Caution Wet Floor

So because I have been promising this for a while to most of you, I am going to start telling the story of my trip last year from my journal entries. A lot of you will be jealous and some may hate me but this is my blog. For those of you who have been asking me, sorry this took so long and I hope you like it. Each Tuesday or TravelTuesday there will be a new entry.

The flight was very eventful as with all International Carriers, the alcohol was free. Let me tell you how great it is to not have to worry about that and to be asked if you want wine with your dinner. I saw a couple of movies. Dan in Real Life, about a widower who finally finds the next love of his life only to find out she is his brother’s new girlfriend. I also saw National Treasure 2, and Atonement. Having read the book for Atonement, I have to admit that I was disappointed in the movie version. I mean it was not bad but just not as great as people made it out to be. As far as National Treasure 2, I have seen it a few times but since I love those kinds of movies it hit the spot.

Upon arrival in the UK I tried to snap a photo of the welcome to Heathrow sign but I was told in quite the forceful tone NO CAMERAS allowed. So I scoured the net for this photo and that took a while. Since I have been to London a few times, I did not do the tourist stuff. I did try to go to the Reading Room in the British Museum, only to find that it is now the home of exhibitions in the museum. One thing I did do, that I do not normally do is to spend entire days in various parks and squares. I also got to see the Houses of Parliament. Something I plan on doing in this blog is to mention places I have been in each city I go to.

One day while walking in Trafalgar Square I ran into the Corona Girls who were in fact just trying to promote their beer and offering photos with them and some guys dressed as Corona Bottles. As I was approaching them to get my picture they were cited for not having a permit and later as they changed they were arrested for indecent exposure. I love London.

Berkeley Square - pronouced Barkley and not Berkeley like the University in California. In Mayfair, it’s a nice place to have lunch and just people watch and also to write. It also happens to be near my sister’s flat (they don’t say apartment here or on the mainland for that matter) so I went there a lot.

Grosvenor Square - Aside from the U.S. embassy in Japan, the Embassy of the United States of America to the Court of St. James’ (yes that is the OFFICIAL name) is the only U.S. embassy situated on land that is not owned by the U.S. government. The land is leased from the Duke of Westminster who, when asked if he would sell the land outright, responded that he would if the U.S. Government would return the land that belonged to his family in the U.S. before it was confiscated during the Revolutionary War. That just seems like a polite way of saying HELL NO. It’s also a very nice park with a few memorials to famous Americans, like FDR and the famous Eagle Squadron. These were the U.S. Airmen who fought for the British in WWII before the U.S. got involved officially.

Green Park - One of the Royal Parks this one between Mayfair and Buckingham Palace, great place to have a picnic.

Borders in Oxford St - It gave me a place that reminded me of home. Lots of fiction and non fiction books, and a Starbucks on the upper level make this an ideal place to read on a rainy day (this is London after all). Also the large travel books and maps section made planning my next trip very very easy. I got to know the staff very well as the would always pass me as I was spread out on either the floor or a table with research, and they were always very helpful.

British Library - The Reading Rooms are amazing and the staff was very friendly. They even introduced me to a visiting Professor of Medieval History from Holland who sat with me for a few hours to talk about a subject I was looking to research.

Starbucks - Yes I went to Starbucks, it’s hard not to in London. This one I am referring too however had a library like atmosphere in it’s basement and was the ideal place to sit down and just write, catch up on tv shows or read on a rainy day and it was closer to home than the Borders was.

British Museum - During earlier trips to London, this was my home away from home. The Round Reading Room in it’s center was a great place to kick back and relax on a rainy day. Imagine my surprise however when I found out that it was now where they house the rotating exhibitions. No more reading room. My first question, though nobody could answer it was where did all those great volumes of books go?

National Portrait Gallery - Admittedly I am not a museum lover, that’s more my sister’s love. That being said however the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square is one of my favorite places in London. A great place to just sit and watch people stare at paintings or try to impress others with their knowledge of obscure facts.

Parliament - As a Political Science major and a history nut, a visit to the English Parliament, has always been on my to-do list. Finally I got my opportunity and it did not disappoint.

Selfridges Department Store - My sister’s current place of employment (she actually works in the Tiffany’s shop in the store) is like a small mall. Founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge, an American who once worked for the famed Marshall Fields in Chicago, it has everything, and I mean everything, including a spa and men’s grooming area.

Liberty’s Department Store - One of the oldest department stores in London, people come to see it’s unique architecture and of course to shop. It’s clientele is a little more high end than the other stores, but it is definitely a place to visit, even if you can’t afford to.

Marks and Spencer - A British institution, the Macy’s of Europe, and yes they are EVERYWHERE. Even in Prague in the middle St. Wenceslas Square (which is a bit deceiving since that particular square looks just like London)

Victoria and Albert - This Museum was so damaged during WWII, that it is still to this day in constant repair. The outside however still shows the scars that war have taken on it’s façade. The collection inside however is well worth the trip to Kensington, and it you disagree then remember Harrod’s at Knightsbridge is near by.

Tate Modern - I have never been here before, but on the advice of my sister’s landlord, we went to see the Francis Bacon exhibition. Now admittedly again, I am not a huge art lover and really only the old masters have ever appealed to me. The art of Francis Bacon is twisted and demented and in a morbid way, quite interesting. Three of his works, not to be missed;

Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (1944) Bacon’s first acknowledged masterpiece shudders with unbearable despair.

Study After Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X (1953) The greatest of the “screaming popes” is a remarkably delicate bit of painting.

Triptych, May-June 1973 Bacon at his best, remembering George Dyer, his dead lover.

As this was my home base for the trip, I did not take a ton of pictures here. London is indeed one of my favorite places though. So much to do, to see and to enjoy.

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