Day 7: Our Last Full Day

For the first time on this trip the weather was less than cooperative. We awoke to showers that persisted through the morning so we just hung out in the flat for a bit. We headed out for breakfast at a diner in Portobello Road and eventually went for a nice walk to Kensington Palace.

Kensington Palace is the home of Prince William and Kate and their 2 kids. It has been around for centuries and was the home of King George II and also William and Mary. It is made of brick, which was a rarity back then and definitely a status symbol. Kensington was also the home of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales. There is currently an exhibition of Diana's fashion at the Palace.

Day 6: The London Music Scene

After the crazy day that was yesterday, we were hoping for something a bit less busy today. As most people know I am a big fan of classic rock and also of history. Today I had the unique opportunity to combine the two with a London Rock Music tour.

We met our tour in Trafalgar Square. Our tour guide and driver, Ian, was an obvious holdover from rock music's 70's heydey with his long mane and tiny dark glasses. He was modest, but I did manage to find out he was the former tour manager for many bands including Paul Rogers of Free and Bad Company. He's also good friends with Roger Daltrey.

London on a Sunday morning was the polar opposite of a London Saturday night. The streets were empty, even serene, with nobody out except a few streetsweepers and erstwhile tourists. And us on the tour bus.  We toured through Soho, including Wardour St. This is also the home of Chinatown as referenced in Warren Zevon's "Werevolves of London". In Soho we saw the famous Trident Studios, tucked away in a back lane. An incredible number of classic artists recorded here, including David Bowie, Free,  Genesis, Ring Starr and many others.

After Soho we were off to see the famous Marquee Club, the starting place for The Who among others, and then to Camden Town, the home of the British Punk scene. The Roundhouse in Camden continues to feature cutting edge acts in what was once a train turntable building.

After Camden Town we were off to the highlight - Abbey Road.  Abbey Road is in what appears to be a very well-to-do neighbourhood with leafy streets and young families. Abbey Road studios has been in business since the 1930's and have been involved in many historical events, incluing being the recording place for the famous "King's Speech". Of course today it is better known as the recording studio most associated with The Beatles.  We had to walk across the famous cross walk , following in the footsteps of the Fab Four. (The whole thing was a bit anti-climactic, to be honest.)

One last stop at the Apple Records office in Savile Row to see where the Beatles performed their famous rooftop concert, and we were back at Trafalgar Square.

After the tour we had lunch at The Admiralty Pub followed by a shopping (well, mostly just looking) excursion at the famously expensive Harrod's in Knightsbridge.  Later on we stopped for pizza at a little place in Portobello Road which, like Soho, was much more pleasant on a Sunday.

All in all an excellent day.

In the 70's this was London's version of the Whiskey-a-gogo and before that the Flamingo Club. David Bowie was a regular here and recorded his Blue Jean video onsite.

The 2 photos above are of the unassuming entrance to Trident Studios. Note the small round sigh shaped like a record with a "T".  You can see a list of who has recorded here in the second photo.

The Keith Moon blue plaque on the former Marquee Club in soho.

Paul McCartney's office in Soho.

Mozart, who would be the rock star of his day.

The Roundhouse in Camden Town.

The infamous Abbey Road 'zebra crossing'.

Joanne in front of Abbey Road Studios.

Abbey Road studios.

The site of the Beatles famous rooftop concert at #3 Savile Row

LADUREE, a sweet shop inside Herrod's. Shannon had visited the same shop in Paris.

Day 5: 21,000 Steps

Today was a particularly busy (and enjoyable) day.  We started out by going to the Portabello Market, which is a twice weekly street market here in Notting Hill.  We went early in an attempt to beat the crowds and we were only partially successful as things really heated up by noon. There are both shops and temporary stands selling virtually everything under the sun, some of it new and some of it "vintage".  In fact some people appeared to have dumped out the contents of their grandmother's china cabinet on a table. It was a bit too crowded and we came back to the flat before heading off on our pre-arranged walking tour starting in Covent Garden.

The walking tour was very similar to the tour that Scott and i participated in last year. From Covent Garden we hit the classic London sites including Buckingham Palace, St. James's palace, Westminster and finally Westminster Abbey. We ended at a nice pub for a beer. Our tour guide, Nick,  was incredibly knowledgeable about the history and was very good at  portraying the stories along the way. We thoroughly enjoyed the walk. Immediately before the start of the tour, we somehow ended up walking up 19 stories from the subways below. It was a great warmup for the walking tour!

Of course, after the 2 and a half hour walk, we weren't done yet! We walked over the Westminster Bridge (site of the recent terror attack) to the site of the London Eye. We still  haven't decided on whether to ride the Eye, but we did take a short Thames River boat cruise in order to obtain a different perspective. The tour was excellent (except for the Spanish family sitting directly behind us who, not understanding the commentary, decided to talk at high volume for most of the trip).  After that it was a trek to the very impressive Waterloo Station for the subway ride back to Notting Hill.

