Cemeteries, very, very fragile cars and more food porn

 Hey, all,

It's been quite a last two days, with "3" stops each day and several good meals and some weird stuff (strangers in a strange land and all). 

This is the American Cemetery at Normandy.  If you watch the news regularly, you will have seen ceremonies from here.  It is quite the thing.  Very moving to see all those graves and think of all those young men who died. ):  

But before we went there, we had breakfast in Bayeux (read the last blog) at a place called Selma Alabama's.  It wasn't even a block from our conveniently situated hotel.  Here's the highlight --

Somewhere under there is RR's French toast.  He said he'd never had that much whipped cream in his life. 😂

Then I wanted to see the cathedral there, which used to house the tapestry.  It was built by Odo (that's right,  O-d-o), who was William the Conqueror's half-brother and the bishop of Bayeux.  He commissioned the tapestry.   His cathedral ain't half bad, either. 

It is an amazing example of Romanesque architecture, started in 1076, so it's kinda old.  We struggled to get in (it didn't open till...well, Google said 9, a sign on the door said 10, but people were coming out...🤷

And, then, off to the cemetery.  

It was the first time we dealt with crowds -- there were busses and lots of cars in the car park.  I guess it shows you what being the best known site on the coast will do for you.  And it has one great scenic lookout spot.

You think you know how far it is, then people appeared on the beach who looked more like ants.  It's a loooonnng way up there.  About two long par 5's :)

After some discussion, we decided to head for Giverny, where we were staying last night and the home of Monet's garden.  

On the way, I let RR drive.  Which became a thing. 

First, you should know for the second day in a row, the car showed a low tire in the morning.  We filled the offending tire (right rear) at a rest area and, as RR drove, I looked up the MG ZS to see what one would cost in the states and found out you can't get one there!  And the Reddit that showed up called the car a disgrace to the famous brand, Chinese shite (are they made in China?), and said we were lucky to not have them on our road as they have a reputation for being "very, very fragile."  😗

After I awoke from my nap, the car started making a noise.  A warning ding! and a yellow idiot light came on.  We were the idiots.  Is it oil? Is it low gas? Is it windshield fluid (not that we'd used any)?  Finally, RR says "it looks like a coffee cup" and I look it up and it is a warning of a tired driver!!!  RR said he felt fine.  It says it does it once someone has driven for 2 hours straight.  Which seems lame, but there it was.  We made it to Monet's house and it has not yet reappeared. 

As strangers in a strange land, we parked in what was clearly the parking lot for Monet's house and looked around.  No helpful signs.  I went to the shop "Boutique -- House and Gardens" and got no one's attention so asked a woman outside, who spoke as much English as I do French. :). She pointed "down to the right". 

We did that and eventually got in.  We found the house, which has lots and lots of wonderful paintings -- Cezannes, Pisarros, and Degases, along with some of his own in his studio.  

Oh. I fogot: Renoirs. 

The highlight was the gardens.  We'd never seen such a full garden!  With so many colors.  This picture gives you some sense of it:

RR said he could see how it could be inspiring. 

Then we went through a tunnel (also unmarked) to the lily pond.  It was across the road (probably not as big a deal in his time).  The lily pond was much bigger than we expected, and full of lilies in bloom in several different colors. 

We made it to the shop, where I shopped and K said "It's hot in here, I'm going to wait outside" and made a vague gesture toward the exit door.  Or so I thought. 

I got out of the exit door and there was no K!  🤦 I knew immediately that this was trouble.  RR came out and asked where she was and I said I didn't know.  We waited.  I speculated that she had gone back out the in door and was waiting there.  (that turned out to be true). I thought she'd figure it out and have to come out our way.  I texted, but got no indication that she had gotten on their wifi. ):  RR seemed worried. In the end, I sent him in (though the tickets said explicitly no readmittance), he had the tickets on his phone, to see if she was where I said she'd be and, lo! and behold!  she was!!!  i was told it was my fault. :)

We then went to our hotel, which was only a few hundred yards away.  It was a converted 13th century stable.  Here's the courtyard --

We had trouble finding someone to check us in.  We decided to eat dinner there, which turned out to be a good idea for the food, but they took 2 1/2 hours to serve us.  In the end, they had 7 tables going at once and one wait person. ):

I had the mushroom risotto.

