Paul’s has been the location of such remarkable ceremonial events including the funeral of Winston Churchill on 1965 and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.

Once again we ran into the dilemma of not being able to take any pictures in this magnificent structure. Still, I got a few off before I noticed the signs. This is actually the first country we have encountered with so many restrictions on photographing such a rich history – quite disappointing for the photo traveler.

From St. Paul’s’ we headed to the British Library. The Library you say; Why would anyone go the London Library? I thought the same thing till I found in the tour book that this library had not only 16 million copies of everything printed in the United Kingdom but also about the most extensive collection of historic documents in the world. Included are works like the Magna Carta, an original Guttenberg Bible, original Shakespeare writings, and scribblings of the Beatles. Seeing the words to John Lennon’s “Yesterday,” scrawled out on the back of a birthday card to his son, was indeed, fascinating. The trip to the British Library was definitely worth it.

Our next, and last stop for the day, was to the British Museum. This is the oldest public museum in the world. The Museum's immense hoard of treasures spans 2 million years of history and culture. The 94 galleries which stretch 2.5 miles and covers civilizations from ancient Egypt and Assyria to modern Japan.

The main attraction for me was the Rosetta Stone which I’ve heard about since I was a kid. I was always a Egypt and Greek mythology fan so when I heard the museum had the Rosetta Stone on display, we had to head over to see it. We walked into the gallery and here several people surrounded it. I was really surprised when I saw it. I had always thought it was rather small, but here it was – 3 feet tall, 2 feet wide, and about 8 inches thick – it was big, and this was only part of the original.

When you read the history of it, it is amazing that they found it at all, but there it was – the code used by Jean-Fracois Chmapollion (1790-1832) to translate the Egyptian hieroglyphics. Within the Museum is the Great Court which actually surrounds the Reading Room. The Court is covered with a lightweight roof creating what looks like an indoor public square. Very Beautiful!!

We took in a few more rooms and then decided to head back to our hotel. Well, that was the plan anyway. As it has been with most of sight seeing we walked back dropped off some bags full of London goodies, and then headed back down Carnaby Street for the last of the souvenir shopping. We found a tea shop, made a few more purchases, dropped them back at the room and headed back to the Shakespear’s Head pub for a late dinner and drink.

Alas, one drink turned into two, as we chatted with the owner manager, who also bought a round – very nice folks at the Shakespear’s Head pub, you know. The place was packed with rugby fans watching the Wales vs. New Zealand teams battle it out. LaDawn a true sports fan received some first class English lessons on the rules of rugby. New Zealand won handily, much to the dismay of the local favorite.

We headed back to the hotel, settled in and were snoozing by about 8 p.m. – to much fresh air I guess;~) We had an early morning wake up call – 6 a.m. – packed the bags, and headed for Victoria Station, about twenty minutes away by taxi, to catch the Gatwick Express back to the airport.

After a fairly easy check in, we boarded the plane and are heading home as I write this. What a week it was – jam packed with the excitement of opening nights, more theatre, strolling the London streets, taking in the people, the buzz, and just enjoying a drink or two in the city. A fabulous time was had by all!

Check out the show below – it’s a brief recap of our week’s adventures. Enjoy! -Dave and LaDawn.

Friday: The Tower of London

Boy, did we get a late start today. We didn't even have time to grab lunch. We just grabbed a croissant at a nearby shop, headed for the tubes - London Underground, and managed to find our way down to the Tower of London, which is located in The City section of London and a fair distance from our hotel.

We got there late, but we were able to quickly catch up with the last tour that had just started. The tour was led by one of the 33 Yeoman Warders, “Beefeaters” that have the privilege to call The Tower of London home. I have to say our tour guide was quite funny and we really enjoyed his presentation.

