That statue in the square is Isaac Newton who lived a few blocks away.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Suite!
Because of a snafu the first night I was here I was upgraded to a suite for tonight.
That statue in the square is Isaac Newton who lived a few blocks away.
That statue in the square is Isaac Newton who lived a few blocks away.
Train Travails
Our train trips to and from Canterbury could have gone smoother. On Wednesday Schelley and I were a little too lackadaisical getting off the train in Canterbury and the door closed on us before we got off. We had to ride up to Birmingham and back, but that only took about a half-hour.
Returning to London today we left Canterbury only to make an unscheduled stop at Rugby where they announced there was a switch problem on the track and we would have to get off, board (more like cram into) another train and go BACK to Canterbury. Back in Canterbury we waited while they announced several different ways to get to London. First it was a train to Redding where passengers would have to switch to another train into London Marleybone (we were trying to get to London Euston), then it was train to Royal Leamington Spa with a change to another train to London Paddington.
The Leamington Spa train showed up and it was a mad scene as people literally crammed themselves into the train. Pushing, shoving, yelling with the train station people blowing whistles trying to control the scene. Schelley, Tracy and I just could not squeeze on with our bags and we were left behind.
We decided to punt and take a taxi back to London. I went out to the taxi stand and got a flat price of £200 (around $400 U.S.) Tracy and Schelley didn't come out and when I went in to get them they were coming out of the customer service office. The rail folks had just released the next express train to London in 15 minutes. Apparently the switch problem was fixed. The station manager also told Tracy they had also opened the last car of first class to coach passengers but they were not going to announce it.
So in the end we rode in a first class car on an express train for the 1 1/2 hour trip to London, while the people that crammed themselves into the earlier train ahead of us had to ride standing up, smashed together, make a train change and then stop in every town along the way. It was a great thing that we missed that train!
All-in-all we got into London two hours late. Euston Station was also just packed full of people and as we fought our way through the station they announced the the Tube station serving the train station had just been closed due to over-crowding. We went out to the street to catch taxis before they went into the taxi queue. Schelley and Tracy off to their hotel in Knightsbridge, me to Leicester Square. When I walked into the lobby the desk clerk gave me a hearty "Welcome back Sir!"
That felt pretty good.
Video: Train Ride
Returning to London today we left Canterbury only to make an unscheduled stop at Rugby where they announced there was a switch problem on the track and we would have to get off, board (more like cram into) another train and go BACK to Canterbury. Back in Canterbury we waited while they announced several different ways to get to London. First it was a train to Redding where passengers would have to switch to another train into London Marleybone (we were trying to get to London Euston), then it was train to Royal Leamington Spa with a change to another train to London Paddington.
The Leamington Spa train showed up and it was a mad scene as people literally crammed themselves into the train. Pushing, shoving, yelling with the train station people blowing whistles trying to control the scene. Schelley, Tracy and I just could not squeeze on with our bags and we were left behind.
We decided to punt and take a taxi back to London. I went out to the taxi stand and got a flat price of £200 (around $400 U.S.) Tracy and Schelley didn't come out and when I went in to get them they were coming out of the customer service office. The rail folks had just released the next express train to London in 15 minutes. Apparently the switch problem was fixed. The station manager also told Tracy they had also opened the last car of first class to coach passengers but they were not going to announce it.
So in the end we rode in a first class car on an express train for the 1 1/2 hour trip to London, while the people that crammed themselves into the earlier train ahead of us had to ride standing up, smashed together, make a train change and then stop in every town along the way. It was a great thing that we missed that train!
All-in-all we got into London two hours late. Euston Station was also just packed full of people and as we fought our way through the station they announced the the Tube station serving the train station had just been closed due to over-crowding. We went out to the street to catch taxis before they went into the taxi queue. Schelley and Tracy off to their hotel in Knightsbridge, me to Leicester Square. When I walked into the lobby the desk clerk gave me a hearty "Welcome back Sir!"
That felt pretty good.
Video: Train Ride
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Leonardo
My hotel is almost directly behind the National Gallery so it was easy to quickly pop in there (it’s also free) to see one of the few DaVinci paintings in existence. It’s named Virgin of the Rocks and was painted about 1491-1508.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Camden Town
Sunday I took the Tube to Camden Town where there's all sorts of markets selling all sorts of stuff, but mostly obscene t-shirts, incense, hemp notebooks and such. A great scene for people watching. It was a zoo with occasional downpours. I can't imagine what it would be like on a nice day.
There were also a lot of big things on buildings.
There were also a lot of big things on buildings.
World Premier
Last night there they held the world premier of "Flashback of a Fool" across the square from our hotel. They blocked off the street and the stars cars would pull to the end of the red carpet and they'd get out to the hysterical shouts of fans. Here's Damien Lewis the star of NBC's Life arriving.
I didn't get his autograph.
Video: Premier
I didn't get his autograph.
Video: Premier
Sunday, April 13, 2008
London Marathon
I went out for a walk this morning and ended up watching the London Marathon for a few hours. It ended on the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace. While the marathon was running they had a series of three mile-or-so races for 11-17 year olds from all over the Commonwealth. They would finish in different waves with each age group wearing different color shirts. It was a great event! The announcer was very fun to listen to. I walked the course backwards and caught the wheelchair leaders at about 25 miles near Parliament and Big Ben, the womens leaders (I accidently deleted the video of the women from the camera), then the mens leaders at about the 23-24 mile mark.
It was one of the fastest marathons in history with three men under 2 hours, 6 minutes -- which is amazing!
Video: London Marathon
Here's a link to the BBC video which is a little better than mine. It also includes the wheelchair crash at the finish.
It was one of the fastest marathons in history with three men under 2 hours, 6 minutes -- which is amazing!
Video: London Marathon
Here's a link to the BBC video which is a little better than mine. It also includes the wheelchair crash at the finish.
The Queen's Not In
There are only two guards in front of Buckingham Palace and the Queen's flag isn't flying, so that means she's not in residence.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
My Hotel
In Leicester Square. My room isn't ready so I'm hanging out in the hotel bar having a complementary beer. It's pouring rain outside so perhaps I'll go to a museum this afternoon. There's the big Annie Lebowitz exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery a few blocks away.
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