David and Kris's Blog

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Kenwood, Hampstead, British Library, and the British Museum

Wednesday morning, 6 July, we caught the 390 bus at the stop just around the corner from our flat and rode all the way up to the Archway Station. The 210 took us up the hill to Highgate and Kenwood House. And the 210 took us back to Waterlow Park so that we could walk down to Parliament Hill by way of the park, Highgate Cemetery, and Swain's Lane. We had sandwiches from Tesco Express and Kalendar bakery on Swain's Lane. The bakery was the winner for sure. We took in the view of London from Parliament Hill and continued on to Hampstead village by way of the bathing ponds. The Northern Line took us to Kings Cross St. Pancras where we hoped to see platform 9 3/4, but after the major rebuild of the station, the fake site is quite prominent and was slammed. We went into the British Library and saw all of their treasures on display in one room. We took a Piccadilly train to Covent Garden and passed a bit more time than we had the night before. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the National Gallery followed by dinner at the Leicester Square Wagamama. That evening we attended a performance of The Phantom of the Opera. It was good, but as Anna noted, they needed to dust the set.

Always the first one up and dressed

Louisa headed to the bus stop

Enjoying the view from the top of the 390 bus -- sort of

"The rooftops of London" from Hampstead Heath

The crew at Kenwood House

I love Vermeer

My favorite Franz Hals

Hearing about Adam's library restoration

Fine Adam plasterwoork

Another traditional photo spot

Kenwood House from the lake

The lake

England is blessed with beautiful gardens

Sharing treats at the 210 bus stop

Scaling the walls and fences at Highgate Cemetery

This part of the cemetery is overgrown and moody

Ready to head up Hampstead High Street

Up out of the center of the earth

Hoards at King's Cross Station waiting in line to take a photo

St. Pancras is now home to a high-end Marriott

Those Victorians knew how to make interesting buildings

The British Library

Jane Austen's writing desk and a manuscript of Persuasion

The Beatles Help and Yesterday

Cockney performers at St. Paul's in Covent Garden

The Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery

Regrouping in Trafalgar Square

Regrouping always involves treats

Her Majesty's Theatre

Excitement in the air

Still on schedule and having a great time.

OXO

Friday, July 15, 2016

Greenwich and the British Museum

On Tuesday Morning, July 5, we met the Montezes at the bus stop. We thought we had plenty of time, so a bus seemed like a good idea. It turns out there were diversions because of works on Bayswater Road. The trip was taking so long that we jumped ship at Bond Street and took the Jubilee Line to Westminster where we arrived just in time to catch a boat down the river to Greenwich. We saw the Painted Hall at the Royal Naval College and then had lunch in St. Alfege church yard. We were in place below the Observatory in time for the ball drop, but it didn't happen. We climbed to the Observatory, had a look around, then headed to the Docklands Lightrail which took us to Bank. The Central Line delivered us at Tottenham Court Road where massive works are underway on the new Crossrail Line. We wound our way through a maze of hoarding and back streets and eventually came out at the British Museum where we spent the rest of the afternoon. We had supper at Gourmet Burger Kitchen and headed to Covent Garden and the the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane for an evening performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Our seats were in the top balcony and I was dozy, so I am not prepared to give a solid review. The Tube from Holborn took us home to bed.

The 94 bus on diversion in the Paddington neighborhood

Bond Street Tube Station

Headed down river

Tate Modern with the new addition right rear

Wren's Hospital and Jones's Queen's House

They seemed to trust me to lead the way

Wren's double columns

The Painted Hall

The whole gang

Fish and chips, pasties, etc. from the shops on

Greenwich High Road

Not bad enough to make the major-disappointment list

Traditional photo

Nice views from Greenwich

Baby Goat Cheese shows the enormous scale of the Parthenon

columns and entablature

The Parthenon Sculptures (Elgin Marbles is no longer

politically correct, especially for the Greeks)

Caryatid at the British Museum

Regrouping at the British Museum before dinner and a play;

chocolate was probably involved

View from the nose-bleed section of The Theatre Royal Drury Lane

They liked it but thought Matilda was better

Another splendid day in London.

OXO

Fourth of July in the West End

On the 4th of July, we were joined by the Montez family, Anna and Rob's friends from Reno. Dave, Shannon, and their kids, Shelby, Matt, Sophia, and Franklin met us in London after spending a week in Ireland. Our crew got out the door a bit early, so I marched them down Pembridge Gardens and Pembridge Road to Westbourne Grove. We continued on to Queensway -- a bit early to go in Whiteleys -- and walked to the top of the street where we met the Montezes outside the Queensway Tube Station. The larger, combined group explored Kensington Gardens and stopped at the Diana Fountain on our way to Exhibiton Road. We made a quick stop at the V&A and the Brompton Oratory. On Brompton Road, we nipped into Harrods to see the bizarre Dodi Fayed/Diana memorial and the food halls. We bought lunch at the food halls and ate in the street. We walked to Hyde Park Corner with all its Wellington-related stuff, Green Park, and Buckingham Palace. St. James's Park connected us to Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, Downing Street, Banqueting House, and the Horse Guards. We ended the touring part of the day at the Churchill War Rooms, finishing just in time to dash by Tube to meet Matt and Kim for dinner at the Mitre on Hollad Park Road. We had a fun mini-Boynton reunion and afterward, on the way home, stopped at Waitrose and Tesco to restock our goodies supply: imperative!