What I Did on My Summer Vacation
Day 1
Reflections
Got into Heathrow very early in the morning - around 7:40-ish. Passport control was an ordeal and we were in line for nearly an hour before getting our stamp. After initially going to the wrong area we were steered in the right direction to get the tube to Russell Square but that plan had to be amended to the stop right before (Holborn) as the Russell Square was closed on the weekend of our arrival for upgrades and maintenance. After a fairly long tube ride, we emerged from the depths of Holborn station and into the heart of London and had to navigate towards the hotel. It was still quite early in the morning so I wasn't optimistic about being able to check into our room yet, but was happily surprised when told that our room was indeed ready. So up to the 5th floor we went and into room 527 we disappeared to bathe and nap before our London Eye flight scheduled for 5:00 pm. We walked over the Hungerford Bridge and along a part of Jubilee Walkway along the Thames and took the flight. The day was overcast but we still got a pretty impressive view of the city, the Palace of Westminster aka the Houses of Parliament were the first recognizable buildings, and then Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace came into view. Afterward we continued our stroll past the London Aquarium and some Dali sculptures, had soft ice cream cones with an inch or two of Flakie thrust into it and crossed Westminster Bridge. On the opposite bank we saw the famous statue of Boadicea and her chariot, further along I was furiously snapping pictures of the clock tower as Big Ben chimed 5:30. We reached the corner, seeing but not exploring Parliament Square and turned right to walk up whatever street that was and ended up at The Red Lion, a pub mentioned in one of my guidebooks as being so popular with parliamentarians that they actually have a bell installed to herd them back when it is nearly time for a vote. We continued up the street to Trafalgar Square - a police car came screeching and screaming through the roundabout as were about to cross - and made our way past Canada House and on to Leicester Square. We stopped at the Mermaid's Tale for fish and chips and a drink, walked to the area of Covent Garden and got a bit lost before finally navigating our way back to Russell Square. Now I'm lounging and anticipating Buckingham Palace, the Queen's Gallery and Kensington Palace tomorrow.
Day 2
The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Kensington Palace
Got up around 8:30 - Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal to reach the finals of the U.S. Open in New York. SkySport News was all over the story as we got ready for the day. Walked down the street to Costa for coffee continued on to Aldwych then up the Mall to Buckingham Palace just making our timed ticket to the Queen's Gallery for 10:30. The Queen's Gallery is on the site of the chapel of the palace that was damaged by German bombs during the war. We spent a great deal of time in the gallery fascinated by the Leondardo da Vinci drawings and the other items in the Amazing Rare Things exhibition. One item in particular, a paper with numerous small studies of cats in different positions caught my attention, all the more so when it was revealed by the audio guide that there was also one drawing of a dragon on the page. The highlight was probably the huge malachite vase and the jewels (Oriental circlet, Cullinan 3&4 brooch, Dagmar necklace, etc), the Mosaic Faberge Egg. I lingered at the case a long time, trying to see the brooch from every possible angle and the fire of the stones was transfixing. The Timur ruby necklace was much more beautiful in person than in the pictures I've seen.
The tour of Buckingham Palace was amazing and the White Drawing Room was so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. The music room was also lovely. Afterward we walked to Hyde Park and had a hot dog for lunch, made the mistake of feeding one pigeon and soon ended up beseiged and having a rather Hitchcockian moment as we were swarmed by birds. Walked all the way through Hyde Park, past the Serpentine, the Serpentine Gallery, the Diana Memorial Fountain, and the Round Pond to the back of Kensington Palace. The tour was interesting as there is a great deal of history in that building. Stood in the bedroom where Queen Victoria learned of her accession to the throne. A lovely portrait of Princess Mary Adelaide (mother of Queen Mary) was in the entry.
As in Buckingham Palace many paintings were familiar to me from the time I've spent on various royal-related blogs and forums and it was a real thrill to actually see them for real.
