Elizabeth and Steve's 2009 Trip to London
Nine days in London -- a great vacation!
Left the USA on Thursday night, and arrived at Heathrow early on Friday morning. Dropped our bags off at our hotel, the Lime Tree Hotel, in the Belgravia neighborhood, which we liked! Matt and Charlotte, the proprietors, were gracious, welcoming, and full of good suggestions for things to do (and how to get to them, which was a big help).
We walked to Hyde Park (not too far from the hotel), and I took a short jet lag-induced nap (sitting up, of course!) on a bench next to this beautiful flowering cherry tree.
Had a very nice lunch at the restaurant on the "Serpentine" (lake) in the park. After a nap at the hotel, back out and to the Brompton Oratory, a beautiful Italian Renaissance church south of Hyde Park. Then next door, to the wonderful Victoria & Albert Museum (the "V&A"), which is open late on Friday nights. Here's a photo of just one of the many cool things we saw there.
Dinner at the V&A Cafe, and then back to the hotel.
Today was our day to see the Tate Modern, a modern art Museum in the former Bankside Power Station.
We bought one-week Oyster Cards, which gave us unlimited "Tube" and bus rides in London. (And we were glad to have purchased them!)
Here's a view of St. Paul's Cathedral from the base of the Millennium Bridge, the south end of which is in front of the Tate Modern.
A detail from the bridge.
Looking north across the Thames from the cafe at the Tate Modern (where we had a great lunch!).
After the Tate Modern, we thought we'd try out the London Eye. Which was a treat! Here's a view from one quarter of the way around.
And a view of the Clock Tower (which houses the bell, "Big Ben").
Almost all the way around on the Eye.
And a view of the Eye from Hungerford Bridge.
Good Fish & Chips at Livebait. And then the Tube back to the hotel.
Elizabeth had scoped out the Columbia Road Flower Market as our first destination for the day. So many wonderful plants and flowers! And off the beaten (tourist) path, which was nice.
A happy customer!
A tasty and leisurly lunch at Laxerio, on Columbia Road. Paella and sangria.
Then we walked to Brick Lane (in London's "East End"), a funky "vibrant art and fashion student area" (Wikipedia), and also home to a large population of Bengali immigrants.
A large crowd was enjoying a Brazilian band that was playing on a street corner.
Then on to Old Spitalfield's Market, but not before I snapped this shot of pub-goers enjoying the nice day outside. (We saw quite a few pints being enjoyed on sidewalks outside of pubs all over London.)
On to the Liverpool Street Station. (Site of an amusing T-Mobile ad.)
A beautiful bowling green at Finsbury Circus.
Then through the Barbican Estate, which is a huge development done in a scary and unfriendly 60's concrete modern style.
Took the Tube back to our hotel.
But first, some wine and cheese at the Ebury Wine Bar, next door to our hotel. Very nice.
Off to the British Museum, which has to be at the top of the "must do" list for London. A wonderful place -- both for the many ancient artifacts, but also for the glass-topped courtyard (with the glass roof designed by Norman Foster, the same guy who designed a smaller glass roof in our hometown, Washington, D.C.).
A number of photos from the Egyptian Sculpture Room. Including this colossal head of Amenhotep III, from around 1350 BC.
We took a wonderful one-and-a-half tour by a blue badge guide, who pointed out this easy-to-miss cuneiform tablet. (Although I can't recall where it was -- there is so much to see at the Museum!)
"The British Museum acquired 11 wall-paintings from the tomb-chapel of a wealthy Egyptian official called Nebamun in the 1820s. Dating from about 1350 BC, they are some of the most famous works of art from Ancient Egypt." (Quoted from this page on the British Museum's Website.)
It's amazing to realize that these vibrant images are 3,350 years old!
Back to the courtyard.
I liked this sculpture from the Japan collection.
After spending the full day at the museum, we had a very nice dinner at L'escargot, in the Soho neighborhood of London.
We tried to get into Ronnie Scott's -- a famous jazz club -- to see Hiromi, which sounded like it would have been a good show, but it was sold out. Darn!
We took the Tube to the High Street Kensington Station, and walked to Holland Park. Which included a beautiful formal garden.
As well as a lovely Japanese garden.
We walked northeast, to Notting Hill and Portobello Road. Then took the Tube to the Sloan Street Station, and walked to the Saatchi Gallery, which was great! They change exhibits periodically, but the one we saw was primarily modern art from the Middle East. Free admission, although a few pounds for a useful booklet with descriptions of the art.
Then back to the V&A, to see some exhibits that were closed when we were there previously on Friday (when the museum was open late, but not all the exhibits were open).
