DAY #7

Monday means that we’re back to home school in the morning.  Declan did the final draft of his essay on Trench Warfare, inspired by the exhibit at the Imperial War Museum.  Cal practiced his letters.  Math worksheets are tough for everyone.  I feel like a losing contestant on that Jeff Foxworthy show “Do you know more than a 5^th grader?”  In the afternoon, we went to the Tower of London (very cool) and the London Dungeon (very scary – Cal did not go).  I watched another Chelsea match at the local pub.  One notable thing to me is the extent to which London reflects the world.  You hear this said about DC quite a bit (i.e. people from all over, embassies, international city, etc) but it doesn’t come close to the sort of internationalism you feel walking around here.  Of particular note, there is a large and established Arab population.  So much so that there are Arabic signs all over the city, several Arab language TV stations, even a prayer channel that seems to show worshippers at the holy city all day long.  Can you imagine such a thing on your Comcast or Fios cable package???  We’ve got a long way to go. – Blake

I agree with Blake about the internationalism of the city.  I am also struck by the tourist monuments and how much they celebrate power.  Westminster is a monument to saying no to the Pope.  The Tower of London is a monument to power of the monarchy and its survival over rebellions and Catholicism.  British Museum puts the spoils of colonialism on display.  Of course no one builds anything to celebrate the losers, but the British seem to have no problem with the world getting up close and personal with its winnings. – Connan 

Day #6

What did we learn today? 

1. The early cherry blossoms are in bloom in St James Park.

2. You are not allowed to feed the pelicans in St. James.  (Lest I think that Declan is not listening to the various tours…yesterday at Westminster we found out that one of the many symbols for Jesus is the pelican.  It is included in the stained glass windows there.  Something about the pelican pricking itself to feed its young = stigmata = Jesus. So today when we saw the pelicans in the park he called them the Jesus birds.)

3. Being a Royal Guard in front of Buckingham palace would not be my number one choice for a career. Heavy bear hats and not much to do but pace.

4. The Churchill War rooms are terrific.  They even had a recording for 10 and unders that was perfect for Cal.  Great feeling of what it must have been like to be down there during the bombings.  Dec was thrilled.  Blake and I are rapidly approaching the WW2 saturation point.

5. Laundry is expensive in London – 3 loads x 3.50 pounds per load ( at an exchange rate of 1 pound = $1.63) + drying = $20.02 YIKES! Sure beats the hotel doing it for you though. 1 shirt laundered for the low low price of 3 pounds. Each.

6. Practically everything in London is behind scaffolding.  Prep for wedding?  Prep for Olympics??  

7. Cal and Declan have become addicted to tea. With lots of milk and sugar.

Bieber Fever!!

Day #5

We’ve decided to subtitle this blog “Discovering the public lavatories of Europe.”  Because the last thing you need on the top level of the double decker bus is to hear “Dad, I’ve got to go NOW!”  Scoping out the bathrooms is the first thing on my mind now, when entering a public space.  Like a mafia don watching the door of the restaurant, I scan the room to find the “toilette” sign and make sure the boys have done their business before leaving.

Today, we slept late and made our way to the British Museum by lunchtime.  Picnic out front, then we went inside to see the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon Marbles, and other antiquities.  Connan and Cal peeled off to go to the Foundry Museum (more age appropriate for Cal), while Dec and I continued on to see a giant Easter Island head, a great exhibit of modern African art, and various mummified Egyptians.

Tea.  Bus home.  Cooked in the apartment.  Electronics and then bed.

Connan and I are plotting our theatrical pursuits for the next 9 days.  She’s going to see Danny Boyle’s new adaptation of FRANKENSTEIN featuring Benedict Cumberbatch (of recent PBS Sherlock fame) and I’m scoping out some new plays that have yet to make it to the States.  Beyond that, we’re looking forward to more sightseeing with the kids – and more homecooking to save some $$$ for later in the trip!

Blake

Day #4

Uncle Gordon took us on a personal tour of Westminster Abbey and the Westminster School – where he was a student many moons ago (in his class: the opera singer Ian Bostrich and the actress Helena Bonham Carter).  The Abbey is crammed full of burial sites and monuments to English monarchs and literary figures.  They even let a few actors in (go figure): Larry Olivier, Edmund Kean, and Henry Irving.  The kids did the Abbey’s scavenger hunt and earned giant gold coin chocolates for their perseverance.  After the tour, Gordon showed us the school’s courtyard, and we wondered if Dec or Cal might follow some years from now.  Here’s a picture of Cal pondering his options:

We returned to Mayfair to do our grocery shopping.  The boys decided to use their money to buy some souvenirs – a Big Ben keychain and pocketwatch (Declan) and an I-Heart-Justin Beeber sweatshirt (Callum).  Dinner.  Hotel Pool.  Bedtime for boys.  Now I’m off for a pint with my bro. - Blake

