Day 1 – Sunday 8/23 – Monday 8/24

Mother/daughter bonding trip part 2 x 2! This adventure includes Malka as well!

Our flight, Delta 1 (what kind of flight # is that!?) was supposed to depart at 8:40 p.m. to

take us to Heathrow Airport in London. Pepe and Marcus dropped us off at JFK REALLY

early (I guess they wanted to start their father/son bonding vacation ASAP!) As is the

norm in NY, the flight was quickly delayed (although not horribly) until 9:10. That

wouldn’t be bad if it weren’t for one nervous, worried and moody Marina!

We occupied our time looking at other people and laughing at them. Okay, I know

that is not very polite, but Malka is into funky eyeglasses and the “Emo” look, so we all

giggled together at what caught her eye. Once on the plane, our laughing continued

because of the people seated in front of us. There was a “young” Hassidic couple (didn’t

look young but they never really do with the beard for the guy and the wig/schmata for the

woman) and their baby in the row ahead. They had wanted a bulk-head seat with a

bassinet (obviously they didn’t get it). The stewardess actually got another passenger to

agree to switch seats and that’s when the drama/ or perhaps comedy began. The husband

asked who would be seated next to the available seat and was told it was a man. He then

decided HE would sit with the baby up front because if there was a man in the next seat

then his wife couldn’t sit next to another man! Mind you… she ended up sitting next to a

man as they played musical chairs in front of us! We still hadn’t taken off and the Hassid

was back by our row (annoying the stewardess) because the baby couldn’t be separated

from the mom. So now SHE moved up front with the baby (what happened with the fact

that she’d be next to a man?) and the husband came back to our section. BUT… he was

going to sit next to a WOMAN and that was no good… so he asked the other people in the

row to move around and swap seats so he could be “safe”! Then he got up again and a few

minutes later a man with a red turban came and sat in front of me. Apparently, the Hassid

convinced this man to give up his bulkhead seat and in the end, the Happy Hassid family

sat together, the stewardess was appalled, there was no one in their original seats in front

of us AND the irony of the situation is that they never did get that bassinet!

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 The next laugh from Marina came when she turned around and saw that the couple

behind us was BLIND FOLDED! Not just wearing the eye masks often given out on flights

(not on this one however) but blindfolded with what looked like strips of black fabric….

Like Zorro, or the Lone Ranger, but minus the eye holes. Marina was hysterical. At least

this all distracted us because 9:10 came and went and we were still on the ground.

As I did on our Scotland trip, I fell asleep right as we took off. I don’t recall it at all,

and it must have been at 10:00. I awoke when the food came at 11:00 and was asleep again

before they even cleared the tray. I successfully slept until about 1:00 and then that was

THE END for me!!! Marina actually lay down on Malka’s lap and slept a bit. (Malka is too

good to her!) Poor Malka didn’t sleep at all, and was dead tired with glassy-red eyes and a

very runny nose by the time we disembarked.

We took public transportation from the airport to the hotel, which would have been

super easy had it not been for the

luggage we had to carry up and down

the “tube” or train station steps. (And we

really packed lightly… NO carry-ons,

one medium and one small suitcase for

the three of us). We took the Heathrow

Connect train to Paddington Station.

Then we bought a weekly underground

pass (called the Oyster Pass) and took

the tube to Victoria Station. Out on the street it was bustling and Malka was passing out.

The roads were a jumble of intersections, but we easily found the hotel (the Park Plaza

Victoria) just a block away, and LUCKILY we were able to check in to our room

immediately. It is lovely with a king-sized bed and a separate cot which Marina quickly

claimed as hers. We unpacked the little that we had, Marina showered and before we were

able to rest at all, Marina’s (internet) friend Lloyd (and his mate Phil) were down in the

lobby calling us. The girls went to greet them and Lloyd presented Marina with 3 long-

stem red roses (the poor boy spent 22 pounds on them. That’s about $38! I guess he didn’t

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see, or know about, the cheap bouquets at the station.) When they came up to the room he

gave her his gold St. George Sovereign ring (that his dad had given him when he was five

years old.) Marina had been expecting the ring and came wearing a gold chain. She

immediately put the ring around her neck. (Can we say “awwwwwwwwwww”?)

We proceeded to wander the

streets of London (the local ones at least)

looking for Buckingham Palace which

was but a short distance away but which

we found after walking in a very big

circle! Poor Malka was passing out! I

wasn’t far behind in the sleep deprived

area and Marina, although not tired, was

hungry and wanted to eat! (Now that’s a

change!) We found a cute Italian café and

I ordered 2 small pizzas (too much and

we had to take home the left-overs) and a

really good pasta dish for me. Marina, in

the end barely touched the food, Lloyd

ate NOTHING (nervous?), but Malka and

Phil did well. With the meal complete (or as much as would be eaten there) we came back

to the hotel. I had gotten a good enough feeling and first impression of the boys so I let

Marina go out for a walk and then hang out in the lobby with them. When they got back

up to the room at 5:10 Malka and I were fast asleep (Lloyd had wanted to say good-bye but

didn’t want to disturb us). Marina immediately fell asleep and the next thing I knew was

that it was 8:10 p.m. and we missed the free food in the Executive Lounge for which we

have a key. (It turns out there was nothing there the girls would eat anyway…canapés,

wine or coffee… I don’t think so!) So that is “day one” complete and hopefully tomorrow

we will be rested and READY TO GO! I put in for a 7:30 wakeup call and Lloyd said he’d

be here at 9:30 to play tourist with us.

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Day 2 – Tuesday 8/25

As I said, I had put in for a 7:30 wakeup call. It never came, but more or less at that

time there was a knock on our door. Looking out through the peep hole I saw two Asian

women with suitcases. They must have been lost, but at least they got me up and out of

bed. The truth be told, we all could have done with more “kip” (that means sleep) but we

didn’t come all this way for that!!! Our breakfast downstairs (included with our room) was

lovely and plentiful for those of us (not Marina) who wanted to eat. There were a variety

of freshly squeezed juices, fruit salads, cereals (Marina’s boring daily choice a small bowl of

Frosted Flakes!) cheeses, cold deli meats, yogurt (that’s what I had topped with Muesli and

dried fruit like I used to eat back in Holland days) croissants (plain & with chocolate) eggs

& chips (Malka’s choice along with KETCHUP, fresh oranges, juice and croissants),

sausages, mushrooms, etc., etc., etc. The service at the hotel is very pleasant although

British people working here are few and far between.