A quick and delicious dinner at Jenny Lo's, which we found on the very useful restaurant site, squaremeal.co.uk. And then off to see Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Great show! (I'm not really a musical kind-a-guy, but this was treat that we very much enjoyed!)
Off to St. Paul's Cathedral. An amazing space inside. I had been up to the top of the dome in 2003, from which the view is spectacular. This time, the stairs from the base of the dome to the top were closed, but there were still great views from outside of the dome's base. (There's a cool virtual tour on the Cathedral's Website, which includes views from the top.)
Looking across the Thames (and the Millennium Bridge) to the Tate Modern.
Then we took the "DLR" (Docklands Light Railway) to Greenwich, which passes through the redeveloped Docklands area (with lots of high-rises and modern condos).
Once we arrived in Greenwich, it was perfect timing for fish & chips and a pint at Trafalgar Tavern (sitting outside, along the Thames), which we read about in Rick Steves' London.
Here are some views of the 17th-century Queen's House at Greenwich, with Docklands high-rises, across the Thames, in the background.
This view is from the base of the Greenwich Observatory, which sits on a small hill.
We took a City Cruises boat from Greenwich back to the Westminster Pier. And saw some interesting Docklands buildings along the way.
Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern.
Dinner at Med Kitchen, which was good. We had intended to visit the National Gallery, but their "open late night" had moved from Wednesday to Friday.
Took a bus back to the Victoria Coach Station (near our hotel), and got the top front seat!
Took the bus to Westminster, on the hope that we could see a session of Parliament. (Top front seats, again! Such tourists!) Turned out that it was easy to get in -- and (after pasing through a security checkpoint) you're immediately in Westminster Hall.
Then on to the chambers of the House of Commons. (No cameras allowed, alas.) We were up in the gallery (behind sealed glass), but not too far from the action, and it was a treat to watch the process unfold (albeit rather slowly, but that's politics everywhere, no doubt). David Miliband (Hillary's counterpart in the UK, essentially) spoke on the sad situation in Sri Lanka, from where he had just returned.
Then to the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, which were amazing.
We walked to Westminster Abbey, for the 5:00 pm Evensong service. Got to sit right up front and close. Hearing the choir and organ reverberating in the Abbey was a wonderful treat.
Took the bus out to Chelsea to get to Chutney Mary an Indian restaurant we found on the helpful Website squaremeal.co.uk. Great food!
Took the bus back to Victoria Coach Station, and once again, got the top front seat!
A (blurry!) bicyclist.
Took the Tube to the Tower Hill Station, and walked to the Tower Bridge.
Into City Hall for a quick tour of the modern spiral walkway that encircles the main meeting room.
Then on to Borough Market, which was packed with vendors selling all sorts of food.
Got sandwiches from the market, and took them across the street to the small lawn of Southwark Cathedral, which was packed with people enjoying their lunches on a beautiful day.
I didn't take many pictures today, but we did lots of fun stuff! Including taking the London Walks walking tour called "Legal and Illegal London: Inns of Court." We had a great guide who led us through some wonderful and peaceful courtyards (for the barristers, but open to the public), which are tucked away right in the middle of busy London.
Took the bus to Westminster Cathedral (built around the turn of the century, and near Victoria Station -- and not to be confused with Westminster Abbey). I had read that their choir was one of the best in the world, and we weren't disappointed! At 5:00 pm, we heard the Evening Prayer, sung by the Lay Clerks in the small Lady Chapel, and then, at 5:30 pm, the Solemn Mass sung by the full choir. Absolutely beautiful music!
Then on to see the Lion King, at the Lyceum Theatre, which was just amazing! It was directed by Julie Taymor, who also designed the sets and costumes, which were all a treat. (We had seen an exhibit of her work in Washington, D.C.; she is so creative!)
Stopped at Trafalgar Square for some night-time photos, before heading back to the hotel.
We started our day with another two-hour London Walks tour: "Old Westminster." Our guide, Karen, was fantastic.
We decided, then, to take another tour, "Old Marylebone." Our guide, Margaret, was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, but gave us just a bit more information than we were prepared to absorb. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable walk through a very nice London neighborhood. The walk ended in Regent's Park, which was just beautiful. (We spent only a couple hours there; it would have been a great place to spend a full afternoon exploring!)
Back to Marylebone High Street (which we had walked along during our tour) in search of a pint. No space available on a beautiful day at any pubs' sidewalk tables, but we found Angel in the Fields, which was great, anyway. Then on to Michael Moore for a (fancy!) dinner.
Eventually, we made it (via a taxi, then the Tube, then a taxi) to a hotel we had booked near the airport.
Flight home, after a great vacation!