Europe Part 1 - London

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10.

Foggy London Town, here I am! It’s really not that foggy… the weather has been perfect for my first two days, after a quick flight across the pond on British Airways. I last-minute upgraded to third class (out of four), and snagged an extra seven inches of leg room. Slept a bit, watched a movie, and talked to my seat-mate, a very sharp Phoenix woman heading to Tehran with her three month old. Landed at Heathrow, cleared customs, and met my friend Lowri. We hopped a few trains to West Dulwich, and within an hour, we were at her home, the “Dudley House”.

What a cool house... so much character. It was built back in the late 1800’s, had three stories, and was quite narrow. The “Dudley” really has a significant presence out on the street. Lowri and I had a snack and caught up a bit, and I took a bath and a beer, recharging my batteries.

Lowri’s husband Joe, another good buddy of mine from back in Arizona, came home from work, and the three of us hopped a train to Soho. Turned out to be a really great chunk of London… Soho’s a former red-light district, and full of winding streets, which were lined with all sorts of pubs, cafes, shops, and restaurants. We met up with a group of their friends at one of the pubs, and followed a hidden staircase to our own private dining room, above the bar.

I sat down to a heaping plate, full of traditional English cuisine: phenomenal bangers and mash, washed down with some extremely strong cider. Great food and company, and I was doing quite well, considering the time change and a lack of sleep over the past 40 hours. After dinner, we moved a bit out of Soho and hit up a nightclub. It reminded me a bit of Scottsdale, except for the horrendous 80’s American music. (I can find plenty of solid 80’s tunes, but they were nowhere to be found that night in Soho). Still, a fine time had by all.

Around midnight, I quickly began to fade, so we hopped a train, followed by a cab, and made it home before 1 am. I crashed hard in my 3rd floor loft / bedroom, sleeping sleep of the dead.

SATURDAY

After nine hours of uninterrupted sleep, I awoke to another beautiful, sun filled day. All the gray and rain you think of when it comes to London have yet to show up. I downed some tea and cereal, and Joe and I headed downtown.

We caught the light rail at the Gipsy Hill train station, just a 10 minute walk from the house. The train rolled into a larger station, called London Bridge, in the heart of downtown London. There, we met up with the subway system, better known as the Underground or Tube. Our 1st destination was a huge outdoor market, called The Borough. More than just a farmers’ market, with throngs of shoppers picking over anything and everything. The market highlighted some of the most impressive cheeses, produce, and seafood I’d seen in awhile. The candy stand alone had HUGE bars of dark chocolate, one of which was 4 inches thick and about as long as a surf board.

Hunger crept in, so we stopped for some fish n’ chips at a lunch stand, and sat down on the curb to inhale the deliciously fried, flaky haddock (which I learned is a better choice than cod, as it’s way over-fished these days). The local coffee house had a line around the corner, so we reluctantly settled on a cup of Starbucks, which are everywhere in London. I guess they’re everywhere, everywhere? Oh well… it certainly did the trick.

The Borough Market bumped up against the Thames River, and since the day was hot and sunny, we followed the boardwalk a mile to London’s Tower Bridge. What a sight… such incredible, intricate architecture. Across the bridge we found the Tower of London, a castle in the heart of the city, as medieval as medieval gets. We bought tickets and made our way over the drawbridge, past infamous Tower Hill which was the sight of countless public executions, hundreds of years ago.

Inside the castle, we hooked up with a tour, guided by one of the colorful Beefeater Guards. The Beefeaters live on the property, and lead you through the Tower grounds while covering the area’s gruesome history. The Bell Tower loomed above us from most vantage points, as it had since the 1100’s. Most of the tour followed paths and courtyards behind the castle walls, but we finished in the chapel. Fascinating little space it was, and just below the floor, under our feet, were the bones of some 1500 “criminals”. After the doomed were beheaded for all to see outside on Tower Hill, most of the bodies were returned to the chapel, where they were buried in piles. The Beefeater guide kept the tour quite lively, even with its subject matter… consider me fascinated. I really need to study up on Henry the 8th, who presided over so many of the castle’s horrors.

