Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tuesday – Hopping Along
Nate and I had a tough time getting up (can't imagine why, even though the desk was filled with beer and wine bottles) but then we made it down in time for breakfast at the hotel. It was a gorgeous dining room and quite an elaborate setup. Lots of rolls and pastries and fruit and hot meals as well, so we ate well. Then we walked over to the British Museum. We didn't have a lot of time to spend, but with our hotel being so close, it would have been a shame to not see anything there. So we breezed through some of the Egyptian artifacts and barely saw the Rosetta Stone over all the heads of the tourists taking pictures. We also walked through the Greek sculptures and the massive vase collection. We saw the reading room where great minds penned great works, including Karl Marx, who also often drank at a pub near the museum (according to the guide book anyway.) We made our way to the third floor where the mummies are located and I started having strange thoughts about how odd it was that we were looking at dead bodies. What if 300 years from now they dug up your family member and put them on display to show how these ancient people buried their dead? Nate and I discussed the fact that the British Museum is filled wit the spoils of war or of exploration... they won, they keep the spoils. But it did feel a little bit like grave robbing to me.
The Original Tour, hop on hop off double decker bus stop was right outside the museum, and we decided to do that. We figured it would be a good way to get a good feel for the city, at least better than just using the Underground all the time. So we paid the 24 Pounds a piece to do that, and within moments of getting on the correct tour bus, we realized that London's notoriously congested traffic was messing with our tour plans. It took forever to get from Trafalgar Square to Westminster, where we decided to hop off, so we could make sure to see that before it closed. The protest that was going on yesterday was still going on, but this time off the streets and moved into the grassy area in front of the Abbey. And the purpose of the protest remains a little sketchy to me since there were some signs about Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka, and a very loud woman screaming undecipherable things into a megaphone. (I found out later that someone died at the protest Monday, and a couple of guys had jumped off the bridge into the water, and we're pretty sure we saw that cold, wet man wrapped in a blanket.)
We made it into Westminster Abbey and took the free audio guide with us on a walk around the Abbey (complete with tour guide Jeremy Irons) and I found it to be very informative and interesting (some of those audio guides can be so dull.) It's an amazing collection of the country's history all under one roof... Saxon era Kings buried near leaders like Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, who battled for the soul of their country, and the ancient coronation chair used for every King and Queen coronation since 1308. I guess they no longer do brass rubbings of the grave markers, and they don't even sell them anymore, so I the ones mom and I have must be antiques now! The lady in the gift store said they still do them at St Martin's, and I think we read that they also have a restaurant in the crypt of that church, so we'll have to make a trek there next time we make it to the UK.
We left Westminster Abbey and hopped back on the tour bus. We wanted to at least do one loop around the city, and hoped the traffic wouldn't take up too much of our time. We caught a glimpse of Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park, Oxford Street, The BBC building and TeleComm Tower, Piccadilly Circus and saw some neat little neighborhoods we might not have otherwise seen. But all in all, we're not sure that it was worth the money. I think we could have seen many of those things a lot quicker taking the tube, and actually would have had time to wander the side streets and stop at a pub for lunch. But we wasted so much time sitting in traffic that by the time we were approaching Trafalgar Square, we just decided to jump off and walk, because we weren't moving very fast at all. We walked to Westminster bridge where our hop on hop off bus pass also got us a ride on the Thames to Tower Bridge. It was interesting to see London from the water, and we caught a glimpse of the Millennium foot bridge and the new Globe Theatre, plus a view of the Tower Bridge and Tower of London from the water. We had to rush back to the hotel and get changed and then rushed to the Clos Maggorie restaurant, where we had reservations for my birthday dinner (thanks mom and dad!!) Then we went to Royal Haymarket Theatre and saw the play On The Waterfront. It was a unique production with some sort of modern dance type of moves instead of fight scenes, but we enjoyed it. Oh and Nate thinks the mob boss was played by an actor who played a bad guy in a James Bond movie. (We just looked it up and Steven Berkoff was indeed in Octopussy... he was also in Clockwork Orange and Beverly Hills Cop.)
