LONDON AND BACK IN 5

Not even ludicrously loud clothing could rattle this Windsor Castle guard. The Royals are safe tonight!

It was 18^th century Englishman Samuel Johnson who said, “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of Life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”

Hear, hear I say.  From it’s world famous museums, grand architecture, rich cultural and political history, broad ethnic demography and ludicrously tasty array of foods, this city has 10 months of tantalizing new venues to experience. And we did it all in 10 days.

With family living in nearby Sunningdale this year, we seized the op while we could. Yes, we’re tired… in London. But we’re ready to return next month if we got the chance.

Just the Highlights:

 Woke up this morning, still dreaming in British, and savoring the mental images of the lifelong memory we made last week. (catch the video link below)

If any of you are planning a trip to the land of the tea and crumpets, or have been there before yourself, you’ll know the joy. As I went through all the expenses today I'm amazed that we did so much in that week for so little! Without the charitable contributions of the Billings Bed and Breakfast and their accomodating staff we never could've done it so economically.

It worked out to be about $80 a day per person to play and eat in London or the countryside, including transportation to and from. (exchange rate of 1.65 USD per pound.)

We did pretty much everything that everyone wanted to do by packing it in. The museums are all free, and almost all the other sites can be entered with a London Pass which costs about $30-50 per day depending on how many days you buy. So we focused our London Pass days on hitting as many of those venues as possible (2-3 a day max) and gave ourselves the rest of the days to visit museums and explore the different squares and markets of London.

England Adventure Highlights - Top 15:

• Standing before masterpeices of the greatest fine artists the world has ever known and getting a little tingly on my neck about it. It surprised me how my heart swelled with joy and flowed out my tearducts at the impressionist paintings in the National Gallery - Monet, Degas, Gaugin, Renoir and Serrat. 

• Loved seeing Nate enjoy the paintings as much as I did. One of the coolest things about having children is seeing their intimate likes or dislikes that are so like your own.

• Learning the secrets of the castle from knowledgeable guides who are total geeks about what they do - Laurie @ Hampton Court, Margeret @ Windsor Castle and Ginny from Harry Potter @ Warner Bros. Studios. We got far more from people who worked at the sites than any audio tour.

• How clotted cream and jam on scones rocks my world. Who knew?

• The funny, friendly British people I met on the trains and tubes. Ever feel bored with life? Just start talking with people. You’ll learn the most amazing things, expand your sense of ‘now’ and love how you feel when you do.

• Foreign girls asking Nate for a photo op with him. We can’t decide if he looks Euro or majorly American. One things for sure, he is the newest National Treasure.

• Lyn giving directions to touring teenagers like she's a local, ha! After 6 days in the city she had her bearings and got along great with the trains, tubes and buses.

• Standing in as temple workers in the London Temple baptistry. We visited on the same morning as two other youth groups, and help was short so Lauren and I worked the morning shift. Can’t wait to do that regularly in a few more years!

• Watching Dal perform baptisms for the dead with Lynnie and Nate. We strolled about the grounds after, and lingered longer than we’d planned. It’s so beautiful there.

• Those delicious late night meals Lauren and Dal threw together for us that tasted so good after a long day beating the streets. Big money savings too eating at home.

• Listening to Lauren's piano music ring through the halls of Basildon Park. They have a piano there available for your use. It was a payback moment for all that goes on with mom’s and kids over music lessons.

• Role reversal. On our last day we visited Warner Bros. Studios “Making of Harry Potter”.  There were tears of joy as my four companions saw in real life what they’d only read about in Harry Potter books so many years before, and for once they were hanging on every word of a knowledgeable guide that saw their hunger for more and obliged.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   We stayed hours longer than planned and closed down the exhibit. It was sweet satisfaction that they understood how I felt about English history which I’d invested similar hours in reading and watching, just as they had, all umpteen Harry Potter books and movies.  We’d come full circle and it was so happy.

• Not gonna lie. The sites are amazing! Here are our groups faves:

   Harry Potter Tour at Warner Bros. (everyone under 30)

   Stonehenge, lay lines and mysteries of mind, space and time…(twilight zone music here)

   Waddeston manor and gardens (a scintillating Rothchild’s family retreat)

   Basildon Park (Pemberly in Pride and Prejudice, Granthum London home, Downton Abbey Christmas)

   Windsor Castle where the queen resides, an even better changing of the guard than Buckingham Palace.

   Hampton Court where King Henry VIII and William and Mary left their mark. Did you know Henry

       played tennis in his own clay courts in the 1530’s? Say what?

   Westminster Abbey where so many famous people we appreciate are remembered and laid to rest.

   Beatles Abbey Road and Sherlock Holmes 221B Baker Street

• Cultural events and sites we relished:

   The London Philharmonic Orchestra Concert at Royal Festival Hall

   Painting collections at National Gallery and Tate Modern Museum
   Victoria and Albert Museum

   A Private organ concert with Mike Ohman at the Hyde Park visitor's center. Just ask and he'll play!

• Oh, and ludicrously tasty food, yes. The best Thai, Indian, even upscale Mexican food ever, Wagamamas Noodle Company, Real Italian Gelato, Ben’s Cookies, Percy pigs and Cadbury buttons. And our most expensive meal, an Ottolenghi picnic of exquisite salads, meats and side dishes and handcrafted desserts in Hyde Park.

It’s a week we’ll never forget. Thanks to darling Dal and Lauren! And all the momma's and Grandmom's that stepped in to help back home in Bend.  

And wherever your travels may take you this year, stay curious. Curiosity is a ‘permanent and certain characteristic of a vigorous mind.’ (Thanks Samuel Johnson). Have a jolly good time!

Click for video highlights of Francis’ in London