We were expecting Lloyd pretty early today but he called with disappointing news.

The train ride, which yesterday cost under 7 pounds round trip, was, according to the

ticket seller, today going to cost over 22 (that’s about $40!), Granted, it was rush hour but

later on they still wanted to overcharge him! (When I was talking to the concierge in the

lobby, I learned that it was recent news how the train ticket employees are TOTALLY

ripping of the public (and not only tourists)). I felt really badly for Lloyd who desperately

wanted to see Marina, but there was no way he could

spend that money. We agreed then to meet tomorrow

when he is going to come to town with his mom, sister

and other family members.

Once that was settled, the girls and I headed out

to the local tube

station down the

block (we easily

learned our way

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around this area!). We took the underground to Westminster and began to follow a

walking tour as per the Fromer Tour book. Coming up from the tube station we were

overcome by two amazing sights: Big Ben, that most famous and beautiful time-piece (316

feet tall, completed in 1859) and the London Eye (across the River Thames) a giant

observation wheel, the largest ever built at 135 meters high. We crossed the street to the

Palace of Westminster (the Houses of Parliament) which I mistakenly (I believe) thought

we couldn’t enter, but which we certainly could admire from the outside. (It was

completed in 1860)

We then proceeded to the STUNNING Westminster Abbey. We DID enter there and

enjoyed an audio tour which lasted us at least two hours. In this Abbey all but 2 kings and

Queens of England have been crowned, many married and it is where the funeral of Diana,

Princess of Wales, took place. It houses the tombs of many monarchs and famous people,

among them, writers: Chaucer, Dickens,

Kipling, composer: Handel, actor:

Laurence Olivier, scientist: Sir Isaac

Newton, and there are monuments to many

more! A Saxon Monastery stood on this

site in the 6th century. Edward the

Confessor built a new Norman-style

abbey church in 1065. In 1220 Henry III

began to rebuild in the Gothic style and

additions were made through the 1700’s.

The audio tour was wonderfully

informative and allowed us to move at our

own pace which was fine until the girls

decided to move at a different pace from

me and we got separated! It’s a HUGE place to get lost in,

but we eventually found each other.

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 We continued our day, as per the book, up Whitehall past the famous 10 Downing

Street (blocked off by gates and police) where the Prime Minister lives. This is a must-

have-photo spot.. and even Marina succumbed to the urge. We then passed the Horse

Guards and Military Museum where we quickly ducked and took a photo of Marina and a

guard (Malka would have none of that!) Next we bought Marina an “I London” t-shirt

(mandatory purchase) and kept walking, walking, walking to the famous Trafalgar Square.

Everyone’s heard of it, but so what… a bunch of intersecting streets with a column in the

middle topped with a statue of Nelson called…. duh… Nelson’s Column. (It is 185 feet tall

and commemorates the Battles of St. Vincent, Aboukin, Copenhagen & Trafalgar – I need to

touch up on my history. Do you know these battles?) More impressive (and easier to see)

were the grand bronze Lions (20 ft. long) put in the piazza in 1867.

After resting briefly (no rest for the weary

with me) by a fountain, we went up the stairs to

the National Gallery. All national museums (not

historic sites) are free here and it would be nice to

spend days combing through all the exhibits of all

the museums, but we made a VERY brief excursion

to the 1500-1600 painting gallery to search out the

Da Vinci painting. Malka waiting on a bench in an

earlier gallery (art is not her thing) as Marina and I

found our way where we wanted to go only to

discover the Virgin of the Rocks had been removed

(temporarily). We did get to see the “cartoon” of

the Virgin & Child with Saint Anne and John the

Baptist.

Upon exiting the museum we continued up Charing Cross and crossed the street to

St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church where they were handing out leaflets for the night’s

concert. Not only is the church famous for its architecture (didn’t really look at it nor did

we go in – oops!) but it is world renown (at least I know it) for the chamber orchestra by the

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same name. As we sat on the steps (Malka needed another pit-stop) Marina started to get

agitatedly excited whispering for me to turn around.

As I did my eyes bugged out because, who was

RIGHT behind me???, Andrew Lloyd Weber

playwright and composer! I said, “Marina, Marina,

quick.. get a picture!” She’s usually such a stalker; I

can’t believe she didn’t move to do so on her own. Oh

well, she got a back and a profile shot!

After that excitement, we saw that in the

“crypt” of the church there was a center for brass

rubbings so we went down. Since Lloyd gave Marina

his gold St. George & the Dragon ring, we decided it would be nice if she did a brass

rubbing for him of the same theme. So, she got busy doing her rubbing and Malka did one

of Queen Elizabeth I, and again, they rested their feet. When we got back to ground level

and outside, we noticed the streets were completely wet. Seems we missed the rain and the

sun was once again shining.

After a little longer on Charing Cross, we headed east toward Covent Garden

(originally London’s flower market) set beside St. Paul’s Church where the opening market

scene from Pygmalion or My Fair Lady take place. The market now has shops and café’s

but also has street performers of which we saw three.

From there, looking at the map, Marina noticed we weren’t far from Fleet Street,

made famous (at least for her) by the musical (and film) “Sweeny Todd” (the Demon

Barber of Fleet Street). Well, it really wasn’t SO near, but we walked, passing the

impressive Royal Courts of Justice (dating from 1874-1882).

Here we met up with a street tour so we stopped to listen for

a while and to learn (as if we didn’t already know) that

Sweeny Todd is nothing more than an urban legend. BUT

the clock on the Royal Court is actually THE Hogwarts clock

from Harry Potter films. It was removed from its high-up

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perch to be filmed in Oxford. We also learned that the courts here are civil courts that

handle high profile divorces including Heather Mills/Paul McCartney as well as Prince

Charles and Princess Diana.

Since we had already walked so far, and seeing St. Paul’s Cathedral so prominent on

the map, we kept heading east towards the imposing dome of this 1708 London landmark.