Diana's dresses on somewhat permanent display at Kensington Palace were interesting but most seemed very dated and of their era - many beasties in the bunch if you ask me!
Walked to Kensington Palace Green afterward where many embassies are located. This was totally unexpected and I snapped some pictures of some of the very stately mansions before realizing later that it was actually verboten. Oops. We went past the Rumanian, Russian, French and Dutch embassies and we saw the statue of Queen Maud outside the Norwegian embassy; the unveiling and dedication of that statue had been a major highlight of the recent Norwegian royal visit to Great Britian.
My feet were on fire at this point so it was with a great deal of relief that we found the underground station and headed for home. Rested, changed footwear and went in search of the Queen's Larder for supper only to find out they only serve food at lunch. Stayed for a drink regardless and then went two or three doors down to The Swan, another pub whose kitchen was still open. I had roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and various veg, Reyn had shepherd's pie.
Bathed and collapsed into bed, but did not sleep until about 3:00 a.m. feet burning and sore the whole time.
Day 3
Clarence House, Cabinet War Rooms, Westminster Abbey
Up at 8:45 got ready and took the tube to Green Park. Arrived at Clarence House 10 minutes late for our timed ticket at 10:00 a.m. but we were allowed to join the group as they hadn't actually started the tour yet. Clarence House is an amazing home, it feels very warm and very much someplace you would love to live. Again, many familiar paintings - a de Laszlo of a 7 year old Princess Elizabeth for example. Sumptuous furnishings. Many books in the library I recognized as titles that I own as well - good taste! A Steinway piano in the garden room was the one that the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose learned on, and has also been played by Noel Coward and more recently by Elton John. Afterward up to Buckingham Palace to take pics out front as there had been no time yesterday. Lots of people milling about although there was no changing of the guard today. Reyn and I both made wishes and threw coins into the fountain of the Victoria Memorial.
Next up was the Cabinet War Rooms. Very interesting to see the place where so much of WWII was planned. Had lunch there in the cafe - actually it was more of a brunch. Afterward saw Horse Guards Parade and the back of 10 Downing Street, then on to Westminster Abbey. The highlight there would have to have been the tombs of Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, G.F. Handel, Jane Austen, Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton. The building itself is a feat of architecture and the floors have been worn incredibly smooth by the centuries of feet that have trod upon them. Truly astonishing.
Took a taxi to Leicester Square and had a drink and a sandwich, then walked around Covent Garden, finding the opera house and popping in to many shops. Stumbled across Mercer Street and took the requisite pics of the sign. Walked back to our neighbourhood and stopped at the Ivy for dual purposes of getting a drink and getting out of the rain. Unfortunately Reyn had lost his umbrella somewhere along the way and sharing one was getting a bit difficult. Had G&T and 'crisps'. Walked back to the hotel stopping at Tesco's Express to stock up on fruit juice, bananas, water and crisps for evening snacking and the coach ride tomorrow morning.
The bus will pick us up @7:45 tomorrow morning for our day trip to Bath, Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral.
Hope I get some sleep tonight!
Day 4
Stonehenge, Bath, Salisbury Cathedral
...but not necessarily in that order. Actually it was Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge, Bath.
