Day 20 - So, what should we pack for Scotland?

Today was another catch-up day as we ready for our Scotland trip.  In London the temperature is anywhere from 67 to 69 during the day.  In Edinburgh the temperature can vary from 55 degrees to 65.  Definitely cooler.  So, we are packing our warmer clothes for this trip, just in case.

Like we often do at home, we had leftovers for dinner tonight.  Ham sandwiches for hubby and a prepackaged hamburger for me with lightly sea salted crisps.  We figure we'll most likely be eating out a lot in Scotland, so we ate cheaply tonight.

Tomorrow we leave for Kings Cross station, board our train, then watch as we slowly travel north from England into Scotland, which is a different country.  Even though the Scots speak English, their terms for things are a little different.  A phrase used at Hogmanay (celebrated on New Year's Eve) that is used to wish someone well is "Lang may yer lum reek," which is literally translated as "long may your chimney smoke," but roughly means "May you live long and stay well."  This reflects how important a burning fire was to the Scots.

Food can be different, too.  I am open to tasting different things, but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to order haggis (a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours, though most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a sausage casing rather than an actual stomach).  I've heard it tastes like a nutty version of oatmeal.  Okay, a taste maybe.

Even their Royal Coat of Arms differs from the one the Queen uses in England and Northern Ireland.

The motto "Nemo Me Inpune Lacessit" translates as "No one wounds (touches) me with impunity."  In the Scottish version, both the Lion (England) and the Unicorn (Scotland) are crowned, however, like it is in the the English version, the Unicorn remains chained because an unchained unicorn is considered a dangerous beast.  The Unicorn holds the flag of St. Andrew, while the Lion holds the flag of St. George.  Surrounding the shield in the Scottish Coat of Arms is the collar of the Order of the Thistle vs. the Order of the Garter on the Coat of Arms used in England.

Well, I'd best get back to packing.  I hope to have more pictures to share with you tomorrow night.  In the meantime, "Lang may yer lum reek."

Day 19 - Last Day in Bath, Back to London

Today, we finished our tour of Bath and returned to London.  I ended up taking notes on the Hop On/Hop Off bus today, but I want to verify some of the things they reported before I try and report them here.  Anyway, while we waited for our train to arrive, we noticed there were several other people on the quay waiting for the same train, which didn't bode well for us.  We quickly discovered Great Western Railroad had oversold the train back to London, so many people had to stand for the trip, which made moving through the aisle with luggage a trace more difficult on our return trip than it was on our trip out.

We did sit with a lovely English couple, who were also major theatre goers and had been at same performance of South Pacific that we attended last night.  We talked about other places to see, great places to eat and favorite TV shows.  Made the trip a lot quicker.

Once we returned to London Paddington, we faced our most important decision of the day.  Do we return by bus or tube?  The tube was right in front of us, and even though we had to change trains twice and walk up and down a hundred steps, we decided to go for the tube, primarily because we had no idea where to pick up the bus.  We could have gone out and looked around, but that would have a bit riskier in the long run.  So, we went for the safer bet.

So, now we've unpacked, eaten dinner and started a load of laundry.  Scotland tends to be colder than England (currently it is 17 degrees centigrade in Edinburgh vs. 20 degrees in London or 62.6 vs. 68 degrees Fahrenheit).  So, we're planning to pack clothing that's a little warmer.

Added pictures to Friday's post, and I'm going to call it a night tonight.  More tomorrow.

Day 18 - Hop On, Hop Off and South Pacific

Today we decided to see Bath from the top of a Hop On/Hop Off bus.  Took lots of pictures, which I will need to go through and add once we're back in London.  This city has both a Roman History, when it was known as Aquae Sulis, and an 18th/early 19th century history with Beau Nash and Jane Austin.

The Roman Baths

The city was first established as a spa with the Latin name, Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis") by the Romans sometime in the AD 60s, about 20 years after they arrived in Britain (AD43), although oral tradition suggests that Bath was known before then.  The Romans built baths and a temple on the surrounding hills of Bath in the valley of the River Avon around hot springs.  Due to the hot springs, many have speculated that Bath's waters are being heated by volcanic activity, but there is no scientific evidence to prove that.  In fact most of the rock found in Bath is sedimentary with chalk coming from the the upper, newer layers and the classic golden Bath limestone being the older stone.

