London

London offers so much to see and do. We stay in a VRBO not far from Trafalgar Square.

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Tomorrow Reed and Carol arrive into London and we'll spend the next week together enjoying London. I didn't want to be delayed due to train cancellations so I booked a camping site just north of London on the outskirts. I could catch a bus from here to the VRBO. The place is called Lee Valley Caravan and Campground along the River Lea with its many lakes and reservoirs.

The morning started in Comberton outside of Cambridge. The couple that tented next to me last night turned out to be from Melbourne, Australia (I met someone else from Melbourne earlier in the UK.). The gentleman shared their tent will not return with them to Australia due to its many leaks - extra tarps draped across it. His wife talked in such a friendly manner she may have preferred I not leave. I was glad to be making the half-mile walk to the bus stop for the last time. Concern tried to furrow my brow at the prospect of missing the bus and then needed to sit on the road for another hour, but all worked out fine and I boarded the bus with many other pensioners. Another half-mile walk awaited me in Cambridge to make my way from the bus stop to the train station. It was through yet another part of the town sharing more insights about the extent of the University and the kinds of housing.

The train station was as busy today as when I arrived. It took me a few minutes to confirm the train information and then a couple more minutes to obtain assistance to pass through the barriers. The clock above read 10:01:30. The targeted train departs at 10:03 and I had to make my way up and over a bridge to reach the designated platform. So close yet so far! I could see the train, its doors closed and I hadn't yet reached the bridge. There are more trains, but to be so close! I climbed two stairs at a time with the heavy luggage and sweat beginning to pour down my back. I thought, "Why am I rushing. The train will be pulling away any second." But I continued to move lively jostling a person as I headed down the bridge stairs to the platform the train still still on the track. Now it really will be a disappointment if the conductor's whistle sounds and the train slips down the track! A crowd stood there but waiting for a train on another track. I approached the train. My eyes brightened as the button to open the train door still glowed green. Was I really boarding this train? I pushed the button and the doors opened! I stepped on and no sooner the doors closed and the whistle sounded. I'd made it.

A pin standing on its tip will always fall one way or the other - favorably or unfavorably. Today the Universe shined a little kindness on me and the pin fell in my favor. Thank you Universe.

The Lee Valley Campground lies close to the city, but more of a walk than I'm inclined to reach services or a pub. The campground is a bit of a purgatory - not in the city and not in the country. The trains pass north and south across a somewhat busy road. The nearby Ponders End Lake accessed through a golf course has a blind for viewing the water fowl. I spent some time there out of the sun delighted to see some birds not seen in Colorado.

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The bus driver turned out to be from Albania. A heavy smoker who'd come to Britain 22 years ago when she was 23. She came because Albania didn't offer a means to make a reasonable wage. She seem flummoxed that anybody would want to visit Edmonton where I'd camped and was seeking to catch the bus to the train station. She insisted I ride without paying the fare. Upon exiting the bus I said thanks and let her know I'd been near Albania when it was part of Yugoslavia.

The small size of the Edmonton Green train station doesn't prevent it from having two station conductors. Both sat within their ticket office. Approaching I explained I had a Eurail pass and needed their help clearing the turnstiles to the platform. The first conductor expressed friendly skepticism then said wait and he'd check the computer system. The conductor smiled and cleared me with my Eurail pass to go catch a train. The realization dawned that like the bus driver implied, foreign tourists do not visit Edmonton.

The internal sitting in the train to London Liverpool was designed like a subway with more space for standing than sitting. Once at the Liverpool station no trains appeared on the schedule for the Farringdon train station. The Underground entrance stared at me on the left so that was an option. I had four hours to fill before meeting the representative at the VRBO. Even with the luggage on my back (Well, I had carried it over two hundred miles in Portugal; I guess I could carrying a couple today.) I decided to walk and explore - explore for a coffee!

Liverpool station is in a London business district with nothing opening until Monday morning. So many wonderful coffee shops in a Google search nearby and all closed. Instead, I saw the Millennium bridge (It had to be retrofitted when opened because it swayed under many people crossing it.), St. Paul's Cathedral (outside only), a look up and down the Thames river, King's College of London courtyard, a period of reflection in St. Bride's Church, a nondescript coffee shop, a Tesco grocery store (for a sandwich), and a walk along Strand Street.

I met Shirley at the planned time of 2PM. A very friendly woman from Glasgow, she explained the amenities of the VRBO. Five minutes after she'd left, Carol and Reed arrived from Heathrow. The VRBO is located above a happen'ing pub and along a very busy tourist street near Covent Gardens and Trafalgar Square.

We went for coffees just around the corner at a place called the Lowdown - a coffee shop and cozy bar. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Cinnamon Bizaar - an Indian (sort of) restaurant across the street from the VRBO. The food wasn't traditional Indian at all, but it did have some wonderful flavors. Later a stroll through the neighborhood brought us to Covent Garden and the Flower Market. A street performer juggled knives while balancing on a table.

Carol and Reed managed to not fall asleep until after 9PM despite the jet lag.

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Keeping this short, we visited the London Transportation museum a couple of blocks away. Then a trip to the grocery store for lunch food. Then a period of relaxation (a siesta by some) before a walking tour to the west. The National Gallery next to Trafalgar square had free admission so in we went to wander and take in the paintings. Trafalgar Square itself was filled with baseball stuff including batting and pitching cages and a big screen with a game displayed. Because of all the barriers, we only had glimpses of the fountains and other items of the square. We ate an ok Italian meal and then wandered back to the VRBO for the day.