Day #3

Happy meter - subterranean in the AM, sky-high PM

Declan said, “I haven’t touched the door once since I’ve been here.” for we have a doorman at 47 Park. As he opened the door for me when I left for a run he said, “A bit chilly this morning mum”.  Lovely.  I ran in Hyde Park where I was paced the entire way by a group of 12 young men on horses from the mounted regiment that is based at the edge of the park.  I was happy to have surged ahead of them a couple of times on my little stubby legs.  They eventually beat me though. I bet you could have beaten them Bec! A bit later I saw a group of them in full regalia practicing their parade formation moves.  I can only imagine that they are getting ready for the wedding!

School started for Declan and Cal this AM.  After some painful math sheets, reading and an essay outline for Dec and some letter formation for Cal, we all felt proud of ourselves that we have started.  Went to Covent Garden after lunch and ran through the Transport Museum.  What a terrific place.  Did you know that there were 4.2 million people living in London in 1900?  That’s a lot of people.  How they made the underground work from steam trains to electricity to using the tube as shelters during the blitz is fascinating. Love that place.

After dinner we went to WAR HORSE.  We got terrific last minute seats on the website and we were in the 5^th row (Thanks Ace!).  What an unbelievably good show.  Huge cast, incredible artistry with the horse puppets and the simplicity of the set.  All of us were in awe.   It was a 3-hour show and Cal lasted through all of it.  He’s a tough little bugger.  I admit the 2^nd half of the show was a bit rough and loud for him.  I was questioning my parental judgment and feeling the scorn of the older former nannies in the audience.  But as we rode home in a taxi (so much fun) Cal said it didn’t scare him because he knew it wasn’t real.  Cal loved when the actors rode the horses.  Dec loved the tank and the horse puppets.  Blake loved the staging.  In the grand tradition of the theatre, he plans on stealing a few bits for his shows next  season.  I’m not telling which ones.

Day #2

Day #2 in London

Happy meter down to 9.5

Lesson learned today = plan one’s bus route before leaving the hotel.  And be flexible.  And bring snacks.  We walked for blocks trying to find the correct bus stop.  We decided to go to the Imperial War Museum after being unable to find bus #23 that was going to take us to the Tower.  No worries but good thing it was warmish and sun shiny.

The Imperial War Museum is terrific.  I think Cal took a picture of every single exhibit.  (Thanks Harriet!)  They had a whole section that described WWII from a child’s perspective.  They had posters and personal items and they even had an older gentleman docent who was an actual evacuee from London.  He described the atmosphere in air raid shelters during the bomb raids, riding his bike as a delivery boy for a green grocer and a special Xmas that he had in Oxford during the war with his family.  It was fantastic. Rationing meant 2 oz of sugar per week for each person. 

Still lots of French around.  They must be on holiday. It’s like those Frenchies have a different word for everything!

We walked from the museum to the London Eye (big tourist attraction).  It’s essentially a giant Ferris wheel, but you can see the entire city from up there!  Bus back to the hotel, then dinner with Uncle Gordon.

For the remainder of the week, we’ve all written ideas and preferences on tiny sheets of paper and placed them in a bowl.  Each day, we’ll draw from the bowl and do that activity.  Did this for a stay-cation in DC a few summers ago.  Much fun and anticipation.

Day #1

Day #1 in London

Happy meter 10 (That’s for you Tim)

Landed no problem.  A few bumps in the air but I was the only one who seemed to notice.  Nice empty flight and we got to stretch out a bit!! The late flight rocks!  You get in at a reasonable time and if you are staying at a hotel, no need to wait for your rooms to be ready.  By the time you arrive at the hotel – 12:30 or so the rooms are close to being done, no need to tarry in some tea shop somewhere. 47 Park is fantastic.  Thanks Olin!

Its now 8 o clock London time and the boys are still messing around after a full day and a museum to boot. Wha? Blake is watching a LIVE Man U vs. Chelsea game.  He is thrilled.

We bought Oyster cards and rode the bus to the Natural History museum.  (Great tip Mark!) Bought food at the food hall at Selfridges.  No food court here.  A food HALL!  Great cheese.  Morbier and Comte.  So tasty.  Now time to make up a bit of jet lag at the hotel.

Noticed already :

- I’ve heard more French spoken on the street today than English.  Spoken by hordes of adolescents who are ALL wearing scarves that are a bit too big.  They look like tribesmen with the woolen neck rings.

-The food is infinitely better now than when I was a college student.  It turned me into a vegetarian at the time. Very tasty now.

-We saw someone we know on the street.  No kidding. Daniel Stewart who played Leontes when we did WINTERS TALE at the Folger was walking down the street as our taxi was driving us in this AM.  Really.