All in all I logged over 21,000 steps. If you are wondering thats almost exactly 16 kilometers or 10 miles. It felt good to head to bed last night!

Portobello Market (before the crowds - some amazing food stands, too.)

Scenes from the walking tour.

Scenes from the river cruise.

Day 4: Churchill's War Rooms

In Central London during World War II, the British Government established an underground network of bunkers that would ensure that the government could continue to function despite the at times brutal bombings going on above.  The Cabinet War Rooms, as they were originally called, were constructed in the basement of a large government office building under a 6 foot thick concret slab reinforced with corrugated steel.   In the CWR, the cabinet not only sought refuge but governed the land. Churchill made many of his famous and stirring speeches from the onsite BBC studio. He had a secret phone room, disguised as a private toilet, with a direct line to the White House. Both Churcill and his wife, Clementine, had separate quarters below ground as did many high ranking military and government officials.

Many of the staff would stay underground for weeks and even months in a constant effort to win the war, sometimes going up only at night in fear of blindness if they were to exit into the sunlight.

The museum, one of several operated by the Imperial War Museums, does an excellent job of interpreting the scenes. Many of the rooms, including the babinet room, are exactly how they were left after the last meetings held there in May of 1945.

The communications centre.

Churchill's private dining room.

The room of a high ranking official (lower ranks didn't get a carpet).

The BBC underground studio.

The man himself.

The prime minister's underground office.

The door to the cabinet room, guarded 24x7 by the Royal Marines.

Day 3: Visiting the Cotswolds

We had the pleasure today of visiting the Cotswolds, a UK "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty".  It is an area of rolling hills and escarpments dotted with small market towns, centuries old ruins and majestic manor houses. The area become one of the richest in Britain on the back of the Cotswold Lion, the locally unique sheep species that still roams the landscape. Today the area has a laid-back vibe with many new residents that have left the big city behind.

Moreton-in-Marsh is the local railway stop, about 90 minutes west of London. Like most towns in the area, almost all the buildings are made from the local butter-coloured sandstone.  Its difficult to tell old buildings from new in many cases.

Chipping Campden is a stunning market town that has buildings over 600 years old made from the aforementioned sandstone. We were fortunate to get there beforethe mad tourist rush.  We then visited the town of Broadway where we enjoyed lunch from a local market/deli - it was excellent.

After lunch we were off to Lower and Upper Slaughter and finally Stow-in-the-Wold for more picturesque village life. While we were wandering around, we couldn't help checking the prices of local real estate. Suffice it to say a rather large loottery win would be required to move there!

Day 2: The Tower and The Abbey

London, as everyone knows, is a big, bustling multicultural city.  Nowhere is this more evident than on the London Underground, also known as The Tube.  We spent a fair bit of time today going from place to place. Apparently people really like to run for the next train here, even though the trains come by every few minutes... 

The dual main attractions today were the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. First up was the Tower, which really isn't a tower at all - it is actually a castle. The stories of bloody executions are many as were the various uses for the Tower over the years. The Tower has been a mint, an army barracks, the home for the Crown Jewels and royal regalia and of course a prison. Many people, including 3 of King Henry VIII's wives and a few bishops have parted ways with their heads on the small 'green' inside the castle walls.  We had an excellent guided tour with Yeoman Warder Bob Laughlin, a 36 year veteren of Her Majesty's armed forces before joining the Beefeater ranks.

After a nice lunch we were off to Westminster Abbey.  I'll spare you the historical detail but this place is OLD! Originally built by Edward The Confessor before the arrival of the Normans in 1066, the Abbey has seen the crowning of every King and Queen since. A virtual Who's Who of London's religious, royal and artistic worlds are buried here.  We were able to see the graves of many kings and queens including Edward I (fans of Braveheart will remember him as Longshanks, the Hammer of the Scots), Richard III, Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Queen during the time of Shakespeare.  We also visited Poet's Corner,  home to the graves of C.S. Lewis, Frederick Handel, Charles Dickens, Geoffrey Chaucer and many others. Unfortunately no photography is allowed inside the Abbey.

After our adventures we ended up at Jamie Oliver's Italian Restaurant where we all enjoyed excellent meals. Tomorrow it is off to the Cotswolds!

...and We're Off!

Day 1  in London is in the books. At times frustrating and at times challenging, we've made it all the way to bed time (with a little rest). 

The Customs queue at Heathrow was beyond anything we've ever seen. It took almost 90 minutes to clear customs and be the time we were done, our pre-arranged ride left us high and dry. Luckily we were able to arrange another ride - in a Jaguar no less and finally made it to our Air B&B flat.

The flat is great -  small and efficient. It is in the Notting Hill neighbourhood which will make an excellent 'home base',

We wondered around Portobello Rd. This afternoon and went to Picadilly Circus tonight.  More tomorrow.