When we got there it was almost time for

evening mass so we couldn’t explore the

interior. We were all pretty tired from the

day’s trek so we headed to the Mansion

House Tube Station and back to the hotel.

NOT SO FAST!!! As we got to Victoria

Station I decided to see if we could get

“cheap” last minute tickets to one of the two

shows playing down the block. Wicked had

none and Billy Elliott only had seats with

restricted view. But all was not lost, because

we did come upon an internet café (a really

small grungy one) that never-the-less satisfied

the girls’ need to touch base with friends. I

purchased them each an hour’s time, left them there, ran down the block to dump our bags

at the hotel and went back at the hour’s end to get them.

After a brief rest in the room, we set out again to Piccadilly Circus. This is “the

Times Square” of London, but truth be told, it can’t

hold a candle to NY’s “Crossroads of the World”.

We watched a street performer wrestle and wiggle

his way out of a straight jacket, wandered around a

bit, bought Malka some funky thick rimmed glasses

she wanted (weird sense of style she has!) and by

10:10 we were back in the room. Just as I was about

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to take a shower, Pepe called (Happy Anniversary #24 to us!) with Marcus from Punta

Cana and the night got even longer! I put in for another 7:30 wakeup call and we’ll see

what tomorrow brings!

Day 3 – August 26

The 7:30 call did come and by 7:50 I was downstairs at the hotel’s gym. It really is

large and very well equipped for a hotel facility and there were actually two trainers

working with clients. I spent ½ hour there and then returned to our room to get the girls

up and showered. Malka had a bit of difficulty waking up, still jet lagged or tired from

walking so much???, but by 9:00 we were having our breakfast. A little before 11:00 Lloyd

called from the lobby with his mom. She is very nice and smiley and equally as amused as

I am regarding our kids’ “relationship/friendship”. We headed to Victoria Station where

more of his family was having breakfast in McDonalds. Just an aside here… the

McDonalds here in England are the same as in Scotland, resembling lounges or dining

rooms more than the fast food joints back home. They even have fresh cut flowers on the

tables. Okay, back to the family: Lloyd’s sister

Laura & her husband, his 16 year old cousin with

his girlfriend, Nan (grandma) with 2 younger

cousins (ages 4 & 9) all came with Lloyd and his

mom for the day’s outing. Once they finished their

food, we took the tube two stops to the Natural

History Museum. Malka got in a “funk” at one of

the stations as I accidentally went through the

wrong turn style and she was stuck behind. I guess

she thought (self conscious as the poor thing has

become) that EVERYONE was looking at HER!

But “Nan” had

the same problem (multiple times during the day) and

held up the “queue” ages more than we did!

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 The museum is a GORGEOUS building (neo-Romanesque 1873-1880) which is

decorated with life-like moldings of animals, birds and fish. We chose a meeting time and

place and off I went with Malka towards the center hall where the dinosaur exhibit begins.

Truth be told, we were more interested in the architecture of the building so we wandered

around looking at the stain glass windows, the carved moldings, etc., rather than stand on

a 45 minute line, which Marina and Lloyd later admitted to cutting, to see the dinosaurs.

We ended up in the gem and mineral exhibit and spent our remaining time there. All met

up again at the appointed time, we went outside for a snack. It was actually VERY chilly

and blustery and I was antsy to get the day moving. We travelled together back to Victoria

Station and Lloyd stayed with us as his family headed home.

We continued our day taking the tube to Tower

Hill stop for the Tower of London & Tower Bridge. It

seemed too cold to spend the 2-3 hours needed to fully

take in the Tower of London and the grounds, so we

walked down the Thames to the Bridge, paid our

admission fee (I got Lloyd in free with a coupon & his

train ticket) and trekked up, up, up to the upper

walkway of the bridge. That was A LOT of stairs and

now I would never consider doing the Statue of Liberty

after this vertical hike! From up top we got good views

of the city and a history of the bridge. At least I

learned the history since I was the only one to read the exhibit. There wasn’t too much

reading involved, but since it

was presented in about 5

languages, Marina, not looking

two carefully, interpreted that to

be too much text. Oh well…

Down again on street

level we walked along the

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opposite shore of the Thames on what is known as the Queen’s Walk. My intention was to

walk FAR and look for food. This didn’t happen. We stopped for a bite at the Hay’s

Galleria which originally were warehouses but is now covered with a 90 foot high glass

barrel vault ceiling. Marina had a hot dog, the others some “chips” and somehow I ended

up with a bag with a little red sketchbook from the Bridge. I have NO idea how I picked

that up, but it was obviously someone else’s purchase. OOPS! 

By this time the “kids” were beginning to lose steam so we went to the London

Bridge Station which was crazy-busy with rush hour traffic, so much so that Lloyd got

smushed in the train door after nearly not cramming in with us. He certainly had a look of

surprise on his face (and hopefully not too many bruises). I had wanted to get off at

Waterloo and walk the shore down past the London Eye and over Westminster Bridge, but

since we really had been on our feet all day, (and Malka’s were giving out) we crossed the

Golden Jubilee foot bridge to the nearest station, back to Victoria. We walked Lloyd to his

platform to catch the 6:31 train, grabbed a quick bite and FINALLY got back to the hotel at

7:15. Malka passed out immediately in her clothes; Marina at least changed but was asleep

before 9! At 9:30 it was lights out for me only to be awakened by Pepe’s 10:28 phone call. I

felt badly telling him I was too tired to talk, but I was, so we’ll have to catch up tomorrow

or whenever he calls again.

Day 4 – August 27

Since we went to sleep so early last night, I kept

waking up throughout the night, finally getting out of

bed at 7:30. I could have gone down to the gym but

didn’t want to expend so much energy so early. I got

the girls up at a decent hour because I wanted to take a

walk to Westminster Cathedral (not to be confused

with the Abbey) that is around the corner from the

hotel before we had breakfast. Marina was feeling

“sick” (she couldn’t even explain what that meant)

most likely NERVOUS to see Lloyd again. So she stayed in the room and I went out with

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 Malka. The Byzantine Roman Catholic Cathedral was

built between 1825 and 1903. It has a 273 foot Campanile.

The inside was cavernous with the nave being the widest

in England and it was very dark. The ceiling was never

adorned and is made up of 3 domes of black (from dirt?)

brick.

