Queens and Castles

Losing track of what we are doing and what we did…  So, the Queen called back and decided not to come into town after all, enjoying her stay in Scotland too much.  But she did say to stop by the house and visit with the staff, spend the afternoon wandering the castle and enjoying the garden.  So we did.  The outside of the Palace itself is not that impressive, but inside is another matter.  Rather then bore you with the details, I will just say that it is good to be Queen.  And to think, she prefers Windsor Castle?  I can’t imagine how nice that place is.  Plus, it is outside of London.

Walking home, we decided to eat across the street at Coco Momo. Nice ending to a another long, busy day.  No tables outside, so ate in the restaurant area, with a waiter from Chicago. As we ended our meal, the table next to us filled with a family from Toronto.  Small world, indeed.

Wednesday morning, up early and off to meet a tour bus down the street for a 7:40 pick up to Stonehenge, followed by a couple of hours in Bath, the legendary town south of London.  Home of Johnny Depp, Jane Seymour, among others (had heard the Johnny lived in the south of France.  Why then would his children be enrolled in school in Bath?).

Arriving early (I travel with Cathy, enough said), the Hotel clerk at our pick up spot said the tour bus usually arrives sometime between 7:40 and 8:00 AM.  We had plenty of time for a quick breakfast at their restaurant, it was only 7:15.  Well, a funny thing happened while waiting for the bus - as soon as the breakfast was served, I noticed a bus parked out front. 

But wait, it is only 7:30.  So we wolfed down two perfectly cooked eggs, wrapped our toast in napkins, and ran off to the bus.  The hotel wait-staff could not have been more helpful, so thank you, whoever you are…

Stonehenge was interesting.  We had perfect weather,  which made it much nicer.  I have been told that viewing it in the rain is not that much fun, right Linda & Shannon?

Nice blossom's; new to me.

Nice ride to the location, as well.  Tour guide was OK, just talked a little too much, with corny jokes.  Now we are off to Bath.  We are behind schedule, thanks to the tour company, the guide, and the group.  We should have dumped them right away - hindsight.

So our trip to Bath was quick - but a beautiful location - we see why people love it.  Nice walk about town and a nice lunch, followed by another nice ride back into London. The English country side is beautiful, and very familiar.

Back in time to answer a Skype call from Linda - Carolyn out strolling with Bennett.  After a bit Carolyn returned.  Dinner was discussed and we decided dinner across the street at Med Kitchen.  Just the two of us.  Hugh out with a work function and Carolyn preferring to stay home with Bennett.  I don’t blame her, we are the ones on vacation, so we can sleep on the plane ride home.

London, con't.

Actually, this is the start, as the previous post explained.  Here is the start of our Journey to see Bennett, Carolyn, and Hugh!

Got a ride to the airport from a friend at work - thanks, Mark.  Cathy road the Disneyland Express to LAX.  At check-in, upgraded to a seat with a little more leg room - or knee space as Virgin Atlantic calls it.  What a good call!

Went for a drink at The Endevour Restaurant, that funky structure at LAX that many people think is the control tower.  The recent re-do is nice, although after all that time, you would think they could have also done the Lift (sorry, speaking London now).
Has anyone ever heard of Plane Watchers?  Me either.  The two blokes we met from Manchester had visited 11 cites in 12 days.  Well, actually 11 airports.  They liked LA because of the restaurant has great views of the take-off and landing of every flight.
They record the tail registration numbers; then when home they update their database and look for planes they have seen before - and where.  Some people collect stamps…

Flight was fine. Slept a little, watched Bridesmaids - good, not great; started out slow for me, but got better.  And a dark British Comedy called The Guard, also good.

Landed in London without a problem.  Terminal 3 in Heathrow is another story.  With local cutbacks, the average wait time at customs is 60 minutes.  We were more like 90 minutes.  Our ride from the airport had to wait two hours for us.  Thankfully he waited!  Thank you, Carlos.

We left Friday night, arrived Saturday afternoon (10 hours flying plus 8 hours over PDT) and it is now Tuesday morning.  Saturday evening was a quiet evening with the Sanderson’s, a nice local pizza from Princess Di’s favorite place, some wine and cheese and then off to sleep to try and adjust to the time change.

Next day was a full day of walking, taking in the sights and sounds of London. Through Hyde park, past castle’s, through SoHo, Covent Garden, and several other places whose names I now forget (it is already Tuesday morning, local time).
The National Gallery is an amazing museum of paintings - for our OC friends, saw a few Pageant of The Master’s artworks! Enjoyed the food there for a light lunch.  Unlike most museum food, this one is quite good, and reasonably priced.  Worth doing.