According to Wikipedia, the water which bubbles up from the ground, as geothermal springs, previously fell as rain on the Mendip Hills. It percolates down through limestone aquifers to a depth of between c. 9,000-9,000 to 14,000 ft (2,743 to 4,267 m) where geothermal energy raises the water temperature to between 64 and 96 °C (c. 147–205 °F). Under pressure, the heated water rises to the surface along fissures and faults in the limestone.  There is no universal definition to distinguish a hot spring from another geothermal spring, though by several definitions, the Bath springs can be considered the only hot springs in the UK. Three of these springs feed the thermal baths.

Royal Crescent - example of Georgian architecture

Interesting sidenotes. Edgar (October 1, 959 to July 8 975) was crowned King of England at Bath and anointed with his wife Ælfthryth, setting a precedent for a coronation of a queen in England itself. Edgar's coronation did not happen until 973, in an imperial ceremony planned not as the initiation, but as the culmination of his reign (a move that must have taken a great deal of preliminary diplomacy). This service, devised by Dunstan (Bishop of Worcester and subsequently Bishop of London, then Archbishop of Canterbury and Edgar's adviser) and celebrated with a poem in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, forms the basis of the present-day British coronation ceremony.

 When Princess Victoria visited Bath, she was enchanted by the town and the people, writing in her journal, "The people are really too kind to me."  Unfortunately, a reporter who chronicled her visit wrote that the princess's clothing was a bit dowdy.  When Victoria heard this she reportedly announced that she had no wish to ever see Bath or any of its people again.  Her ire carried to the point that after she became Queen and traveled through the town by train, she requested the drapes be drawn since she had no wish to see the town, nor have any of its people gaze upon her.

Bath Theatre Royal

After our tour, we stopped for dinner at our favorite restaurant which is located here as well.  Cafe Rouge.  After dinner we walked to the Bath Theatre Royal where we saw their production of South Pacific.  A classic show and the cast did it justice.  It wasn't the most professional version we've ever seen done, but it was still enjoyable.  This was their closing night.

After the show we stopped by The Saracen's Head, also reported to be a very old pub in Bath.  It has recently been refitted and modernized, so Saturday night socializing was a little rowdy, but all in fun.

Then we returned to the flat.  We are supposed to be out by 10 AM tomorrow, so I'll check in after we get back to London.  Night.

Day 17 - A Bath Day - Literally

We had a very interesting day today, and took lots of pictures, but unfortunately, the Internet connection in this flat is not as "robust" as the one in our London flat.  So, I will add pictures later.

We reached Paddington station in plenty of time and had reserved seats, so we leisurely wandered to the front of the train to carriage "C" and there were so few people we were able to spread out.

Great Western Railway train to Bath

This is basically a studio flat with a double bed, so hubby and I are going to be "close companions" tonight.

After we met our host, and became acquainted with the flat's layout (which is basically one room with a separate bath) we went for a stroll.

Hubby stopped at a local Sainsbury (grocery store) and picked up some items including a couple of Mountain Dews for me and Dr. Pepper for him.  After that we purchased tickets to see South Pacific at The Royal Theatre tomorrow night.

Bath Theatre Royal

Tickets purchased, we stopped at The Green Tree, a pub that David our landlord or host recommended.  Great place.  Had a lovely conversation with some locals, but no food.

So, we drank two pints of cider and went on to The Star, a pub that was recommended to us by some locals.

Every Friday night at The Star, they have musicians come in to play Celtic music.  We also thought we could get some food to help balance out all the cider we'd been consuming (in England cider has a significant alcohol content that can vary from 6 to 8%).  They did have some pre-packaged sandwiches to offer, so we opted for a ham and cheese with pickles on a cob (a roll of sorts).  Different.  Sandwich and new ciders in hand, we sat down to join some locals.  Again the conversation was great, but the food wasn't quite enough to counteract the alcohol we had consumed.  So, the two of us got pleasantly snockered.  The music was really good, and we enjoyed the company which included a small Bichon Frise dog who joined us along with his master.