After our brief visit there, Malka and I returned to our

room, got Marina and went to breakfast. Lloyd showed

up about 10:30 and by 11:00 we had our “Original Bus

Tour” tickets in hand and we set off to find our bus. We

chose the route with the live commentary and basically

the first stop was Buckingham Palace. We had walked past the Palace on our first day here,

but were so tired we couldn’t really take it in. So, since the bus/tour guide said the

changing of the guard was about to happen in 13 minutes we figured it would be the ideal

time to see the sight. WRONG!!! We got off the bus, rounded the corner and were greeted

by the sight of thousands of like-minded tourists. We could hardly move, let alone see

anything worth- while, so after hearing the marching band approach the far gates, we went

back to the bus.

The tour continued past some gated gardens belonging to the aligning posh

townhouses owned by the likes of Madonna, Andrew Lloyd Weber and some other well-

known names. Before we knew it we were on Westminster Bridge where we got off to

catch the River cruise up to the Tower

of London. The weather was great, the

commentary very enlightening and

entertaining and all-in-all it was a great

way to get where we wanted to be.

I purchased our admission

tickets, and again, thanks to a voucher

I found & Lloyd’s train ticket, he got in

12
for free. We waited 15 minutes for a tour guided by a Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) and in

the interim I wanted to take a picture of Marina and Lloyd with one of the Warders. Silly

lad (Lloyd) put on his funky pink glasses and stuck out his tongue, and in doing so,

offended the Beefeater who turned and walked away. So much for the photo-op! To his

credit, Lloyd went and

apologized (but never told me

that the man offered another

chance to take the photo). Our

tour lasted about 45 minutes and

highlighted many areas of the

Tower. The first fortress of

wood (1067) was replaced by a

stone building (1077-997) within

the still visible Roman city wall,

and under various monarchs was extended.

We went into the Jewel House and then I

went into White tower (1098) to see a very

good exhibit called Henry VIII Dressed to

Kill which contained much of the King’s

actual armor. After going through that and

climbing up and down narrow turret stairs, I

found the kids sitting dead-like (did THEY

climb the stairs?!) on a bench. Before exiting

the site, I DID make them walk along the

outer walls of the fortress to stretch their legs

and take in the history.

We again caught the bus and headed

back to our Victoria Station (and this is

where the “fireworks” began to explode!) I would have liked to get back on another bus or

13
take the tube somewhere (we didn’t use it at all today) but Marina has been going on and

on and on about going back to Crawley (Lloyd’s town) and going to some “teen club

night”. Oh, then she added that she wanted to spend the night in Crawley too! She KNEW

I was not keen on the club idea (we discussed it for over a week) but she said, basically,

that she wouldn’t shut up until she got her way. She pissed me off so much that I finally

handed her a hotel card, a metro card and twenty pounds and told her to do what she

“bloody well” wanted (actually more vulgar American slang than that!). I turned and left

her with Lloyd and what did she do????..... One would have THOUGHT a 15 year old in a

foreign country would quickly realize she’s being a horror and she’d tell her friend that

she’s sorry that both of them are disappointed and come after her mom. But, NO!!!!

Marina actually bought a train ticket. Malka and I came back to the hotel by which time I

was livid. I called Marina on Lloyd’s cell and basically told her so (in addition to many

choice words not printable here). Shortly there-after, Lloyd called saying he wouldn’t take

her on the train without my permission (this guy has class!) so I instructed him to bring her

back to the hotel which he kindly did. I felt badly that he was put in the middle of the

scene, apologized to him for Marina’s selfish behavior and thanked him for being

responsible. We walked him back to catch his train and then we went to a different internet

café. This one boasted 40+ new computers and since the other one was ridiculously small

and gross, we thought this would be better.

NOT AT ALL! It was slightly larger but equally

gross, more expensive and looking to rip off

customers. After ½ hour (during which time I

couldn’t even log onto my regular mail!) we left

and went to a local restaurant for dinner. Back

in the room, Lloyd called, Marina was unusually

chatty and even happy, and about 10:15 I finally got her off the phone. Pepe called right

after (having been trying and getting a busy tone for hours) and so ended our day. I hope

tomorrow is more cheerful and full!

Day 5 – August 28

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 Today certainly was full, and not only of sights but of giggles and good humor. We

were up and out of the hotel by 9:30. At 9:45 we were at the tour bus for the first departure

of the day (9:45) using yesterday’s 24 hour ticket. It was good until 11:10 this morning, but

no one came on mid-route (thankfully) so we drove around all corners of the city until

nearly noon. We began on the “Red Line” heading west. Today’s new sites were (and I’m

only listing the ones I actually had

heard of previously or took photos of

today): Hyde Park, Speakers’ Corner,

Wellington Arch (we passed this

THREE times today and FINALLY I

think I got a good picture of it!!!

Even after reading my tour book, I

don’t know its significance, but it IS

pretty! – see right), Marble Arch (if

you look at the photo below you’ll

see the black bronze gates shut in the middle. Only Royalty can pass through the arch –

pretty silly if you ask me since the arch is just free-

standing and it leads no-where, and you can go

around it! It was modeled after the Arch of

Constantine in Rome. Built in 1827 it was

supposed to stand before Buckingham Palace but

the central archway was not wide enough for the

gold stage coach of the king/queen to pass

through. So, it was dismantled in 1837 and rebuilt

in 1851 on the former site of the Tybyrn Gallows.)

We then passed busy Oxford Street (the

famous shopping street which we‘ve yet to walk

and waste money on),

Madame Tussaude’s Wax Museum, heading back south-east we

15
passed BBC Broadcasting Buildings, the APPLE STORE (Marina had to see that!) and we

got off at Piccadilly Circus. At this point we still had about twenty minutes left on our

ticket so we walked around the corner and picked up the “blue line” for a long drive south-

west. We drove past Hyde Park again, Kensington Gardens where Kensington Palace is

located although we couldn’t see it, we flew past

Royal Albert Hall which is and ugly round building a

¼ mile in circumference, and across the street from

that the very ornate Albert Memorial. Thanks to

Marina’s quick reflexes, she actually got a picture. It

is “the epitome of mid-Victorian taste and sentiment”

designed by Sir George Gilbert Schott in 1872 as a

neo-Gothic spire 175 feet tall and decorated with

mosaics, pinnacles , a cross, and a 14 foot gilded

figure of the Prince Consort. We then passed the

Natural History Museum, this time seeing the

beautiful front entry (I guess we entered by the side the other day), some other museums,

the famous Harrod’s Department Store, and back to our Piccadilly stop.

