London

Since it was supposed to rain all weekend, for our 39^th wedding anniversary we went to London.  It turned out to be cloudy with some sun, mist, and lots of wind. We have been to London and seen most of the major attractions, so we started at the Churchill war rooms and museum. It was very interesting. When the war was over, they had just walked away so most of it was left as it had been used.

It’s near Buckingham Palace and the Queen was reviewing the troops as part of her birthday celebration. We saw a lot of uniforms, tuxes, top hats and well dressed women in all manner of hats. We didn’t know the Queen came out on the balcony or we might have seen her and the royal family. We did see a fly over in her honor.  3Helicopters, 9 planes in groups of 3, and the British equivalent of the Blue Angels with red, white, and blue after trails.

We cruised down the Thames to Greenwich and the prime meridian.

Of course we stood with one foot in the eastern and one in the western hemispheres.

The trip down is leisurely taking about an hour and a half with commentary about the sights and sections of London you’re traveling through.

Greenwich is fascinating with more to see than we had time for. We concentrated on the Observatory where the prime meridian is marked and the time of the world starts at 0. The whole point of this observatory was to come up with an accurate way for ships to measure longitude. Too many accidents were happening because of inaccurate time pieces used on ships. The first prototypes were in the museum and it was fascinating looking at the progression to the one that worked.

Our theater tickets were for 7:30 to see Wicked. We left Greenwich at 4pm to take the tube back, a supposed half hour trip, change clothes, and go to a Spanish restaurant near the theater that had a gluten free recommendation. The tube station I used 14 years ago at Greenwich required you to walk under the river. So we did and then walked to the tube entrance a block away. We boarded the train that was going in our direction. It announced the next stop as the Cuttyshark

exhibit we had just left on the other side of the river! The wrong direction! We got off, switched trains. As we approached the station we had just come from, it was announced that this was the end of the line. We needed to exit the tube and catch a substitute bus to a tube station 5 stops up the line.  We consulted the maps and picked the next tube line to catch. As we entered the next station it was announced that tube line was also closed for maintenance.  The only option was a line that made a large loop around the south side of the city.  We finally got to our destination and walked the 25 minutes to our hotel.  Our 30 min. tube ride had taken an hour and 45 minutes. So much for dinner. We changed clothes, walked 20 minutes to the closer tube station, caught the train to the theater, and picked up our tickets. We had half an hour before the play started, so we went across the street to a pub and had an order of fries for dinner. Only thing on the menu I could eat.

The play was wonderful. Much more extravagant than the production that I’d seen and liked in Portland. I’m glad I saw it again. It was John’s first time and he was impressed. Boy, has theater going changed in London. 14 years ago everyone dressed for the occasion. There were people in long dresses and suits, but the majority were in jeans and casual clothes. We could have come right from Greenwich, had dinner, and come to the play without changing. They also had concessioners wandering the isles selling candy, wine, and pop. Like a baseball game only they don’t yell.

Sunday morning we walked to the British Museum and spent the morning there.  It is amazing, the artifacts that the British have collected from all over the world. We went through the Americas’ exhibit. It has items from each region of North America. Not a huge amount from any one tribe but a broad representation of each culture.

We walked back to the hotel, 25 min., picked up our suitcases and walked 20 minutes to the train station. We arrived with time to spare and then found out the trains using our line were all delayed due to work on the line. I was glad we were just going home. Some people were scrambling as they had connections to make. We were wondering how long we’d be waiting as the list went from the 12 o’clock hour trains to the 3pm trains skipping all those in between. One of which was ours.  In the end we were only about 10 minutes late.
Kings Cross train station lists all of the trains on a board by the terminus of the train with all the stops listed underneath.  Your ticket doesn’t have the terminus only your starting and stopping points. So you have to go by the time for your train and then check to see that your destination is listed. The train list doesn’t have a platform posted until your train comes in and empties. This is usually about 15 minutes before you leave.  When the platform is posted there is a mass exodus from the waiting hall to the designated platform. By the time you board and get your suitcase put away, the train is pulling out of the station. They don’t waste time.

England, not just London, is getting ready for the Olympics. We saw a horse riding stadium being erected in Greenwich. There is also a lot of repair being done especially on transportation. Trains and tubes should run wonderfully during and after the Olympics, but right now it causes surprises and delays.

So far, we have taken trains from Doncaster. It involves a 22 to 28 pound taxi ride. We drove to Retford to check out the station, as it’s the same distance from our house but it has parking for your car.  It looked like a better option, so we booked this trip from it. Getting there Friday night during rush hour was easy, parking was simple, but on entering the station we learned our train had been cancelled!  The way it works. Your ticket is good for a train starting at your designated time and for any train after that if something happens to your train. You may have to stand, but you can take it. The first one after ours was due into the station in half an hour. An earlier one was due any minute, but we weren’t supposed to take it as it was before our scheduled time.  A train person on the platform grabbed the conductor and found us a spot on that train.  His boarding comments to us were, “Hurry up you’re making the train late.” We found a seat and If late to London, it was only by minutes.

If you’ve ever been to London, you know that there are 13 tube lines and entrances everywhere. Well, I seemed to book a hotel in a dead spot for tubes. It was advertised as ½ a mile from the train station. It was a mile and a half.  It looked closer to another station, but in walking it, it was farther that the train station.  Lesson in booking hotel: look at a Google satellite maps and see where it is. It was a nice neighborhood, and a very nice hotel just not near anything.