RR had the sea bass, which he said was perfectly grilled.

K had the duck.   

We were all amazed at another great meal. 

Pear with ice cream dessert. 

And then today: we started at 8 o'clock, not finding anyone in the hotel common spaces.  🤷  The place around the corner was supposed to be highly rated, so we tried it.  No one appeared.  We heard people in the kitchen but our calls of "bonjour". got no response. ):  

Then back to our hotel, where finally someone appeared and told us to sit and they'd get to us in a few.  We ended up having a delightful Continental breakfast and it turned out to be with the room -- gratis!!!! joy joy.

Then off to another cemetery. 

But along the way we decided we needed gas.  RR said it was his turn, so he got out and started.  I went looking for bottled water.  It turned out to be a good looking pastry shop, so I was stuck in a line a few minutes and came out expecting RR to drive.  He said "I can't get it to work."  We both tried.  It kept rejecting his card.  Finally, we gave up and went looking for another station.  To get there, I had to do two, yes, two roundabout switchbacks (u-turns) and get on the highway for just a moment.  

This time the machine would take his card but they had  no 95 or 98 octane gasoline.  ):  RR said "let's put 5 gallons of 85 in it till later".  We did.  (shhhhsshhh). This turned out to be almost half a tank!!! (it's a hybrid)  Later, the check engine light came on.  Very, very fragile, remember? :) 

Our destination was the cemetery at Somme, also run by the Americans.  We were literally the only ones there!!!  RR commented on the discrepancy and disparity.  

About 1,800 Americans are buried there, killed in our first action of WW1.  

From there we crossed pretty French farm countryside, and wondered at the piles of root vegetables in the fields and even saw picker with it's wagon full of them.   We speculate that they are turnips, though they may be sugar beets.  K is still not sure they aren't potatoes.  Anyway, an interesting nuance of the local culture. 

Then to the Somme 1916 museum, which purportedly had a trench, which RR wanted to see.  It didn't really; it has a tunnel built later with the museum bits within.  They have lots and lots of artifacts and made the most of the setting in terms of trenches.  We exited into a beautiful garden and found our way back to the car. 

During the museum visit we saw a film on the war in the area and they noted all the cemeteries and memorials within a 5 mile radius of where we were: Albert.  I wanted to see the one.  You'll see why from this pic --

It commemorates the thousands of men from the British Empire who disappeared during the war. It was built by a famous architect, who said it was shaped to point to heaven, as these men would be going that way.  It has a tremendous view north? across the farm landscape.  

It was now after 5 and we were not near Saint Quentin, named after some 3rd century local, where we are staying the night.  

I once again went with the google and found a place for dinner -- most of the other nearby places were fast food types.  RR was ensconsed in the bar with a pint and wondered about eating there, but they specialized in pizza -- lame for our last night in France. 

K and I found the place in mind, which turned out to be Lebanese.  The guy who greeted us asked if we had a reservation and seemed concerned we didn't. There was literally no one in the place!!!! 😂😂😂 We sat and waited.  I had to ask for menus.  RR didn't show up.  I ordered a half bottle of Lebanese red and he brought it fairly quickly.  I still didn't have water.  RR walked by, ignoring our store front.  I had to chase him down. 🤦

In the end, we all had the Lebanese plate, with variations.  RR's was the biggest, so here it is:

From the bottom (as best I can): gherkin, hummus, garlic cream sauce, tabbuleh, green salad, haloumi, that ricey stuff, a fig leaf stuffed with rice, and a salad with peppers and cucumbers. 

And I am caught up. 

I hope we have no more car adventures tomorrow, as we give it up at 2 o'clock.  Until later...bon soir. 

