Ok On The Outside

I had one of the most interesting experiences of my life the other day.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and I had just finished touring the beautiful Wallace Collection, which is a short walk from the always busy Oxford Street.

I stopped to grab a sandwich before making my way back for school pick up.  At the cafe, I asked a woman if I could sit in the empty chair at her table.  She appeared to be almost finished, so I wouldn't cramp her space for long.  She picked up on my accent and asked where I was from in her heavy European accent.  When I shared that Chicago was home, she correctly mentioned that there are a lot of Polish people in Chicago.  She was absolutely correct that Chicago has one of the largest concentration of Polish people outside of Kraków (at least the last time I checked it was true).   

Then things got weird.  

Fast.   

Her small talk turned into a puzzling rant about the images that are burned into her retinas.  Apparently she was also tested by the doctor, and the results indicated that she emits some amount of megahertz.  And she knows that there are people on the street that are paid £100/hr to watch her.  They pinch her and put tags on her arms. 

I had no idea what to say.  It was clear that engaging in further conversation would only prolong the awkwardness.  My best bet was to get out the situation as quickly as possible.  I was so very thankful that I had my earbuds with me, and I told her I needed to make a phone call. As I plugged in the earbuds she asked that if I talked to her doctor I could tell him that she's ready to sign the contracts.  Then she took her belongings and was out on the street. 

This whole scene lasted approximately three minutes.  The statements she made were something that I've only seen on TV, and even some time after the encounter I am still shaking my head about it.  The thing that struck me is that from the outset nothing appeared odd when I sat down.  I've seen my share of lets say, interesting folks in London, and I've got a pretty good radar for when to steer clear.  This lady didn't fit the mold at all.  At the end of the day, I hope the woman finds peace in her days and the help she needs to stay safe.  

Walking in Whitehall - A Perfect Day in London

Our first Perfect Day in London starts at Westminster Underground Station.  Revel at the views of Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Bridge & the River Thames when you return to street level.  It's pretty fantastic that so many iconic London structures are within a 360° view.  If it happens to be near the top of the hour, do hang out to hear Big Ben serenade you.  Westminster Abbey* is just a short stroll toward the traffic signal along the Parliament fence.

Turn right at this intersection (Westminster Abbey will now be behind you) to begin walking up Whitehall.

The first thing you notice along Whitehall is that the buildings are stately pieces of architecture.  In just a few blocks you will walk by 10 Downing Street; this is the Prime Minister's residence.  Do not be alarmed by the presence of police with automatic weapons patrolling the sidewalk, they are just protecting the leader of The United Kingdom.  While you are near the nice policemen, turn around and face Whitehall for a dandy view of the London Eye. Go on, take a photo. 

Keep moving down Whitehall until you happen upon some handsome horses guarding the entrance to Horse Guards Parade. Walk between the guarding sentries through to the open space beyond the arches. This pad of land is used for state functions, such as the recent welcoming of the President of Mexico and his wife to London.  The Queen and all of her horses and men dusted off the royal carriages to put on quite the fanfare.  This space is also where the athletes played beach volleyball during the 2012 Olympics.  (Side note, the President of Mexico and his wife are gorgeous.) 

If you are at Horse Guards around 11:00 during the week you should stick around for a changing of the guard; it's not as flashy as the one at Buckingham Palace.  In my opinion, it was a lot of the horses just standing in formation, and I think the two guys in the middle were talking about football to pass the time.  Like I said, if you are already there.....  

 

Now you have a three choices for what to see next, and it should all be based on when you get hungry. 

1.  If you know you'll be hungry soon, tour the Household Calvary Museum (£7/$10.50) that is right by the arches you walked through.  With the abridged version of the audio guide, 30-45 minutes is all you need.  You will learn a little history of the calvary and maybe even see a few horses through the glass partition.  If you are a lover of useless facts, look for the display that explains the origin of The Riot Act.  

2.  If horses aren't your thing, walk across the street to Banqueting House (£6.60/$10 - slightly cheaper if you buy online).  The thing to see here is the gigantic ceiling painting by Peter Paul Rubens. It's quite impressive when you learn the ceiling is the only painting of its kind in it's original installation space - the fancy art term for this is in-situ.  Banqueting House provides comfy beanbags to use when staring at the ceiling and listening to the audio guide. It provides a great history of the building and the famous beheading that happened outside. 

3.  If you've packed a granola bar in your bag or ate a hearty breakfast, you can wait a little longer for lunch.  Backtrack a few blocks down Whitehall to the Churchill War Rooms (£18/$27 - yes a bit steep but completely worth every pence/penny).  Winston Churchill directed the war from the very rooms you'll tour. Fair warning that some of the mannequins are lifelike and sometimes cause a little jump when rounding the corner.  

You've got to be hungry by now.  One of my favorite lunch spots is up at the top of Whitehall where it runs into Trafalgar Square.  

