I Walked How Far?

***Ooops!  I thought I published this post long ago.  Apparently I never clicked that button!  Enjoy***


6 miles.


I walked approximately 6 miles yesterday.  That is if my unscientific scrap of paper cut to map scale measurement tool is accurate.

Let me tell you my calves, toes, arches, knees, and maybe even toe nails felt every mile this morning.  My first steps out of bed were excruciating.  I knew I needed to push through the pain for one more day in London. 

Matt was going to meet his colleague for coffee.  I needed something more substantial to recharge my batteries from yesterday.  The great thing about one of our favorite restaurants in the UK, Pret A Manger, is that they are never far away.  I walked down by the Holborn station and cozied up to the window for some porridge (Proper Porridge that is) and a latte.

Numero uno on today's list was Kensington Palace.  Why, you ask?  Well it's the soon to be permanent residence of William and Kate.  I had to make sure it was going to be an acceptable location for them :)  Aside from them Princess Diana and Queen Victoria formerly lived here as well. 

Matt and I visited Kensington Palace on our first trip to London back in 2005.  It has been closed for a bit for renovations in part due to the Queen's Jubilee in June.  Yesterday was the palace's grand re-opening, so I was happy that we were in town for it.  I took the tube out to Kensington and walked my way to the palace.  I was quite giddy waiting for the palace to open.  I have such fond memories of the rooms and the history in each one.  

This is the gate that was flooded with flowers after Diana's death

The side entrance - Which window is Will & Kate's?

London was experiencing a stretch of amazing weather.  As you can see in the photo above, the clouds were on a holiday, too.  

According to the lady at the front door, the renovation brought on changes to the way one tours the palace.  Instead of reading information from posters, each room is hosted by an expert staff member that will tell you about the room and answer any questions.  Sounds good to me since I was dying to talk to someone after touring most of yesterday by myself.  My giddiness soon turned to disappointment.  The tour of the palace was terrible.  A twelve million pound price tag for renovations was not worth it.  They tried to make the palace into a fairy tale theme, the old castle was just lovely the way it was.  The rooms were not staged as the past; the renovation made them into quite creepy scenes.  One of the rooms had all these little chairs and you had to sit in the window seat to hear "whispers" from the speakers.  I could not even tell the purpose of the room.  I kept looking for the expert staff members, but many of the rooms were empty.

These cutout figures lined the stairwell.  They did not add anything to the palace.

The section of the palace devoted to Queen Victoria's artifacts was tastefully done.  However, her bedroom was disappointing.  For preservation purposes the lighting is extremely dim.  The renovation brought in some back-lit shadow boxes that made it difficult to see anything. 

London has had one other Diamond Jubilee in their history .  This is a replica of the statue that overlooks the lake in Kensington Garden.
  

 I will say that the views outside of the palace windows are great.  

Kensington Garden and Queen Victoria statue

I made my way to the gift shop to buy my commemorative Diamond Jubilee pill box to go along with my collection from Charles & Camilla's wedding and Will & Kate's nuptials.  *Since coming home I've checked the reviews on Trip Advisor and I am not the only one disappointed in the renovation.  It has over 100 terrible reviews - one of them is mine. 

I could not waste the gorgeous day riding the tube.  I walked through Kensington Garden toward the Knightsbridge neighborhood.

  

The Albert Memorial commissioned by Queen Victoria after his death

Across the street from the Albert Memorial is the Royal Albert Hall, another Queen Victoria creation.  

Had I walked around front of this building, I might have seen some movie stars.  I found out later that tonight was the London premiere for the re-release of Titanic.  I guarantee I would have at least seen some red carpet, if not Kate Winslet. 

A few more blocks down the road is Harrods.  I spent a few hours meandering the departments and food halls.  

I will admit, I thought I could cut through a neighborhood and get to Harrods.  I quickly found that I was wrong.  I forgot that London neighborhoods are usually comprised of little enclaves with private parks and lots of gates.  The streets were deserted, but I was not scared for my safety as this was a pretty swanky neighborhood.  I was starting to panic that I might never find the way out, but I spotted a man in business attire that looked like he was on his way somewhere important; I hoped he wasn't on his way to his house.  Thankfully he zipped through a secret archway, and we were back to retail civilization.  