RR's mystery bag and two days in Normandy

 Bonjour, mon amis,

We are in France.  I'm sure there's something clever someone once said about arriving here, but someone else will have to come up with it. :)

I'm told I have to be sure to blog as often as possible because some of the audience is living vicariously through this blog.  That's sad.  But they probably have to work, so that's the beginning of sadness. 😀

Yesterday's journey to France began with me bolting to Avobar, which you may remember was 50 feet from our flat's door, and maybe, just maybe, grabbing a pastry while I waited for coffee.  Just maybe.  

If I did, it would explain how I made it to France without food.  Or real food. 

We got downstairs around 9:05 and I called an Uber.  He came in 4 minutes, but on the other side of the closed road a half block down from us.  He actually circled around and ended up coming right past where we were initially standing. 

Our driver, Osman, was loquacious.  In the hour forty minute trip to Gatwick, he talked cars, bikes (he hates them too), politics and how everything we'd ever heard about Asia was a lie. 

If you are doing the math, it is 1055 for a 1235 flight.  Okay, right?  Even K with her trip anxiety seemed to reassure us that all was well.

We got in the easyjet check bag line and I sent mine off; RR sent his off on a separate line and K tried to do hers and it said she didn't have a checked bag and needed to pay for it.  We got an attendant and she was no help and went and got another attendant.  It was loud and she had an accent, so understanding was tricky.  In the end, she came back with numbers on a slip of paper and said we had already sent 3 bags forward.  She said RR had sent 2!!!!  The one weighed 20k and the other 19k.  We said we didn't have a second bag.  RR hadn't gotten a receipt (I had), and there were no names on the luggage tags. 😡. Finally, now at least 15 minutes into the process, K said "just charge us and we'll file a complaint" and the woman took us to another kiosk and whisked her bag through -- without the extra charge!  😀 She told us to look in Rennes for the other bag and let them know.  I realized as she did the kiosk what happened -- it asks you for another bag and you have to say no and if you don't, the next person up can use your account!  That must be what happened.  Given there are no names on tags, how can one know?  But that person's bag went to Rennes; how they ever were going to identify it and get it back to them, I don't know.  I'm betting it didn't happen.  I also speculated about what was in it -- my companions said they couldn't care less. :)

So that was that adventure. 

We were given an MG ?Z to drive: the desk person called it their "large SUV."  It ain't large.  It holds (barely) our three large suitcases and a small bag, and all of us (and a fourth, if we had it) comfortably, but in the States it would maybe be a medium SUV, leaning to the small side.  It runs nicely though.  It is in "vert" (on the tag)...if you want to work on your French. 

From the airport we shot as quickly as possible (with an almost embarrassing stop at Burger King [it was easy on and off the highway] for K's first food of the day.  I had to join her.  RR was living on his pent up anxiety) to Mont. St. Michel.  K and I had been here in 2002 (pre-blog), but RR had never been close.  If you aren't familiar, it is absolutely spectacular, sticking up on an island for hundreds of feet. 

We parked and got on the shuttle, that takes 20 minutes to the foot of the hill, and RR bolted ahead, hoping to climb to the top before it closed.  He didn't make it. ):  They were just closing the one gate as he got there.  He said he looked for "a secret passage around, but there wasn't one."  He only got up to the level of the first chapel, but still said it was unbelievable, which it is.  The village below is cute, too. 

Then to our hotel, where we stayed in 2002, which is in Ducey, set on a stream in an old mill. We had a view of the falls from our room:

We were running late, we ate dinner at 730, so we ate at the hotel. It turned out to be excellent.  

Pollock in muscat sauce.

Apple, bacon and goat cheese salad (K tried to get chicken on it, which Andrea, the staff person who both checked us in and served dinner, could not understand -- notwithstanding there being no chicken on the menu :))

This was supposedly their butcher cut.  Seems a lot like a burger to me, but I'm not French. :)

This morning we had the hotel breakfast, which was a modified Continental.  It had eggs and pancakes along with the usual Continental stuff. No pics necessary.

And then off the hour and half to the Normandy beaches. 