I am definitely puppy deprived, so I wanted as much doggie time with "Biggles" as I could get. Rich got to sit next to the small dog, leaving me very jealous.  The crowd grew more boisterous as time went on, and "Biggles" grew a little insecure over the increased noise. So, his "daddy" took him home.  After that, we chose to leave, at least very shortly after that.

We wove our way back to the flat and we're now settling in for the night.  It is late, so I will need to add pictures after we return to London.  In the meantime, I hope all of you have a good night.  We certainly did.

NB: Pictures have been added

Day 16 - The Hobbit Hole gets a cleaning

As you can tell from the title, we have another exciting day planned.  Tomorrow we leave for Bath, more about that later, which means today we need to bring order to chaos and pack.  Hubby and I are both squirrels.  We pack everything.  You know, like ticket stubs and the receipt for the sandwiches we ate on the train, etc.  Little snips of paper can be found just about anywhere, sometimes where you least expect them.  We've been here just a little over two weeks and you'd think we'd lived here for a month.  I'd take a picture, but I don't want to scare you.

Anyway, I'd like the place to be a bit more organized before we leave it for a few days, especially since we'll only be back from Bath for one day before we take off again, this time for Edinburgh.  So, while hubby goes out to roam the streets of London, I'll stay behind and clean.  Fun, fun, fun.

We have one glass-topped table in the flat and the bathroom walls are covered in mirrors.  First discovery.  Just because a product claims to be "smear free" doesn't mean it won't leave streaks.  The flat had two cleaners that promoted a "streak-free" or sparkling shine.  One left so many streaks I had difficulty seeing the mirror beneath it.  That one is "Mr. Muscle" made by.... ta da.... SC Johnson (a US company).  The second one actually did what it promised, "Tesco's Window and Glass Cleaner."  So, I had to use Tesco to clean up what Mr. Muscle left behind.  Typical.  I'll bet Mr. Muscle is related to Mr. Clean.

The kitchen comes with a stainless steel sink, which shows water stains very easily.  The sink polish did a fair job of removing them.  Lastly, their Pledge product came in a liquid that need to be diluted with water, rather than a spray.  Unfortunately, I really didn't have a good applicator for the wood floors, but I found a flat sponge cloth to use on the two wood tables.  It also did a fair job of cleaning and polishing.

All-in-all, I'm pleased with the results.  The place smells like Pledge right now, which isn't a bad scent to live with.  So, on to what hubby managed to accomplish today as he ran amok and unsupervised throughout the city.  Like many other cities, London is filled with numerous memorials and statues.  His first stop was to take a picture of the Edith Cavell statue in St. Martin's place at Trafalgar Square.

Edith Cavell statue

If you've never heard of her, Edith Cavell was a British nurse and patriot celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from all sides without distinction, and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I, for which she was arrested. She was subsequently court-martialled, found guilty of treason, and sentenced to death. Despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad. Her execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage.

Moving on, hubby captured a picture of the statue of George Washington in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.  Don't think I need to tell you who he was.  Right?

Next came a picture of the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square, taken from an angle that included St.Martins in the Fields church and the National Gallery.  Over the past several years the Fourth Plinth in the northwest corner of Trafalgar Square has become home to some of the world’s most innovative artworks. The plinth was originally designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1841 to display an equestrian statue, however due to insufficient funds the statue was never completed. In 1998 – over one hundred and fifty years later – the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce commissioned three contemporary sculptures.  Since then the fourth plinth has been the base for many "unusual" creations.  Not sure what the rooster is meant to represent.  A wake-up call, maybe?

The Fourth Plinth at Trafalgar Square

Next hubby captured Nelson's column, also at Trafalgar Square, which was built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The monument was constructed between 1840 and 1843 to a design by William Railton at a cost of £47,000. The column is built from Dartmoor granite, the Craigleith sandstone statue of Nelson is by E. H. Baily, and the four bronze lions on the base, added in 1867, were designed by Sir Edwin Landseer.  The pedestal is decorated with four bronze relief panels, each 18 feet (5.5 m) square, cast from captured French guns. They depict three battles and the death of Nelson at Trafalgar.

