A Week in London

© 2015, R. Ono

We're on our way back to the States after a week in London. This being our second visit to London, we avoided stopping at many previously seen sights. In addition, I picked up a cold on the second full day in London and decided to take it easy given another ten days of travel. On our next to last day an unfortunate "pick-purse" wallet theft occured that caused a bit of hand wringing and several calls to banks. We think this might have happened as we were enjoying a pint with a pub meal - just one pint each!

The weather alternated between sunny, scattered clouds and rain - pretty much typical UK weather. Nonetheless, from our apartment homebase, about two blocks from Paddington Station, we were able to venture into the city each day using our 7-day Oyster Pass for "tube" transportation.

Here are some of the highlights of our London Visit:

© 2015, R. Ono

© 2015, R. Ono

Royal Horicultural Society Chelsea Flower Show: RHS conducts flower shows in several UK cities.  The Chelsea show, perhaps the most well-known, was originally called "The Great Spring Show." It was first held in 1860 and, presently, runs five days in May and attracts about 160,000 attendees. The show exhibits and displays cover 11 acres on the grounds of the Royal Hospital. Besides formal garden exhibits with corporate sponsors, we saw flower arrangements, flower growers displaying their specialties, garden tool and equipment vendors, garden scultures, outdoor furniture manufacturers and hardscape builders. We spent about four hours at the show, wandering through the many exhibits. We had the foresight to purchase advance tickets as RHS members and visited the show on a day limited to members - but it was still very crowded. Starting our visit at 8am did help a bit as the crowds grew much larger by 12  noon. A half day was sufficient to see the flower show, plus once you leave the show grounds, re-entry is prohibited.

Visit to London's West End Theaters: Last November, I purchased tickets for us to see "Matilda, The Musical," during our London stay. Betty added tickets to
"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" to our West End theater visit.  We missed seeing Matilda during our last trip to New York and I wasn't familiar with the other show but read good reviews on the play. Lara McDonnell, the young girl in the "Matilda" role was terrific in her West End debut. We happened to sit behind her parents in the theater and it was clear that they were quite proud.

I was amazed at the story, acting and creative staging of the "Curious" play. Moreover, the play gave an insightful glimpse of the thinking processs of someone with a behaviorial issue such as Asperger Syndrome and how it affects everyone around the person. Graham Butler, in the role of Christoper, did a great job in a challenging role.

Roald Dahlm author of Matilda, is well known as a children's book author, but he also wrote, "My Uncle Oswald," a book for which the adult plot may have been seen as far fetched in past times but maybe not so much today.

Victoria and Albert Museum: After attending flower show, we took a short tube ride to the museum. We entered the "What is Luxury" and Fashion exhibits. The former displays helped to describe how luxury items are non-essential but also in the eye of the beholder. Due to the availability of only late afternoon timed entry tickets, we decided to pre-purchase tickets to the Alexander McQueen special exhibition, Savage Beauty, for the following day.

Although McQueen's life and work was short in length, the exhibit focused on the late 1990s to 2010. You could see and feel his attention to detail, art, nature, thematic conceptual focus and creativity. The McQueen exhibition was initially shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, in 2011.

Windsor Castle: A train ride from Paddington Station via Slough brought us to Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle is home of Queen Elizabeth II and is the oldest occupied castle in the world, Once there, our itinerary included a tour of the State Apartments and St George's Chapel. Although Windsor Castle is spread over 13 acres, visitors are somewhat limited in the areas they can tour. As we left the castle, we stopped for a traditonal English tea, with finger sandwiches and scones. We also walked to Eton College, a boys boarding school. The school was in session and public entry was not permitted. With transportation from London, visiting Windsor was an all day activity.

Oxford Street: After watching the PBS series on Harry Gordon Selfridge, we decided to make a visit to the Selfridge and Company store on Oxford Street. We walked through a few floors of the store which take up a full city block. The breadth of items sold in this store was nothing short of amazing. Moreover, there are departments with sections devoted to designer off-the-rack items, including a Tom Ford business suit at only about $5,000USD. Selfridges had other less expensive items. I noticed a Hugo Boss suit that was similar to one I purchased from Nordstroms. We spent a few minutes looking at the very creatively artistic and, sometimes, whimsical street window displays - something that Selfridges is known for. The Foodhall in Selfridges was also a must stop. We decided to purchase several salads and salmon from the deli for our later dinner in the apartment.

We made a brief stop at the Handel House Museum. About five blocks from Selfridges is 25 Brook Street, the last home of George Friderick Handel, from 1723 to 1759. The house is decorated as it would have been in the later part of Handel's life. Interesting is that in the house next door, 23 Brook Street, was the flat shared by Jimi Hendrix and Kathy Etchingham in the mid-1960s. In fact, the Handel museum is restoring this apartment for public viewing and it should be open at the end of 2015.  

Notting Hill, West London: On a three day Bank Holiday weekend and a Saturday, the crowds were out at the Portobello Market. Although not shopping for anything particular, it is a great place to see a wide variety of items for sale and people watch. Antiques, fruits and vegetables, cooked foods, fashion items, souveniers and second hand goods can be found at this market.

Another favorite tourist pastime in this area is to seek out some of the movie locations used in the 1999 film, Notting Hill, with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. Three locations that are often visited include the movie bookstore (142 Portobello Road, now a tacky souvenier shop), door to Will Thackery's apartment flat (280 Westbourne Road) and an actual bookstore that was the basis of the ficticious bookstore (13-15 Blenheim Crescent). The interior of the actual bookstore looked very similar to the movie version, though not focused strictly on travel books.

Lodging: We stayed in a one bedroom apartment near Paddington Station. Rented via Homeaway, the apartment was comfortable, well-furnished with IKEA items and clean. The location was generally quiet, though thin flooring made it easy to hear the resident walking  in the above unit. The unit was well lighted, with many full length windows to let light in. We generally made breakfasts in the morning and alternated between dinner out and bringing grocery items from the several nearby supermarkets. The in-apartment clothes washer helped us catch up on periodic laundry. We've found that the heated towel racks serve as excellent clothes dryers when nothing else is available. My one observation was that a little touch up wall paint would have covered luggage marks and really made the unit sparkle.