Oh, but, no!  The MG decided one tire was low!!!  So we pulled into a rest area (I figured out what the sign meant to indicate one -- my French being tres mal) filled up -- it took two persons (don't ask me how a single person does it) and found out that the MG self corrects rather than having a reset button.  Ten minutes down the road, the light went off!!!

Finally we arrived at Utah Beach.  There was only a couple pieces of equipment there, so we moved on to the WW2 museum (you'll find there are a lot of museums around here) . We paid the 9 euros and were done is less than half an hour. 

From there, I took them to St. Marie Eglise, the first town to be liberatored on June 6/7.  It is famous for having a dummy hanging from the church spire from his parachute, as an American did on June 6 and survived that and the war! 

It was a very cute little town and we ended up having a half sandwich there (or, as Sheldon Cooper would call it, "A sandwich.") as RR again checked out every nook and cranny.  There were statues of Eisenhower, memorials to the airborne divisions, another museum (we didn't go in), the whole shebang.  

Then we shebanged off towards Omaha Beach.  If you aren't a WW2 history buff, Utah and Omaha Beaches are the two where the Americans came ashore on June 6.  They cover many miles of Normandy coastland.  

It should be noted that RR, who was assigned as second driver on the MG, drove this leg.  As I slept most of the way, I suspect I missed a lot that would make entertaining blog, but what I did see and hear was fun.  There was a lot of confusion about which spur to take out of roundabout on Google maps (this has been a theme of the trip) and other turns.  That he had to lean toward the console to read the map I found concerning.  I was told I had no right to say anything.  I don't know what that's about....🤷

The museum at Arromanche, part of Omaha beach and where a lot of American equipment was brought to shore, was remarkable.  Called the D-Day Museum (to separate from all the others), it had a building dedicated in 2023 and lots of displays and several films.  

The most amazing thing at Arromanche was this --

 

They decided in 1944 that they weren't going to easily win either of the natural harbors on this coast, Cherbourg or Le Havre, but that they needed to develop the technology to create an artificial harbor.  What you see is the remains of that harbor -- still there 80+ years later.  None of us knew of this, which was a part of the post-D-Day operation.   They moved 3m tons of stuff into France as part of the invasion.  Which included 150,000 men the first day and many times that thereafter. 

I admit to not taking my time in the museum -- I was WW2 saturated.  I sat down and sent RR a message as to where I was.  I got bored at that spot and sent a second message.  I walked around, looking to see if there was another exit they might have come out of.  I was about to go to see if they were standing at the car, parked a blcok away, when RR appeared.  I guess I gave him some body language bc he mocked me. ):  They had stayed and both conceded they listened to EVERY track on the audio guide. 🤷🤷🤷

We had a drink across the street and I drove them to the Engineers Memorial on the hill east of Arromanches --

And then in the other direction to the top of the cliffs and these bunkers. 

It still had the German gun in it!!!

And then we went into Bayeaux -- no, the tapestry is NOT here -- and found that our hotel was in the very center of another cute little town.  

And now for the food porn.  

During one of my several sits, I looked for "best restaurant near the Churchill Hotel Bayeaux" and got all kinds of places within walking distance.  The one was across the street, got 4.9 out of 5 on Google (who the dopes are that didn't give it a five, I don't want to know) and was only 20-30.  They required reservations but I walked up (couldn't get the French phone number to work 😡) and he said they would have a table in half an hour.  We went and had a drink and came back.  

FYI the desk person at the hotel told us it was a couple running the place and the man was the chef and specialized in sauces.  He wasn't wrong. 

This is piquillos -- chilis stuffed with cheese.  The waitperson poured the sauce on in front of us -- too quick for me to get a video. It was very, very good but he told us the entrees would better.

Truffle linguine with pig jowl -- the biggest piece I'd ever seen, it was like a pork chop!

Their beef on flatbread. With a sauce (see small pitcher)

Apple patin with ice cream.

Everything was to die for.  We made MS sounds over and over, and we tasted each other's and wondered if we'd chosen wisely.  The apple dessert was a bit of a disappointment, but everything else more than made up for it. 

And it was only 108 euros, including tip!!!!