Take a few minutes before (or after) lunch to admire more amazing London landmarks in this square. Check out the fountains, the lions & Lord Nelson way up on the column, the National Gallery, and the long view of Big Ben.  Trafalgar has four plinths (aka platforms) for statues and art, and the Fourth Plinth is a rotating art installation. They've just removed the blue cockerel and replaced it with a horse skeleton sculpture. If you visit in 2016  a hand with a long skinny thumbs up is said to replace the horse.  As with most tourist spots in London, a group of buskers (usually magically floating characters) shall beg for your coins as you walk through.  

Back to food....

Face the National Gallery and look to the right. St Martin-in-the-Fields church is across the street.  Walk over there and find the glass-dome entrance to the left of the main building. That's where you are eating today. Yes, in the crypt.  Trust me on this one. 

The Café in the Crypt at St. Martin-in-the-Fields puts on an amazing spread each day. From 11:30am they serve several lunch options: salads, meat main dish, vegetarian main dish, and my favorite - soup. I particularly like the soup because they frequently have a deal for soup & fruit crumble for £6.95/$10.50. An absolute deal for lunch in the heart of London. 

One thing you'll notice as you settle into your subterranean table, the clientele is on the older side; at my age of thirty-something I'm totally skewing the age average.  The double bonus of this lunch spot?  The Crypt has clean bathrooms, which is a win-win for the day. 

Depending on where you toured before lunch you might be exhausted or ready for more!  The Crypt puts you in good proximity of many Underground stations if you need to call it a day: Charing Cross, Leicester Square, and a little further down Tottenham Court Road or Embankment. If you have more energy, you can walk back over to the National Gallery (free!) to see a few pieces of art or wander the streets of nearby Chinatown & Covent Garden for some good old people watching.

No matter what you decide it's a Perfect Day in London!

Every day can be a Perfect Day in London as long as you are prepared.  Always have a collapsible umbrella in your bag. No matter the weather, dress in layers.  The shade-filled streets and parks can be significantly cooler than the sunny sidewalks.  The museums tend to keep a cooler temperature as well.

*I recommend avoiding Westminster Abbey during any high tourist season. It's just my opinion, but the abbey is so jammed that you really can't experience its true beauty.

A Perfect Day in London - A New Series!

This spring the Manor is booked with many guests, and we could not be happier.  In preparation for our guests I've begun thinking about where I'd like to take them in the city.  That spurred a new idea for a new series on the blog - A Perfect Day in London.  

In the next few months I'll share some day touring plans that you can use straight away.  Some of the places you'll recognize, and some will be completely new to you.  If I know a good spot to grab a snack or meal along the way I will certainly share those, too.  

Be assured that the I'm cognizant of admission prices since costs can add up fast.  Some of my best days out are the ones that only cost a ride on the Underground and a latte along the way.  If you like what you read when the first one launches next Tuesday let me know, and I will share more Perfect Days in London.  

Every day can be a Perfect Day in London as long as you are prepared.  Always have a collapsible umbrella in your bag. No matter the weather, dress in layers.  The shade-filled streets and parks can be significantly cooler than the sunny sidewalks.

The Wellcome Collection - Touring Tuesday - Museum Mile

I finally visited the last participant in the Museum Mile collection, The Wellcome Collection.  This museum's name is not a misspelling, it is named after named after Sir Henry Wellcome.

In an interesting twist, I think the life of Sir Henry Wellcome is more phenomenal than the current exhibition (more on that later).  Henry's story is one that fascinated me because he crossed paths with so many people that were instrumental in their own fields, which helped Henry become a successful man.  Chalk this up to one more reason why I love this expat adventure.

Henry was an American man that grew up in the midwest in the late 1800's.  When he wasn't exploring the unsettled areas of Minnesota, he worked at his uncle's pharmacy and medical practice.  He often shadowed his uncle on medical rounds and learned a lot along the way.  

In his early adult years, Henry made his way to Rochester, MN and began learning from a man named Dr. William Worrall Mayo.  Does that name sound familiar?  Yes, Henry took chemistry lessons from the man who would be one of the the founders of The Mayo Clinic.  Dr. Mayo encouraged Henry to look beyond Minnesota to further his education in Chicago.  Henry took this advice and studied in Chicago and Philadelphia.  He even made trips to South America to source herbs and plants for new medications.  

Henry's friendship with Silas Burroughs lead him to London where he continued his interest in medicine.  Burroughs and Wellcome created a pharmaceutical company that pioneered the distribution of tableted medicines across Europe.  Prior to the introduction of the tablet (Wellcome & Burroughs trademarked the name Tabloid), pharmacists created medicines using a mortar and pestle, which was not always the most efficient or consistent way to make medicine.  When Silas Burroughs died, Henry had complete control over the company.  

Wellcome continued medical research and was successful in creating a vaccine for diphtheria.  He decided to sell it below cost to the public as it was the right thing to do at the time.  The success of the vaccine encouraged Henry to set up the Wellcome Research Laboratory to continue medical research.  His laboratory is still in operation today, however it now houses the research and development teams from GlaxoSmithKline (formerly Glaxo Wellcome & SmithKline Beecham).  

