Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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.

 

Well. I had expected a quick yes or no answer to my question yesterday – imagine my surprise when I came home later in the day and read all of your wonderful comments! You made my day. I even shared some of your beautiful words with Don. Thank you, dear ones.

Okay! So it’s back to the trip.

We were excited about taking the Eurostar to London (which goes through a tunnel in the English Channel) but it became less exciting when we heard the announcement that it was a delayed about an hour and a half because another train had become stuck in the Chunnel. The train before ours was cancelled. The scene at King’s Cross was chaotic, as no one seemed to be keeping the waiting passengers up-to-date. We finally boarded and the ride itself was lovely. We got to see some of the French countryside. After arriving in London, we took a cab to our hotel – the Holiday Inn in Regent’s Park. Our room was so small that we could barely move. The decor was generic – and in a bad way – Holiday Inn. Only one person could go in the bathroom at a time and there was no room to move. The weather was cloudy, windy and damp and the room was the antithesis of our charming room in Paris, so yours truly was ready to cry. Don took over and went down to the front desk. When he returned, he had seen a room on the top floor that was an upgrade and quite nice. We upgraded, but we still had to wait two days until it was available. (We moved on Wednesday and the new room was SO much nicer that it completely changed our attitude.)

We headed out to explore a bit  and took a cab (Don fell in love with the big black London cabs) to Parliament.

Big Ben is currently ensconced in scaffolding, as is some of Parliament. We had to walk around to this side to catch a glimpse of the clock. Nicer photos of Parliament coming up later in the week, taken when we went to Westminster Abbey.

We walked to the Thames. There’s Don and the London Eye in the background.

Don making an “urgent” call.

We headed over to St. James Park where we watched the ducks and the swans.

They were very friendly. Looking for food, no doubt.

We watched the guards do their thing. Perfectly coordinated in movement as they patrolled their area in front of Buckingham Palace. Don loved it. No – we didn’t get to the Changing of the Guard – we weren’t all that interested, and I’ve seen it before. But this was fun.

The palace gates.

Just loved this peek at the nighttime London Eye in the background.

The next morning, we headed to the Tower of London, which was simply fascinating. I’ve been to London three times but somehow had never made it there. It’s a huge complex, much bigger than I thought it was.

This is the White Tower. All the surrounding buildings were built to protect it.

We went on a tour. Our tour guide was a Beefeater and he was wildly funny but very informative. Much history that I was unaware of. Fascinating. And bloody.

Then we headed toward Tower Bridge and walked across it to Bankside/Southwark.

The bridge is stunning.

Southwark Cathedral, which dates from 1220 – 1420, when it was a priory and then the present-day cathedral. They have a lovely cafe there and we had a tasty lunch. I tried a piece of Victoria Sponge, by the way, in honor of The Great British Baking Show, but I concluded it’s not my thing. Don liked it, though.

Further down the road along the river, we encountered our particular holy site.

The original site of the Globe theater, where King Lear and Hamlet premiered, where Shakespeare worked, acted, and ran a company of actors. It’s holy ground to us. Parts of the theater were unearthed many years ago, but just remnants. It burned to the ground at one point, was rebuilt and then, when the Puritans came to power, it was closed and ultimately destroyed.

It’s behind this fence.

This is where it stood.

As you can see, there are apartment buildings right next to it.

We were very moved. It’s fair to say that we would not be working in the theater without Shakespeare. And the past 14 years or so of my career would never have happened.

Simply the greatest playwright that ever lived.

Just down the street is the marker for original site of the Rose Theater, which was also in existence at the same time – in fact, it pre-dated the Globe.

And just down the street from that is Shakespeare’s Globe, the theater that was meticulously designed and built to reflect all that we know about the original Globe. Spearheaded by American actor Sam Wanamaker, it took years to come to fruition. It opened in the late nineties and I took a group of students there in 2001 to study. So I’ve been in it before, but Don hadn’t. A lovely woman took pity on us – the last tour of the day had ended – and let us take a peek inside the space.

It’s a living, working, thriving theater that is amazing. They had just closed their last production of the season in this outdoor space. There is another smaller theater – lit by candles – that they use in the winter months.

We went to the gift shop and bought some t-shirts and I couldn’t resist this:

Now in our bathroom.

The back of the Globe.

Next to the theater. I loved these houses.

Don was shocked to find out he couldn’t busk here.

We crossed the Millennium Bridge and headed toward my favorite church, St. Paul’s.

We arrived just in time for Evensong.

These crosses are part of a temporary installation commemorating the end of WWI.

We walked back to our neighborhood, peeking down every Mews we found. Dream: to live in a London Mews.

I believe we also walked to Daunt Books in Marylebone, which I spoke of in an earlier post.

End of the day. We walked miles, mostly on cobblestones. More tomorrow.

Happy Wednesday and Happy Birthday to my sister’s eldest, my nephew.