That is our first two days in France.  It's been great and we are all tired but having a good time. 

Tomorrow we are hitting the cathedral here, the American WW2 cemetary, then heading inland...

And K made it a point that we had to stay in the hotel where we are staying tomorrow night, so it should be something...

Till then...

London, Day 4: Chasing/Waiting on RR and some other stuff rather than food porn, maybe :)

 Hi Thinning Readers,

Today, somewhat to our chagrin,  was our last day in London. ):  We all were bummed about that. 

Also a bit of a bummer is that last night's blog has yielded quite a few readers short of recent numbers. ): Wonder why.  

Anyway, it's always good when someone tells you what to put in your blog. :)

I was told I had to put this picture --

If you can't tell, it is a house made of biscuits (English for a cookie),  which was displayed at Fortnum & Masons.   Which is where we visited after high tea.  

Here's one of the confectionary cases there:

Yes, those are ghosts!!!

Okay, about our day.  It started with breakfast at the place we ate Sunday, so I won't bother repeat the pictures.  

Then we walked down to Bond Street station, about 10 minutes, going to the British Museum.

We had tickets and got right in.  And at this point we sent RR with a map off on his own, as we had been there both in '22 and '24.  We took our time, went to see the Sutton Hoo collection again, and K decided she wanted to see the Thorn Reliquary, which it took awhile to find.

One of the amazing things about this trip to the museum was the Bayeaux Tapestry stuff.  The tapestry (I'll skip the lecture about it) is on display at the museum for the first time ever.  It was made in ~1080 and they think this is the first time it's been back since around 1200.  A big deal.  I really, really wanted to see it, having studied it since I was an undergrad.  But there were no tickets till January (another long story).

So, being there, here is all this stuff.  I don't know how to explain what "all" is: jigsaw puzzles, shopping bags, shirts, decks of cards, kids shields and helmets and swords, all kinds of sewing kits.  And about anything else you could imagine.  There was an eraser like a stone with a soldier from the tapestry on it. 

We dilly dallied while RR sped through every room -- he said.  :) 

Here's the amazing purse cover from Sutton Hoo -- I love the cloisanne:

Around 2 o'clock, we headed for St. Paul's.  K was melting (it was, she reported, 14 degrees above normal today).   RR paid to go in and disappeared.  He seemed to be gone for a long time and when he reappeared, he acted pooped.  Turned out that he went all the way to the top!!!  He said it said something like 700 steps but he had to go (I'm told his kids will find this "so dad", but it was a bit crazy).  

We were running late for high tea, so made our way back to the flat and got ready.  We got to tea in time. 

I had made reservations at the Wolseley, which is across the street from the Ritz.  We've been there several times.  

Here's the pic of the carousel:

And then we made our way back for an early night of blogging and packing. 

We fly to Rennes, France, tomorrow at 1235.  We have a bunch of days coming that are one and out, so I'll have to catch you up on here.

We're all sad to be leaving here, but looking forward to the next legs of the adventure.  At least tomorrow i get to drive on the right side of the road. :)

And with that I bid you cheerio!

PS there was another episode of "bike almost hits K" ):  It missed, but it's been crazy here.  Hopefully that ends tomorrow. 

RR does London (mostly food pics)

 Hi all,

Back today with the first back-to-back blogs of the trip.  This is somewhat in response to yesterday's comment about that many words. 😂 That comment is both ironic and hilarious for all who know the writer: he has been known, especially with a pint or two in him, to let the words flow like Guinness. 😂

We did a bunch today.  It started with an attempt to pickup laundry, which was supposed to be ready when they opened at 9.  We dropped it off shortly after 9 Saturday and, supposedly, could have had it back Saturday evening (they were closed yesterday).  RR and I went down right after 9 to get it; Esra couldn't find it!!! She came back and said "come back in 40 minutes."  Why 40 minutes? We don't know.  And, FYI, I had a double load -- one might question how my life partner, who had been away from home only a day had 6 items to wash, but why would we go there??? -- so it was a bit much carrying it back.  She had it ready for us at 940, we carried it back and got on the road. 