We wandered around Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square and Covent Garden areas trying to find a pub for one last drink, but little did we know the pubs close up shop by 11pm in London. If you want a drink after that, you need to hit a nightclub and Nate and I aren't really the nigh club type. But the hotel bar was still open so we had a couple of drinks there and then called it a night... We have a long train ride to Edinburgh in the morning!
The Original Tour, hop on hop off double decker bus stop was right outside the museum, and we decided to do that. We figured it would be a good way to get a good feel for the city, at least better than just using the Underground all the time. So we paid the 24 Pounds a piece to do that, and within moments of getting on the correct tour bus, we realized that London's notoriously congested traffic was messing with our tour plans. It took forever to get from Trafalgar Square to Westminster, where we decided to hop off, so we could make sure to see that before it closed. The protest that was going on yesterday was still going on, but this time off the streets and moved into the grassy area in front of the Abbey. And the purpose of the protest remains a little sketchy to me since there were some signs about Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka, and a very loud woman screaming undecipherable things into a megaphone. (I found out later that someone died at the protest Monday, and a couple of guys had jumped off the bridge into the water, and we're pretty sure we saw that cold, wet man wrapped in a blanket.)
We made it into Westminster Abbey and took the free audio guide with us on a walk around the Abbey (complete with tour guide Jeremy Irons) and I found it to be very informative and interesting (some of those audio guides can be so dull.) It's an amazing collection of the country's history all under one roof... Saxon era Kings buried near leaders like Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, who battled for the soul of their country, and the ancient coronation chair used for every King and Queen coronation since 1308. I guess they no longer do brass rubbings of the grave markers, and they don't even sell them anymore, so I the ones mom and I have must be antiques now! The lady in the gift store said they still do them at St Martin's, and I think we read that they also have a restaurant in the crypt of that church, so we'll have to make a trek there next time we make it to the UK.
We left Westminster Abbey and hopped back on the tour bus. We wanted to at least do one loop around the city, and hoped the traffic wouldn't take up too much of our time. We caught a glimpse of Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park, Oxford Street, The BBC building and TeleComm Tower, Piccadilly Circus and saw some neat little neighborhoods we might not have otherwise seen. But all in all, we're not sure that it was worth the money. I think we could have seen many of those things a lot quicker taking the tube, and actually would have had time to wander the side streets and stop at a pub for lunch. But we wasted so much time sitting in traffic that by the time we were approaching Trafalgar Square, we just decided to jump off and walk, because we weren't moving very fast at all. We walked to Westminster bridge where our hop on hop off bus pass also got us a ride on the Thames to Tower Bridge. It was interesting to see London from the water, and we caught a glimpse of the Millennium foot bridge and the new Globe Theatre, plus a view of the Tower Bridge and Tower of London from the water. We had to rush back to the hotel and get changed and then rushed to the Clos Maggorie restaurant, where we had reservations for my birthday dinner (thanks mom and dad!!) Then we went to Royal Haymarket Theatre and saw the play On The Waterfront. It was a unique production with some sort of modern dance type of moves instead of fight scenes, but we enjoyed it. Oh and Nate thinks the mob boss was played by an actor who played a bad guy in a James Bond movie. (We just looked it up and Steven Berkoff was indeed in Octopussy... he was also in Clockwork Orange and Beverly Hills Cop.)
We wandered around Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square and Covent Garden areas trying to find a pub for one last drink, but little did we know the pubs close up shop by 11pm in London. If you want a drink after that, you need to hit a nightclub and Nate and I aren't really the nigh club type. But the hotel bar was still open so we had a couple of drinks there and then called it a night... We have a long train ride to Edinburgh in the morning!
TV and Beer
This was written on Monday evening, our first night in London.
London is a very dangerous place. We all know Jack the Ripper, Sweeney Todd, dark and narrow alleys. While here in London we too have witnessed the current horrors of London crime. We have witnessed the show known only as NIGHT COPS.
