Background: As with all my trips the sites and restaurants of England were researched and populated into Excel some time ago. For the Thanksgiving trip I decided to go there and as an afterthought asked Monika & Rodolfo if they wanted to join me. She would but couldn’t get off work, if they committed to going later I would hold off and she confirmed for April. So off I went to Ireland instead.
They ended up getting free airline tickets that expired in March so I shortened the Brasil trip from 17 to 10 days to compensate for moving this trip up.
I was assigned as the tour guide even despite my warnings that I tend to pack a LOT in. No problem with them, they’d follow me. I did dial it back a bit to preserve the friendship!
Friday, March 7th, 2008
Milwaukee to Newark-Liberty International then 6 hours to…..
Saturday, March 8th, 2008
…..London Gatwick International Airport. Took the train to Victoria Station followed by the Tube to meet Monika and Rodolfo at the hotel at 9 (they had arrived the night before). While waiting for them explored the surrounding Camden Town neighborhood with its locks, bustling streets and market.
We hustled off to Buckingham Palace to join the throngs viewing the changing of the guards.
We strolled along St. James Park, saw the magnificence of Winchester Cathedral, admired the intricate details of House of Parliament/Big Ben and took in the stark immensity of Whitehall, the seat of British government.
I satisfied two interests in World War II and Winston Churchill at the Cabinet War Rooms and Winston Churchill Museum while M & R walked around. These Whitehall bunkers are under 1-3 meters of concrete and was were PM Churchill and the War Cabinet ran the war while being protected as the Germans bombed London. Integrated among the meeting rooms, quarters and communications is a museum highlighting the life of one of the world’s great leaders.
Nearby was the Horse Guards and 10 Downing Street- residence of the Prime Minister.
Next up was Trafalgar Square, Covenant Garden, Leicester Square, Chinatown, Berwick Street Market and the hectic Piccadilly Circus.
To see high end shopping we sauntered Regent Street then headed to the Mayfair area to walk Bond Street (notice the Ferrari).
After passing through the Burlington Arcade food boy got overcome by the food halls at the historic Fortnum & Mason.
The day ended riding public transportation in the form of a traditional double decker bus for an elevated perspective of night street scenes.
Sunday, March 9th, 2008
As a self-proclaimed foodie one of my most anticipated destinations was Jamie Oliver’s restaurant Fifteen. Since it was just off my map I asked the hotel front desk what the closest Underground station was and she kindly provided printed info. We followed that and emerged looking for the street. After a couple miles of walking and asking I realized she used the wrong street and we were on the opposite end of town. Not wanting to trouble Monika & Rodoflo anymore I suggested eating nearby. They valiantly continued on with my quest and we made it to Fifteen delayed by an hour.
Lunch or dinner reservations take 6 months to get but breakfast is first-come, first-served; is in their casual trattoria and has a much more affordable menu.
A brief walk away was Spitalfields Market and endless rows of booths selling crafts, clothes, collectables and FOOD. I hit up two bakeries.
Another ride on the Tube to see Smithfields, the centuries old meat market.
The curve of Fleet St. revealed the edifice of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The Tower of London and Tower Bridge are a double dosage of visual imagery.
Across Tower Bridge is the former 1800s warehouse complex Butler’s Wharf for lunch at teapod.
London Eye was the world’s largest observation wheel when built in 2000 and the pods provide 360 degree panoramas of London.
Yet another Underground journey to see Chelsea, Sloane St., Beauchamp Place and Harrods.
Monday, March 10th, 2008
The British Library houses the King’s Library and displays many astounding volumes including Shakespeare, Chaucer, da Vinci, Beethoven, the Magna Carta, Kipling, Captains Cook’s journal, Mozart and a Guttenberg Bible.
Battling a turn-the-umbrella-inside-out rain we struggled to the British Museum where I walked every gallery on all three floors.
My two favorite collections were Enlightenment with its classic museum appearance housing timeless artifacts.
And the Parthenon rooms which have more pieces of it then in Greece including the piedmonts, friezes and columns.
As a clothes hound I surprisingly rushed past Burberry, Lauren and Armani in Harrods to get to the Food Halls. The mosaic of prepared and take-away foods presented in a series of intricately adorned rooms just about gave me a brain aneurysm.
Had to see Baker Street (Sherlock Holmes) and then we took the Tube to Hampstead for Rodolfo’s desire to see Abbey Studios and the abutting crosswalk made famous by The Beatles album cover.
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
Checked out of the hotel and boarded the Tube me getting off first to head back to Gatwick and a rental car and Monika and Rodolfo continuing to Heathrow for their eleven hour flight back to LAX. Parting IS such sweet sorrow.
Canterbury’s walls are still surrounding a city of cobblestone pedestrian streets and a cathedral.
On the southeast coast Sandwich has ancient buildings creating canyons of narrow lanes. Further down the shoreline are Dover’s white cliffs which have been a beacon of home to Brits crossing the channel.