It was a very full morning and rather chilly on top of the bus, yet sunny as well as

you can see in the pictures of the girls with either hoods up or hair blowing but sunglasses

in place! We had lunch right where we

“alighted” at Ed’s Diner which is fashioned

after a 1950’s American Diner complete

with red vinyl and chrome seats, juke boxes

and old fashioned milk shake machines. We

16
enjoyed a nice meal (yummy chicken guijons – nuggets – is that a British word?) and

warmed up a bit before taking the underground to the Waterloo Station to catch the train to

Hampton Court Palace.

We bought the tickets easily enough (1 adult, 2 kids – what a deal for 8 pound 50,

and got another 2 for 1 coupon that would get one of the girls into the palace for free (a 7

pound savings!) Why don’t we have these travel/cultural deals back home? The train went

SLOWLY or so it seems, although the trip only lasted about 40 minutes. Amazingly, the

Palace was right across the river which was right

next to the station! No more than a 5 minute walk.

When we entered the Base Court (the first

courtyard through the West Gate Entrance) we

were greeting by two costumed “actors/guides”

playing the part of Henry VIII’s 6th wife’s aunt and

his top servant. They introduced us to the fact that

“today” the King was to marry Kateryn Parr (the

6th and final wife of the monarch). We all then

went to the cloak room and donned velvet cloaks

to formally fit into “the Court”. Malka did NOT

want to do that, but in the end she was a sport. We

continued into the Great Hall where we heard about the Hall, Henry, his previous wives

and this special wedding day. We then moved into the

next room where

Henry VIII entered and

was presented with his

beautiful bride.

Marina was TOTALLY

into this reenactment

and wanted to follow

through with it for the

17
remainder of the day. But just watching this little bit in one room took ½ hour and it was

now 4:00 and we had an entire palace and grounds to explore. “The wedding” was to take

place privately as apparently only 18 guests were invited to the wedding, and we had

thirty minutes to start sightseeing on our own. We never did get back to “the show” but

instead picked up a wonderful audio tour and started out in the palace kitchens.

We got a fascinating glimpse of the quantity of food prepared at the time and how it

was prepared. I had known that the

Royal Court used to travel throughout

the country in huge caravans of royalty

and servants, but I didn’t know that

one of the reasons was because they

totally exhausted the food resources of

each city they stayed in for an extended

period of time. There were often 600

people in Court and they had to be fed

two times a day, and we aren’t talking about a bowl of cereal, a pbj sandwich or a

McDonald’s burger! The kitchen occupied

36,000 square feet which is about 1/3 of the

lower level of the castle! YIKES! At Hampton

Court there are actually “experimental food

historians” who work in the kitchens and

prepare food as per Tudor times and recipes

18
using only period methods and utensils. The audio tour was very thorough and

educational as was one of the cooks.

From the kitchens we went up the grand staircase back to the great hall and on

through Henry’s apartments. Unfortunately, there was no audio tour for this section,

probably because of this week’s “wedding festivities” which were taking place in the

apartments. Now, for a bit of Hampton Court Palace history: It is known as TWO palaces

really; the first being the Tudor one built in the 16 th century by Thomas Wolsey who rose

under Henry VIII to become Archbishop, then Lord Chancellor, then Cardinal and finally

Papal Legate. To celebrate his wealth and status he began to build this mansion as per the

usual Tudor plan of consecutive courts (court yards) bordered by buildings. The Palace

contained some 1000 rooms (280 for guests)

and had plenty of chimneys to keep all warm

and individual toilets with sewers (I don’t

know if that came from Wolsey’s time or from

when Henry took over the grounds.) The

magnificence of Wolsey’s mansion actually

outshone the Royal palaces and the King was

envious. When Wolsey fell from power and

from Henry’s graces (he wasn’t able to get the

Pope in Rome to agree to a divorce for Henry

from his first wife Catherine of Aragon) the

King took Hampton Court Palace as his own, and

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he added at the time, among other things, the Great Hall, the Tennis Court (photo to the

right), the gardens and orchards.

The “second” palace was that of William and Mary who wanted to totally demolish

the Tudor palace but instead had the east & south areas rebuilt (in the Baroque style) in the

17th century. They ran out of money to redo the entire palace because William spent most

of his money on wars. The two architectural styles totally clash as you can see in the photo.

Since we were (kind of) pressed for time, and since Marina didn’t care for the

Baroque section of the palace at all, compared with the Tudor part which thrilled her, we

ran through the other (more modern) apartments in order to give a lot of attention to the

grounds and the gardens. We first went to the indoor Royal Tennis Court which is still in

use today. Royal tennis is NOT the game of tennis as we know and is played off of the

walls. We walked through “the wilderness”, natural woodland, of which now only 9 acres

remain. Here, one of four original mazes still exists, dating from 1714. We all walked into

the triangular maze together. I wanted the three of us to separate to see who got out first,

but Malka didn’t want to go alone. So, she and I went in one direction while Marina took

20
off on her own. I think she make it out lickity-split while it took Malka and me about 15

minutes. The truth is, we probably only made it out in that time when another maze

runner told us his secret of always

taking the left when presented with a

choice. We then strolled around all the other gardens of the grounds and finally ended up

by the oldest grapevine in the world (230+ years old). The palace closes at 6:00 and I really

think we were amongst the last tourists out.

We took the 6:24 train back to Waterloo Station, arrived a bit past 7, took the

underground to Victoria and had a very filling dinner at a pizza, pasta and salad buffet. As

we were leaving the food court area, I felt a drop of water and heard thunderous rain

pounding the station’s roof. We then saw water GUSHING in the building where the

angled roof met the supporting columns, totally flooding the floor below (as if a water

main pipe exploded from above). Since we wouldn’t be walking out in that weather, I

went to a kiosk to get a cup of coffee because not only was it rainy, it was rather cold!!!

