Loving Liverpool

Yesterday we were up and out early for our trek to Euston train station and then Liverpool.  The station was lovely, and we enjoyed a light breakfast while waiting for our platform to be called (which they do just 10 - 15 minutes before the train departs).  Of course, as we sauntered over to the train platform, we FINALLY encountered a train agent who actually checks the tickets and follows the rules.  "Where are your passports?" (back in the room safe, as we hadn't been asked for them since customs at the airport - despite the fact that we have been on several trains already) and "your ticket hasn't been stamped; we can't let you on the train without a stamped ticket."  With minutes to spare, we ran to the ticket agent, got our tickets stamped (with yesterday as the start date) and jumped on the train just moments before it pulled out of the station.  

The tube from the Liverpool train station, which we took because it was raining when we arrived.  So civilized :)

After that auspicious start, we were a bit concerned.  The two tours we had tried to book in advance were not available, so we were just hoping we'd find something Beatlesish to do once we arrived in Liverpool.  Since we arrived to rain, we decided to jump on the first tour that was available, so off we headed on Neil's Magical Mystery Tour, which turned out to be an absolute delight.

We had been told by several people that the real reason to go to Liverpool was to meet and interact with the people there, and I can certainly understand why.  Ray and Neil, our bus driver and tour guide, were both lifelong Liverpudlians ( maybe? :) I think I read that somewhere :)  and they were as charming, witty and proud as could be.  Associated with the Cavern Club, they have lots of Beatles connections.  Neil told warm and funny stories about Paul, how he showed up unexpectedly to the George Harrison tribute, asking Neil to pull together some blokes to be his security detail.   His rendition of "Yesterday" left everyone in tears, Neil shared.  

The tour was filled with those sorts of very specific stories, of the choir director at the local church who denied Paul a spot because his voice wasn't good enough, to the night that Paul performed so late that when he finished after midnight there was no public transportation still running.  Neil remembers walking the 8 miles back to his house with his parents, not begrudging a single step.

We saw many of the various childhood homes of John, Ringo, George, Paul, and Brian Epstein, and heard the familiar and not so familiar stories of how they all found their way to one another.  We saw the exact spot where John's mother was killed by a car, and the home in which Paul wrote a dozen of the Beatles' most famous songs.

Meanwhile, we got to tour all around this city of 450,000 residents, seeing the best neighborhoods and schools, along with the revitalized downtown.  Since Dana was last here in the mid 80's, he was stunned by the transformation of the city from rundown to flourishing.  One of the coolest tidbits was when we passed the apartment where John Lennon was born.  Neil said that it was purchased just the other day by an anonymous woman in New York.  The property just adjacent is worth 150,000 pounds, but this property was purchased for over 400,000 pounds.  He could only conjecture that the new owner is Yoko, who purchased John's other home for the Liverpool trust, so it could be turned into a museum.  

In fact learning of the various ways Yoko has continued to be involved with and kind to this city over the years was heartening.  She brought Sean here several years ago to show him all of the places that were meaningful to his father, and Sean and Yoko would yearly - every Christmas  - send gifts to the Salvation Army orphanage housed in Strawberry Fields.  She would also call on Christmas Day to speak to the children and the staff there.

My other favorite moment of the tour was sitting at the bus stop where the "Penny Lane" bus traveled, and where John and Paul would meet from their respective homes.  Neil pointed out each of the businesses mentioned in the song, as "Penny Lane" is basically a description of what was going on around him as Paul waited for the bus.

After the tour, we checked out the Cavern club, which was rebuilt with the bricks from the original club, which had been closed when the city decided they needed to build a new ventilation system for the tube. When that didn't happen, a local business man decided to purchase the land to rebuild the cavern, which still hosts artists such as Adele and Arctic Monkey.

Maddie in the phone booth inside the Cavern Club, which was packed with musicians playing at 3:30 :)

The kids at Albert Dock, another revitalized area of the city.

I have more stories and photos to share, but we need to now check out of our hotel on the east side, and move on over to the west.  Today we head to our last stop - the Hilton at Paddigton Station.  We will spend the New Year's holiday (Eve and Day) in London, before heading to Cardiff for our last day before heading home.

Happy New Year's Eve!!

Update :)  I didn't want to forget to add that we ended our evening in King's Cross station, which is just down the road from the Euston station to which our Liverpool train returned just after 9:00.   Wanting a bit of a London experience in our day, we decided to explore a bit of this "Bloomsbury" neighborhood, grab a late bite for dinner and check out the famous hidden platform that takes all good wizards and witches to Hogwarts.  What a lark it was to stand in a short line with equally enthusiastic Harry Potter fans from around the world, all eager to have their photo snapped at this quirky landmark.