The day began rather ominously as we waited to be assigned to a coach for our tour. The bus that picked us up from the hotel ended up being only the first bus that we would be passengers on. We waited for close to an hour before finally setting off on our jpurney. It seemed to take forever to get out of London as the city and suburbs are very sprawling. Went past Harrod's, the V&A, and the Natural History Museum so at least now I have a sense of where those things are located. So off we went into the countryside. The motorway afforded some nice views of rolling farmland and some very picturesque homes. The bus driver (Dave) was not a regular on this route fromwhat I could gather - both he and the tour guide (our fearless leader Lawrence) were back and forth with each other and some unseen guiding voice on the mobile phone getting directions to Salisbury Cathedral. I was ready to suggest,"Just go in the direction of the steeple - it's the tallest in England." lol. Too easy I suppose and we ended up cirlcing twice around a particular loop. At any rate we managed to arrive eventually. We passed through a gateway/arch that contained the room where G.F. Handel played The Messiah for the first time and the side/rear view of the cathedral opened before us. A beautiful building with many stained glass windows. Fortunately, photography was allowed inside, so I snapped away. There were only 45 minutes allotted for our visit, so it was a bit rushed to get the Magna Carta in and there was no time to peek into the shop! Quelle catastrophe!! Afterwards it was off to The Cloisters pub for lunch; but first I should mention that the cloisters of the cathedral was absolutely amazing. A quadrangle bordered on all sides bt arcades/walkways and there was even a bit of sun that shone through the stonework for a lovely effect. At lunch we sat with an American couple from Florida, the husband works at the space centre. Neat who you meet when you travel... Ate free-range pork sausages with mashed potatoes, gravy and bread with tea and water to drink and a small piece of chocolate cake to finish. Back to the pick-up point where we waited about 20 minutes for Dave to show up with the bus. So we loaded up once more and we were off to Stonehenge. Short drive later we got out first glimpse of the monument. Incredible to see it in reality after seeing it everywhere else! We had only 45 minutes which was not a lot of time to stand and marvel and reflect, so it was a pretty quick pic snapping go around the first time -and the camera battery was beginning to die as well - pressure! It was really windy out there on the plain and that was completely unexpected for some reason. There were many sheep grazing in the field just beyond the rope but they didn't seem to mind all the people milling about. We managed to go around again in good time and even managed a visit to the shop! Back on the bus and on to Bath; this was a lovely drive through beautiful countryside with sweeping views of farmland and hills and postcard-worthy homes. Our first views of Bath revealed it as nested within a valley - very unexpected. We alighted the bus near Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths. This part of the city was simply the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. The architecture - Georgian I would think is fairly uniform and the stone of the buildings has aged very nicley. The baths themselves were interesting although the water was quite smelly. After the tour there was time to have a delicious ice cream (me - raspberry pavlova, Reyn - vanilla) and strolled a bit. Again, did not have nearly enough time but maybe I'll see the Royal Crescent next time(!). Driving though narrow streets we left BAth after 1 1/2 hours. I could probably have spent 2 days truly exploring - the Jane Austen Festival is next week.
To continue the adventure, the coach was pulled over tothe side of the motorway because of a leaky/flat tire. The good news was that due to the need to reduce our speed, we were afforded a really nice view of Windsor Castle in the (near) distance as we passed. We pulled in to a service station and had to wait about 40 minutes for a replacement bus to come out from London to pick us up; we were dropped quite unceremoniously at Gloucester Road tube station and left to our own devices. Having passed a pub/restaurant twice now that was called Salieri, we decided to try to fine it and ended up finding many other things instead, i.e. the Natural History Museum and the V&A. Salieri never did materialise somehow so it's possible that it does not actually exist. Hailed a taxi and got to Guilford Street in the hope of eating once more at The Swan but the kitchen was closed by the time we arrived. After much indecision we ended up at a place called Night&Day and had some truly yucky food inflicted upon us - will not be going back there although the Old Speckled Hen was really good.
Managed to make it back to the room after picking up some water, juice (no bits) and a sweetie. To bed around 11-ish and I managed a full night's sleep. At last.
Day 5
Victoria & Albert Museum, Natural History Museum, Piccadilly Circus, Harrod's
...but not necessarily in that order.
NHM, V&A, Harrod's, Piccadilly Circus actually.