On this walk, we also experienced our first ride in the double-decker bus.  Thankfully, the Brits have come to their senses and are bringing them back.  Not only are they cool to ride in, they look great and work perfectly on the narrow streets here.  Those long, extended buses just don’t work.

At some point we made it back to the house, had a nice dinner at home, bored the Sanderson’s with our stories some more until Hugh could not take it anymore and he went to bed!  Actually not true.  Unlike us, he is not on vacation, so he had to say goodnight as Monday morning would be here shortly and he had a job to be ready for. 
Around 10 PM, Cathy made a run across the street to Partridges.  They sell Hot Cross buns year-round in the UK.  Who knew.  Plus, they don’t sell English Muffins here.  They are simply muffins.

Monday, up early-ish.  Time to take the city tour on the Hop On - Hop Off DD bus.  Includes a bonus ride along the Thames, pronounced tems.  Once again thankful for the drivers and quite happy I did not foolishly think I could drive here.  Wrong side of the road, wrong side of car, other side of The Pond.  An Oyster Card is the 'pay as you go' way to go.

Next up, a ride on the Tube.  Will let you know how that goes.

Guided tour around the city is the way to go to see it all.  We hopped off for lunch on Fleet Street, at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub - Thanks, Terry.  Nice lunch of a Half w/ Fish and Chips.  Very British.  The place is old - people were not only shorter then, they had a tiny ‘arse’.  Could barely stay on the seat.

Back on the bus for a ride to the Tower of London pier to hop on a boat up to Greenwich.  We did not really have the time for a visit to Greenwich - it was getting late - but wanted the full ride along the Thames.  Beautiful waterfront these days.  Plenty new construction, while pieces of the history left in place, such as the original dock of The Mayflower - yep, THAT Mayflower.  Next to the Mayflower pub, no less.

At Greenwich, we did not venture far as we only had thirty minutes - but with our time pieces not having the correct time, we missed the first return boat.  How ironic, in Greenwich, of all places!  GMT, my ass.  Plus, the attendant was a bit of a pill.  Killed another 20 minutes and then hopped on the next boat. 

Finally, the threatening sky opened up and it rained like the Dickens for about 15 minutes - but we were prepared, so no harm, no foul.  Me thinks it might rain often in London.

Back on the 'hop on' bus, we learn that they won’t be taking us back to where we started - off season they shorten the day.  Time for a nice walk in the beautiful London evening.  We have a torn, soaking wet map, but we shall make our way!  This is the home of Churchill after all, so we shall endure.

It was a great walk, with nice assistance from a young lady living here only a year.  She confirmed we were going in the right direction.  Not sure where she was from, so I will just say North American.  Next, a stop at Nicolas for some wine.  Young French clerk was very excited to hear we were from Los Angeles - seems he has this thing for Venice Beach and since I work next door to Venice, he was quite pleased.

Finally made it home, after Cathy walking past Harrod’s and not going inside.  It had been a long day and we needed to get home to change and rest.  And what a nice home we returned to - the smell of  home cooking in the air!  Baked chicken and scalloped potato’s, and wine of course.  Time to go, the Queen called and would like to meet us.  More later.

Across the pond, London.

It is Wednesday evening here in London.  We arrived Saturday afternoon.  Have been trying to post something here to update anyone who cared.  Time is not only fleeting, it moves at the speed of neutrinos, sheesh!  I will follow this post with what I wrote yesterday morning.  Details of our first days here.  Cheers. 

Meanwhile, at a wine tasting…

Shameless plug of my (less than) awesome writing skills. Note the three links in the article. Please click the first two to show support, and the third one to view a video of the evening by the lovely wife©. Or watch the video here first, and then go to the article.  Either way, stop by LMG and get a great deal on wine.  Or order online.

The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First

If you like baseball, I highly recommend this book. I have worked with Jonah, and not only is he a great guy, his is also a Montrealer... Well done, Jonah!

BTW, when are you coming by with the bagels?

Casa Dumetz: Malibu's finest wine.

Emilio Estevez, winemaker. Hope he keeps it away from is brother...

Casa Dumetz: Malibu's finest wine.

Actually, hope to try it sometime. Just have to convince the wife to drink a Pinot; I know my sister will like it.