The show was thrilling, exciting, entertaining, just like our own COPS show. Police officers in the UK have the most challenging of jobs. They risk their lives daily battling against wet willies and profanity. This entire show was based on the cliff hanging drama involving the bar and club scene. A gentleman in a dispute with his girlfriend got a tad excited, started shouting profanities in the street, and was promptly disciplined by the UK's finest. Another gentleman decided to lick his finger, stick it in the ear of a cop patrolling the local pub, and gave the man in uniform a wet willy. For this he was apprehended and quickly transported out of the pub and outside, where he was given a stern lecture and released. Profanity boy ended up with a ticket for 40 pounds, and promptly let go.
Another clip included actual WEEPING. A man was accused, and apparently guilty of, trying to steal someones jacket. Once this grown man realized the gravity of the situation he began to cry. Apparently he had not watched this thrilling show before, because if he had, he would know, he had nothing to worry about.
The entire damn show was about people (always drunk) committing the slightest of offenses, given a stern talking to, and RELEASED. Always, released, and ALWAYS talked to in a respectful/intelligent manner. This is apparently as bad as it gets in Edinburgh Scotland. Frankly my friends, I think it is high time for us to get organized. We have all seen mob movies. We have all witnessed the crime sensation known as Lex Luther. We need to move in and get some Hollywood style mafia action installed. That's all I think it would take to turn this entire city into a cesspool of brutal crime and murder. Lets make a few bucks, catch a few diseases, and live like kings in the dark alleys and holes of this town. The cops, obviously, will try to talk us out of it, but after listening to their advice, and throwing away the lollies they hand to us, we should have no trouble taking over this town. Lets get together, buy some tickets, head over here, and create a crime syndicate that only the powers of a superhero could possibly battle. It's ours my friends, ours for the taking, as long as your fearless leader (myself) can sober up long enough to come up with a decent thought, they will be DOOMED.
We witnessed another show called TV BURP. I believe it was a comedy show harassing the television shows of the week. It was almost funny. A man with large black glasses, a bald head, and a popped collar you could hide under would do little sketches involving clips of various shows. The chicken puppet was very enjoyable. There was also a fat hairy guy with bad teeth, a woman with a bowl on her face who headed-butted a guy with a pillow strapped to his face, she then jumped on his pillow head. It was frightening in a sketch comedy kind of way. She could have squished him. Jello was also involved, although they called it “jam.” The puppet sat on the jello, the host sat on the jello, I have no idea what the hell was with the damn jello. They were all about it, and yes, a deformed puppet vibrating on a pile of jello, to surf music, that's funny; a grown man sitting on a giant jello mold and just sort of swishing around, that's creepy as hell man. I have seen something similar, and let me tell you, it will never be allowed on the airwaves of any sane country. Creepy man.
This post has been officially sponsored by a few British beers, the names of which I can't quite recall right now.
London is a very dangerous place. We all know Jack the Ripper, Sweeney Todd, dark and narrow alleys. While here in London we too have witnessed the current horrors of London crime. We have witnessed the show known only as NIGHT COPS.
The show was thrilling, exciting, entertaining, just like our own COPS show. Police officers in the UK have the most challenging of jobs. They risk their lives daily battling against wet willies and profanity. This entire show was based on the cliff hanging drama involving the bar and club scene. A gentleman in a dispute with his girlfriend got a tad excited, started shouting profanities in the street, and was promptly disciplined by the UK's finest. Another gentleman decided to lick his finger, stick it in the ear of a cop patrolling the local pub, and gave the man in uniform a wet willy. For this he was apprehended and quickly transported out of the pub and outside, where he was given a stern lecture and released. Profanity boy ended up with a ticket for 40 pounds, and promptly let go.
Another clip included actual WEEPING. A man was accused, and apparently guilty of, trying to steal someones jacket. Once this grown man realized the gravity of the situation he began to cry. Apparently he had not watched this thrilling show before, because if he had, he would know, he had nothing to worry about.