(We’ve only had what I would consider mildly-summer-like weather on our first day!) As I

bought the coffee, we heard screaming and people were congregating by an escalator. The

girls said they heard that someone was caught in the escalator. I said it sounded more like

a deranged or drunk man. I must have been correct as the police dragged the man

(walking and not injured or laying on a cot) right past us in handcuffs.

We exited the station and the rain had stopped. (Luckily we keep missing the brief

downpours). We walked back to the hotel after a VERY full day, and were in our room by

8:30 for the night!

Day 6 – August 29

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 After a semi-early breakfast (we sat down a bit before 9) we took the underground

to Paddington Station. It was a fairly long ride, but that’s where we needed to be in order

to catch a train to Bath. What we discovered though, upon arrival at the ticket window,

was that our trip to Bath would cost us 98 pounds (that’s about $175) NOT HAPPENING!

The way they figure the rail rates here makes NO sense. Yesterday we paid 8.50 for a 40

minute ride and yet today’s 90 minute ride would be more than 10 times the price. We

opted instead to go to Windsor to see the Castle. With the Castle admission purchased

along with the train, it cost us 43 pound. Supposedly both were discounted rates, but who

really knows! We immediately boarded a train, only to find that nearly every seat was

“reserved”, so we walked through to the last car where we sat until the first stop, Slough,

where we transferred trains to Windsor.

In no time at all we reached our destination. The train station was lovely, with

boutiques, cafes, restaurants, tourist info. I don’t recall it being like that 31 years ago! To

get to the Castle, all we had

to do was basically exit the

station and cross the street.

Wow, those old Kings made

it convenient for modern

tourists putting their castles

and palaces right next to

public transportation!  It

turned out the ticket seller at

Paddington was right, the

tickets he sold us were

cheaper (why we needed the train tickets is a mystery… they never did come to collect or

check them!)

The Castle entrance also included an audio tour which, like all the other similar ones

we’ve taken, was excellent. We started with Saint George’s Chapel. It is “the spiritual

headquarters of England’s prime order of chivalry, the Most Noble Order of the Garter.”

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(??clarification please!!) It is also where the headless body of King Charles I is buried, and

Henry VIII, Jane

Seymour, George V,

Queen Mary, etc., etc.,

and more recently, the

Queen mother in 2002

and the ashes of

Princess Margaret. The

present building was

completed by Henry

VIII in 1528 on the site

of the original Chapel

of the Order of the Garter (1348) and (…again… translation please) is “a glorious

expression of Perpendicular Gothic Architecture”. In MY words, it is a SPECTACULAR

work of art, artistry and architecture! The tour took us around the tombs, the 1790 organ

screen, the Quire and Garter with stalls of ornate wood carving, the detailed carved stone

ceiling, the brilliant stained glass window. It was all overwhelming. Even Marina said as

much (oh… maybe she said that about Westminster Abbey but this was equally amazing to

admire!) We spent a good amount of time there and then

proceeded to the Castle where we

waited on line 10 minutes to see Queen

Mary’s doll house and the State

Apartments. The rooms were

immense and mind-blowing in their

design and content and it was

interesting to learn that a great fire

destroyed much of the Castle in 1992

but that within five years it had been artfully and historically

restored!

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 Windsor Castle is THE OLDEST Royal residence to have remained in continuous

use by the reigning monarchs and is THE LARGEST one in England. It was intended by

William the Conqueror (c 1080) as one of several defensive strongholds around London

and for that reason was built on the only elevated point in that stretch of the Thames

Valley. Since the year 1110 it has been used by successive monarchs.

When we finished our Castle visit, the girls were hungry. Actually, and surprisingly

for anyone who knows her, Marina was hungry DURING our visit. Malka wanted to go

back to the train station to eat McDonalds (I don’t think there was one at this classy station)

but I opted instead for a pub where we enjoyed “cheesy garlic bread”, fish ‘n chips with

mushy peas (they are even worse even than they sound) and an Angus burger with chips.

The pub, The Carpenters Arm, is “a public house” dating back to 1518.

When we finished eating, we wandered the small Victorian town of brick buildings,

cobbled streets and tourist shops (okay, that part of town was really tiny). It was chilly out

so I stopped to get Marina, who was the coldest, a hot chocolate. In the end she didn’t even

want to hold it, let alone drink it, so Malka and I shared it, burning our tongues and throats

along the way. We continued walking down a lovely and newer pedestrian shopping

street and ended up back at the station. I went to the tourist office to enquire about Eton

College. At this time it was after 3:30 and I was told the final tour of the famous school was

at 3:30. Since the school was a 15 minute walk down the road, and since we were tired

already, and since we were chilled, there was NO WAY the girls were going to walk any

distance just to look through a gate. We took the 4:00 train back to London and later I read

in a tour book that Eton was actually open until 4:30 – oh well!

Now, Marina had wanted to go to the King’s Cross Train Station (via the

underground) when we returned to London. Why???? Because King’s Cross is THE

FAMOUS station from which Harry Potter and friends depart to Hogwarts School of

Magic. Of course, this is PURE fiction, but it was another “must do” on the list of “must

do’s” this trip. But the clickity-click of the slow moving train made her really tired (and me

too). She came up with the idea of first returning to the hotel for a nap (at 5:00??!!) and

then venturing out again. When we got back to the room she saw she had received a

24
phone message from a “Mr. Lloyd” and all of a sudden she came to life; even more so

when she returned his call! After an hour of talking, I finally said, let’s go out if you want

to go out! So out we went AGAIN taking full advantage of the Oyster Card.

We went to Kings Cross and what did we see… NOTHING! What were we even

looking for??? We didn’t even go IN to look for platform 9 3/4. But, Marina took the photo

(just like the Fleet Street ones or the Apple Store ones) and at least she looked at the

architecture too!) From there we went to the bustling Piccadilly Circus, walked a little, ate

a little, shopped a little, saw a little China Town and then went back to the hotel so she

could call Ziggy (the Scottish guy).

Since we all know about Marina and her “blokes”, let’s just have a little aside here

and talk about crazy Malka and her obsession with guys with EMO, cool or “perfect” hair

(whatever that is), and “nice faces.” Her eyes bug out when she tells Marina to take

random photos (and thankfully, Marina usually does NOT comply!) I asked her why she

wants these photos and she says to show them to her friends on-line so they can all be ga-

ga over strange boys or teens (that is my interpretation of what she said). YIKES… the

hormones of my ten year old!