We started out rather later than hoped for, getting out at 10:45 or thereabouts. We got day tickets for the tube as the plan was rather ambitious - the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, the V&A, and the NHM. It was a liquid plan however, and that was a good thing as we swapped some things around. Got off the tube and headed to the NHM. In the front doors and we were greeted by a massive hall with a gallery on the second floor. Incredible stonework along the arches leading to small display anterooms located all along the sides of the centre hall - leaves carved with birds perching 3D style in regular intervals of about 18 inches or so. Anyway, the focal point of the hall is this ginormous dinosaur skeleton; of course the highlights for me were located in the side niches - one a huge boulder of jade and the other a substantial piece of gold that was surprisingly delicate-looking, the surrounding quartz having been dissolved away by 'strong acid'. A side exhibition devoted to dinosaurs was interesting although clearly geared toward children; there were several examples of Albertasaurus and Edmontosaurus represented. I commented to Reyn that we had come all this way just to see stuff from home. lol. Up to the second floor and some evolution/origin of humans stuff. Very interesting, but the second floor held a surprise for me - 'The Vault' in the gems and minerals gallery. Somehow 'natural history' just didn't rigger and recognition in my head that rocks might be involved, so this was a great bonus. The vault held impressive specimens including a Mars rock. Also beautiful Alexandrite under two types of light to demonstrate its dual nature and a collection representing every colour of diamond known, also dual lit to show the fluorescing ability of the stones. The diamonds glowed eerily as the stones were exposed to ultraviolet light. I had no idea that they did that.
After lunch at 'Paul' a patisserie/boulangerie nearby (me - spicy chicken on ciabatta with a 'frasier' genoise cake filled with strawberried and iced with marzipan; DH poulet-pavot sandwich and apricot slice) we headed to the V&A and the Bollinger jewellery galleries. At first it looks like a kind of small cave but there was a lot of stuff in there...highlights were definitely the Marchioness of Londonderry's stuff (as seen in Ancestral Jewels by Diana Scarisbrick), the Manchester tiara (with a notation that it had been accepted by HM's government in lieu of inheritance tax and assigned to the V&A in 2007), Edwina Mountbatten's Tutti Frutti bandeau (very small in actuality) and a sapphire necklace and earrings whose stated provenance meant nothing to me. In the shop I purchased the exhibition catalogue as not photography was allowed. : (
The plan had morphed from the Tower of London and St. Paul's (not nearly enough time) to Harrod's. This is one massive place let me tell you! Thank dog we found the Harrod's gift shop of else we may still be there wandering the food halls looking for prezzies for the girls and the shop and my girls at MFG. After much indecision we settled on sparkly black changepurses. We proceeded to amble aimlessly while being sorely tempted by outrageously expensive goods. The proof, to me at least, that we were in another world completely compared to home was that this store ws humming with customers and I don't mean just tourists buying the kitschy crap. The ladies accessories department was a hive of activity especially Louis Vuitton. A woman came out of a fitting room fussing about the fit of short-sleeved cotton blouse that surely must have been priced at several hundred pounds. A television in the audio/video department was stickered at an unbelievable 23,000 pounds!! We also took a quick of tour of Christmas World but even I couldn't stand it for very long - not that many nice things although there was a mountain of boxes of Christmas crackers described as 'luxury'; for only 499 pounds (yes, you read that correctly) you could purchase 6 (yes you read that correctly) Christmas crackers for your family gathering. Goodness knows what could be inside those things to warrant such a price.
After Harrod's we got on the tube with the intention of heading back home but Reyn realised that there was a stop at Piccadilly Circus so we got off there, took a few snaps and had a drink. Then back home for dinner at The Swan where thankfully the kitchen was still open. Yay!! I had steak and ale pie with chips and peas (I actually ate them) and Reyn had bangers and mash. Stopped at Tesco's Express for provisions and went back home. Had a decent although not stellar slumber. On to day 6!
Day 6
Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Royal Opera
Up at 8:45 or so and out in the a.m. to the Tower of London. We got all-day tube passes like yesterday as they really are an unbelievable bargain (one of the few...).