"Sparkly Things" and Street Art

Our plan for the day was to get to the Tower of London just as it opened, thus beating the crowds (HA), spend several hours there and then head to Shoreditch in east London to meet up  with Pepe for the London Walks tour of street art.  

This was a capital plan but for the hoards of people here in London.  As we neared the Tower, we could see hundreds of people in the distance.  As we got closer to the entrance, we realized they were all standing on the ticket lines.  While Maddie and I were ready to call an audible, Dana was resolute.  We're here, this is our time to see the Tower, and see it we shall, so we pressed on.

Luckily a) it was a magnificent day, so while Dana stood in line we were able to watch ice skaters at the Tower's ice rink (such a peculiar juxtaposition, I think), and b) if any place can absorb crowds it's the freaking Tower of London.   On Christmas Day, Pepe had mentioned that some complain that the Tower has been "Disneyfied."  Having never been there before, I had nothing with which to compare it, but Dana was surprised by all of the changes.  While the changes (adding holographic images in some of the windows, many additional exhibits, entertaining men in walking the grounds in period costume) might or might not have been improvements, the most powerful aspect of visiting the Tower is by far simply standing inside the stone fortress and feeling the sense of history.  

Of course, I couldn't get enough of the juxtaposition of this structure dating back to 1060 (ish) and the construction continuing to go on all around it.

Since we had overslept (when Dana's phone, which is acting as our alarm, lost power in the middle of the night), we had skipped breakfast in order to "beat the crowds."  Therefore, we were quite happy to see that (in true Disney fashion) there is now a cafe in the heart of Tower Town ;) where we were able to gain some sustenance before getting on the incredibly long line to see the Crown Jewels.  

Maddie was convinced this little chocolate crown garnish was as close as she was getting to the real thing :)

We ate our lunch, and Maddie and I then took a post on line, while Dana and Daniel checked out some of the other exhibits. The line was tremendously long, but it moved steadily and the aformentioned entertaining street performers certainly made the time go by more pleasantly (thank you, again, Walt).

At one point, someone approached him to ask why everyone was standing in line, and he replied, "If you like to look at sparkly things, stand in this line."  Maddie and I looked at each other and groaned. Caring very little for sparkly things and eager to catch our street art tour on time, we were ready to bail, but Dana was, again, resolute.  WE WILL SEE THE CROWN JEWELS AND LEAVE IN TIME TO JOIN THE TOUR AT LIVERPOOL STREET, he declared.  You can imagine what a lovely wait the last thirty minutes or so on that line was ;)

Ironically, the only reason Maddie wanted to see them at all was that Moriarty, in one of her favorite Sherlock episodes, sits in the crown, after having bested the Tower security (we later learned that the interior scenes were actually shot at Cardiff Castle), so she was disappointed to learn that this was the last "legal" photo we could take.  She and Daniel, in the spirit of Moriarty, did get some clandestine selfies, which I hope  she will post for your enjoyment.

As we rushed out of the Tower and flagged down a cab, with only 10 minutes or so to spare to get across to our meeting place, we all agreed that while the Tower itself is spectacular, the wait to see a bunch of crowns behind glass... not so much.

Now it was time for 2013's London, so we were very happy to spot Pepe in his signature cap and get started on our 2 hour walk/lecture on street art.  What a wonderful lesson it was.

Apparently Bristol is considered ground zero for street artists, in large part because most experts think Banksy (who is still anonymous, despite the fact that one London newspaper claims to have identified him) grew up there.  London, of course, is the biggest city close to Bristol, so many street artists - from Paris, Rio, Pittsburgh, and, of course, the streets of cities and towns all over England, have come here to paint these streets.  I can't begin to share all of the fascinating stories here, but I will share some of my favorite images.

The R and J are for Romeo and Juliet, as the original Curtain Theater, where the play premiered - that's right PREMIERED! - is just around the corner from the Horse & Groom.

This image is created with a jack hammer, as the artist chips away at the surface to create his image.

"Invader" from Paris usually leaves very small images in his trademark pixilated style, but he did this larger one as an exception.

The "Adore and Endure" message is from an American street artist, but the more interesting part of the photo are the old tube cars on the roof; they have been turned into artist's loft work and live space.

One of my favorite corners - on an abandoned building, one artist created "beauty" (to go with the beast that is the abandoned building), while "Stick" (aptly named) cleverly created his trademark figure (six lines and two circles - for eyes) to interact with the building by seeming to pull the attached chain.

In a gallery owned by "Pure Evil," I particularly liked this image :)

Pepe was amused to point out that several years ago, he would have to pay us to go down an alley in Shoreditch, while now the exploding street art scene has made it a cultural center once again (much as it was in Shakespeare's day).  (By the way, he's not describing the Spock ;)  It's amazing how much "grafitti"/street art does not warrant mention by Pepe.

The "Toaster Crew" leave their tag wherever they leave their art.