Today's breakfast was at Bill's, the same chain as RR and I ate in two weeks ago Saturday.  There is one on Baker Street, between us and the Tube staton.  In 2023, here with students and staying just down the street from where we are this time, I frequented it enough to be both a fan and on their mailing list.  The lure today was advertised all-you-can-eat £5 pancakes.  And the special was toffee apple pancakes.  They are pictured:

RR, who those on the trip will admit can eat prodigious amounts, ordered seconds on the berry pancakes.  We are all fans of their pancakes. 

Then we set off for Hampton Court Palace.  Obviously, RR has never been and K didn't remember going. Though since there are extant pictures of our daughter standing outside there in 1996, she must have been along.  🤷 We got onto a quick train and walked across.  The gate was closed.  Turned out they were closed on Monday. 😢 someone forgot to double-check that.  That person will remain nameless and blameless.  

We then returned to London.  It was now 2 o'clock.  I tried to get tickets online, but it didn't like my card so we waited till we got there.  There was no line!!! No crowd.  We walked straight in and waited for the yeoman for 15 minutes.  I searched for a snack (I was having a lack of sugar episode), but came up empty. 

I have heard the yeoman in '22 and '24.  You can go back and read the blogs.  This guy used pretty much the same ones (I knew the one about the rope and the 2 1/2 ton porticullis was coming), but RR hadn't heard it before, so it was all good.  

He loved the place.  He was like a little kid after the tour finished, moving quickly from place-to-place: the armory, the torture chamber, the crown jewels, then the towers and the rampart.  Meanwhile, the tired parents sat on the bench and waited.  I got this shot of him, looking like the Frenchman at the beginning of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 

The Tower was closing, almost to 530, and we headed for dinner. 

We left Tower Hill station on the Circle Line, we had to wait 9 minutes 😡, got off at Liverpool Street, and it was very, very crowded.  I saw the sign to the Central Line, which I had told K we were taking, and flowed with the crowd.  Up two sets up steps and then down a flight and there was enough scatter I could stop and look back.  No RR or K!!!  I waited.  I knew they kind of had to come this way.  Finally I decided to text RR (remember K doesn't have service; he does) and as I wrote the text he called.  They got caught getting off the train and lost me immediately, so stood there on the platform not knowing which way to go.  K said "I thought it was Central Line, but I wasn't sure."  Okay.  We were back together :)

I found Dishoom easily.  Those of you who have been in London with us (and it's not an inconsiderable number at this point :)) know this is our favorite restaurant.  It is now RR's.  He said he'd never had Indian food like that.  K asked the staff person for more heat because he was worried it wouldn't be hot enough (I later offered that I had pepto bismal, which Vlad had to borrow in Ulster :)).  Here's what I had.  A friend said leave a blurry shot or two -- it made it feel like we were having fun.😂

Their chicken ruby -- their take on the Indian classic butter chicken (if you know Indian cuisine)

Cheese naan.

The chef's special of the night, lamb curry, which was the bomb.  

We brought home leftovers which RR said he'd pregame for breakfast tomorrow.  He wasn't leaving that good of food at the restaurant. :) He raved about the restaurant and claimed it was the best meal of the trip (so far) and he said that bar was really high. 

We stopped for gelato at our favorite place from two years ago -- I got the dark chocolate, but not the darkest chocolate (which was like 75% cocoa)😀

Then we went to find a bus.  We did to save walking.  That ended up not working out. 

As we stood on Regent Street waiting, RR and I saw the LaCoste store open across the street. So we went to the nearest crosswalk and got halfway across.  RR and I got across but K...well, a bike ran a red light and brushed her flashing by.  Yes, the third near miss in two days.  Hopefully the rest of the trip won't have so many bikes, though I understand Amsterdam is full of them. 😒

We made it back to the flat and I'm writng this.

Tomorrow is our last day in London.  We have tickets at 1110 to the British Museum -- we know it's open :).  Then ???  We have dinner plans and then are probably coming back and crashing and packing.  