Henry's vision led to significant medical advances for the world's benefit:

• isolation of histamine to create anti-histamines, allergy sufferers rejoice!
• first producers of insulin
• mass exposure of medicine in control-measured tablet form outside of the US
• worked toward universal measurements for medicines
• created a floating laboratory that provided medical attention and conducted medical research about malaria along the Nile River - reducing the death from malaria by 90%

Sir Henry died 1936, but not before he entrusted all of his endeavors to the Wellcome Trust.  This group continues to fund research of diseases, such as malaria & HIV, that impact lower income countries.

Thank you Sir Henry Wellcome for devoting your life to the health and welfare of the world.

To make this post a bit longer - the current exhibition is called the Institute of Sexology.  Obviously photos are not allowed inside as most of the artifacts are of a sexual nature.  

Nothing on display was lewd or inappropriate, but it was not a topic that I was particularly interested in perusing for any length of time.  The museum also has a permanent exhibit titled Medicine Now that explores medicine from the early 1900's until today. 

To round out the tour the Wellcome Collection puts on a rad cafe and gift shop.  Judging by the number of little kids at the cafe, people stop by for the food since they weren't touring the Sexology exhibit.  

The Wellcome Collection galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, but the cafe and shop are open every day.  The museum is located extremely close to the Euston Square Underground Station (Circle, Metropolitan, and Hammersmith & City Lines), Euston Station (Victoria & Northern Lines), and Warren Street Station (Victoria & Northern Lines).

A4 Update - February 2015

It snowed in London!  It was a laughable quantity, but the kids sure loved it.  

The family took a half-term trip to Dubai.  We've coined it as the holiday that really, really tried

Our landlord replaced our oven, which was very much appreciated.  The one we had took over forty minutes to preheat to 350.  The new one is ready in ten minutes.

Matt traveled half of the month with one of the trips back to 'Merica.

Oldest Kiddo started attending Saturday School at one of the local schools.  She gets to learn about a new topic each week.  So far she's learned about the solar system, German, the human body, Spanish, and Judaism.   

We did a kid swap with our friends so they could go out for a few hours without paying for a sitter.  We shall send our kiddos to them in a few weeks for our day out.  

Youngest Kiddo had a field trip to the Southbank & London Aquarium.  It was a culmination of their unit on buildings.  The kids loved seeing Parliament, The London Eye, Westminster Bridge, and riding the train into the city.

The days are starting to get longer, which is such a relief.  We can now make it home from school before the sun sets.  

Dubai - Touring Tuesday

We spent the February half-term break in Dubai.  Why Dubai?  Other than the Caribbean it was the only place that guaranteed us sunshine and warmth.  Dubai and the Caribbean are approximately the same distance from London via airplane, so we chose to visit somewhere new.

With only four full days to explore a completely different corner of the world, I created a big list of things for us to see.  However, things do not always go according to plan.  Here's why....

1.  The selection of flights to Dubai did not provide us convenient flying times.  We left London on a 12pm flight Monday, and we did not arrive to the front desk of our hotel until 4am Tuesday morning Dubai time, which is +4 hours from London, Tuesday morning.  Not a big deal - we knew this going into the holiday.  An interesting experience in passport control is something I'll never forget.... 

2.  To accommodate our late arrival Monday night/Tuesday morning, we planned for Tuesday to be a pool day.  The kiddos had not had a fun holiday with pools and beaches in a long time so we knew this would be well received by all four of us.  A little time at the pool and at the Gulf beach filled our day, along with a lot of sunscreen and sunshine.

3.  Tuesday night Youngest Kiddo's body decided that everything he ate that day needed an immediate jettison from his stomach.  So thankful both kids can make it to the bathroom in these situations.  He did not feel better until Wednesday night.    

4.  Oldest Kiddo and Matt spent Wednesday morning at the pool while I hung back to snuggle with a not 100% Youngest Kiddo.  We watched TV dubbed into Arabic and appreciated the sunshine from our 18th floor windows.    

5.  Wednesday night Matt's body took the same route as Youngest Kiddo the night before.  And I will spare you the details.  It was my turn to spend the afternoon at the pool with the kids.  

6.  Late Thursday afternoon Matt was feeling well enough to navigate the Dubai Metro to find dinner.  The bonus of our adventure was to see the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

7.  We had big hopes for Friday as it was our last day in Dubai, and the boys were feeling pretty good.  But we woke up to a dust storm.  At least we called it a dust storm, the locals might just call it dusty.  However, we knew it was bad when the hotel restaurant would not sit anyone outside.  So on Friday the family hung out in our hotel watching out the window hoping the sand would subside while we consumed the internet & watched movies from 2004 on the TV.  At least they were in English.

8.  We hoped that the storm would die down by dinnertime, but no such luck.  We had to call it a day around 7pm because our taxi was scheduled for a 4am Dubai time pick up to head back home.  

I still have my list of things to see and do in Dubai, and I hope to share that with you soon.  I hope that we can plan another trip if time allows while we are in London.  We've affectionately called this half-term trip - Dubai, the trip that really tried.