What was intriguing to both of us was, for much of it’s 900 hundred year history, the Tower of London was not a prison, but was really the residence to the kings and queens of the time. And even though it's called the Tower of London, there are several towers within the Tower of London. It's these towers that played residence to the political prisoners, those that committed treason or were a threat to the throne. This would have included Lady Jane Gray, Anne Boleyn, Thomas Moore and Sir Walter Raleigh just to name a few.

The other thing that was interesting to discover, was the fact that the accommodations for the political prisoners were quite posh for the time. They could have their families with them, even servants and could pay to furnish their imprisoned quarters. Sir Walter Raleigh was a resident in one of the towers for thirteen years. Long enough for him to write his book entitled, “The History of the World,” which looked to be over a thousand pages thick and a very fine print. I guess when you’ve got a lot of time on your hands it's easy to write a book of that magnitude.

We continued walking the grounds seeing the REAL Crown Jewels and enjoying a 900-year history of the Tower. Another interesting fact surrounded the be-headings at the Tower. It turns out that the Tower of London was not the place for public be-headings; it was a place for private be-headings. In fact, we were told that it was an honor to be beheaded in the Tower of London. I think that's one honor that I would forgo. In actuality only 10%-15% of the prisoners died or were executed after being imprisoned, most were released.

The Tower Bridge was right next door and we got a great shot of that too.

Anyway, we wanted to take in one more performance of “Imagine This,” so we jumped into the tube, better known as the Underground, and headed for Covent Garden. We found a great restaurant, Masala Zone, which was about the best Indian food, with the best presentation of the food that I had seen. The price was right, the wine was delicious, and we finished and headed for the theater.

We had one minor incident along the way - a hail storm that hit us briefly as we walked the three blocks up to the theater. Yes, it's true -- a hailstorm! The weather is getting very cold for the weekend and we’re expected to be under freezing most of Saturday maybe with some snow. The weather has been with us most of this trip with partly sunny days and fairly nice temperatures in the mid 40's. We're bundling up for our journey on Saturday.

Anyway, we had another great night of theater seeing "Imagine This” for the second time and feeling just as enthusiastic as we did when we saw the performance Wednesday evening. A few of our Cincinnati contingent were also at the play and it was nice to visit and chat with them making our goodbyes at the end of the play and all planning to get back together once we all returned home.
We decided to walk back for hotel, about a 20 minute walk, and take in the city for yet another time. I was pretty fired up and as we passed the Odeon Theatre, the largest theater in London -- 1700 seats -- I noticed that the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, was showing. I just couldn't talk LaDawn into seeing the late, late showing so, we just headed back to the hotel room relaxed and reminisced about another great day in the city.

Thursday: Another Trip Around The City And One More Play

Hey everybody, Dave reporting today --

After enjoying our wonderful evening at the theater last night, we headed back to the hotel, ordered some room service, and just crashed.

We got a reasonably early start on today -- now early for us in London doesn't mean like eight or nine o'clock in the morning. It actually means we got out by around lunchtime. It seems the main reason for this is that when we get back to the room we spend a lot of time talking about the day, and tuning into whatever the latest news is on the BBC.

Anyway, we grabbed a quick lunch in Soho today at a small Italian restaurant. The weather was quite warm and we're able to take our lunch at one of the street side tables - which was quite nice.

The main plan for the day was to head back over to visit the New London Theatre for a special reception for all those who were involved with the play Imagine This. It was cool because we got to meet the producer, the directors, the choreographers, and just about all the creatives who are involved in the play. Also present were some of the lead actors we also got a chance to visit with. The nice thing about this meeting was the fact that you got to see how the actors see the play from their side of the stage which is quite insightful and just lends a greater appreciation to this theater experience for LaDawn and I.

Our agenda for today also included seeing the play “Billy Elliot ” at the Victoria Palace Theatre. We were told that the theater was too far to walk but we decided to try it anyway letting our advisers know that we were old but sturdy. I have to tell you, it turned out to be a marathon walk. 90 minutes later we arrived at our destination a bit exhausted and as LaDawn was saying in her heeled boots “with our dogs a’barkin".