This building has been the heart of controversy, as a company intended to purchase it for the Banksy paintings on the back of it (which are now "protected" with huge wood planks), while local citizens want it to remain a multipurpose building.

The two Banksy portraits that are still accessible in this area.  They are in a private courtyard of a club which has kept them safe.  One of his most famous images was painted over within 3 days!!

After Pepe said goodbye, we headed to the Shoreditch market, which he told us at the start of the tour was one of his favorites (though he admitted his bias, having grown up here).  Indeed, we found it delightful.  We enjoyed an hour walking around there before catching a cab to the "authentic curry house" Pepe had also recommended, where we finally got the Indian food we have all been craving.  It was wonderful.

Today we are off to Liverpool to explore another great city in England.  Since "here comes the sun," I better wrap up this post and get out of here!

The Road Less Traveled

Yesterday we decided to head to Kent and Darwin's house on one of the two days it is open during the winter months.  As we left our hotel at 9:00 AM or so, we were stunned to see how many people were in the lobby waiting to check in.   On our gorgeous walk over Tower Bridge, along the "Queen's Walk" and to London Bridge train station, we saw that yes, indeed, there were many more people milling around the streets.  Apparently people were arriving for the weekend?  To celebrate New Year's Eve here?  We weren't sure, but it was a noticeable increase.  

"No worries," as our lovely waitress said about two dozen times during our afternoon supper in Orpington, we were heading out to Darwin's house.   Sure enough, the train (a tube/train mix, as this is a commuter train to one of the "suburbs" of London) was delightfully empty.  When we arrived at the train station in Orpington, we had just missed the bus to "downtown" Orpington, so we opted to take a cab to Darwin's house rather than stand around the bus station for an hour.  This was  a great decision, as we got to the home before the majority of people who also thought this would be a good afternoon activity.  The volunteers at Darwin's house seemed shocked that anyone was there, let alone that they were running low on the dozen audio tours they have available for the tour.

The weather was perfect today, with blue, clear skies the entire day (well, until 3;30, when the sun goes down!

The Tower Bridge

While Maddie was at first quite anxious that we wouldn't get a train, or that something would somehow go wrong and deprive her of her beloved Darwin, she visibly relaxed once we were in sight of Downe House, the home where Darwin, his wife and 10 children (7 of whom lived to adulthood) lived for 40 years.  it was here that Darwin wrote and published his great work, and here, in a bedroom where we stood reading of his life's work, where he died in his 80's.  He is buried at Westminster Abbey, as he lived long enough for England to realize what a national treasure he is.

That said, it's amazing how little "publicity" there is about this heritage site, which doesn't appear in my Fodor's book and is not mentioned in most of the places where I had done my initial research for our trip. In fact, it was just an offhand comment Maddie's Evolution teacher, Mr. Konen, made that we should be sure to visit Darwin's house that even made us aware it was a possibility. The rest of those visiting all seemed to be decidedly English (maybe it's just that most American do resent Darwin for his blasphemous ideas :)

So glad Konen steered us here, as this museum/house and this wonderful little town have been a highlight of the trip thus far.  When we finished touring at around 2:00, we were all hungry, having skipped both breakfast and lunch in our quest to get to Darwin, so we dined at The Queen's Head, which has been around  since the 1500's, and which was a spot Darwin frequented during his life.  Eating traditional fare (cottage pie for me) in such a traditional pub was wonderful.  

We finished just in time to catch the 3:30 bus back to Orpington, where we caught the train, which we took to Charing Cross Station, thinking that was a brilliant plan for Saturday night.  WRONG!!! We have never seen so many people.  It was as if the population had quadrupled in the last few days.  When the notion of getting into a show quickly vanished, and our attempt to see American Hustle was foiled by the fact that is is rated 15, and we foolishly told the clerk who asked that Daniel was 13 (not realizing that in England they don't allow parents to make those decisions.  Perhaps, they're on to something as I had not yet viewed the parental guide for this film, and it likely isn't appropriate for Daniel).  So on to the bus at the Savoy to head back east to our hotel.

Our early evening back at the hotel allowed Madison to finish her last two college applications, and got us rested up for our day touring the Tower of London and taking Pepe's street art tour.  Hope  to have some wonderful Banksy's to post in tomorrow's blog.  Until then, we'll just try to steer clear of all of these people!!! :)

From Ancient Bath to Tate Modern

Yesterday was as full as our previous day had been disappointing (by travelling in England standards, that is).  When we returned from our Christmas Day tour, I did some investigating based on something about a walking street art tour that Pepe said.  Sure enough I discovered what is easily the definitive way to take a tour in ANY city (and certainly this one), and that is "London Walks."  For anyone who intends to travel to this wonderful country, I highly recommend that your first stop be their website.