The Tower really is a complex of many buildings that have served a variety of purposes throughout history. We saw the remains of the wall the Romans built around London in addition to Tudor and Victorian architecture and likely everything in between and after. Many things had the cypher of the monarch on them, like the downspouts (of all things) that had EIIR on them. Of course, Tower Green, the execution site of Queen Anne Boleyn, and Lady Jane Grey was a huge highlight. I paused a moment and looked around me and tried to take in what it must have been like standing there waiting to go up the stairs to the scaffold where the swordsman or axeman was waiting. I tried to take in the view as they might have seen it before their eyes were covered with the blindfold. It was very moving and exhilerating at the same time; a huge sense of history washed over me. We were then shown into the chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula where the bodies of Anne, Queen Catherine Howard and Lady Jane lie. Another wild sense of the centuries of history around me.
On the the Crown Jewels. There are several anterooms where archival footage of the coronation and footage of the jewels themselves were being projected, complete with ceremonial music in the background. The coronation footage actually made me tear up. Of course this is all meant to increase the anticipation as you are herded through curly-queues into the actual room where the jewels are displayed. You pass through some very impressively thick steel doors and then, there they are. You step onto moving sidewalks and are conveyed past many individual cases where the various crowns, sceptres, and orbs are lit beautifully to emphasize the sparkle. My favourite was Queen Mary's crown (duh). We went past the front side first and then took the stairs back around and went to see everything's reverse. Most items were just as impressive from either viewing angle and I daresay the average person wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Just out of this main room was another display case that held an enormous gilt punch bowl and huge ladle. Oddly, the ladle was listed as having been made some 100 or 150 years after the punchbowl...also nearby was George V's crown that was made for the Delhi Durbar. Most impressive. Off to the shop! Amazingly expensive kitschy crap for the most part but there some nice things. I got a fleur de lys trinket box as well as the 'official guide' to the Tower. Explored the White Tower which was pretty much given over to arms and militaria. It was interesting to a point but after a while it got a bit much. The highlights for me were the axe and block used in Tudor times (for the beheadings that is) and the armour of King Henry VIII which featured a rather ahem, impressive (although I have a feeling wishful) and excessive codpiece. Some things never change.
We exited the Tower complex and turned left walking along the Thames to see Tower Bridge. A massive structure and surprisingly beautiful. Reyn dug up a tiny piece of cobblestone from the walkway that I plan to smuggle into my luggage. Really, cobblestone from London, that's a crazy thing to have! There were many joggers along this stretch of walkway but personally I found walking hazardous enough on the very uneven surface - if I tried running I would have to either keep my eyes on the ground to avoid breaking an ankle or keep my eyes forward to avoid breaking another person.
We turned back and got back on the Tube to go to St. Paul's Cathedral. We stopped for lunch at Costa on Bread Street along the way and sat counting the number of pinstripe suits walking past. St. Paul's is a very beautiful place, very serene and less cluttered with tombs than Westminster Abbey. I pictured Lady Diana Spencer entering through the enormous doors and hearing the fanfare that would have announced her arrival. How truly momentous that must have been; I wouldn't have blamed her for running. The mosaics on the ceiling were amazing although much later than the building itself, being added in Victorian times. We did take the stairs up to the Whispering Gallery and had a brief sitdown.
At this point we exited the cathedral and sat on the steps to plot our next move; I puctures horses and carriages at the bottom of the steps while Reyn plotted our way back to the tube.
Back to the hotel to rest a bit and get prepared for the opera. Wore my geometric print Mexx dress and taupe patent shoes. Took the tube to Covent Garden station and then realised I had forgotten to pack the map into my bag. Luckily a newspaper seller was kind enough to provide succinct directions. After an attempt to exchange our tickets for better seats we headed up to our level ("...take the escalator, turn right, go past the restaurant, turn right again, go down the hallway...") we sat down with a glass of wine and a plate of smoked-salmon sandwiches. Only cost just over 20 pounds for the lot! So we find our nose-bleed section seats and although very high up were actually not that bad (we could see most of the stage and all of the cellos in the pit) and I began looking around at the people. Across from us but a couple of levels lower I saw a man wearing a black bow-tie and was trying to figure out if he was wearing a tux. As I pointed the man out to Reyn my gaze was drawn to the front row of the box where I recognised immediately Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. My powers of deduction thus lead me to believe the young man with the bow-tie was probably their son Lord Frederick Windsor of the dubious reputation. Lord Freddy is most well-known for a brief flirtation with a modeling career and rather less brief flirtation with cocaine.