My feet were done.  They did not want to walk any further.  Thankfully there is a tube stop right outside of Harrods.  I hobbled back to our hotel and ate a sandwich I grabbed along the way.  After a short rest I decided to go back to The British Museum.  Matt's delirious state a few days ago cut our first visit short.  I am so glad I went back; we missed a lot, and I got to explore an exhibit that awed me then.

I made my way back to the Rosetta Stone for a photo. The Enlightenment Gallery shows the progression of the museum's collection, starting from 1680.  The artifacts are displayed from floor to ceiling and the number of books is more than anyone could read in a lifetime.

Matt finished with work for the day just as I finished at the museum.  We rested for a few minutes and stepped out for dinner.  We wanted to go back to the Italian restaurant we ate at a few days ago, but the line was out to the sidewalk.  So, we settled on a small neighborhood spot that was just enough for our weary bones.  

Tomorrow is a travel day.  Back to real life. 

Dinner with a Canadian in the UK

Matt’s Canadian colleague joined us in London.  He had a much shorter ride to London because he finished his vacation in Paris the day before - a quick ride across the The English Channel was all it took.  

The three of us went out to dinner on Monday night.  The Canadian is a certified sommelier and enjoys his liquor.  If you know me well then you know I don’t typically drink alcohol.  In my opinion it’s pretty nasty stuff.  Don’t get me wrong I occasionally enjoy a bit of Guinness, Blue Moon, or delicious Summer Ale. 

Anyway, we rode a black London cab to a tapas place in the Theatre District.  We sat at the bar and had a fantastic meal & great conversation with the bartender.  As the night progressed we consumed plates of soft-shell crab, empanadas, skirt steak, pork belly (I graciously passed), and alcohol.  The bartender and the Canadian had lively conversation about wine and spirit pairings for different dishes and ogled at different rarely seen bottles.  The bartender was quite generous with samples (for the men, thank you very much) of different wines and spirits.  He even made me an Earl Grey Iced Tea, which was spectacular.  I will have to try my own very soon.  It was certainly nice to eat in a restaurant without a kids’ menu.

Going Solo in London

Let me tell you I squeezed as much out of this day as I possibly could. 

One thing to remember about traveling to Europe is that the plugs are quite different.  We brought the necessary adapters, but Matt needed to take them to work with him.  That left me only one choice  - get up at 6:30 to use the adapter or take my chances.  I chose the former.  Getting up early certainly got me on my way.  Plus I had a surprise to look forward to this afternoon!

At home I drive everywhere – everywhere.  In London I am compelled to walk everywhere – everywhere.  Today was no exception.  I could have taken the Tube to my first destination, but the amazing weather was too good to miss. 

I made my way to Tralfagar Square to visit the lions, see the Olympics Countdown Clock, and the world’s smallest police station.  I then went to see Winston Churchill’s War Rooms based on several recommendations.  On my way there I passed Number 10 Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives.  I thought about cutting through on Downing but soon realized that was not going to be possible upon seeing the number of police and gates.  

 Churchill’s War Rooms were a worthwhile trip.  During the war he created a home-base underground to run the war.  The rooms are just as they were left after the war.  The mannequins in some of the rooms are a tad creepy, and a few of them even startled me as I rounded a few corners. 

   

 Then I doubled back to Tralfagar Square and toured the National Gallery.  I was thrilled to tour the Impressionist gallery.  I got goosebumps when I saw Seurat’s Bathers at Asnières because we just saw A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte @ the Art Institute three weeks ago.  

Since I was in the area I decided to tour Westminster Abbey again.  The last time we were there it was so packed I did not get a good feeling for what it really contained.  Also I wanted to stand on the same floors as William and Katherine.  It was just about one year ago that I got up at 4AM to watch the amazing nuptials of these two beautiful people.  