The entire damn show was about people (always drunk) committing the slightest of offenses, given a stern talking to, and RELEASED. Always, released, and ALWAYS talked to in a respectful/intelligent manner. This is apparently as bad as it gets in Edinburgh Scotland. Frankly my friends, I think it is high time for us to get organized. We have all seen mob movies. We have all witnessed the crime sensation known as Lex Luther. We need to move in and get some Hollywood style mafia action installed. That's all I think it would take to turn this entire city into a cesspool of brutal crime and murder. Lets make a few bucks, catch a few diseases, and live like kings in the dark alleys and holes of this town. The cops, obviously, will try to talk us out of it, but after listening to their advice, and throwing away the lollies they hand to us, we should have no trouble taking over this town. Lets get together, buy some tickets, head over here, and create a crime syndicate that only the powers of a superhero could possibly battle. It's ours my friends, ours for the taking, as long as your fearless leader (myself) can sober up long enough to come up with a decent thought, they will be DOOMED.
We witnessed another show called TV BURP. I believe it was a comedy show harassing the television shows of the week. It was almost funny. A man with large black glasses, a bald head, and a popped collar you could hide under would do little sketches involving clips of various shows. The chicken puppet was very enjoyable. There was also a fat hairy guy with bad teeth, a woman with a bowl on her face who headed-butted a guy with a pillow strapped to his face, she then jumped on his pillow head. It was frightening in a sketch comedy kind of way. She could have squished him. Jello was also involved, although they called it “jam.” The puppet sat on the jello, the host sat on the jello, I have no idea what the hell was with the damn jello. They were all about it, and yes, a deformed puppet vibrating on a pile of jello, to surf music, that's funny; a grown man sitting on a giant jello mold and just sort of swishing around, that's creepy as hell man. I have seen something similar, and let me tell you, it will never be allowed on the airwaves of any sane country. Creepy man.
This post has been officially sponsored by a few British beers, the names of which I can't quite recall right now.
Monday -- Heading to London
We got up and packed up and then Amanda took us to the train station. It was very nice to experience "Real England" for a bit, but now it was time to head into London. We said our quick good-byes and then hopped on the train to Liverpool Station. It was an easy hop, skip and a jump to Russell Square where our lovely Victorian Style hotel, Hotel Russell, was located. The hotel room was small, like most European hotels, but very comfortable and actually quite lovely. The location has been pretty ideal, very centrally located and easy to access anything. And we found a cute little pub around the corner that served excellent fish and chips. We actually have a view of the place from the hotel, it's called Friend At Hands, located across from the Horse Hospital, or at least a building that says horse hospital on it.
Then we hit the Underground to get to the Tower of London. Nate is fascinated with all things medieval so I thought he would enjoy the tower. I had forgotten about all the prisoner's graffiti markings on the walls of the various towers, some of it was so ornate. Of course I hadn't forgotten about viewing all the crown jewels. Although it was the first time this trip that I got annoyed with all the pushy tourists.... there's a long line and it's a bit warm, pushing your way in front of me won't improve the situation for anybody. “Oh hey look, you saw Queen Victoria's tiny crown 5 seconds before me because you shoved your way in front of me... lucky you!” We also saw an exhibit of Henry VIII armor and sports (including the oldest football/soccer ball in the world.) We also saw the torture exhibit with replicas of various torture devices. There was also the actual stone and ax used in the last beheading that took place in the Tower of London.
We had tickets to get on the London Eye at 7:30pm to watch the sunset, so we had to leave the Tower and make our way to Westminster. I had hoped we could walk around Big Ben and Parliament a bit before heading to the Eye, but there was some kind of large protest going on that shut down the roads around Parliament, and the cops were trying to steer us away from Big Ben. Of course we had to pull out the camera and document what was going on (the journalist in me.) It was a protest of some kind of Sri Lanka genocide going on... I guess I'm not well versed enough in international politics to know (and frankly, the protest only warranted a 20 second spot on the news later that night, so I guess things like this just happen a lot around here.) We walked around a bit and ended up at Trafalgar Square and then crossed the foot bridge to get to the Eye. We were obedient little tourists and got in line 30 minutes early, and ended up getting on the Eye by 7:15pm, which would have been fine except we had wanted to see the sunset and we ended up wrapping up on the Eye before the sunset. Oh well, it was still very nice and an excellent view of London just as the sun was starting to set.
