London Bridge is not falling down!

Resent from Paris – Earlier posting went astray

London is such an extraordinary city of contemporary and historical significance.  And then there are the ever present pubs!
You wander through it all and it is mixed together in a compelling potion of humor, grand history, royalty, double-decker busses, the Tube (the underground), pageantry, theater, shops and markets, incredible architecture and quirky stories of kings, queens, Jack the Ripper, Winston Churchill, World War II, the Battle of Hastings and so much more.  Tabloids blaze crazed headlines including Michael Jackson’s latest trip to the hospital. On the telley there is the refined BBC and Jerry Springer with a British audience (but not on the same channel) – oh no!
Tennyson, Chaucer, Shakespeare ... The list goes on ... are all memorialized and/or buried in Westminster Abbey where kings and queens are coronated, married and buried. Jerry Springer won't make it here.

We flew from Budapest to London last Friday and the Dankowski’s flew from Chicago to London arriving on Saturday. For those who might not know, Mary and Janet have worked together all the years of Park Forest and Country Club Hills.  It has been one adventure after another in packed days, strolling streets, touring history and even a night of a pub crawl with a delightful actor turned tour guide whose quick wit and frequent quotes from authors, politicians and other misguided figures turned it into a night of merriment.  Of course three pints of beer in delightful pubs did not hurt either.

And the characters, the characters. Oh how wonderful they are.  A Beefeater (the Queen’s own as well as a terrific gin) guided us through the Tower of London in great humor and tons of information presented in the most delightful and often spell binding way.  An aide to Henry VIII at the palace at Hampton Court stayed in 1500’s character as he showed us Henry’s apartments.  Being an aide, he spoke lovingly of Henry despite his occasional character flaws such as beheading a few of his 6 wives.

We ride the Tube and busses everywhere and again in a foreign city the transportation system is so wonderfully convenient, fast and efficient. A 7 day travel card for 18 pounds has paid for itself threefold.
Theater, of course, abounds in London and we wound up seeing the musical Chicago ((don’t ask) here with Brook Shields who did an admirable job, but not nearly as good as her co-star.  We may see yet another something if the Hot Tix booth has some deals at half price.  This morning Brad, Holly and I took the British Airways London Eye – a mega Ferris wheel high into the London sky – a 30 minute “flight” as they say and really a thrilling way to see the city on a crystal blue day ... finally.  We have traveled the River Thames by boat from the Tower of London, escaping to majestic Westminster with Big Ben and Parliament looming alongside Westminster Abbey.

It has all been wonderful and the next phase begins tomorrow.  Our son Greg and his family – April and grand children Sydney and Ethan arrive tomorrow.  We overlap as they go their own way and we will see them again in a few days in Paris and then in Provence.  We head for the delicious Cotswalds and places with such names as Chipping Camden, Upper Slaughter, Lower Slaughter, and Stowe on the Wald , and where one lane mini roads will  provide their own challenges.

Photos to come from England in a few days.  Love to all – we wish we could all get together at a local pub and talk about all this and much more.
--
Mel

Big Ben

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

Of course, the landmark of London Big Ben which sits on the edge of the Parliament complex not far from Westminster Abbey, the site of the coronation of King's and Queens, as well as their marriages and their burial. Even though you may have seen in a thousand times in photographs, it is mesmerizing to see it glowing in the sun in person.

Trooping the Colors

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

The Queen's Birthday is the occasion for trooping the colors as they say here. We happend on the rehearsal and saw the colorful procession including these Royal Guardsmen.

In OUR Neighhhhh borhood.

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

These horses were in our neighborhood on their way back from the rehearsal for the following week's Trooping of the Colors for the Queen. We happened upon it as we arrived in London.

Countdown for London and the 2012 Olympics

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

Like Paris, London is working hard to get the Olympic Games of 2012, as is New York, Madrid, and Moscow. The decision is July 6.

Tower of London

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

This Beefeater led us on a merry chase through history. Here we pose at the Tower of London, not far from the Crown Jewels (which we saw) and the place where Henry VIII second wife was beheaded (which we did not see). Joining us are Brad, Mary and Holly Dankowski.

Our House in the Cotswolds

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

Yep, this was our place for the stunningly picturesque visit to the Costwalds. Our house was in a little village called, are yoou ready, Broadway. The part on the left dates to the 1400's. The part on the right is newer having been renovated in 1703.

Jam Session

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

While visiting Warwick Castle, Brad Dankowski discivered a new instrument for this 500 year old man (well he was in character).

Roman Baths in Bath

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

Imagine finding this under your house. A farnmer smelled something bad and that led to this ... and much, much more. The Romans 2,000 years ago figured out a water system that provided for steam baths, pool baths, Turkish baths, cold plunges, ventilation. Brad who is a musician and a water operator discovered much about this "new" technology.

Stonehenge

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

A 5,000 year old mystery that noone has solved for sure though there are lots of theories. It's a calendar among other things and likely to replace all those PDA's you know have. Hah! Try putting that in your suitcase.

Saint Chapelle

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

The magnificence of Saint Chapelle located just near Notre Dame on an island inthe middle of the Seine River known as Ille de Cite. The Dankowskis and Muchniks went to an evening concert here with Pacabel's Canon and Vivaldi's Four Seasons played incredibly well. The sun lit up the huge stained glass windows ... moments to die for.

Man Stuck in Wall

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

In the artist area known as Montmarte, the story is that this man was so in love he followed his sweetheart through a wall and got stuck. He was a well known character in this area and so this monument is to him and his exploits.