Kate took this path to her William <3

 By this time it was almost 1:00 and I was starving.  I decided to ride the Underground back to our hotel (Piccadilly Line – Holborn) to rest my feet for a bit.  While on the ride I realized that the Piccadilly also goes up to King’s Cross Station.  If you remember Harry Potter walked through Platform 9 ¾ each fall to go to Hogwarts.  I read an article in the paper detailing the renovations that just finished at this station.  So I skipped Holborn and checked it out.

The funny thing is that during the renovations they moved the Platform 9 ¾  display nowhere near Platforms 9 or 10.  They put it right inside the front door of the station.  I suppose it’s better for people to tick that site off their list without needing to bother people who actually have business on Platform 9 or 10.  I grabbed some sushi (£5 – score!) from one of the new restaurants and watched the crowds from above.  

The highlight of my day was catching up with a colleague that lives in London.  She suggested that we meet at Covent Garden at 4:15.  Covent Garden is a hopping place. There is more shopping than I imagined, plus some flea market stalls.  Even with all the people around we found each other.  We walked and talked for almost two hours.  She took me to one of her favorite coffee places called Monmouth.  I have to say it was the best cup of coffee that I’ve ever had.  It was smooth and delicious.  The nursed the small size for almost 45 minutes - worth every minute.  Too bad there was not another Monmouth closer to Holborn.

@ Piccadilly Circus

We walked through Covent Garden, Tralfagar Square, Piccadilly Circus, and finally over to Buckingham Palace.  We ended our visit at Leciter Square so Melissa could hop the Underground back to her flat.

Admiralty Arch on the way to Buckingham Palace

After we parted ways I window-shopped on Regent Street.  I also had to pee and bathrooms are a difficult to come by so I went into the biggest store I could find, Hamley’s Toy Shop.  After taking care of business I walked back to the escalator who did I see, William and Kate!

Oh yes I did.

Made out of Legos that is.  And the Queen and her Corgi.

Such a great day.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

If you remember from the last post I mentioned something about the sound of water in our hotel room.  After we returned from dinner the noise was still audible.  By this point we figured it wasn’t someone’s shower.    

While I’m one for the sound of the ocean, I can’t handle it in my room at 3AM.  I stopped at the front desk to see if they had any idea of the source of the noise.  The gal gave me a raised eyebrow as if she thought I as crazy. 

Two guys promptly came up to our room and gave me same the raised eyebrow as the front desk lady.  I invited them in and hushed them as I closed the door.  Simultaneously their heads tilted up to the ceiling and the raised eyebrows turned into a confused look.  They agreed that the noise was odd and understood why we didn’t want to stay there. 

Thankfully they had an open room, and we were actually happier with the extra space. 

The best part – it was quiet. 

Matt in the loo

Running on Empty

On Sunday morning we made our way on the Underground to our West End hotel.  They were not quite prepared for our arrival so we stowed our luggage walked down the block to The British Museum.   

Of all the times we’ve been to London we haven’t seen too many museums.  Luckily The British Museum was four blocks away.  Along the way we stopped for coffee at Pret a Manger that was only two doors down - now that’s London to me. 

 We saw the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles.  There were many other exhibits I wanted to see, or at least read about, but Matt was running on less than fumes and wandering aimlessly around the museum.  So we had to go back to our hotel.  

Thankfully our room was ready.  When we walked into our room we could hear water above us.  No big deal, someone is taking a shower upstairs.  After my shower it was still going on.  Man, that person must be dirty.  Matt was in full pass-out mode by the time I was freshened up.  He asked for me to wake him up in two hours so he could still go to sleep tonight.  

  

I knew if I sat down next to him we would not see the light of day until tomorrow (it was only 1:00 PM).  It is Sunday and many places close by 5:00, so I wanted to make the best of what was left of the day.  We’ve never stayed in West End before, and I had no bearings about anything.  I grabbed my trusty map and book to start walking.  