Nelson's Column

The advertising plastered on the sides of London buses usually promotes soon-to-be-released movies and popular West End musicals.  However, there was one that captured our attention, and we thought we'd share it with you.  Succinct and to the point.

Continuing his walk, hubby next captured the Crimean War Memorial that commemorates the Allied victory in the Crimean War of 1853-56. Unveiled in 1861, it consisted of the statues of three Guardsmen, with a female allegorical figure referred to as Honor. Like the panels on Nelson's column, the figures on this memorial were cast in bronze from the cannons captured at the siege of Sevastopol. The sculptor was John Bell.

Crimean War Memorial

Lastly, as he turned back to the flat, hubby captured the front of the St. Martin theatre where the longest running play in London (perhaps the world) is still playing.  Agathie Christie's Mousetrap celebrated its 60th year in 2012.  We saw it in 2010, and at the end, they make you swear not to tell the ending so that others can be as surprised as you were.  Long standing tradition.

Mousetrap at St. Martins Theatre

He did manage to procure his next free CD in the Daily Mail collection, with the last one being offered on tomorrow.  We'll need to find it before we leave for Bath, which already means an early wake-up call for us.  Something we tend to avoid.  Both of us tend to be nightowls.  We'll be riding the train to Bath where we'll meet the owner of the flat we booked there.  We're supposed to have wi-fi and we're returning on Sunday.  So, if everything goes well, I'll be posting each day.  If not, I'll catch everyone up on Sunday.  But that's it for today.

Day 15 - A Day in the Life of a Groundling

I think if you're going to be a groundling (a person who stands in the yard during a performance at the Globe Theatre) you should 1) be young, 2) enjoy standing for long periods of time, and 3) see a comedy to take your mind off your aching feet.  Unfortunately, our visit did not meet any of those requirements.

Beginning with #3, the show was Macbeth.

Definitely NOT a comedy, though it did start with a rousing chorus of drums beating, which was a good beginning. At least it kept us awake....

Opening Scene

But then we kept trying to find a comfortable position, and standing on concrete is just not comfortable no matter how you try and rearrange your body.  Both of us wanted to see Lady Macbeth, since she's the major instigator of the plot, driving her husband to murder.

Though she appeared a great deal shorter than her husband, she was definitely feisty.  We also saw that she played Katherine in the Globe's DVD of The Taming of the Shrew, which I was tempted to purchase, but chose not to since I doubted we would have watched it.  However once Lady Macbeth made it on stage and her husband joined her we opted to sneak out.  I know, no stamina, but I don't think hubby and I were meant to stand for theatre, no matter how gripping the murder mystery.

After we left the Globe, we opted to walk along Bankside as we made our way to the Borough Market.  Though the day was slightly overcast, we had a magnificent view of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Continuing along Bankside, we came to The Anchor Bankside.  This pub is where diarist Samuel Pepys saw the Great Fire of London in 1666. He wrote that he took refuge in "a little alehouse on bankside ... and there watched the fire grow".  Today, The Anchor remains the sole survivor of the riverside inns that existed in Shakespeare's time, when Southwark was the center and heart of theatre land and the Thames was London's principle highway.

The Anchor Bankside

We also caught a fairly good picture of The Shard, an 87-story skyscraper in London, The Shard forms part of the London Bridge Quarter development.  The building stands approximately 306 metres (1,004 ft) high, currently making it the tallest building in the European Union, and the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom.  I'm waiting for the disaster movie that involves The Shard in some way.  With all that glass, I imagine M. Night Shyamalan is concocting a plot as you read this.

The Shard

We continued on our stroll, stopping by a Pret a Manger (Ready to Eat) shop for some tea and coffee.  I also picked up a small tub of raw coconut cubes, since I was hungry and thought they might be refreshing. Different, but not bad.  I did finish the little plastic container.  Then we continued on to Borough Market.

