London is Birthday Town

Andrew walking in London.

Andrew has celebrated his birthday in Nice, France; Zermatt, Switzerland; Castries, St. Lucia; Cape Town, South Africa; and Belmopan, Belize.  This year, he planned to celebrate his birthday in London, England. The last time I was in London was in 1988, when we were “biking” around Europe.  Andrew had been there more recently on an 8 hour flight lay-over on the way to a conference.

London Parkscapes.

Daffodils along the Mall.

We flew Ryan Air, the most discounted airline in business.  Everything is considered an extra. There is a cost to have your boarding pass printed (a bit of an issue without a home printer). One pays for even a drink of water.  The joke is that you pay to use the toilet on Ryan Air. We arrived on time in Luton Airport, about an hour north of London and preceded to work our way to Z Hotel, around the corner from Victoria Station.  We caught a bus to the train station, took a 30 minute train trip and caught the Victoria Line Underground. We traversed the street looking to the right as was written on the curb front, then looking to the left, again cued to do so in curb writing and arrived in our 15' by 15' windowless room.  Aah, the bustle of London.  The room was quite soundproof and we slept well even with the rumbling of the Tube underneath the hotel.

Busy city streets.

We headed out on the Tube to the British Museum, as it was open late on Friday evenings.  We had a hard time finding it once we popped out of the Underground. The entrance has changed since our last visit here.  The Museum has consumed the adjacent British Library.  A giant atrium acts as an entry area. The exhibits in the old wood paneled library room were enjoyable to stroll through.   Unlike 24 years ago, we did not feel compelled to see every room.  We had just finished our Roman Bath dig, so we headed upstairs to look at Roman mosaics and other artifacts. We viewed the Rosetta Stone and marveled that someone could decode the scratch-ings.  We walked around the Greek statues and dined in the museum cafe.  I had a wonderful green salad.  After a month in Malta what I miss and enjoyed the most in London was all things green- in salads and parks plus powerful water pressure.

Buckingham Palace.

The Eye.

Big Ben.

We spent the weekend walking daily around the sites-Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Trafalgar Square, Kensington Park, Big Ben, The Eye and Westminister Abbey.  We saw two shows at the opposite end of the culture spectrum, Phantom of the Opera and Spamalot. Yes, Andrew could recite most of the Monty Python lines.   We returned to the National Gallery and revisited the Impressionists.  My new favorite painting is Monet’s Bathers at La Grenouillere. We viewed the Iron Scroll Work and the Arts and Crafts displays at the Albert and Victoria Museum. We dined daily in Pret A Manger.  I feasted on porridge and avocado sandwiches with a kale/spinach hummus.  Andrew was able to find meat filled items, so he was agreeable.  Of course, we had to have a pub dish of fish and chips. 

British Gardens.

We spent Sunday, England's Mother’s Day, in Greenwich at the Maritime Museum and the surrounding park. The exhibits centered on the exploration by sea and the economics of sea trade.

I learned that because of a Pope's decision Brazil speaks Portuguese and the rest of South America speaks Spanish as the Pope settled a dispute between Portugal and Spain regarding claiming land in the  New World.  Europe had just sprung ahead one hour that night to get back on daylight savings time so it was an active day for Greenwich Mean Time. We returned to the Embankment via a catamaran ferry.  It was quite fun to ply the waters of the Thames looking at the revitalized wharf area and the historical monuments, London Bridge and the Tower of London. 

Greenwich Mean Time and Park.

London High Rises.

Remodeled Wharf Building.

London Bridge.

On the flight home Tuesday afternoon, we were able to see both Paris and Geneva from 30 something thousand feet in the air.  It was quite a different view than the usual desert Southwest and agriculture Midwest that we usually see flying to Michigan each summer.  We were back to our flat via the bus and our Malta life within 30 minutes of landing.

Geneva from the air.

Landing at Sunset in Malta.