H/T: Wine Cast

Observations on Paris - the end; Taxis and the WSJ.

This column from the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition reminded me that I did not post my final comment on Paris.

If you will be in need of a taxi in Paris in the morning – rush hour time – be sure and order it the night before. Otherwise you will be out of luck. We awoke early, hoping to get to the Montparnasse station early for breakfast before our mid-morning departure to St. Emilion.

When we asked the front desk to call us a taxi, the look on the woman’s face clued us in that we made a tactical error. In all of our reading and research, no one mentioned that everyone in Paris ordered a morning cab the night before. You would not guess it, but it seems there are not enough cabs to go around.

View from out taxi of a taxi.  Get it?

Our only option was our first metro ride. And we had our luggage to carry, during rush hour no less. To prove my point that the French have an unwarranted bad reputation, allow me to explain otherwise. The night desk person was just leaving, and going on vacation to Cyprus. He volunteered to walk us to the Metro station, and then he spoke to the attendant for us so we could speed through paying the fare. It was a very generous act of kindness, and although we thanked him profusely, I never got his name.

Thanks to him we made it to the train station with enough time for coffee and a shared baguette. I hope he had as good a vacation as we did.

Observations on Paris – Pt. 7

They have beautiful gardens throughout the city, and everyone uses them – especially the locals. However, for some reason they only let people use some of the grassy area. Much of it is OFF LIMITS. Hello? – there are lot’s of people in Paris and they can use all the space they can get. Sure the green grass looks nice, but still…

A little crowded.  Reminds me of summer Sunday at Newport Beach,
without the sand and water.



Beatiful tree; great use.  Wish I had gotten a better shot.



A great shot by The Lovely Wife. This is what the French do best. 
I wonder why everyone loves Paris? Une Big Mac, avec frites VIN!

One really cool thing they do – and I have to give credit to Hugh S. for pointing this out; they provide chairs that you can move around. Most are single seat metal chairs, some straight back, some inclined for laying back. They are not anchored to the pavement, so you can move them around as you please. Have a large group? No problem. Want to be off in a corner for some peace and quiet? Again, no problem. There does not appear to be a theft problem. Plus, they are painted a green color, so everyone would know where the chair came from.

Note the chairs, scattered where they are wanted.

Chairs in the sun or shade, your choice. 
As the sun moves, so can you.

Observations on Paris – Pt. 6



le-lutin-dans-le-jardin Great final evening dinner.

In the Café’s and Brasseries, don’t expect sharp knives.  Of course, the meat is usually tender enough that they are not really needed.  I just can’t imagine most North Americans accepting a dull knife in a Denny’s.  In Paris, you accept many things that you would not normally.  On second thought, plastic knives on planes are now the norm, so we do accept many things that we thought we would not.

Frites were perfect, perhaps because we were in Paris?
The Steak and Lobster Salad were even better.

Observations on Paris – Pt. 5

Want to ride the Metro or one of the trains? Watch your step. Some of the trains and Metro cars have either a big step over or quite a jump up/down to get on/off the car. Easy for the young, not so much for the young at heart, or the less agile.

Speaking of the Metro and the rail system, they are great. You can go almost anywhere in Paris by Metro and you are never more than a couple of blocks from one. Once you are in the subterranean netherworld, however, pay attention.

Many routes share the same tracks, so you need to know first what the final stop is on your line – there are 14 lines, numbered 1 through 14, oddly enough. They have nice color maps showing the routes, fairly easy to read. Make sure you are getting on the right direction, and then make sure you are on the correct line.

There are monitors showing which line will be arriving next, and how long of a wait. They usually show the next two lines and the ETA. Just try and remember to look at the sign on the front of the car as it enters the station, just to be sure. They have been known to arrive out of order.

Same goes for the RER train line. While fast and efficient, there are peculiarities that only a local would know.


Gare Bordeaux, France.

 On the Metro stations themselves, did I mention the, um, odor? Most prevalent is the urine smell. I know I don’t love the smell of urine in the morning – or afternoon or evening for that matter. Some are worse than others, but they all have something you will remember.

It appears many homeless live in the Metro stations, so when the weather is bad, I expect it might even be worse. Thus, taxis are also very popular, and most drivers are great, but like anywhere, some are better than others.

I am certain that there is elevator / lift access to all stations, I just did not see it at each one we used. So plan ahead if stairwells are an issue.