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After a relaxing start to the day, we walked 15 minutes to the British Museum. The city portion we passed is filled with shops and restaurants. A couple intersection along the way were like the hub and spokes of a wagon and choosing the 'spoke' (road) took an observation pause. Reed had donated £5 for each of us for a timed entry. It didn't add much benefit to speeding up the entry queue, but it was nice to think we'd contributed to the museum financially. The large museum could take a very long time to explore its entire collection. Carol and I made it through two rooms out of 60+.

Shirley, the VRBO host, recommended enjoying one of the local taverns/pubs. Nell Gwynn tavern nearly hidden down a two shoulder wide lane next door offered up a selection of beers on tap and a some non-alcoholic beverages as well. The bartender claimed the place to be 443 years old - highly suspicious - we can agree the service of beers here has taken place for a long time. The small place didn't stop most of the patrons from filling up the narrow lane to gossip and wet their lips with a brew.

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London turns out to have a Rodeo Drive or a district of very high end (expensive - wasteful extravagance?) stores. One can find Ferraris, Bentleys, door men, and splendidly decorated windows here. Around the corner lies the Royal Institute housing the Faraday Museum. Faraday conducted experiments and formulated concepts that we now take for granted in our every day use of electronic devices - electromagnetism. A visit to the museum lets one see some of the glass, wire, and magnet devices that yielded insights on electricity.

We attended Bleak Expectations at the Criterion Theatre on Piccadilly Circus. Guest star for the week was Lee Mack, a British comedian and sitcom actor. The performance was a comedy love story with three siblings, a looney mother, and a villain that prevailed almost to the very end.

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This morning we walked down to the Thames and boarded a boat bus to Tower Bridge. We passed under London Bridge and the Millennium Bridge on the way. Walking eastward along the Thames walkway we arrived shortly at Tower Bridge. I wanted to see the Prime Meridian (0 longitude line) and Reed was interested in the Maritime Museum located across the street from the Royal Navy Academy in Greenwich. To spice up life we boarded a city double decker bus. Reed went to the upper deck to sightsee and experience the ride. We took a delicious fresh lunch at a Pho restaurant before visiting the museum. The museum is physically large with a central covered atrium over a gigantic map of the world. The exhibits are nice, but limited on the depth of information provided and the things displayed were thin compared to some of the other recent museum visits. Feeling a little tired we headed for the bus for a VRBO return, but then I remembered I wanted to visit the Prime Meridian. It was a 20 minute walk up to the top of what looks like one of (if not the) tallest hills around London. Sitting on top is the Royal Observatory with the Prime Meridian conveniently right down the middle of one of the exterior doors. However, the longitude line sits about 5 meters on the other side of a high metal fence. A friendly docent said the cost to enter the Observatory and stand on the line is £18. Both Reed and I balked at spending that much for the privilege. Then the docent directed us to a quiet place slightly down some steps and through a gate where the Prime Meridian continues northward out from the Observatory grounds. We were all over that! I logged some waypoints on the iPhone, but none reported a longitude of 0.0; I recall the nearest was 0.0017. We snapped the compulsory photos both on the Prime Meridican and photos of London from the high vantage point.

We made a brief stop at the Queen's House before boarding (the now infamous because Reed said it'd takes us back to the place we're staying) bus #188 back to within a few blocks of the VRBO. Sitting on the upper deck in the first sit provided a unique and at times disquieting ride and perspective - beside being hot because of the poor air conditioning on the bus. We ate hamburgers at a restaurant a couple doors down from the VRBO. A short walk about the surrounding neighborhood entertained with lights, walking crowds, people eating and drinking, London taxis, lighted tricycle transport and the eclectic sights that are London in the theatre district.

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Nobody felt like venturing forth so we had a chill morning. Then it was off to the matinee performance of Spitting Image, Stranger Things at the Phoenix Theatre. The semi-musical is a British political satire using adult size puppets. Both Trump and Biden had minor roles. The costuming was unusual comprised of people in gray clothing operating puppets. The story sought to eviscerate the Tory party.

The evening closed with a walk and dinner in the China Town district of London with its hanging lanterns and many restaurants. Reed did an excellent job choosing a place that felt authentic chinese (Well the waiter wrote the order down in Chinese!) and a dumb waiter that miraculously delivered food. I enjoyed the meal second only to the Pho lunch.

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On our last full day in London we chose to visit the Tate Modern gallery. The Underground offered the easiest and quickest transportation means from the VRBO to the gallery. Fortunately there were not many stairs required.

The Tate sits in a converted electrical generating power station. The entrance enters what once housed the turbine room. You almost fall into the space as you walk down the gradually sloping ramp into the gigantic cavernous room. The gallery continues in this theme of large spaces for the modern pieces of art. I enjoyed figures made of clear glass decorated or holding organic things. An award winning painting done in the 1920's I wouldn't consider 'modern abstract' art if of a woman waking in the morning; the capture of the light on her I found exquisite. The last thing that captured my attention was a visitor composing music on his iPhone while looking at a piece of art; the app he used filled the screen with a keyboard recording the notes he pressed as he hummed quietly.

After the gallery, we walked across the Millennium Bridge eating lunch at Cafe 101 - an inexpensive cafe in the basement of the building housing the Salvation Army. Back at the VRBO there were naps to be taken before the third and final performance of our London visit.

We enjoyed a diverse flavor treat for dinner at a fusion of Indian and Chinese food. The dishes were tapas size that we all shared: duck in a sweet sauce, sesame tofu (spicy!), stir-fry broccoli, etc.

The performance we saw at the Lyric Theatre titled, Aspects of Love, is a musical about several people and their intertwined loves. The music provides only a backdrop to tell the story. A key line was something like "Enjoy the experience because love ultimately flys free." The ending, true to that, left the audience unsatiated seeking a happy ending with closure - love flew free.