Till whenever, toot sweet 

2 Days in London (with breakfast food porn)

 Hey, ho, hey nanny yo! 

Yes, we're just back from seeing As You Like It at the Globe and that was the theme song.  More on that later. 

In case you are having trouble with the itinerary, K, RR and I are now in London for 4 days, she having joined us at Heathrow Friday as we arrived from Edinburgh.  It was really, really good to see her, if only because she doesn't fart out loud, tell bad jokes, or generally act like...something. :)  Also, I can't keep track of the itinerary either K asked during a break today what it was. :) 

Let's start with our flat.  We are two or three blocks from Baker Street station, just off the same road (Crawford Street) where I've stayed many times, including 3 years ago on my last trip with students.  They were in a flat on this street, too.  It's on the fifth floor and has two bedrooms and two bathrooms.  It's perfect for the three of us. 

To yesterday: the first breakfast place (there have been a bunch and there'll be more here) was like 50 feet from the door to our flat. It's called Avobar.  There was a crowd there today, too. 

Here is food porn one:

The ubiquitous avocado toast. 

Scrambled eggs on toast with bacon.

An omelet with cheese and chili paste with avocado on top.

Ciinnamon bun and chocolate croissant (which only just got eaten). 
  

You can tell, it was a bump.  

Then we jumped on the Tube from Baker Street to Westminster.

RR has never been here before.  He wasn't ready for Westminster on a Saturday, although I started with a talk about him doing Zen, deep breaths, because there was going to be a crowd and he hates crowds.  

There was a huge crowd.  If you don't know, you come out of Westminster Tube station with Big Ben looming right there above you. There were lots of pictures and several "you need to slow downs" as we made our way to the river, a look at Westminster Bridge -- no longer famous for the Wordsworth poem but for the two guys who ran their cars into people on it in the last X number of years -- and then over to Westminster Abbey.  There were no tickets left for the day, so we moved on. 

We made it up Parliament Street, stopping to see if Larry was out at the Prime Minster's residence at #10 (he wasn't), then a pic in front of the Horse Guards, then up the hill to Trafalgar Square.  

After some pics, we went into the crypt at St. Martin's-in-the-Field and had drinks.  I "snuck" a delicous-looking piece of triple-layer chocolate cake. :)

Pause on the narrative to say the side story of this blog.  Twice in the last two days K has avoided calamity.  Last night they were standing outside Tesco around closing at 11 while I looked for decaf coffee and a drunk decided he was flying (acc to RR) and stumbled and ran into her! 😡 RR happened to turn and see it coming and was able to grab her arm as she was knocked off balance to keep her from falling. :) 

Then today we were back in the crowd at Westminster and K was like a step behind me (RR had bolted ahead) and a rickshaw cut in behind me, breezing my backside. 😡  I thought he had to hit her!  I turned and she said "I saw him coming and stopped.  I knew he wasn't stopping." 

After snacks and drink, we decided to spend some time in National Gallery of Art.  It's free.  (I made a donation) RR wanted to see the Impressionists (he'd just been to the D'Orsay) and so we went into the rooms to the right (45) that end the journey of the gallery.   We looked in 45 and then into 46, where it was all Monets (spoiler alert: we're going to his home this week) and...we were all in 46 and it was crowded and RR went out and I went out into 45 and I waited for K.   She never came out!!!  RR came back and we talked and I checked in 46 -- no K.  The long and the short of it was she disappeared and I couldn't find her.  I should point out that K does not have any cell coverage and has been using wifi. Well, there were no messages. I expected one asking where I was.  In the end she showed up.  I told her that I was worried someone took her and she said "no one's going to take me."  Well, tell me that when you disappear like that. ): 

Back to the flat for a quick nap, then off to the footie.  

Yes, we had tickets at Wembley to see England play Spain.  You know, the World Cup winner and the 3rd place finisher. 

It was RR's first football game (there are going to be a lot of RR firsts). 