The premise - they will offer a variety of two hour walking tours of the city.  They change day by day, and are offered throughout the day and evening.  Each one has a meeting spot.  If your schedule works out, show up at the meeting spot and join the walk.  No pre-booking, no phone calls, nothing.  Just show up, pay the reasonable fee (9 pounds per adult, 7 for a student, and children under 25 are free), and enjoy the tour.  The guides "own" the company (think almost of a Wikepedia kind of arrangement), and, therefore, are all the picture of professionalism.  Since Pepe clearly loved his "day" job more than the Christmas gig he had agreed to take, I was curious about the whole arrangement.

In addition to London day tours, they offer periodic Saturday day trips.  For the holiday season, their schedule changed a bit more, so yesterday, Friday, December 27th (not 28th - as I thought it was all day, eager to get back to the room in time to wish Alex a Happy Birthday! ;) was their one tour to Bath.  Whoever intended to go was simply to show up at Paddington Station, platform 1, at 9:00 AM, and the day would begin.  

Well, for some unknown reason (the holidays? the wind? "misplaced" workers, as we heard several times?) the trains, famous for running on time, were behind schedule.  This gave Simon, our wonderful, gregarious, witty guide for the day, a chance to give us a bit of history about the station, while we all watched the big board of departures and arrivals to see if our train to Bath would ever be ready to go.  Simon said that if we couldn't get an early enough start, it was probably not worth going (as the London Walks day trip promise is a full experience in the city to which you are traveling and then back to London in time for dinner and a show); however, when everyone who had showed up for the tour (about 20 or so) agreed to come back an hour later, we decided to hop on the 10:30 train (as the 9:30 train was STILL delayed).   Long story short, the train continued to run slowly for the first hour of the trip but picked up time as we went through the gorgeous Cotswolds and was running perfectly well when we returned to London on the 6:00 PM train (arriving in time for our planned trip to the Tate Modern, which is open until 10PM on Friday and Saturday nights and a late dinner).

Paddington station - a nice environment in which to be delayed

Lots of images like this one appeared outside our train window once we finally got rolling.

We made it - BATH!

Bath is beautiful.  Maddie saw Charlie McDonnell's face in every Bath resident who passed, and Simon was a brilliant guide, telling each story with verve and wit, delivering all of the specific and idiosyncratic details that the company promises for all of its tours.

This hotel welcomes all of the classes, by featuring three distinct architectural styles - the corner closest to the camera is the castle for the upperclass clients, to the right is the traditional middle class house structure, and on the end is the typical artisan, or working class, home.   Whether each class could actually afford to stay in this hotel is another matter, entirely, of course!

All the shops look just like this, in the land of Jane Austen :)

When you walk over one of the bridges, you can only see the water by looking through the shops that line either side of the road.

Bath's equivalenf ot our "malls' (rhymes with pals, when Simon says it)

The glorious Bath Abbey, with its fanned cathedral ceiling

One of the "assembly halls" where Austen's Northanger Abbey is set.  Today it was going to host a wedding.

The famous crescent buildings, created by John Wood the Younger; he features all three column types (Ionic, Corinthian and Doric, one on each level).  Dana kept taking photos, wanting Young Circle in Hollywood to follow this model ;)

During our free time, Maddie and I went to the Jane Austen Centre (and shopping), while the boys visited the Roman Baths.  Then it was back on the train and "home" to London.  On the train, Simon spoke to us about Liverpool and Manchester, Cardiff and Kent, giving us all sorts of wonderful suggestions and insight.

When we returned, we got on the tube at Paddington, which took us right to the Mansion House exit, where we could cross the Millenium bridge, this time at night, and take our quick but delightful tour of the Tate Modern (since all museums here are FREE, you don't mind popping in for only an hour or so). We concluded our day with dinner on the 6th floor of the Tate, with its spectacular views of the city.  What they have done with this building - transforming an old warehouse into a state of the art museum - is every bit as impressive as the art contained within.  While I'm not a huge fan of modern art, I always enjoy seeing the odd Dali, Picasso, or Pollock strewn among the strange art istallations that look like an exploding potato, or some other far too brilliant for me to understand piece of art work.

Maddie with water lillies 

Exiting from what was likely once a loading dock.  Such an amazing space!!

Bath at night

London at night - reflected in the window of the wonderful Tate Modern restaurant.

Daniel and Maddie head over the Southwark Bridge, as we head back to the hotel from the Tate.  Final step count for the day - 15,106!

Today we head off to Kent and Darwin's home.  Pepe joked the other day that he was delightfully surprised that Americans were eager to explore the home of Darwin, since so many of us don't want to believe in evolution.  Meanwhile, this stop has been high on Maddie's list since we arrived.  Once again, having a daughter who has studied art history and is currently taking an entire course in Evolution is shaping our trip in wonderful ways.