Temple Bar Memorial @ entrance to City of Westminster

I stuck to the main streets and kept track of when I turned so I could find my way back home.  Well my strategy didn’t work out so great because the street names in London seem to change on a whim.  That does not really help a girl in a city that is not on a grid.  I stopped into a Pret a Manger to ask the girl if she could give me a clue about our location on the map.  I was shocked that she had NO clue.  I had the wherewithal to ask for the nearest Underground station.  That was helpful.

On the way I got a little nervous since several of the streets were minimally populated and some even had signs warning of thieves.  Great.  I hugged my bag a little tighter and walked just a bit faster.  I eventually made it back within the two hours to wake Matt up.  Let's call today's walk a primer for tomorrow's marathon.

Getting There is Half the Fun

Since the trip to London was last minute, I had to fly alone.  I dropped him at the airport at 11:00AM so he could start his journey via Dulles.  I went back home to finish packing and pass the time until I had to leave around 2:30.

Thanks to all of Matt's travel I have become quite an efficient packer.  The main secret to our packing success is the roll.  We roll all of our clothes instead of packing them folded.  For some reason this allows an insane quantity of clothing in a suitcase.  I am guilty of over packing, but this packing system allows for it with room to spare.  I packed two jackets, an extra pair of shoes, five shirts, three pairs of jeans, and all the other necessary accessories for a successful trip.

With room to spare!

So I was on my way to the airport for the second time for the day.  Matt had something up his sleeve when he booked my award ticket - he booked it as business class on British Airways.  That ticket allowed me to hang out in the BA Lounge before taking off.  Snacks, free Wi-Fi, and a small meal before taking off was well appreciated.  What a great experience to fly BA.  First off all the employees have the great polite British/Scottish accent.  How can you not smile when you hear that.  On top of that, the business class seat was a lay flat with video on demand.  Yet again, he is making it hard for future travel.  How can possibly expect me to fly coach after this?

My sleeping pod :)

Cozy to watch The Descendants

Upon arrival at Heathrow, I had to find Matt.  Thankfully I've been to this airport a few times before so I knew what to expect as far as layout until Border Control.  The only thing we did not fully agree upon was where to meet after that.  I saw him before he saw me.  Thanks to the family signal I caught his attention right away.

We rode the Underground out to Holborn station to find our home for the next few days.

Old School Matt & Holly

When we were first married we were notorious for making crazy last minute travel plans.  It would be nothing for us to decide at 6:00 on a Friday night to drive to Minneapolis for the weekend.  Or decide to on a Thursday night to fly to Florida just because Matt found an amazing cheap airfare (and we had a few days left on a multiple day Disney ticket).   Who cared that it was hurricane season? 

We always enjoyed calling our parents once we arrived at our destination to hear their shock of our weekend location.

Fast forward to this past Thursday (just two days ago).  Matt has a client in London that wanted an onsite demonstration.  Since it was the company's dime he booked it straight away.  I jokingly asked if I could go along, but the price of the ticket was well north of  $1700.  I put the thought out of my mind.  Then he said, "you know, I have a lot of miles banked and can see if there are any award tickets for this weekend."  Euphorically I told him to go for it.  Within ten minutes he had an entire round trip booked.  Granted panic did set in since I had approximately 36 hours to plan for a trip that might take me several days to plan out my clothing. 

Old school Matt & Holly back in action.

G was already with Papa because my sitter could not take him on Friday.  Matt had already called his parents earlier in the day to see if they could keep both kids into the beginning of the week.  They graciously agreed to keep the kids.

We're going to London until Wednesday.  Matt is working and I am sightseeing.  A colleague from work is living over there now, and I hope to meet up with her one afternoon to see her favorite (or favourite as the Brits spell it) bits of the city.

Two things I'd like to look into are the Olympic venues.  I have no idea if any of them are close to central London or the Underground stops.  And the Queen's Golden Jubilee is also this year.   I'm sure there is a plethora of trinkets to buy in commemoration.  I also hear Kensington Palace is set to reopen after a renovation, and I hope to go see it.  Especially since William & Kate will move into their 20-room apartment @ Kensington next year.  I have to check to make sure it's a suitable living environment.  Maybe they will be there to check on the renovations, who knows?

