London Calling

Joyce and I took that long flight "over the pond" to spend my furlough week in beautiful London.  As cities go it is one of my favorites of all that I have visited. It was nice also because the wonderful Dr. Burstein had never been there and so I got to visit there with her.

If you have never been I think London is comparable to a larger version of San Francisco, with better transportation. The Subway or "The Tube" was started in 1863. You can get anywhere around London including the airport strictly using the Underground.

The sights are many and plentiful. As you walk around the city you are likely to hear a polyglot of languages such as Russian, Italian, and Arabic. It is a complete international city that is easy for an American like me with a tin ear.

Here are my recommendation for sites to see when you go there:

The British Museum: The first item that we went to see was the Rosetta Stone. When you think that this item was the key to unlocking the mystery of hieroglyphics therefore explaining the writing in the tombs of pharaohs. it is mind boggling. There is a Greek temple and item from Assyria. If you have any interest in ancient history then this is one of the greatest places you can go. it is laid out beautifully and to top it off it is free to enter.

The British Library: Nirvana for library nerds. They have the Magna Carta. The original Alice in Wonderland, which was originally called Alice Adventures Underground. A Gutenburg Bible and ancient texts from world religions. Shakespeare in his own writing and Beowulf. For the music nerds there is collections from Handel and The Beatles.

Before heading over to London, the museum that Joyce and I were most looking forward to visiting was the Tate Modern. This was the major disappointment of our trip. We both love modern art and there is lot of it here, but the way it is displayed seems haphazard and set in such a way that the teaming mobs of people cannot find a decent place to enjoy the art.  The Tate Britain on the other hand was a very nice surprise with a  beautiful layout and some newish art work that was provocative and fun.

Our hotel was right across the street from the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was meh.

The National Gallery was everything you would think a great art museum should be. It is laid out by years and color coordinated so that you can tell what time period you are looking at by the color of the wall.  We had High Tea in the cafe and I will write about the food of London in a subsequent posting.  As for the art? Monet , Van Gogh, Turner (A British artist who really is a revelation when you see his work here and in the Tate Britain) and many more.

We also took a day trip to Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and the city of Bath. All worthwhile sites to see while in the area. Especially Stonehenge, which is much smaller than you might think, but is more spectacular than you can imagine.

one highlight of the trip was a nighttime concert Joyce and I went to at St. Martin's in the Field. If you listen to the classical music radio station they always broadcast concert recorded there with Neville Mariner. Well I think jolly old Neville has passed on, but they still have concerts there all the time. The acoustics are awesome with the small church is awe inspiring. We heard Handel, Mozart, Chopin and Pacobell. If only the Hollywood Bowl would have these kinds of programs we would go much more often. Our seats were such that we could watch the pianist's hands move across the keyboards.