We grabbed our tickets, got great seats just 11 rows from the front stage, and settled in for another wonderful evening of theater. It was a bit amazing but, the young boy playing the part of Billy Elliot has to be one of the hardest working 12 year old kids in London. The dance numbers in the play were truly wonderful, high energy and effort that this 12-year-old boy put into his performance was unbelievable.

We grabbed dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant -- not the best restaurant in the world -- grabbed a cab home and crashed. One thing LaDawn and I really enjoyed doing is walking the city and we figure we got about 30 miles in so far. Part of the excitement is seeing all the shops, all the people, all the restaurants, all the colors, all the smells, and all the excitement of the bustling London around us. It's just exciting to be in the middle of it all.

That wraps it for today and I think we’re both planning to sleep in a bit for tomorrow. But having said that, our big plans include visiting the Tower of London tomorrow. So until then, were signing off today, and we'll see everybody again tomorrow.

Dave and LaDawn on the Road - England 11-08

Day 4 Wednesday

We get a late start today and begin by taking in lunch at a nearby pub. Then again we are on foot as we walk to the National Portrait Gallery near Trafalgar Square. It's three floors of incredible history of the Kings and Queens as well as many, many notable historic individuals. Again we are disappointed that photographs are not permitted. For history buffs this is a must see.

IMAGINE THIS..........
Where freedom was found through imagination.
Where hope and laughter could conquer fear.
Where love knew no boundaries. It's finally play day...The opening night of IMAGINE THIS. The reason why we have come to London. The reason we have met so many new and wonderfully excited Cincinnatians who also have taken time from their busy day-to-day schedules, who have invested hard earned dollars and made this great adventure to see opening night.

The play is being shown on the West Side at the New London Theatre. Although the present New London Theatre - all glass and concrete splendour as designed by Paul Tvrtkovic - only opened as recently as 1973, there have been theatres on this Drury Lane site since at least 1851.

Then it was Middlesex Music Hall, which 60 years later was rebuilt by theatre-architect extraordinaire Frank Matcham and renamed the Winter Garden in 1911.Prior to the New London Theatre's official opening it was used as the venue for a televised concert by Marlene Dietrich in November 1972, before hosting a range of shows including Grease that saw the West End debut of the then-unknown Richard Gere (as Danny Zuko), as well as stints as a TV studio.

Finally, in May 1981 the theatre was converted specifically for Lloyd Webber's musical version of T S Elliot's Cats which lasted a record-breaking 8949 performances, ending on its 21st birthday: 11 May 2002.

Below is a photo of some of our fellow travelers the Cincinnati group. Also a photo of Dave and I with Marcia Goldsmith, Mother of David Goldsmith the wonderful lyricist to IMAGINE THIS. Upon arrival we are pleased at the beauty and dynamics of the staging and just the raw the feel of the theatre. We are excited and the audience is nervously jazzed for this performance. We are not disappointed. The play is INCREDIBLE!! In the 2 1/2 hours of production you are easily moved from laughter to tears. The performance of Peter Polycarpou is amazing. The best we've ever seen.

Peter was in the original cast of Les Miserables and Miss Saigon. He also has performed in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Phantom of the Opera just to name a few. Staging, costumes, the musical numbers, the production, the story, we LOVED it all. That was the feeling from the entire audience as a vigorous, a rousing an electric standing ovation that went on for several, maybe even 10 minutes. Tears not only came rushing from the spectators to this wonderful performance but also from many of the actors on stage. A truly thrilling performance. Our only slight disappointment is that Peter does not take a curtain call alone, as he certainly deserves it.

After the play it's on to a cast reception. While we find it somewhat difficult to recognize the actors and actresses without stage makeup, we are fortunate to meet several during the course of the evening. Dave is photographed with Cameron Leigh who plays Lola and also Dave and I with Peter. Back to the hotel, happy, enthused and thrilled from the performance.