On our way back across the bridge we saw an older Asian man bending wires, and decided we loved his little creations and so we bought a frame. We decided to do a night walking tour of Fleet Street. The gorgeous Justice building was all lit up, and we saw several ancient looking churches. Then we saw a place called Ye Old Cock Tavern. Nate thought it was awesome and took a picture, but we didn't duck in, because we were on a mission. I really wanted to check out the Ye Old Cheshyre Cheese Tavern, because it was an old abbey and had caverns you had to duck under and wind through to get to the bar. It was very ancient feeling and kind of had it's own charm. I had a steak pie and Nate had a cottage pie, which wasn't really a pie at all. After dinner we walked past St Paul's Cathedral to get to our subway stop, and we both agreed it was... big. We hit the Tesco.. that means beer and wine. And Space Raiders beef chips, and Skips prawn cocktail chips. And then Nate and I hung out in the room letting our feet rest and watching British TV... which was quite entertaining. We especially enjoyed Night Cops... but I'll let Nate take over from here so I can continue drinking my Cotes du Rhone.
Then we hit the Underground to get to the Tower of London. Nate is fascinated with all things medieval so I thought he would enjoy the tower. I had forgotten about all the prisoner's graffiti markings on the walls of the various towers, some of it was so ornate. Of course I hadn't forgotten about viewing all the crown jewels. Although it was the first time this trip that I got annoyed with all the pushy tourists.... there's a long line and it's a bit warm, pushing your way in front of me won't improve the situation for anybody. “Oh hey look, you saw Queen Victoria's tiny crown 5 seconds before me because you shoved your way in front of me... lucky you!” We also saw an exhibit of Henry VIII armor and sports (including the oldest football/soccer ball in the world.) We also saw the torture exhibit with replicas of various torture devices. There was also the actual stone and ax used in the last beheading that took place in the Tower of London.
We had tickets to get on the London Eye at 7:30pm to watch the sunset, so we had to leave the Tower and make our way to Westminster. I had hoped we could walk around Big Ben and Parliament a bit before heading to the Eye, but there was some kind of large protest going on that shut down the roads around Parliament, and the cops were trying to steer us away from Big Ben. Of course we had to pull out the camera and document what was going on (the journalist in me.) It was a protest of some kind of Sri Lanka genocide going on... I guess I'm not well versed enough in international politics to know (and frankly, the protest only warranted a 20 second spot on the news later that night, so I guess things like this just happen a lot around here.) We walked around a bit and ended up at Trafalgar Square and then crossed the foot bridge to get to the Eye. We were obedient little tourists and got in line 30 minutes early, and ended up getting on the Eye by 7:15pm, which would have been fine except we had wanted to see the sunset and we ended up wrapping up on the Eye before the sunset. Oh well, it was still very nice and an excellent view of London just as the sun was starting to set.
On our way back across the bridge we saw an older Asian man bending wires, and decided we loved his little creations and so we bought a frame. We decided to do a night walking tour of Fleet Street. The gorgeous Justice building was all lit up, and we saw several ancient looking churches. Then we saw a place called Ye Old Cock Tavern. Nate thought it was awesome and took a picture, but we didn't duck in, because we were on a mission. I really wanted to check out the Ye Old Cheshyre Cheese Tavern, because it was an old abbey and had caverns you had to duck under and wind through to get to the bar. It was very ancient feeling and kind of had it's own charm. I had a steak pie and Nate had a cottage pie, which wasn't really a pie at all. After dinner we walked past St Paul's Cathedral to get to our subway stop, and we both agreed it was... big. We hit the Tesco.. that means beer and wine. And Space Raiders beef chips, and Skips prawn cocktail chips. And then Nate and I hung out in the room letting our feet rest and watching British TV... which was quite entertaining. We especially enjoyed Night Cops... but I'll let Nate take over from here so I can continue drinking my Cotes du Rhone.
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