Visiting London

[Gliderman8]

Eons ago I was walking by the Adelphi Theater in London and Lionel Barts "Blitz" was on stage. I walked in and asked to buy a poster but was told they were not for sale. After telling the theater manager why I wanted to buy one, he gave it to me! I had it framed and it hangs on my office wall.

 

[Boink]

One gripe I have is that I think going into St. Paul's is something like 16 pounds per person! What?!!!! I know you can get in for free during a service, but you can't go to the top or the crypts without paying.

Glad you got into the Globe for a show. Amazing re-creation.

When a Victoria & Albert, did you get to see the outside wall where they've left damage from the Blitz?

 

[glemon]

Don't know how long you are staying, sorry if I missed it, long thread. I found Harrod's department store very interesting and very British, and I usually don't care much for shopping, especially at high end stores. We ventured out of London and drove to Stratford, which is a lovely little town whether you are a fan of William S. or not.

 

[JPSmit]

Didn’t see the V&A damage.

I do chafe a bit at the price of the Cathedrals now 20 pounds for St Pauls and 23 for Westminster. OTOH they get no support anywhere else and those puppies are big ticket items.

We have tended to the free museums. Today we took the public transit boat to Greenwich. We saw the meridian line and the telescope in the observatory. Also saw the marine museum and the Queens House- the weather was gorgeous! All in all a good day had by all.

And I may have mentioned we went to Selfridges (Was a Netflix series) and Harrods is in the cards!

Tomorrow is our last full day then Guernsey for a week

 

[JPSmit]

BTW, a number of years ago we went to LA for a week. I compare it to going to the Holy Land (never been to the Holy Land BTW) but more to the point, it is one of those places you have heard about your whole life and now are seeing, so, you are seeing something you remember for the very first time.

So, amongst everything else,

Earl's Court tube station,
likewise Hammersmith (Hammersmith Odeon - how many live albums recorded there?
walked past Albert Hall (now I know how many holes it takes....)
Notting Hill Gate (yeah those years of Hugh Grant movies are a guilty pleasure)
the list goes on.

 

[JPSmit]

Well, on Thursday we flew to Guernsey (ridiculously cheap flight spoiled by the airline's insistence we check our baggage at ridiculous rates!) That said, Guernsey is amazing. Beautiful, quiet, inexpensive (for a country that uses the pound) and very peaceful. We are staying at a B&B pub in St Martin's - outside of town (20 minutes walk!) and there are even designated walking lanes through the countryside. The whole island is 65 sq. miles and British like Bermuda. Gorgeous homes gardens, stone walls etc. Today we went to the Manor house for a market and walk around the gardens. For those who have read or watched the Guernsey literary and Potato Peel society, it was of course filmed here. The Manor house was not occupied by the Germans as the owners had not (by WWII) installed electricity. though oil might have been more reliable in those days. OTOH the Manor house has been in the same family for 800 years! We then hopped on a public bus and went to the North end of the island, we meant to circumnavigate the whole island, but got off to walk on the beach and ended up coming back the same way. We bought a bus card for 15 pounds, it cost us 60pence each to take the bus to the top of the island, and then used the receipt to ride back, we will not be able to use this card up! BTW the beaches are gorgeous, amazingly people were swimming - and we ended up exploring some German fortifications.

we then went back to 'the Town' (St Peter Port) and walked to a Fete held at a local church. Sadly no one had been murdered (Midsomer Murder fans) but they did have Sponge the Vicar (Mickey) kind of a dunk tank with wet sponges. Pot the poo - where you tried to throw dark brown bean bags into a toilet and the miracle of the Wedding feast at Cana where you pay a pound, choose one of 50 or so paper wrapped bottles and see if it is the one that has "turned into wine." Hysterical.

We then went to the local gardens, had tea and bussed home.

in terms of classic cars, no pics but, what a great place for them! The speed limit is only 35 mph on the whole island, so lots pf Kei cars and Miatas and Minis etc anyway. Have seen a midget, an old mini, an old beetle, a morris minor, a rootes group (I think) something - the one with the crescent moon signal lights over the headlights. An old 30s? Maybe even Vauxhall with the top down and a host of old bikes. The classic car club here seems active and once a year they either go to Jersey or Jersey comes to them. (jersey BTW seems to have a classic car race weekend.)

mrs. JP is already planning a return trip, and I completely agree, it really is lovely.

 

[JPSmit]

This morning we went to church ( Church of Scotland) which has churches in London, Rome, Jerusalem, Spain etc. Etc. Then downtown. The waterfront street was closed off for a huge SPCA fundraiser, many individual booths. Then one pier had a French market (from France) and a cruise ship was in. Walked to Cornet Castle which is the fort guarding the Bay. Interesting museums and construction from the 1100s to German Fortifications. Off to the side there were model powerboat races in the bay, annoyingly noisy actually but nice to see actual hobbies! There is a model boat pool on the pier but not being used.

a quiet day but lots of old cars! Started with an early Mustang notchback - go figure. Air cooled 911, Fiat 500, crazy Lotus seven with a huge roll cage and not even a windshield. Finally saw an Austin 7 but at a distance, A30, old & newer, Triumph Herald followed by a Vitesse, I think a 40's Rover, Morris Minor sedan and countryman. Fun!