City on the Cheap

We decided it was high time to reap some benefits of Matt’s travel.  The kids were with the grandparents for the weekend, and we hit the big city.  Matt has wanted to stay at the Conrad for quite sometime.  They had a promotion going to get a certain style of room for a discounted amount of points.  Free is good, right?

Oh my, is free ever good.  Apparently it was slow in the big city because she upgraded us to a one-bedroom king suite.  Sweet!

We needed some lunch before anything else.  We had a gift card for a restaurant nearby.  Our lunch came to $3 under the value of the gift card.  Not too shabby.

Our goal while childless in the city was to experience a little culture.  We left the Conrad and walked in the blustery wind to The Art Institute.  The six blocks Matt estimated seemed a bit longer. 

We came to the conclusion that we don’t get modern art.  We chuckled at the visitors that stood and pondered the all white canvas with a black frame.  Really?

Originally we planned to go out to dinner; it’s been a long time since we ate at a nice place without the kids.  However, the more we thought about it, we wanted to get the most out of our sweet room.  So the plan for fancy-schmancy turned into a Malnati’s pizza and a Red Box movie.  I have to say, I think I enjoyed that more than the original plan.

Love

Love is in the air, even a week after Valentine’s Day.  New love is also blooming.  My friend, Kim, is experiencing new love right now.  Hearing her stories of long, late night phone calls, outings to the big city, and nights at home cooking dinner together makes me think (way) back to my own new love, circa 1990-something. 

Today’s shuffle mix on the iPod played some songs that conjured up memories of when Matt and I first started dating.  Our relationship started when we were still teenagers, and music is an instant transport back to that time.  There are certain songs and albums, to quote a local radio station, that are the soundtrack of our lives. 

One of the first songs of significance to our relationship is Today by the Smashing Pumpkins.  Matt bought me this as a CD single and I listened the heck out of it.  Do you remember CD singles?  I'm so happy I can now buy individual songs on iTunes.  

10,000 Maniacs Unplugged Album – Back in the day MTV did an acoustic show called Unplugged that had great artists such as Eric Clapton, Nirvana, and Lenny Kravitz.  MTV then smartly released the show as an album.  I remember watching the 10,000 Maniacs show at Matt’s house since out in the country we didn’t have cable TV. 

InYour Eyes by Peter Gabriel – This was the theme of Matt’s Senior Prom.  We went into Schaumburg for dinner with Matt’s BFF Nate and his date.  At the time going to Schaumburg was quite a distance, at least to me being the rural kid that I was.

Melloncollie and the Infinite Sadness by the Smashing Pumpkins – We drove into the big city to the Tower Records the night this album was released.  At midnight we drove back to our dorm in the country listening to it at full volume.  I actually wanted the title song from the album, MellonCollie and the Infinite Sadness, to our wedding processional.  However, the title of the song in the wedding program would look to be a downer.  So I opted for the popular Trumpet Voluntary.

InYour Eyes by Peter Gabriel – Yes you’ve seen this song before.  It ended up being our first dance song at our wedding. 

There were a few albums that we obsessed over during college and early adult life.

ThrowingCopper by Live – Lightning Crashes, I Alone, and Selling the Drama were most likely worn out on our CD. 

TheBends by Radiohead – Whenever I hear Planet Telex, The Bends, Fake Plastic Trees I sigh and remember our apartment on Augusta Avenue.

Music as a “where were you when…”

I remember sitting at Matt’s house in April of 1994 when news broke of Kurt Cobain's suicide.  Hearing Courtney Love on MTV while mourners gathered outside his Seattle home, for some reason, is etched in my brain. 

Now as adults we have many more musical connections to Coldplay, Foo Fighters, and The Subdudes.  We’ve even got the kids trained to know when a Coldplay song comes on the radio.  G has a good rendition if Paradise.