Okay, it’s now 10:40 p.m. and Marina’s still on the phone. Time to pull the plug and

call it a night. Tomorrow is our last full day here. 

Day 7 – August 30

OMG!!! I had a “school anxiety dream”… that means that not only is our London

experience over, but summer is as good as done too! Our wakeup call didn’t come this

morning but since my body is now acclimated to British time, I find myself waking up as I

do at home; first at 5:00 then at 6:00 but amazingly; I stayed in bet until 7:37. Lloyd was

coming (did come) to take Marina to his home town of Crawley for the day. Because of the

long lines at his station, he didn’t get to London until close to 11 (or maybe even after that).

We all walked to Victoria Station where the ticket line that we had to stand on was

incredibly long as well. I must say though, they are very efficient and the queue moved

quickly. Malka and I had an entire day’s agenda set (although flexible) but our first stop,

25
the Bevis Marks Synagogue was closing today at 12:30 and by the time we got Marina’s

ticket, it was approaching 12:00.

We left Lloyd and Marina at the station with instructions on which train to return on

in the evening (let’s see if they make it or not!) and Malka and I bolted for the

underground. We successfully made our transfer between lines and came above ground at

Aldgate. This is a part of the city off the beaten path, far removed from tourists or anything

the least bit familiar. Also, being a Sunday, the area was desolate. It took a few minutes to

find our bearings (no thanks to some security people in a local office building who had

never heard of the address I gave them, although in the end it was two blocks away). At

12:23 we found the synagogue. We weren’t charged the 2 pound admission fee (according

to Malka I actually said to the guard, “Could we NOT pay?”) since we had no time to do

more than stick our head through the door and take in the shiny brass candelabras that

hung from the ceiling and get a quick glimpse of the architecture. This might be a hidden

secret of the city. I only really came across a mention of it as I looked through all the

walking tour offers (never did get to take on!) and then in the Michelin Tour Book read a

mention of a Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue (the oldest in England, 1701) but with no

name or address. It wasn’t marked on any map (and I have a few) I had to have the

concierge “Google it”. After our quick “Shalom-Shalom” we went on to the Petticoat Lane

Market (down the street from its original 17 th century location) which was packed with

people. Maybe the rest of the neighborhood was so quiet

because everyone was here! We walked amongst the

stalls and saw the largest mix of ethnicities and minorities

that I had seen so far on this trip. Malka even saw a

woman in a burka, which freaked her out, and I had to

explain what that was. We bought a very funky backpack

for her to begin Middle School with and then started to

walk towards the Liverpool Street Train Station to pick up

another tube to our next stop. Along the way we came

really close to “the Gherkin” which is (in my opinion) a

26
horribly ugly (but award winning for design) cucumber-shaped building that looms over

the sky-line. We had see it from afar, and Marina had taken many photos, but Malka

insisted I take one more since we were but a few blocks away. If we got too close we lost

sight of it from the street due to the other tall buildings. So, we walked over to a small park

in front of a church (get his name) St. Botolph-without-Bishopsgate! From there, with a

pretty plant in front to hopefully make the ugly “gherkin” look nicer, I took the photo.

On to the train station we went, and in front of it

was a statue remembering the “Children of the Kinder

transport” (10,000 I think the number was) and thanking

the British who helped save them during WWII. Said

children entered England via the Liverpool St. Station.

From here we travelled by underground to the

Bond Street stop on Oxford Street, the famous shopping

way. It was packed!!! I wanted to take Malka to Primark,

a rather inexpensive but extensive department store (I

had been in one in Scotland) and I thought we had taken

the underground far enough down Oxford, but it turned

out that we still had to walk quite a ways, and we did. It

was another blustery, overcast, day (we didn’t even pack

long sleeve shirts for this trip!) and in addition to the chill,

I had to pee!!! One would think that a store as humongous

as Primark would have public restrooms, but then again,

you should have seen the crowds! I decided it was the

perfect time for a lunch break, so we exited the store,

rounded the corner and found a lovely little restaurant

(named ASK) with a perfect menu and very nice toilets!

(Sorry if this is too much information) Apparently, Malka was starving as she quickly

downed more than ½ a pizza (and apparently she was peeing as well as she did not

hesitate to use the facilities as she usually does!) I finished off the pizza along with a very

27
nice salad and then we went back to Primark. People were exiting the store with bags and

bags and turning over piles and piles of merchandise inside. Malka has been noticing

(along with the neat hair of the cute guys) that many people here are wearing a “specific”

sneaker. Every two minutes she’s saying, “Look, they have the sneakers!” It amazes me

how she could simultaneously look at someone’s head and feet… oh such talent my little

one has! Anyway, these are THE MOST NONDESCRIPT sneakers imaginable; basic

canvas sneakers like the ones we (me and my generation and probably the generation

before as well) grew up with before fancy sports-specific or name-brand- trendy footwear

became an industry. Well, what do ya know, Primark sells this coveted sneaker for 1.96

(that’s about $3.75!) I bought them for Malka with the condition that she leave behind her

too small, worn out, overpriced Converse which she had written all over. She agreed. I

asked if she felt ridiculous having just spent $70+ on the knee-high Converse that she

bought immediately prior to our trip… no comment.

Malka kind of wanted to keep shoppin, and kind of didn’t. When I showed her the

map of how close we were to the tube and how far we’d need to continue down Oxford

Street before reaching the next station if our shopping expedition were to continue it was a

“no-brainer”. Our original plans were to walk the entire thing and then head south on

Charing Cross all the way down to Trafalgar Square,

but since we had already walked a good portion in

the opposite direction, we decided to take two

connecting lines to reach our next destination. We

got to St. Martin-in-the Fields Church (where we

saw Andrew Lloyd Weber early in the week and

where I had hoped to catch a concert at some point

but never did) because supposedly there was a

market behind the building. Today was going to be

our shopping/market day, and we DID do that, but

there were two markets way north (off the map) that

we couldn’t get to, and now this one was nowhere

28
in sight. Oh well… We did step into the church this time and have a quick look around.