On the bright side, everyone uses the Metro, so you are in good company. No worry that you will ever be alone, or with only strange people.

Observations on Paris - Pt. 4

Some things that are okay in Europe - would not fly in North America. For example, you may have heard of their small buildings and hotel rooms. Also the small elevators, or lift as they call them, using the British term. One of ours was frightfully small. So small I was unable to stand sideways in our lift. Well, I could, but my shoulders touched the front and back wall. The lift restriction was 3 persons or 225 kg (about 500 lbs). Were I to live in Paris and eat like I did, I may not be able to share a lift with any one in short order.

Although the lift was an OTIS, I don’t think it would pass OSHA standards on this side of the pond.

It is also not easy to get around if you are disabled in Paris, and I don’t simply mean the cobblestone streets. Of course there are improvements for wheel chair access, and I don’t mean to say that they are not doing anything.

Because so many of the buildings are from the middle ages, there is only so much retrofitting that can be done. Many restaurant restrooms are in the basement, down very narrow stairwells, often curved, with tiny stair steps. Tough not only for handicapped, but rough on the elderly as well.

St. Emilion, France.

Observations on Paris - Pt. 3

Not being a world traveler, this may just be something unique to me - but common to everyone else. Here in California, all toilet seats in public bathrooms are white. There are many different shapes and sizes, but the actual plastic seat is white, as are most in private homes. For some reason, and this always intrigued me, Montreal public toilet seats are predominately black. And so they are in Paris.

Don’t ask me why, I have no idea. I am sure someone does, and I am sure there is a very good reason. I just don’t know it. Not that there is anything wrong with black, it is just one of those regional distinctions without a difference.

And this, too, may just be a California thing, but out here, you cannot go into a public restroom and not find paper seat covers, Provided By Management For Your Protection!  Not in Paris. In fact, some restaurants have but one bathroom to share – and it probably is in the basement. They may be tiny rooms, but you are just happy to have them.

Oddly enough, we did find one public restroom, I think in the Rodin Museum, that had anti-bacterial wipes for use to clean the area before use. That was a very nice touch. Very civilized, and a big step up from paper.

We were led to believe there were not many public restrooms in Paris, but we never seemed to have trouble finding one. A few older ones still had the mechanism on the door for coins, but I suspect when they switched from French Franc’s to Euro’s it was too expensive to make the conversion.



Public Restroom Entrance, Eiffel Tower

Should you happen to take the day trip to Versailles, use the restrooms at the start of your tour. They are in the process of expanding the facilities, but who knows how long that will take. Otherwise, best to use those available at the two restaurant locations in the garden area at Versailles.

Observations on Paris - Pt. 2

Ahh, the French and their cigarette’s. Yes, many people smoke, but other than the butts along the roadside curb’s, it did not seem to bother me at all. Maybe because I am an ex-smoker.

But the streets are full of cigarette butt’s. And they have a unique way of cleaning it up in some locales. They open the floodgates of a water pipe at one end of the street street, letting the water flow like a wild river. Meanwhile, a city worker walks along with a broom/rake, aiding the butts along.  Then scooping them up and putting them in the green trash bag.

Effective, but not very ‘green’. Unless they are using the Seine River water, and recycling.


La Rive Seine by me.



Observations on Paris - Pt.1

‘Observations on Paris’ – things that they don’t tell you, or that need to be updated. These are not criticisms or critiques, really. Just random observations on things in Paris that make it what it is. And just to be clear, Paris can be fantastic. It can easily be hated by many people, but for those same reason’s, others often love it.

To that end, I will be periodically posting these observations. Feel free to post a comment, just play nice. And remember, I love Paris in the morning…
~
It is much dirtier than I would have expected. It must have been much worse when all the trash bins were removed. They were removed because they were being used by mean people to hide bombs.

There are more of these than there are Cafe's.

They have since been replaced by ‘green’ (get it?) transparent bags that are now ubiquitous. And people use them, but the city still has a seamy, gritty, dirty side that I had not expected.

And it is not just the multitude of cigarette butts on the streets.

The city does clean the streets and pick up the trash. At least in the tourist area’s. Sometimes twice a day, as you will find out when you sleep with the window open. They start very early in the morning – lucky for us we are morning people.

I actually think the trash collection and street sweeper is a government make-work program, but that is just me.

I have heard that dog droppings were a problem in the city. While we saw a few samples, and actually ran over one with luggage, it was not a big issue. We even saw locals picking up after their pooches.

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GEL.

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