The weekend in London was great despite it's miserable beginnings. Shortly after th
e drive to London began I developed what was probably the worst migraine in my entire life. I unfortunately missed all the scenery on the way into the city and it wasn't until we were approaching our hotel that I could even open my eyes. Our suite wasn't quite ready when we reached The Soho Hotel (located in, of course, Soho) so I sat at the bar with sunglasses on and had a Coke (one of my migraine relief medications of choice) while the boys went off to meet a friend who lives in London for lunch. Fortunately by the time I was through with my drink the room was ready so I was showed upstairs to our suite, which was awesome but I didn't really take time to look at it then as all I wanted to do was shut the drapes, climb into bed, put a pillow over my head, and sleep for a bit, which blissfully I was able to do.
e drive to London began I developed what was probably the worst migraine in my entire life. I unfortunately missed all the scenery on the way into the city and it wasn't until we were approaching our hotel that I could even open my eyes. Our suite wasn't quite ready when we reached The Soho Hotel (located in, of course, Soho) so I sat at the bar with sunglasses on and had a Coke (one of my migraine relief medications of choice) while the boys went off to meet a friend who lives in London for lunch. Fortunately by the time I was through with my drink the room was ready so I was showed upstairs to our suite, which was awesome but I didn't really take time to look at it then as all I wanted to do was shut the drapes, climb into bed, put a pillow over my head, and sleep for a bit, which blissfully I was able to do.Fortunately I was feeling better by the evening because I would have hated to miss dinner at the Cinnamon Club. As I mentioned in my last post, it's an Indian restaurant set in the old Westminster Public Library building. Unfortunately there was a private party going on in the room that still has the books but the main dining room was quite nice as well and the food was out of this world. I highly recommend it for anyone venturing to London who wants a nice, fairly upscale dining experience. After dinner we went back to the bar at the Soho and had a couple drinks before hitting the sack.
Sunday we woke up to a glorious sunny day which dictated our plans. Since it was so nice outside, we walked to Waterloo Station where we took the train out to Hampton Court, Henry VIII's palace (and later, William and Mary's palace). The palace sits about 10 miles or so from central London on th
e banks of the Thames and, in addition to the palace buildings themselves, has huge gardens, part of which are open to the public without having to pay an admission fee. Needless to say, there were a lot of people taking advantage of the glorious weather and hanging out in the sun. We went through the palace (yet another recommendation if you're in London and go to Hampton Court - skip the audio guide - while the one at Holyrood was fabulous and easy to use, the one at Hampton Court was confusing, difficult to follow and not all that informative). One of the most interesting things they've done to reinterpret history, at least in my opinion, is in the banquet hall they have long tables set up with table clothes into which facts about royal dinners during the time of the Tudors have been embroidered-- tidbits such as the average courtier would have eaten between 4000 - 5000 calories per day, of course much of
that was probably consumed in the form of beer and wine, the beverages of choice. And meat-- they ate tons of meat and little, if any, vegetables and fruit. I would have been screwed-- drunk, but screwed.
e banks of the Thames and, in addition to the palace buildings themselves, has huge gardens, part of which are open to the public without having to pay an admission fee. Needless to say, there were a lot of people taking advantage of the glorious weather and hanging out in the sun. We went through the palace (yet another recommendation if you're in London and go to Hampton Court - skip the audio guide - while the one at Holyrood was fabulous and easy to use, the one at Hampton Court was confusing, difficult to follow and not all that informative). One of the most interesting things they've done to reinterpret history, at least in my opinion, is in the banquet hall they have long tables set up with table clothes into which facts about royal dinners during the time of the Tudors have been embroidered-- tidbits such as the average courtier would have eaten between 4000 - 5000 calories per day, of course much of
that was probably consumed in the form of beer and wine, the beverages of choice. And meat-- they ate tons of meat and little, if any, vegetables and fruit. I would have been screwed-- drunk, but screwed.We wandered around the palace for a bit before deciding we needed some Tudor inspired food from the cafe. Ok, so it was just sandwiches and crisps and chips but still, it was nice to sit in the sun and refuel before we attempted-- and quite successfully-- to make it through the Hampton Court hedge maze. On our way out it was approaching closing time so we decided to go back and see how long the line for the special exhibit on Henry's women was. It is the 500th anniversary of his succession to the throne and Hampton Court had put together a special exhibit with portraits and memorabilia relating to all his wives. When we earlier went by the room where it was housed the wait was over an hour so we skipped it but later in the afternoon it was about half that long so we decided to see it. Again, while it was interesting, HC has a lot to learn about museum design
and presentation. Everything was in one cramped room with only one entrance/exit so people were cycling through very slowly. There was definitely a better way to set it up but it was still interesting to see all the wives together and read about how/why each was chosen and what their fate was (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived).
and presentation. Everything was in one cramped room with only one entrance/exit so people were cycling through very slowly. There was definitely a better way to set it up but it was still interesting to see all the wives together and read about how/why each was chosen and what their fate was (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived). Sunday night we had yet another great meal in London, this time at a Lebanese restaurant overlooking The Green Park. Monday morning we had a bit of time to kill before our car to the airport picked us up at 1:30 so we headed over to the Royal Academy to see the John William Waterhouse pre-Raphaelite exhibit, followed by a far to quick foray into Fortnum and Masons where I could have easily spent an entire day rather than just 30 minutes. And I was rather proud of myself for exercising extreme restrain and only purchasing one tin of tea for myself-- a smokey Earl Grey which I will try shortly. As I told Daniel, there has only been one other time in my life that I've wanted to be filthy stinking rich-- when looking in the windows of the Fred Leighton store in the Bellagio in Las Vegas-- but Fortnum and Mason's evoked that same feeling in me. I could have easily dropped a ton of money in there, if I actually had a ton of money that is.
So, now I'm home and have to prepare today for the next adventure, which occurs in less than two weeks. Today it's off to the Syrian embassy to meet Eddie so he can get the visa application process moving. Also more laundry to do, mail to go through, pictures to edit and upload, etc. Ahh the joys of returning home. It was nice to see the family though, and as I mentioned earlier, I'm overwhelmed and overjoyed when I look in my closet.
Now off to make a cup of tea! Next post from Syria in about 10 days time.
1 comment:
Beautiful photos! It is surely taken by a skillful person. Pembrokeshire holidays seems like a good idea.
Post a Comment