He got a great game for his first.  The England defender fumbled away the ball to Yamal, Spain's best striker, in the opening 2 minutes and he beat the goalie one-on-one and it was Spain 1-0 early.  I wonder if there wouldn't be rope-a-dope for the rest of the way but late in the half England scored 2 goals to go into the locker room 2-1.  It was a long time in the second half with England trying to score and failing, Spain looking second-best.  Harry Kane even missed a penalty kick.  Then Spain came back and scored two late in the second half to win 3-2.  We had food truck burgers for dinner.  No photos.  :)

And that was day one. 

Day two started with another top brekkie.  The place was WatchHouse, which has several restaurants in central London.

This is a chocolate swirl.  Think cinnamon bun except with chocolate swirl in it.  And, yes, that's a chocolate genache on top. :)

Carrot cake. The second time RR has had it for breakfast on the trip. 

Cappucino -- it's not an onion! :)

Eggs benedict (it was dark there)

This is there butter toast, which RR loved it. 

Then off to Lambeth and the Imperial War Museum (IWM).  Funny bit is that we came out of the station and K said she remembered being there (I didn't, unsurprisingly) and we followed the first and second brown historical sign and then we got to a corner and I admitted I didn't know which way to turn.  We looked at Google maps and found it was across the street, with the entrance a half block back.  We missed the huge naval guns out front. 😂

You need to know RR is a WW2 buff.  OC he's never been here, or seen anything like some of their exhibits.  Like this one -- 

and this one

The kind of Soviet tank, made in Czech Republic, they used in WW2.

From there we went back to the Tube and RR got a ticket for the 1430 into the Churchill War Rooms (he really likes this stuff) and, having been through them last year, we waited in St. James Park.  I may have had chocolate gelato though since K can't testify against me, who knows? :)

After a quick hit at Buckingham Palace (Charley didn't come out and wave to us ):) and a hard walk through Green Park (we were all exhausted), we got to the Tube and made it back to the flat. 

We decided to take a cab out for the night. The goal was Dishoom in Southwark.  The cabbie talked our ears off -- how bicyclists are killers, how he worked so hard to get his cabbie license (everyone does), some about the football, and about the district we were going into (it used to be sketch when I started going to the Globe), etc.  He charged us £40!!! 😕 

There was no Dishooms -- it wasn't open yet (someone didn't bother check the deets ):) and we ended up at Wagamama's, which some of you will have been with us to.  This one let us down by not bothering to wait on us for at least 10 minutes -- grrr -- and we got our food fairly quickly.  I was in a rush and pissed at the wait staff so forgot to feed my phone.  I had the usual chicken katsu curry; RR had salmon on noodles; K had chicken on noodles; we had chicken won tons.  I had to go to the serving station to check out, rushed the other to to finish dinner (having not eaten nearly all of mine) but we made it to the theatre at 620 for the 630 show. 

I gave RR a thumbnail, as he hasn't done any Shakespeare, of both the play and the theatre's interesting history and we sat in the lower gallery, almost straight in front of the stage.  

The play was As You like It, which I thought was a good, soft opening for us all.  OC, the Globe company sticks mostly to comedies, since it's a very touristy crowd. 

They don't allow pictures once the production starts so I got this one of the stage before -- 

 During the play, they filled the white board with free hand drawings of trees.  Although most of the gallery for musicians is obscured they had some and the guitarist rocked the production.  There was lots of music.  The opening scenes were set in Restoration dress (you know, elaborate waistcoats, high heeled shows and big wigs) and it got rather weird with the move to the forest.  I didn't think either Rosalind or Orlando were particularly well cast, but the production was full of music and the actors played to the audience -- Touchstone started a speech with "She's a slut" (paraphrasing) and the crowd groaned and he paused and ad libbed "I haven't even finished the sentence yet!" and got a laugh.  He called the crowd goats...which got a laugh.  

The finish with the guitarist in a white "wedding" dress, knee high white boots, a huge ruffle, and a white 12-string guitar, leading a couple songs, including the nth renditon of Hey nonny, was a winner.  RR said he really enjoyed it, as did we all, and we Ubered back and were done.  

And that's 2 days in London. 

Hey nonny!