London, East Anglia & Paris
July 16 through July 26, 2000
Adventures of Bill, Linda and Betsy Ross
Day 2, Monday
Getting there, part 2; and diving into London--the hotel, buses and St. Paul's.
We arrived over Gatwick airport at about 7:00 am, London time--tired of sitting, and without sleep (2:00 am in NC). The fog was so thick, we could see only the edge of the runway--no view at all! We had no trouble passing thru customs. Mark, Bill's cohort from Purdue, met us at the baggage claim, and led us on a chase through the tunnels to the train. Here we boarded the direct connection to Victoria Station in the heart of London, and got our first looks at England as the train wound its way through the urban collective known as Greater London. The fog had lifted, and the ride lasted about an hour, so I was able to study how train tracks can be built over, through, under, and among the old buildings and neighborhoods of an ancient community. Obviously, tracks are not built in the posher neighborhoods, so my first impressions were based on the backs of terraced housing and shops, most of which were in need of repair. In many places it seemed the coaches would hit the corners of some buildings, which were very close, indeed!
At Victoria Station, Mark led us staightaway to the Assistance window where we purchased our Travelcards--good for any bus, train, or tube (subway) in all the zones of Greater London. Next we were bundled into the tube station for Bayswater. Mark moved very fast, and we were struggling with our luggage on the many stairs and escalators through the tube tunnels, and overrun by rush-hour crowds. Quite an unpleasant experience; Bill was glad to have Mark to help him carry their luggage. I became increasingly glad of my light luggage on wheels, altho it was awkward on escalators and in and out of underground coaches. Out of breath, we finally emerged on Queensway--a busy street packed with traffic and pedistrians! Then about 5 blocks (block is a poor word in describing London!) to walk to the Grande Plaza Hotel.
We checked into what, by American standards, would be a run-down grand old hotel in bad need of facilities and aesthetics, but the sheets were clean, and the bath (small as it was) had a tub and shower. Nothing else much worked. At least the rate was low, and the location superb--in walking distance of 3 important tube stops (Queensway, Bayswater, and Notting Hill), and of Kensington and Hyde Parks.
I never took any photos of the hotel, but here are a couple I found in their ads:
Lobby
Typical room
After a brief opportunity to stash our stuff and splash our faces, Mark recommended that we not sleep yet, but to press on thru the first day in London and go to bed early in the evening. We met him and the other members of the Purdue contingent in the lobby about a half-hour later. Here I met Clark and Jamie, 2 more of Bill's cohorts in London for the conference. Mark, having traveled extensively, became our advisor and guide on that first day. As we were all very tired, we opted to spend our first morning on a double-decker bus tour. We also made reservations for the next day (Tues.) to go to Paris on the Eurostar. Then we were off on a long bus ride that gave us a marvelous overview of the thousands of attractions we could later choose for closer inspection. Much of that ride is now a blur in my head. I took a few pictures from the bus, but the angle of view was difficult. My choice of 400 speed film also turned out to be a poor one; my photos required a great deal of editing after the fact! Amazingly enough, we learned that we had arrived on the first beautiful, warm, and sunny day they'd had in over 3 weeks! Felt like a nice day in April in NC.
Here we are switching buses near the Marble Arch. The first lesson I learned was that no matter where you find yourself in London, there is always something to see. Everybody (please meet my companions) in this otherwise dull picture is looking over the fences at:
The Horse Guard in Hyde Park.
Over my left shoulder the Queen's horse are training around the edges of Hyde Park. In this particular photo, we are facing the Marble Arch (barely visible beyond the cue), with Speaker's Corner just ahead of the horses in the 2nd photo.
A few places I was aware of seeing were Scotland Yard, the Old Bailey, the usual landmarks around Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, and hundreds of monuments (Albert, Eros, Nelson, etc.). We rode back and forth across the Thames on several bridges, yielding great riverside views of Parliament, Big Ben, The Tower of London, Cleopatra's Needle (the Egyptian obelisque), and hundreds of other easily recognizable structures. We crossed the Tower Bridge, London Bridge (completed 1973), and many others. We got a glimpse of the Globe Theatre on the South bank, as well. We passed through several upscale residential neighborhoods, including Mayfair, Belgravia and Eaton Square (famous via the series "Upstairs Downstairs"). Most of the photos taken from the bus (there were only a few) are poor, but here's 3 worth sharing:
Approaching Piccadilly Circus My next lesson in London tourism was that the afternoons are very long--the sun not setting until late, and the twilight stretching well past 9:30-10 pm. So we had many hours of daylight to use up, but as we were used up ourselves, we all abandoned the buses in mid-afternoon to take a walk along Green Park. Jamie was bound to visit the Hard Rock Cafe, London, and buy a T-shirt! We found the cafe with no trouble, and then entered Green Park in search of a hot dog vendor. D'jenier sur l'herbe a la mode de le touriste. Sorry, I was too hungry to take any pictures!
Trafalgar Square behind a nearby pedestrian wall
Big Ben from underneath
We still had too much sunlight left to waste, so we took the underground tube to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was late when we arrived, and it hardly seemed worth the admission fee for such a truncated visit. We were allowed to enter the main vestibule for free, and to see the side chapels near the entrance (one being the impressive St. Michael's Chapel) and a great deal of the vaulted ceilings. The place is enormous, as advertised, but far more impressive than photos can tell. Christopher Wren spent much of his life on this architectural masterpiece, built on the site of Old St. Paul's which was finally destroyed forever in the great fire. Wren, along with many other dignitaries, was buried in 1723 in St. Paul's crypt.
The organ was played from somewhere in the unreachable depths of the church, and the accoustics were beyond belief--original "surround-sound" technology at its best! I was too tired to remember my camera (no photos inside, anyhow), but managed a couple of quick shots as we rounded the exterior. I'm afraid, however, that my most vivid memory of the place is how dirty it is. The floors are swept, and the artifacts within house-keeping reach fairly dust free, but the walls and the carvings are covered with black soot. I touched a carved ledge inside the entrance, and my hand came away black. I quess it's impossible to keep the city pollution out of those enormous structures.
My impossible shot of St. Paul's dome. Back on the tube and back to Bayswater and the Queensway: Here we pinched ourselves back to life and had an early supper (early for Londoner's anyhow) at the local pub named the "Rat and Parrot." This was our first legitimate pub stop, and it upheld our fantasies quite handily.
There are tourists way up there.
St. Paul's steps (can you find Jamie, Mark, Bill and Clark?)
Mary Poppins fed the pigeons here.
Lady Di was married here.
The statue is the Queen Anne Monument.
Side note: English cuisine, known for it's mushy lack-lustre, suited me to a tea (pun intended). It must be said here that I had a choice, this summer, between spending my money on new teeth (needed badly) or traveling to London. In short, there was no contest, but I had to choose my meals abroad with great care. Fish and chips, minced beef pies, and mashed and/or jacketed potatoes suited my taste buds just fine, and gave my teeth no challenge at all!There was still daylight when we returned to the hotel. Mark, Clark, and Jamie had some energy left, having arrived on a different time-schedule from us, so they went off to explore some night life. Bill, Linda and I opted for a bath and an early night after nearly 48 hours of non-stop excitement. I remember getting into my pjs, sitting on the bed, and getting up the next morning. Nothing else registers in my memory.
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Copyright © 2000 Elizabeth Ross.
The writer has made no attempt to use formal grammar, and the stream-of-consciousness style is no doubt replete with errors. It was a real trip, in every sense of the word, and the reader must forgive the run-on sentences, misplaced modifiers, and simple page layout!