Dave and LaDawn on the Road - England

Day 1-2 traveling-Sunday/Monday
We met up with a few others traveling from Cincinnati to London at the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Airport. It's a long and on this occasion a turbulent flight as we are thankful to be safe and sound on the ground in England. How exciting it was to step into the train station, luggage in tow and find our first poster displaying the play, Imagine This, we have all come so far to see at it's opening night celebration. A quick taxi ride from Victoria Station to our hotel finds us a firm mattress and soft pillows to rest our weary bodies upon for a short nap. We are saying at the Courthouse Hotel, which was at one time an actually jail and court house on the Great Marlborough Street in the area of London called Soho and Trafalgar Square.

Soho is renowned for the pleasures of the table, the flesh and the intellect since it was first founded in the late 17th century. Also known for London's most fashionable is continues to be considered the center of entertainment. The area has a wonderful cosmopolitan mix of people including a vast array of bars, pubs, restaurants and cafes and incredible shopping.

After a short nap we head out to explore our surrounds, grab some dinner and begin to take in the city. Regent Street just a 1/2 block from our hotel if delightfully decorated for Christmas with beautiful lights. The store windows are bursting with this season's most impressionable fashions. Window shopping is great.

Directly across from our hotel is Carnaby Street. During the 1960's this street was so much the center of swinging London that the Oxford English Dictionary coined the term meaning "fashionable clothing for young people". It continues to have a reputation for cutting-edge fashion. It too is decorated for the upcoming Christmas Season.

Day 3 Tuesday
After Dave completes his blog post - we are off to take in the city by daylight. Our destination is Westminster Abbey a few miles from our hotel. We will walk the distance and enjoy the fresh yet cool air. The rain of yesterday is beginning to stop and temperature is in the mid to lower 40's.

Westminster Abbey is world famous as the resting place for Britain's monarchs and for the coronation of their royalty. It has the most impressive collection of medieval architecture in London. While 1/2 national church and 1/2 national museum the church is homes to hundreds of tombs. The incredible Lady Chapel which was consecrated in 1512 left Dave and I both breathless at the beautiful vaulted ceiling. The octagonal Chapter House with amazing stained glass windows and incredible tiled floor from the 13th century was also breathtaking to behold. But nothing can truly compare to the beauty and opulence of the Abbey and High Alter area where William the Conqueror held his coronation - get this in 1066! Amazing. Unfortunately, and much to our disappointment, NO photographs were permitted inside the church. This is a must see for any visitor to London.

From Westminster Abbey we were just minutes away from Big Ben. This impressive clock is the largest in Britain and has kept exact time for the nation since it was first set in motion in 1859. This certainly is a symbol of Britain and the chimes ring daily on BBC radio. Then a short walk across the park to the Thames River.

As the days are quite short this time of year we decided to start the few miles back to our hotel. We walked along the Houses of Parliament office buildings with their impressive statutes and incredible architecture. While be both agreed the city is nearly as exciting as Paris - it is an amazing display of history within the buildings, monuments and displays.

Our walk back took us to Trafalgar Square. This area buzzes both day and night with crowds enjoying the restaurants, theatres and night clubs. This is also the home of the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery which we plan to take in another day. The beautiful fountains and statues are truly impressive. We decide to explore this area a little more and soon find ourselves in Chinatown. The streets are filled with restaurants, shops selling oriental produce and strange aroma-filled shops. Zorro is playing at a local theatre so we decide to catch dinner within the area and stay to enjoy the production of Zorro. We finally arrived back to the hotel at 11:30 pm. We are filled with excitement as we truly had a full day of adventure, sightseeing, and flavors of the city. Slightly tired from all the walking, we estimate between 8-10 miles today, we are pleasantly surprised that our hotel has taken a BIG step in changing to a Hilton property, Doubletree to be exact, and we have awaiting in our room 4 chocolate chip cookies. A perfect ending to a wonderful day!! -LaDawn