The opera itself was glorious - music and singing were top-notch as expected and there were even pyrotechnics in the final scene when the Commendatore takes Don Giovanni down to hell. Applause was loud and long with many shouts of approbation, including a 'brava' from me for Zerlina.
Took the tube back to Russell Square and had a drink at Friend at Hand, then back to the room for a night's sleep.
Day 7
Last full day - earmarked for British Museum and Shopping
Got up before Reyn and went around the corner to procure lattes and pastries. Yummy.
After looking bright and sunny early on it did cloud over a bit but remained dry. We walked through Russell Square and zig-zagged a bit until we came to the British Museum - yet another massive place filled with all manner of things from everywhere. We strolled through the hall and looked on the directory for the whereabouts of the Rosetta Stone, finding it to be on the main floor just beyond the entrance to the Egypt Galleries. Masses of people clustered around the front of the display case - many taking flash-assisted photos that will not turn out due to the reflection from the glass (self-satisfied smug guffaw here). I turned off my flash and got a decent snap. I could liken the throng to the entrance to a beehive; disorderly and humming. The rest of the gallery contains an incredible array of statuary and reliefs including a small portion of the beard of the Sphinx.
Continuing on we found a lot of Assyrian stuff from Nimrud. Astounding stonework and detailed carving on representations of wings and in the hair of the 'people'.
We then went to the Parthenon Galleries a.k.a. Elgin Marbles. Considering the amount of stuff in there, no wonder the Greece wants it back!! Seriously, it's a surprise anything is left to see in Athens. There were a couple of statues that particularly caught my attention - a Venus and a nymph or a Diana.
Managed to escape without spending anything at the ubiquitous 'shop'. After a pause during which Reyn had a hotdog while leaning against the museum gates we strolled to the Covent Garden area to try to get some duds. We became sidetracked after a while and ended up nearing Trafalgar Square. As we approached there were some people handing out flyers for a concert that evening at St. Martin in the Fields. As luck (O Fortuna) would have it, Bach, Mozart and Vivaldi were all on the program. Needless to say, we beat a pretty hasty path to the box office and purchased tickets straightaway. After that we went to Trafalgar Square and noticed there was an event taking place there - the London Week for Peace. A DJ was spinning and it was agreed that I could go into the National Gallery and Reyn would sit and take it all in. I had a time limit of 30 minutes so I took a quick spin (still managed to see a handful of Monets, Gauguins like crazy, Titians a-plenty and a Chagall among many others). The building itself was also beautiful. Managed to escape the shop without incident.
Back to shopping. It took a while to make the first purchase but some shoes (big surprise) and a nice shirt (Reyn) and some hosiery (me) are coming home with us. We would also have a pair of Boss jeans if they would have accepted our credit card. Apparently unless it has a 'chip' in it, they have to call the bank and as luck (O Fortuna) would have it, our bank wasn't picking up the phone. So that was the end of that.
Went back home to have a cup of tea and our 'sweetie' purchased earlier in the afternoon at 'Valerie Patisserie' in Covent Garden. Changed and walked (and walked) to the church for the concert, barely making it in time. As the chandeliers dimmed and the first strains of Bach's concerto for two violins filled the air, I was brought nearly to tears with the beauty of it all. Mozart, Purcell, etc. and following a short intermission Handel and then the full Four Seasons. The violin soloist was very dynamic and moved around a lot; when the viola and cello joined the harpsichord the music whirled and rose around me in a sublime hurricane. To hear such familiar music done live was a dream come true and I will never forget it.
