March 22 Saturday

Debbie at the beautiful British Museum

First an update on steps and miles walked; although the city certainly came to us and we embraced it, we covered much on sidewalks, beneath the earth on the Tube, and between bus transfers. A new record, 14,222 steps or 6.5 miles; my legs feel very inch of it.

More complete than the ones in Acropolis Museum

     Following the advice of my oldest son, Mike, we started out at the British Museum and can now add it to a long list of some of the most striking and historic museums scattered about the planet that we have visited. These include: The Cairo Museum in Cairo, Egypt; the Louvre in Paris, France; the New Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece; the Heritage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia; and The Vatican Museum in Rome, Italy. An impressive list for sure, thus it is perhaps understandable that everything we encountered in the British Museum we had seen before.  Most striking were the Elgin Marbles, brought to England by Lord Elgin in 1801. These statues and marble sculptures taken from the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens are more numerous and better preserved than the ones we have viewed at the New Acropolis Museum in Athens. It is no wonder why the Greeks want them returned to their rightful place. We agree.

     Other artifacts from so many parts of the world were also well preserved totally intact, some dating as far back as 10,000 BC! It was an amazing visit and if our legs could have withstood the up and down and around, we would have visited a special Vikings Exhibit.

     A real highlight of the day was finding the “Salt & Pepper Café.” Debbie spotted it on our return to transportation routes; located on a corner it was a typical Ma & Pa restaurant, small, quaint, and great service. She loved her “jacket potato” me, my “Egg Mayo” sandwich. We loved our delightful dessert called “Nata” (a cream Brule custard taste) originating in Portugal (we last enjoyed it in Lisbon)! And Debbie added a piece of carrot cake for good measure; “the best ever,” she said.

     After lunch we tracked down the #24 bus to Westminster. You don’t feel like you have been to London until you have visited the Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament, Trafalgar Square, a look at The Eye, and other sights in what is considered the heart of the city. It is not unlike going to Washington, DC and the need to visit The Mall; it is a prerequisite to everything else. And for us, this area of London was no exception. We captured it with a number of photographs and enjoyed strolling from one place to the next.

The Abbey on a beautiful day

     Transferring from bus to bus, especially to the double-decker ones, we were afforded great views of the city; this we preferred to the “on and off” buses that on this Saturday were crowded with masses of people.

Big Ben against a bluebird sky

David poses at the Marble Arch- just for Brad

     

Bradley,  my youngest son, lived about two blocks from the Marble Arch when he lived for a semester in London. Thus we had to visit it and take a picture; the photo was the easy part, what we encountered next we will never forget. Millions, yes, millions of weekend Londoners and tourists were shopping along the main street stretching beyond the Arch. The traffic (in the street and on the sidewalks) created a milieu of cars and people that brought most to a halt. Having no where else to go, a screeching ambulance with sirens blaring had to make its way through the gridlock on the sidewalk scattering people this way and that. It was like a scene from a movie. We were relieved to finally make it to the underground Tube returning us to our hotel.

Our quaint Italian cafe for dinner

     Exhausted from the explorations of the day, I slept for more than 3 hours while Debbie snoozed for a short while and then worked on her various projects. It was past 7pm when we got organized for dinner. Walking, yes walking again, we found a delightful Italian restaurant – and yes again, a small, quaint, Ma & Pa with all local customers. We love this emersion into the culture.

     Before retiring for the night, Debbie was able to book a tour to the Leeds Castle, the Canterbury Cathedral, the White Cliffs of Dover, Greenwich, and a boat ride on the Thames for tomorrow. It will be an all-day affair, and we are excited.