There is a funky bent-looking window in the back (see photo). Maybe some damage

happened during the war, but I couldn’t find any mention anywhere (something else for

me to “Google” and here is what I found:)

It is a permanent replacement for a stained glass window shattered by bombs in the Second World
War that would "successfully animate the light". The abstract cross-infused design by the 1994
Turner prize nominee Shirazeh Houshiary and her architect husband Pip Horne was chosen from a
shortlist of five contemporary artists. From an art critical or London-cultural perspective they might
seem the obvious choice - not one of the other proposals comes close to the poetic simplicity of their
warped monochrome grid. It is a rather gynecological reworking of the ultimate symbols of
Christianity and modernism - the cross and the grid. Houshiary's subtle curvilinear abstraction of the
stained glass lattice feels very other and feminine, throwing the Church of England's slowly shifting
conservatism towards matters of race, gender and sexuality into sharp relief.

Now the wind was really whipping up and I was FREEZING! Malka wanted to sit.

Did we not just do so for 3 minutes on the tube? Actually, we walked almost 6 hours

today! I said we’d sit only if I get some hot coffee. So we went to Pret Manger (some café

with prepared sandwiches and coffee) and I had my hot drink and she had a yummy

chocolate croissant. I miss my Dunkin’ Donuts and Gevalia coffee. Coffee is HORRIBLE

here! I keep ordering “Americano” or “filtered Americano” hoping it’s weaker than

espresso (everyone at home knows I like a lot of coffee but weak!) but UCH, it’s sooooo

strong here! After getting the chill out of my system I made Malka pass the station in front

of the café and we walked to Embankment Station that afforded us a direct trip home. By

the time we got back to the room, it was about 5:45. Oh no! We (I) had also planned to

take in some culture at the Saatchl Gallery. Guess that will have to wait for our next

London vacation. Let’s see… it’s 31 years since my last trip here. Will I make it back in

another 31 when I’m 80 (scary thought) or sooner?

At 6:35 I called Lloyd to make sure they were on the way and he told me their train

was just approaching the station. GOOD KIDS! I asked if they wanted me to meet them

but they declined the offer and a few minutes later they were at the door. Lloyd stayed a

while and I caught up on their day (and they ours) and then Marina and I walked him back

to catch his train. He really is a sweet boy and tomorrow will surely be sad and I’ll be left

with Marina’s mood to deal with. Sigh….

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 It’s now 10 p.m. and we are basically all packed and I’m caught up on this journal.

I’m going to have a lot of typing to do in the near future!

Day 8 – August 31

Woke up bright and early on this our departing day. The temperature in the lobby

and restaurant was noticeably warmer than the past mornings, which translated to warmer

temps outside. Aside from the day we arrived (when Marina wore shorts) today was

probably the warmest day. Oh well! After breakfast Malka and I went out for a walk to, as

she said, “spend money”. First we had to go to the train station because our Oyster card

expired yesterday and we needed to “top it off” in order to take the tube to the airport.

What a deal at 4 pounds 40 for the three of us together! Then we

walked a few blocks, stopping at EVERY souvenir shop and Malka

got an “I London” pen, an “I London” sweatshirt, an “I

London” key chain and a pen for her friend Abigail that also said…

what else?, “I London” . It’s funny, Marina got Lloyd an “I

NY” shirt from home but they are actually sold here too, amongst all

the kitschy tourist crap.

We were out and about nearly an hour and when we got back

to our room, Lloyd had already arrived. He got up at 6:30 today!!!

His parents must think he’s crazy (his dad said later that he was “all

loved up”). Both he and Marina were sulking so I said “up and out”

and we walked for at least another hour. We took in the sights (none

actually) on the other side of the hotel where we never ventured

before. It was a residential neighborhood with small B&B’s and a

large supermarket. Heading back towards the hotel and past, I took

us back to Buckingham Palace. As we came near I heard a tour guide

saying the changing of the guard was going to take place at 11:00. Oh

no!!! It was about 10:50 and I did NOT want to be in the middle of

THAT again. The size of the crowd was so much smaller than that of

30
exactly a week ago. Maybe being August 31, all the European tourists were already back in

their homes with the August holidays over. Even though it was not packed, we didn’t stay

for the procession (it wasn’t happening at 11:00 because we left shortly thereafter in order

to straighten up our room, brush our teeth and check out by noon). We did see the guards

playing their instruments while wearing those insane big hats and we saw other soldiers

being checked for their dress.

We also had the ONLY family photo taken of the three

of us (thanks to Lloyd) in front of the Palace. Well, not

EXACTLY in front, but with the building behind us.

Walking back to the hotel, I bought Marina a flag to put

with her Scottish flag back home in her room. I

earlier got her an English mug (like her Scottish

one) not that she drinks out of it, but she enjoys

complaining when someone else does!

We put the finishing touches to the luggage, locked our bags and checked out at

noon on the dot. We didn’t actually leave the hotel since we had time before needing to be

at Heathrow, so Malka and I sat in one area of the large lobby and Marina and Lloyd in

31
another, huddled together in an oversized arm chair. A bit before 1:00 we walked over to

the station and once we knew which platform Lloyd would be leaving from, we said good-

bye and left (SO SAD!) He looked devastated all morning. Marina hides her sadness with

obnoxiousness and grumpiness. It would be so much easier if she just cried and got it over

with. The tube ride to the airport was uneventful once all the rowdy Nottinghill Carnival-

goers got off, and at 2:30 we reached our final English destination – the airport.

It was incredibly empty at this world-famous (and probably one of the world’s

largest) airport. It took about 5 minutes to check in and another 5 to clear security WITH

OUR SHOES ON! We sat down for a very nice and filling lunch for which I paid with

nearly all my coins and with my last 50 pence coin Marina called Lloyd to say one FINAL

good-bye (until we got home where she now spends hours on MSN or Skype talking to

him!)

The plane began boarding at 4:15 (for a 5:05 flight) and we were taxiing down the

run-way at 5! I don’t know what it is with me and flying, but as soon as we hit the air I was

asleep and woke up at 5:30 when they were handing out (very loudly and way too early)

the U.S. customs forms. So now I have the remainder of the 8 hour flight ahead of me to

get through and many fond memories to look back on!

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