After the Tower, we headed to the Underground, stopping to check out the 2000 year old ruins of a Roman wall, which poked up in the middle of the city. We took the Tube down to the London Eye, a huge Ferris Wheel erected at the turn of the Millennium. It came highly recommended as offering some of the best views of London, so we bought a couple tickets. The line was pretty long, about an hour, so we grabbed a beer and hung out along the river. Enjoyed the bottle of Stella, which is a big beer throughout London (and has exploded recently back in the states). Peroni is good, too, which we tried last night at the club in Soho.

Plans quickly changed with a phone call, so we had to save the Eye for later. We wanted to catch the England / Kazakstan soccer match, and it was starting a couple hours earlier than we had thought. And so our day of “chasing the trains” began. We made it to our meeting place in Notting Hill, just as the game began. Planted ourselves on a couple stools and watched the match. I’ve never been much of a soccer fan, but the patrons were into it, England needed a big win, and there were plenty of goals. When the action slowed, I caught up on the journal and chatted with an Australian woman at the table next to us.

After England pulled off the victory (they’re trying to qualify for the world cup), we bolted to the train, stopping at a shop for a quick “take-away” meal --- pizza in a bag! We were hoping to catch a ride on that London Eye ferris wheel before it shut down for the night. The attraction closed at about 8, and since we we wouldn’t get a refund, we had to hustle. And hustle we did. Once we were off our final subway, we ran for the Thames, and totally lucked out: we were allowed on board, and in one of the last cards of the day.

Well worth it… spectacular night time views of London. Big Ben, Parliament, the river… all just glowed. Our individual pod on the giant wheel was enclosed, and big enough to walk around in with our 6 or 7 other “pod-mates”. It climbed higher and higher before we reached the peak, gawking at the fantastic 360 degree view of London.

The ride ended, and we enjoyed a much more leisurely pace back to the Underground station, and home in West Dulwich. It was getting late, but we stopped at a local pub called the Mansion, just a few blocks from the house. Neat place… very friendly, great beer, and free internet!!!

SUNDAY

Only pulled off about 5 hours of sleep last night. Not good. Didn’t stay up much past midnight, but I woke up at exactly 4 am, and couldn’t fall back to sleep until 6. Must be the jet lag… the same thing happened the 1st couple days on my trip to Japan.

Joe and I took his 2 year old daughter Ella to the park, as it was another picture perfect day in London. After hanging out for an hour, we headed to the Mansion for lunch. Sunday roast is a big deal in the UK, so we did as locals do… kicked off the meal with some traditional English appetizers: the Ploughman’s (bread, chutney relish, and cheese), and scotch eggs. And then, the roast! Delicious roast beef, with Yorkshire pudding and veggies. So much good food. Too much. We waddled back to the house where I grabbed a much-needed nap.

That night, Joe and I played guitars and headed back to Notting Hill to meet up with his brother-in-law, Danny, and his wife Kat. On the way, we walked Portobello Road. The entire area… Portobello, Notting Hill, Kensington… is all quite beautiful. Upscale row-homes tucked between pubs and shops. We picked up Danny and Kat, and cabbed to their friend’s flat, stopping for a bite (amazing falafel wraps, and cheap! Usually it’s hard to find cheap food in London, but you do well with the “take-away”, which is basically food to go).

We arrived at their friend Bob’s place before 9, and the goal was to watch some live American football. There were a few games available (Bob had over 3000 channels on his satellite system), but alas, the game we wanted to see wasn’t on…The Cardinals vs. the Cowboys. (Turns out we missed a helluva game… Cards won it in overtime on a blocked punt / runback). We hung out for a couple hours, watching the games that were on, and rolled out around 11 pm.

Slept back at Danny and Kat’s place in Notting Hill, so we didn’t have to find late night transportation (the trains in London mostly shut down before midnight --- sound familiar Phoenix???). As I bunked down, I could feel a sore throat coming on… must be a cold. I haven’t been sick in at least a year, but with the time change, lack of sleep, and shift in temperatures, my immune system is pretty shot. Hope I can kick it fast.

MONDAY

From Notting Hill, Joe headed to work, and I headed back home to West Dulwich. I had originally planned on hitting some more tourist spots downtown London, but I was feeling pretty sickly. I needed to rest. I found the right tube station and light rail transfer for the first time on my own… I’m really getting used to the elaborate public transit system (with so much help coming from Joe’s copy of “London A to Z”… the best little book of maps you can find). Back home, I took a bath and felt a touch better. Chatted with Lowri and Ella after they arrived home from Ella’s first day of school, and I walked to a local pub for lunch. Great bowl of tomato soup, which was just my speed.