I've been to other markets in London, and I thought Borough was like one of those filled with stalls of clothing and the like, and hubby didn't tell me what we were about to visit.  Turns out the Borough Market is a wholesale and retail food market in Southwark, England. Considered one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, it sells a large variety of foods from all over the world.

Cake Stall at Borough Market

The time of day we visited was not optimum for the market, which is open primarily in the morning, so it smelled a bit like low tide.  However, it was till an interesting experience.

We did purchase some fruit at one of the stalls, then returned to the flat via the RV1 bus that drops us off right at Covent Garden.  Tonight we had Shepherd's and Cottage pie for dinner, and we've settled down to watch some telly, just like we lived here.  Oh, we do, at least for the next month and a half.

Day 14 - From Tchaikovsky to Top Hat

Today we purchased evening tickets to the musical "Top Hat," then went on a quest.  The Daily Mail (newspaper) is giving away a free CD every day this week when you purchase their paper.  Unfortunately, our Tesco Metro did not receive a shipment of the Tchaikovsky CDs, so we first went to the W.H. Smith at Charing Cross.  They didn't have it either and suggested that we visit either a W.H. Smith or a Tesco on Oxford or Regent Street, but told us there was a Tesco at Trafalgar Square.  So, after a quick stop at Boots for some beauty products, we hoofed our way to the Tesco.  No luck.  Next stop the Oxford Street Plaza.

Oxford Street Plaza Shopping Centre

To get there we took a 24 bus to the Tottenham Court Road station, then walked back to Oxford Street half way to Oxford Circus to the Plaza.  Success.  Only a half hour trek for a free CD.  Not bad.  Now, how to get back?

Well, London offers lots of options to get from one place to another, but not all of them are direct.  Right in front of the Plaza was a bus stop for the #10 Bus to Kings Cross.  Kings Cross is a simple tube ride to Covent Garden.  So, we chose that route, except the first two #10 buses passed us by.  I was beginning to think we were looking a little disreputable when the third one stopped and picked us up.  We had a nice long ride along Oxford Street (major shopping street), then turned onto Tottenham Court Road to Euston Road, past the British Library and St. Pancras International to Kings Cross.  We were let off on the York Way side of the station, so we treked back to the Underground Station and thought we were home free.

Kings Cross Underground Station

But Kings Cross tube station is huge, and the station serves four different lines.  So the walk to the Picadilly Line is fairly extensive and the train was full of passengers when we arrived at Covent Garden, that means a lot of "sorries" and "excuse me's" as we push our way through to the exit.

Kings Cross Underground Map

We returned to the flat at six which gave us approximately a half-hour to eat dinner, but we decided to pick something up instead, since we have about a half-hour walk to the theatre. Most of the theatres are in walking distance from our flat, and the Aldwych is no exception.  We decided to stop along the way to grab a bite to eat. We were almost at the theatre when we happened upon Fratelli's Caffe on Aldwych.

Fratelli Caffe

We had our first "toasties" there.  Toasties are similar to paninis, which are grill pressed sandwiches.  I had a bacon toastie and hubby had a bacon and egg toastie.  Not bad, but a little dry, so he added ketchup to his.  Also English bacon is more like Canadian bacon than American bacon, still it is very flavorful and filling.

Aldwych Theatre

Since we were about 500 feet from theatre, we left fratelli's and went directly to our seats in the Dress Circle.  The Aldwych is an older theatre, with its first production held in 1905, so the seats are small.  However, its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels, which means it's a fairly large auditorium.  The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. A listed building may not be demolished, extended, or altered without special permission from the local planning authority, so it is protected.

The musical takes you back to the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie era.  The sets were creative, the singing and dancing divine, however the plot is a little weak.  But those musicals were never intended to be deep on any level, so we enjoyed it exactly as it was intended to be enjoyed as Zoe Craig from the Londonist described it, “pure, fun, cheery escapist entertainment.”

After the show we walked back to the flat and settled down for the night.  Tomorrow we've got tickets at the Globe where we'll be standing "groundlings."  This will be an experience, I'm sure.  Night.