Days Thirteen and Fourteen - London - April 2023

Our final day in London was pretty chill. We went out for a pub lunch, and later in the day we went to Queensway for a few last items for Deb to take home. We finished up some of the food we had stockpiled, packed, and watched Suits on TV. This trip has been delightful, but we have realized that we are no longer 35 and we are exhausted. The days of running all day, dashing up and down Tube station stairs, and running down Palace Court at the end of an adventure are over. That ship seems to have sailed. 

After all these years we finally tried the Champion, 

just around the corner: it's charming and the food is good

A silly mirror selfie

Debby introduced us to Appletiser - delicious 

Bangers and mash, excellent mac and cheese

It's all about food, now isn't it deah?

Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Divine Wisdom

(Hagia Sophia) just around the corner on Moscow Road

Our digs for the week (notice large freaky feline lower left)

There! Fixed that

Our bedroom

Main bath

Debby's bedroom

A shoe selfie in the posh side portion of the huge waiting

lounge at LHR on our homeward journey

After a two hour delay, Delta flight 51 to SLC is almost ready to depart

All's well that ends well. Our flight home was smooth as silk, but my legs could hardly hold still, and after a nine hour flight Ann and Stephen picked us up at SLC and we drove home to unpack and go straight to bed.

That's it for this trip.

OXO

D.

Day Twelve - London - April 2023

The sun shone brilliantly on our Easter-weekend visit to Greenwich. We weren't the only ones with the idea of a day out east of London; there were hordes of friend groups and British families along with a fair bunch of tourists. We were back at the flat in time to rest a bit before heading to dinner at a wonderful Indian-inspired eatery recommended by Stephen and Ann. The food was delicious, but one of our team found it hot. We headed to Haymarket where we caught the #139 bus to the Vaudeville Theatre on The Strand for a fabulous performance of SIX, a rousing musical performed by the wives of Henry VIII.

At the Bank Station where we transferred to the Docklands

Light Rail, the GAP could seriously suck you in

During Covid, GBK pared back to just a few restaurants and

this survivor in Greenwich still makes a delicious gorgonzola

and sweet chili burger

Cutty Sark

Dickie wants his shot (cred: Deb)

Turnpin Lane

The Queen's House

Colonnade of the Royal Hospital

The Docklands has a skyline that is constantly changing

Greenwich Church Street with St. Alfege church

Kricket in Soho

The girlies with fresh lime sodas

This is not you father's chicken-kourma-kind-of place

 Grilled lamb leg kosho mangsho, ghee roast hake, 

spring vegetable pao bhaji, grilled butternut squash, 

pilau rice, and wild garlic kulcha

Piccadilly Circus at dusk

Ditto

A golden-hour snap from the bus of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

The Vaudeville Theatre

So how, actually, did we live before selfies?

This all female cast and band was powerful: I felt the spirit 

(frisson) in the finale

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Day Eleven - London - April 2023

We had an adventure. Since first coming to London in 1978, I have admired the huge Battersea Power Station. The gigantic brick structure with four tall chimneys was built in phases between 1929 and 1955, and decommissioned in 1978 the year we arrived in London. It sat derelict until about ten years ago when restoration and redevelopment of the entire area began. It was opened to the public in October of 2022, and it is spectacular. The station gained counter-culture icon status when it appeared on the cover of Pink Floyd's Animals album. We took the bus coming and going and arrived home just before the rain started. We went out again in the evening for fish and chips at a chippy on Pembridge Road.

Headed south through Chelsea and Belgravia 

towards the river on a 452 bus

Chelsea Bridge with the old Western Pumping Station 

chimney in Chelsea on the right

Dickie and Krisy at the train bridge

This album cover introduced Battersea Station to the world

A historic photo of one of the cavernous turbine halls

when the power station sat unused

Restored, looking fabulous, and HUGE (as with most

photos it is impossible to convey scale)

Kris headed in

It thrills me that the architect left the "archeology"

of the original building intact

The west turbine hall: the gray walls and engaged columns

are the original Art-Deco terra cotta panels 

The original cranes for moving enormous amounts of coal

are still in place

Lunch at Pret: the quality is back up to snuff

I love this icon

The entire Nine Elms area along the river has blossomed - 

the building that appears covered in dots is the new US

Embassy (click on the photo to enlarge)

Pembridge Square, just around the corner, puts me in mind

of Cherry Tree Lane in Mary Poppins

Pembridge Road for . . .

Fish, chips, and mushy peas

Deb on Pembridge Square at golden hour

More to come.

OXO

D.

Day Ten - London - April 2023

We spent some time in the neighborhood on Queensway taking care of a few important purchases before heading to Kensington Gardens for a walk and some bench time. At the Albert Memorial, we took the #9 bus to Green Park where we caught the Jubilee Line to the London Bridge Station and Borough Market. We had a booking for an early dinner at Roast, a fine restaurant recommended by Emily. When we finished it was beginning to sprinkle rain and Borough was closing down, so we headed home on the Tube.

Our Airbnb is in the basement of this

fine Pont Street Dutch-style house at 49 Palace Court

Kris adding to her mug collection

Queensway south of the Bayswater Station

Lower Queensway is becoming quite posh: the tourist junk dealers

have moved to the top of the street or disappeared altogether,

perhaps driven by the regentrification of Whiteley's - 

the store fronts have beenrestored to an early 20th century style: nice

Whiteley's is in the process of becoming high-end dwellings, a posh

hotel, and shops - only the outer shell was saved

The Whiteley's shell on Google Maps

Kensington Gardens is in full spring bloom

Headed to the Broad Walk

Victoria with Kensington Palace in the rear

This path runs between Kensington Gore and the Flower Walk

The path, like the Flower Walk, leads to the Albert Memorial

Bluebells are an added treat

Borough Market

View of Saint Pauls from Roast

Ready to order

The Yorkshire pudding was a big disappointment: dry, 

flakey, and tasteless, without a whiff of egg flavor; all

else was delicious . . .

. . . Including this apple crumble and custard

Debby's sole was reportedly delicious

"This is a Central Line train to White City"

A new Pelican Crossing where we used to dodge cars - the barriers

on each side are at the ready for protests in front of the 

Russian Embassy at the top of Palace Court 

Still more to come.

OXO

D.