Cruised back home as the skies began to cloud up… the first time since I arrived last Friday. Lowri cooked up some fantastic sausages and mash for dinner, and Joe and I headed down to the Mansion for some tea and internet before bed.

TUESDAY

Had a bit of a late start this morning, after some decent sleep. Opted to skip the trains today, and instead took one of the double decker buses into London. Real nice ride upstairs, and after about an hour, I stepped out onto Oxford Street. This was full-on London... busy street scene below mid-rise buildings. After a few blocks of sight-seeing, I found my target: The British Museum.

The British Museum must be the world's biggest and best museum, and it's a must-see. Just so impressive.. I spent about four hours moving from one hall to the next, but you could really get lost for days. When you simply scratch the surface, it houses the Parthenon, the Rosetta Stone, and ancient Egyptian artifacts. I popped across the street for some Thai food (curry is HUGE in London), before returning to get more out of the museum.

Around 4, I was feeling a bit spent, so I headed home. I was still fighting the cold, and felt pretty sluggish after a few hours in the museum. Took the train back to Dulwich, and fixed up a big salad for dinner before bed.

WEDNESDAY

Huge night of sleep... and I found so much more spring in my step today. I headed back into London to visit Westminster Abbey, which turned out to be another must-see. Dish out the 12 pounds for the tour... it's worth it. I was just bowled over by the architecture and the history. The tour includes an audio guide that you can access at your leisure, hosted by Jeremy Irons (who still sounds rather menacing, even when he's talking about a church). I spent about 3 hours, wandering the halls, fascinated by the list of people buried there. Here's some name dropping of just a few: Handel, Lewis Carrol, King Henry the 7th, Lawrence Olivier, Chaucer, St. Edward the Confessor, Charles Darwin, and Isaac Newton. Lady Di's funeral was held in the Abbey, and it even holds "Britain's Oldest Door", circa 1050, which was a bit random. The Germans hit it a few times in World War 2, not hard enough to do any massive damage, although there are a few small bomb holes mentioned on the tour that are glassed over. It's truly a remarkable place, inside and out.

After hitting up Westminster, I checked out Big Ben and Parliament, across the street, and then hopped a subway to the Millennium Bridge, a pedestrian walkway over the Thames built a few years back. The bridge ends at the Tate Modern, one of the world's foremost modern art museums. Fantastic place... one of Lowri's friends hooked me up with a member's access card, so I hit up the club on the 6th floor for lunch, with spectacular views of London, and a screaming infant that drove most of the diners away. I then jumped head first into the galleries... so many amazing pieces. More name dropping: Picasso, Lichtenstein, and Monet were represented. My favorites had to be the Pollocks (he had two), along with a painting his wife Lee Krasner did, sometime after his death. I also really dug a room devoted to old Russian propaganda posters, and the huge 3d pieces you could literally walk through by Joseph Beuys. Such an amazing collection. Another 3 hours, and I was about finished with downtown London. I followed the Thames River Path for a couple miles to the London Bridge rail station, and headed home.

Back home, Joe and I met up, and took a taxi to East Dulwich to watch another England soccer match. Another big win for the home team, with a very lively crowd. Standing room only, with plenty of screaming at the TV.

THURSDAY

Well, this blog has gone on for awhile. I better wrap it up... I'm at my favorite internet hot spot right now, The Mansion, getting ready for a trip into the English countryside. It's another beautiful day outside, and I'm visiting some friends in Kent this evening. From what I hear, the countryside is supposed to be fantastic. We'll see if I can actually find it...

I'll be back in London tomorrow, for one more night, and we're aiming to hit up Camden for some live music. Then on Saturday, Joe and I hop over to Gathwick airport for our flight to Amsterdam! After a few nights there, I head to Munich for the week. I'll aim for another blog update from Germany... the weekly update will probably be the best bet.

It's been a solid time in London... everybody has been fantastic, and sincere thanks go out to Joe, Lowri, and little Ella for putting me up for the week!

Hope all is well back in the states... CHEERS!!!!!