And then, on to dinner! Not sure where to start with this tale...we had finally Googled 'Salieri' and made a plan to go after the concert. So we leave the church and amble our way down (or was it up?) The Strand, we arrive and are seated at a table for two along a window and all is going well...alas things did not continue thusly.
Through contempt barely masked by the thinnest veil of civility the waiter deigned to take our order and brought us our 1/2 bottle of George DuBeouf red. Appetizers arrived and mine, a gorgonzola and leek tart was passable with the addition of pepper, but Reyn's chicken parfait with foie gras was not as successful. This is where it begins to unravel. After a substantial amount of time with no entrees making their appearance, I beckoned the waiter over to ask how much longer it would be. His reply? "For food, you mean?" Taking a quizzical expression with him he went to the back of the resto, flipping the pages of his order book as he went. More time elapses and the next person who comes to the table asks, "So how was everything, all right?", while reaching across the table to clear cutlery that had not yet been used. I said that we were still waiting for our main courses, which produced a look of disbelief and he scurried off and returned moments later with a rather optimistic pronouncement, "Just two more minutes." There was an offer of more wine (no charge) which I declined but I requested a coke in its place. The coke never did appear but a glass of wine did find its way to DH(?). Another interval elapses and I ended up asking for the bill just so that we can be rescued from our misery, but we were assured once again it would only be another two minutes...Finally we get our steaks, luckily nice and hot and it is passable food although not great and certainly not worth the interminable wait. We left without having dessert and without leaving one solitary pence over the 50 pound tab. After such hope that it would be a wonderful way to end our trip it was a posulute nightmare and nothing could induce me to go back there. 'To Salieri' now faces the prospect of entering my lexicon as a verb meaning 'to completely screw up/ fail to meet expectations/ inspire contempt/ show contempt, etc. So I guess it wasn't a total loss as it's always nice to add to your lexicon.
Jumped into a taxi (only the third time all week) back to Russell Square and went to Tesco's for juice, water, milk and Krispy Kreme doughnuts (an astonishingly evil indulgence at over a pound each). Back to the hotel for some telly before turning in around midnight or thereabouts.
Day 8
Going Home
Awoke early to a sun-filled blue sky but turned over and went back to sleep a couple of times, finally getting up around 9:30 to go out to get the lattes and pastries. Unfortunately the coffee shop around the corner was closed so I had to trek all the way down to Costa.
Returned to the room where DH was still enjoying his 'long goodbye' to the very comfy bed and duvet. Managed to pack up without too much cramming and after settling up the internet bill (30 pounds) we rolled our way to Holborn underground station, Russell Square being closed again this weekend (O Fortuna) for maintenance and upgrades. Managed to make it on to the tube to Heathrow T4 after only a handful of tantrums on my part (fear of losing husband in the underground). Arrived at the gate with loads of time to explore the seemingly never-ending duty-free Harrod's. Purchased the peacock tote I had been coveting since Thursday and a Wedgwood blue jasperware covered box as a special memento. Went back to the gate with my last 20 pounds burning a hole in my pocket so I told DH to take it along with the remaining coinage and get something in the shops. As the minutes ticked by and boarding began I was beginning to get nervous that he would not return in time and that we might miss the flight. Thankfully however he did come down the corridor just as I was on the brink of totally freaking out. I had already been considering asking the staff to have him paged.
In the plane now writing and enjoying some Cabernet Sauvignon - just had my snack of salt and vinegar pretzel bites and the meal is coming my way in a very few moments. Lunch is over and I've just opened the blind - below me through the spaces between the clouds I can see the Atlantic Ocean rolling as a mass of bluish black. The thought that it takes 4-5 hours to cross completely blows my mind and reminds me how miniscule I am in the whole scheme of things. My interactive screen shows me we're well past Ireland and that Iceland is somewhere to the north. 36000 feet. 506 mph. 2670 miles to T-dot.
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