Oh, great. We just got over jet lag and now we have to deal with another time change. The clock on the cable box tells me that we got up at 4:30 am, though our bodies thought it was 5:30 am. A wee bit too early for my taste.

Rehearsal in the city went well yesterday, but it was very rainy around here with high winds, so it was the kind of day that took all our energy to navigate. Today is sunny and much calmer. But all of the wind and rain over the course of the past week has taken down most of the leaves. I see a lot of bare trees out there.

Okay. Back to London.

On the day after our magical experience with Ian McKellen, we got up, had breakfast, and headed to Sloane Square.

Right by our local underground station.

Right outside Sloane Square station is the Royal Court Theatre. This theater is known for producing groundbreaking new plays over the years, including those by Caryl Churchill, who wrote Top Girls  and Cloud 9. I’ve acted in Top Girls  and have coached it more than once. She’s a brilliant playwright. It was really neat to see the theater for the first time – I’d forgotten it was situated in Sloane Square.

We meandered down the road until we found the little side street where John Sandoe Books is located. I spoke about this, my favorite bookshop in all the world (so far), in an earlier post. But for those who didn’t see it, here are a couple of photos.

It should read: John Sandoe Books LTD: Heaven on Earth.

Could I spend all day there? Most certainly. Both of us bought books and Don said that he could spend hours there and Don usually gets antsy in bookshops after about 10 minutes and ends up waiting for me outside. We sort of split up upon entering the bookshop, each of us exploring a different area, thumbing through books, overwhelmed by the sheer number of books on so many subjects. A big thumbs up from both Claudia and Don.

Afterward, we decided to head toward Westminster Abbey. As we emerged from the Tube near Parliament, we decided we had to eat first.

We saw this pub.

The Red Lion. It looked promising. We were escorted downstairs to the dining room, which was incredibly charming – as was the entire pub. This pub has quite a history; Dickens and Churchill frequented it. It’s very near Parliament.

We ordered a pie – typical fare for a pub lunch – but our pies were vegetarian! Full of mushrooms, with an incredible crust.

This photo doesn’t do it justice, but that crust was a beautiful shade of brown and the pie was delicious – as were the chips and vegetables. I wish I had one to eat right now!

Happy husband.

Contented wife.

After a nice, long lunch, we headed over toward the Abbey.

Part of Parliament. You can see some of the scaffolding on the left.

Gorgeous building.

But as we worked our way toward the entrance of the Abbey, we learned that it was too late to enter that day. Their closing hour is earlier than St. Paul’s. So we walked around and took some photos.

It’s stunning, of course.

I’ve been there before, but that was over 20 years ago.

We decided we would go to the Abbey the following morning.

More tomorrow.

Happy Sunday.

 

Good morning! I mowed yesterday and it was a wee bit tiring! Lots of long grass, but it’s done and I’m hoping it’s the last time I have to do it this year. It was good to get the exercise, as we’re now used to walking a lot and I don’t want to get too sedentary.

But, now that I bring up walking, by the time we hit Wednesday in London, we decided to take it easy. We had been going full throttle since we left for Paris. My sinuses were acting up. Don felt unorganized and, after doing laundry by hand in our hotels, was sick of waiting for things to dry. He decided he was going to go to a laundromat and do our laundry. Bless him. I just read and took it easy. Then, when he came back, we made the move to our upgraded room and settled in there. One of the hard parts of traveling for us is living out of a suitcase. Our first room in the Holiday Inn had very little storage space and Don had a real need to get everything in its place, which I must admit, I felt as well. It’s also important, we have realized, to schedule a day of rest. Our muscles were tired. We were tired. There’s so much visual stimulation, so much information coming at you – the day of rest was essential.

After all that was done, we took a walk and meandered around the neighborhood. But that’s about all.

Love the wood, the tile and the light fixture.

Regent Street was preparing for Christmas.

Gorgeous.

Why can’t we have mailboxes like this? Bright red, great shape, cheery!

The next morning we felt re-energized and ready to roll. We headed to the tube with our Oyster cards, asked for directions, and started on our journey to a very special place.

A side note: The Tube and the Metro are so much cleaner, brighter and just plan nicer than the NYC subway system, where both Don and I always feel we have to take a deep breath, dive in, and get on with it. Both systems are so much more pleasant. As I said on IG: NYC – do better.

Eventually, we emerged from the Underground and found our way down tree-lined streets in St. Johns Wood to this:

Don’s idea of heaven on earth. Don had originally wanted to take a day trip to Liverpool, but we soon realized that was only possible if you have more time in England than we did. Secretly, I think this was better.

It’s so popular with tourists that the crosswalk there is constantly full of people taking pictures. One family of four recreated the Beatles’ walk and we cheered them on. It was very convivial, everyone sharing their stories, drivers obligingly pausing so that photos can be taken. It was a lovely sunny day, as well.

Of course, we’re no different, as you can see.

It was so much fun! A taxi driver later told us that there are people here day and night. He’s taken people there at 3 in the morning!

Abbey Road Studios.

There’s much more to the studios than the Beatles. It was founded in 1931 by the great composer Sir Edward Elgar and the London Symphony Orchestra. Prokofiev made his first record there. The “King’s Speech” was recorded there. Glenn Miller’s last recording session was there. Pink Floyd recorded there. The score for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark was recorded there. The score of the movie, The King’s Speech, was recorded there with Colin Firth recording that speech via the original microphone used by King George VI. And on and on.

In front of the studios:

We signed the wall. On the second ‘i’ in Living.

Found on the wall belonging to another property which adjoined the Abbey Road wall:

Do you think my guy was thrilled to be there? Look at that smile!

Of course there is a gift shop, where we went slightly bonkers. T-shirts, buttons, pens, coasters and – you know I had to have them – these:

I might have shouted when I saw them.

I’m so glad we went. I tried to get there the last time I was in London to take pictures for Don, but I didn’t have the time. It was so much better to experience it for the first time with Don. He was beyond happy. So was I.

Afterward, we walked down the street towards the Tube.

Loved this beautiful mosaic street number.

St. Johns Wood is gorgeous and I hope to explore it more someday.

We emerged at Baker Street.

The Royal Academy of Music.

We were heading to the Marylebone High Street, and our first stop was Conran’s. While we were there, this young man who was starting a flower delivery business approached me, most likely hoping to sign me up. I explained that we didn’t live in London, but he handed me a bouquet anyway. Suspicious, I asked, “What’s the catch?” He said there was none, he just wanted to give the flowers to a pretty lady. What a lovely man! I thanked him effusively. I was so touched by his gesture!

Couldn’t stop smiling.

We stopped at Emma Bridgwater Pottery – her only London shop. I stopped here 17 years ago and bought some pieces that I still use every day – part of her Toast and Marmalade series. The shop was very basic then and it’s much more stylish now.

What did I buy?

One of her egg cups.

And this rabbit mug.

I’m a huge fan of her pottery and I’d have a house full of it if I could.

And a daylight visit to Daunt Books, where I might have purchased another book.

We went back to the hotel to rest a bit before we headed to the theater to see Ian McKellen in King Lear.

That’s for tomorrow. It deserves its own post.

Happy Thursday.