Place De Concord

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

The obligatory group photograph at one of the many dazzling fountains of Paris. Mary and Brad Dankowski join us along with daughter Holly, as well as grand daughter Sydney. Grand son Ethan was taking a nap with daughter-in-law April watching over him.

Paris Traffic

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

And you think Chicago traffic is bad. Cars on the right have the right away. But which ones are those?

Sacre Coeur

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

The self whiting church (there is calcium in its walls and it cleans itself durin g every rain, and is slowly dissolving as well), the Sacre Coeur dominates the skyline from afar, sitting on top of the Montmarte, the artists colony of so many well known French artists. We later took a train there and walked up winding alleys to the top stopping many times along the way.

Eiffel Tower

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

Of course how could we come to Paris without seeing this landmark. But there are so many things that could be landmarks here.

Paris 2012

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Originally uploaded by gsumel.

Like London, Paris is going all out for the 2012 Olympics. The decision, long awaited, will be made in Singapore by the International Olympic Committee. The signs are everywhere for this and recently to publicize the desire Parisians have for the Olympics, the entire Champs Elysee was turned into an Olympic Stadium.

London and Paris

Paris, France

We haven't posted for two weeks because the Dankowskis joined us in London and we have been "running" from sunrise to sunset.

We met up in London and did all of the wonderful tourist things: the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, shopping at Harrods, a double-decker bus, etc. Mel and the Dankowskis ran into a rehearsal of the horse guards preparing for the Queen's Birthday Parade which took place after we left London but the rehearsal was very colorful. Those are the guys with the red uniforms and tall, black hats. (some pictures to follow from Mel)

We had wonderful, wonderful tour guides whenever we went on a walking tour. Brad and I toured the inns of court (offices and law schools). We saw where Dickens rented space and wrote and where Rumpole of the Bailey was written and filmed. At the Tower of London, we were toured around by a Beefeater whose history lesson was very funny and included all of the gory details, such as how "drawing and quartering" was done. (I will spare you those details.) We toured Hampton Court (one of Henry VIII's palaces) and were toured around by a guide in costume who presented himself as a courtier to Henry. And, we went on an evening pub tour, exploring some of the back alleys of London and sampling some of the local brews (not that we waited for the tour to do so) with a former actor who laid the British accent "on thick" for our benefit.

Unfortunately, London has some of the most skillful pickpockets in the world and we met up with our own artful dodger on a bus in London. (He got Mary's wallet.) Fortunately, she was able to replace the credit cards quickly and not much cash was in it.

We left London for three days in a rural area northwest of the city known as the Cotswolds. It is hard to imagine England having such rural areas, especially since the Cotswolds are very well known and popular. They are composed of tiny towns whose housing is primarily built of a golden-colored stone. We stayed in Broadway, in a B&B, parts of which date back to the 1400s. The area is hilly and sheep farms surround each town. We stopped in Oxford on the way to Broadway. While in Broadway, we spent one day exploring a few of the other small towns. We also spent a day in Warwick Castle which is one of the most medieval-looking castles in England and which contains several areas in which wax figures help explain the history of the castle. So, in the basement there are several rooms that contain a recreation of all of the aspects of soldiers preparing for battle in the middle ages and in several rooms on the second floor there is a recreation of a dinner party from the 1890s to which the king has been invited. Both events really occurred in the castle.

On our way back to London, we toured Bath, which (as the name implies) contains ruins of a roman bath and temples (built somewhere between 70 bc and 200 ad) and Stonehenge, which is a 5,000 years old mystery. Historians and archiologists can only guess at how the ancient people conveyed the stones, which are 18 - 20 feet tall and weigh several tons, from Wales and how they were used.

Next, Paris. I adore Paris. The food is absolutely divine. We and the Dankowskis had dinner, on the first night, with old friends, Fay and Tom Cook, in their Paris apartment overlooking Rue St. Germaine. Fay and Tom are on a one-year sabbatical from Northwestern University. They are living in Paris for a year, working at Science-Politiques University. On the next evening, we and the Dankowskis had dinner with old friends from Park Forest, Therese and Jim Settles. We went to a traditional French restaurant which served seven courses meals. There is no menu. You only had a choice of two offerings per course, such as either lobster soup or asparagus/wild mushroom soup for the first course, pate or scallops for the salad course, lobster or turbot for the fish course, rabbit or steak for the meat course, then cheese and finally a choice of desserts. Each course was quite small, in the French tradition, so we were not stuffed at the end. For breakfast, we usually eat croissants. They are a "whole different animal" in Paris, light and flakey.

In between the great meals, we have seen the Louve and the Eiffel tower, at night, when the lighting is most dramatic. We have visited the Musee D'Orsay, which contains a large collection of impressionist art. We took a boat ride on the Sienne, toured Montmarte (the artists area where Van Gogh, Utrillo, Degas and the rest of the "bunch" used to live) and walked our legs off. We walked all along the Champs D'Elysses up to the Arche De'Triumphe, which Mel, Greg, Sydney and Holly climbed. Oh yes, our son, Greg, daughter-in-law, April, granddaughter Sydney and grandson, Ethan, have now joined us.

Mary, Brad and Holly left for home, this morning. Tomorrow, we take a train with Greg, April, Syd and Ethan to a house in Mausanne-les-Alpilles, a small town in Provence (the south of France).

We hope you are all well and miss you lots.
Love,
Janet