UK & Ireland Trip Part Seven: Back to London

We said goodbye to Scotland (for now) on the morning of September 26th, taking the train to London via a change at a small station in the town of Crewe in central England. We were staying once again at the Jesmond Hotel only this time we had a larger room and a private bath. It set us back around 20 more pounds per night but at this last stage of the trip it was well worth it.

Stop the Presses: There's Bowling in London!

After a relaxing night that included a burger at a nearby pub (washed down with the obligatory cask bitter of course) we were back at it the next morning, taking the Tube to The Victoria and Albert Museum. This place, although not nearly as famous as the British Museum and is around twice as big. There were a variety of things to see over the four hours we allotted for this visit: displays of clothing and fashion through the years, glass collections, jewelry, modern art, and casting of well-known creations such as Michelangelo's David. Well worth a visit and all they ask for at the door is a small donation.

Leaving the museum we took a stroll around The Royal Albert Hall and on to Hyde Park, London's version of New York's Central Park. For lunch we found a nice place that served up a ploughman's cheese sandwich with some good chutney. We walked through the upscale shopping district along Oxford Street before heading back to the B&B for a pre-dinner rest. Dinner itself may not have been the best choice. We were bound to have found a somewhat pretentious overpriced place to eat. We found it at The Coach and Horses. But it looked like a down-to-earth pub from the outside.

One of Tens of Thousands of Displays at the V&A Museum


On our last full day in London, we took the Tube to Piccadilly Circus and strolled through Trafalgar Square, Soho (where I was nearly run over by a motorbike), Chinatown, and the Theatre District. This walk can easily be done in a couple of hours. Sensing it was time for an ale break, we headed to Brew Wharf on the River Thames, a rare London microbrewery. We enjoyed a pint of Monkey's Head Red Ale, brewed with rye. This was a great hoppy effort and would score high on the brew-o-meter of the Pacific Northwest.

The last big "event" of the vacation would be a tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre followed by a live performance of "The Merry Wives of Windsor". This theater was constructed in 1997 and is a replica of the original Globe that was destroyed by fire in 1613. The new structure was designed using as many of the original plans, materials and building techniques as possible. The play was excellent and an appropriate way to conclude our three week journey.

The next morning it was off to London Heathrow with our belongings and our memories to board an Air Canada Boeing 777 for the long flight home. This was my first flight on a 777, a program I supported for so many years at Boeing.

The Impeccable Globe Theatre

A few random thoughts as the plane sat on the runway getting ready for takeoff:

* Forget Alice's Restaurant, you can get anything you want in London. The whole world has gathered there (and they get along!)

* The cab drivers in Dublin didn't seem to know their own street locations when we told them where we wanted to go. They all had to plug it into GPS.

* The word "scheme" simply means "plan" over here. There are no evil connotations.

* A car wreck is called a "smash".

* Black gas pump handles are for diesel, green for regular unleaded. The opposite of the U.S.

* Bring change to the train stations. It costs the equivalent of 40-60 cents to use the bathroom

* Relax, ATMs are everywhere. And they don't charge a service fee (although your bank may).

* Afternoon television in England is dominated by "Judge Judy", reruns of "Friends" and even older reruns of "Ironside". Huh??? Ironside???

Finally, I hope that everyone who would like to do so can be able to visit somewhere on the other side of the Atlantic at some point in their lives. There truly is an abundance to see, do and learn. Too many Americans think that they live in the only country in the world, or at least the only one that matters. The locals we encountered certainly were welcoming to us as Americans. But at the same time I don't think they'd be in a hurry to swap passports with me and leave their lives behind.

Having a bit of a sense of adventure has its rewards. We're grateful we are healthy and lucky enough to have been able to walk at least 4 miles a day in the countryside and the cities of the United Kingdom & Ireland, as well as make connections on all of the planes, trains, buses, taxis, and subways. Seeing the region mainly through a window with a few rest stops just wouldn't have been the same. Perhaps someday we may have to. But we're not ready for that. Not now.

A Couple of Final Week Three Memories of London

The next trip of this magnitude may be a few years away, but in the meantime the ideas have already started to churn.