Rye and Winchelsea (pictured) were followed by the classic English seaside town of Eastbourne with its pier and promenade.
My accommodations of the night were along that Grand Parade promenade at the classy Cavendish Hotel.
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
After a run along the promenade and through the city centre it was off to follow the coast west.
It was a harrowing drive to Alfriston but I was rewarded to experience this rural hamlet perched among rolling hills.
Lewes had a magnetic pedestrian town centre punctuated by an arching bridge.
Brighton has its famous pier and further inland Arundel is dominated by a castle.
I’ve been to a lot of military/WWII related sites and have read extensively on that war so the British perspective at the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth was broadening.
The Beaulieu manor in the New Forest countryside houses Lord Montagu's world famous car collection.
But these expansive grounds also feature the Palace House, an abbey, gardens and even a monorail.
At this point I had my first fill up. Some math converting liters and pounds reveals I was paying $8 a gallon!
Winchester Cathedral and city centre.
The anticipation built as I motored closer and closer....
Last stops of the day were Salisbury’s city centre and cathedral.
Thursday, March 13th, 2008
This day was circling the SW arm of England. There was a heartfelt connection to my homeland by seeing the Mayflower Steps (right) in Plymouth; the departing point for that band of pioneers.
Windswept is the adjective invented to describe Land’s End. This most westerly point of the island has all the hallmarks of being beaten by weather with treacherous cliffs, jagged rocks and scrubby vegetation.
Bristol is a rambling city that just keeps going and going and that nights sleep HQ.
Friday, March 14th, 2008
A morning run revealed the modern pedestrian shopping district of Broadmead; city centre; Castle Park that has ruins of, surprise, a castle and the riverfront.
Bath is one of those cities that invites you to linger. Winding streets reveal continuous facades of stone faced buildings with tons of charm. Such famed sites are the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, shops on Pulteney Bridge and Guildhall Market.
I grabbed a sandwich from a bakery (ham, cucumber, arugula and tomato on their freshly made whole wheat bread) and continued to absorb this dynamic town. And learned cucumber and ham work well together.
Wales was not in the original itinerary so I manipulated it to see another country.
Back in England this is Hereford.
Yet another captivating pedestrian town centre with neighboring cathedral in Worcester; the origin of Worcestershire sauce.
Stratford-upon-Avon is forever linked to its native son William Shakespeare so I drove by Anne Hathaway’s cottage and then visited his gravesite in Holy Trinity Church.
This church has a bible over 400 years old.
Along the town centre is his birthplace.
Rounding out the day were Warwick Castle and Coventry Cathedral in towns of the same name. And finally Birmingham is a cosmopolitan city and that nights lodging.
Saturday, March 15th, 2008
Classic, classic, classic old English college town. You guessed it, Oxford. Excitedly absorbed the colleges, Christ Church and High Street.
Then entered Covered Market to be thrilled by the innumerable images.
In a rural town called Bladon is a small church nestled on a hill. Next to this church is a modest plot with the simple final resting place of Sir Winston Churchill.
“Holy cow”, were the words spontaneously uttered out loud upon the first site of Blenheim Palace.
Built between 1705-1722 it shows the spectacle that past nobility lived in. It showcases innumerable feats of workmanship in stone, woodwork, tapestry, tile, plaster and landscaping.
Pictures were not allowed inside. So I snuck all of these. Shhh!
If Blenheim wasn’t enough Windsor Castle showcased more splendor necessitated by this being one of the residences of England’s monarchy.
Again, no pictures inside so these are, um, artist’s renderings.
The adjoining town has more of those pedestrian cobblestone streets I never tired off finding.
Bent on seeing Kensington Palace and Notting Hill in London I braved rush hour traffic for the 20 miles from Windsor. Heading back north on the Motorway road work delayed my nights rest at the enduring Moore Hotel in Milton Keynes.
Sunday, March 16th, 2008
The site of endless rows of white crosses on waves of rolling green turf hit hard at the American War Cemetery. These boys gave up two lives for the defense of liberty- the ones they were living and the ones they would live.
Cambridge is home to several elite colleges all cloaked in a variety of classic architecture styles.
The walkable town had a market just setting up so I had to get some bakery.
The exploring continued into the East Anglia peninsula of eastern England including Norwich and Ipswich.
At this point I made the decision to rush to Chartwell, Sir Winston Churchill’s home from 1922 to his death in 1965, 25 miles south of London. This was a gamble since it opens in “mid-March”. After 2 hours of driving was delighted to find it open and went to buy a ticket. “CLOSED Last Ticket Sold at 4:15”. Glanced at watch- 4:22. Long face. Was able to get this picture by parking near the high stone wall surrounding the estate and standing on the car tire.
Monday, March 17th, 2008
Eight hour flight to Newark, 3 hour layover and 2 hours back to Milwaukee and home.
Right after wheel touch down got the same unexpected wave of tearing up I always do once back on American soil.
This ‘day’ was being up for 24 hours, and then slept for 4. It was worth it.