This post covers the dates September 11 - 15.
September 11 & 12, 2014
Our flight from Newark to Heathrow was smooth but long! Boarding and take-off were delayed by 20 - 30 minutes, but we landed at 7:36 AM, pretty much on schedule. By 11:0 AM, we arrived at the Park Lane Sheraton. Our room wasn't ready until noon so we changed our 1:00 lunch reservation to a 6:00 dinner reservation. Nap time was 12:30 - 4:00. Then it was time for a walk then dinner. When we returned to the room, we planned tomorrow's activities which will include High Tea at the Palm Court.
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| The Park Lane Hotel |
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| Grieg's (a Classic London Pub) |
September 13, 2014
To get the lay of the land, we signed up for the Big Bus tour. We spent a couple of hours viewing the sights. We were going to do the Eye, but time constraints and reservations for High Tea interceded. We got off the bus, walked past Buckingham Palace, took a few pics and hustled to make our appointment for High Tea.
We sat down for High Tea just exactly at our appointed time (1:30) after a forced march from the Palace. We transitioned very well, and within a few minutes, we were relaxed, soothed by music from the harpist. We choose the standard Tea rather than the Champagne version (neither of us wanted the glass of champagne). At the outset, I thought we'd be finished Tea in less than an hour.
The wait staff brought Tea (vanilla black for Anna Marie, and Rooiboi (redbush) & Current for me), followed by finger sandwiches, more tea, scones and a pastry tray and still more tea. We didn't leave until 3:45! It 'twas very civilized indeed.
Shakespeare's Globe theater (the only thatched roof building allowed in London since the great fire) was special and the play was excellent. High Tea was so filling that we skipped dinner. The acoustics in the theater were excellent. The performers did not have or need amplification. We very much enjoyed Dr. Scroogy's War. The actors and actresses were top rate.
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| Shakespeare's Globe Theater |
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| The Stage |
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| The audience begins to enter |
September 14, 2014
The boat ride on the River Thames allowed us the see London from a different perspective. The narrative was exceptional. Greenwich was very nice, almost quaint! We hoofed it up to the Royal Observatory in time to see the red ball go up the mast, only to drop at exactly
1:00 PM. That's when all the captains in the harbor would synchronize their watches.
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| On the boat to Greenwich |
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| The Cutty Sark |
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| The red ball is ready to drop atop the Royal Observatory |
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| Royal Astronomer Neville Masklene |
The boat was exceptional. Greenwich was very nice, almost quaint! We hoofed it up to the Royal Observatory in time to see the red ball go up the mast, only to drop at exactly
1:00 PM. That's when all the captains in the harbor would synchronize their watches.
We had Pie and Mash at Goddards at Greenwich before heading to the National Maritime Museum. Harrison's clocks had been relocated from their normal home at the Royal Observatory to the museum to be part of the presentation, " Longitude Punk'd. We breezed through the show, but paused to look at the exquisite clocks and perhaps photograph them, when someone informed me that the taking of photographs was prohibited. Considering the current spectacular condition of the clocks, it is hard to imagine that they sat in a warehouse pretty much neglected until they were refurbished by Ruppert Gould.
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| We passed on the eels! |
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| World's largest ship in a bottle |
London is fabulous! I doubt we even scratched the surface of things to do and see, but we gave it a good effort. We did several forced marches each day and mostly figured out how to get around on the tube. Our only difficulty was at the Waterloo Station. The signage led us around in a circle (several times, I might add!) but we eventually found the train we needed at the next station down the line.
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| The Gherkin (right of center) and the Cheese Shredder (just right of center) |
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| The Tower of London |
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| The Shard |
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| The Tower Bridge |
September 15, 2014
After checking out, we took the Victoria tube to St. Pancras International where we boarded the EuroStar. The train travels at 186 mph. In no time (2:15), we were in Paris. This is really a foreign country in that we do not speak the language. Communication will be challenging.
After finding the metro station and the platform for ligne 5 to Place d'Italie. A two or three block walk and we arrived at Hotel la Manufacture in Paris. The room is small as is the bathroom. It's not the Park Lane! The people at the desk seem nice and are extremely helpful. I'm sure we will love it.
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| Street Cafe |
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| Relaxing moment at la Manufacture Bistro |
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| Hotel la Manufacture |
I neglected to mention the weather. We take it for granted but the natives are very grateful. In London, we had a mix of sun and clouds. I'd put the sunglasses on and five minutes later, off they came, only to be back on in six minutes. The day time temperature was in the mid to high 70s. Nights were cooler, but we only needed a jacket one evening.
The la Manufacture staff commented on how hot and rainy it has been. When we arrived at mid day it was 80 and sunny.
We just returned to the room after a nice evening stroll along the Avenue des Gobelins.
Adieu...
