Chapter 1-South East England & Greater London

INTRODUCTION
Well, we are off to Europe for 23 days. First to Britain, or specifically to England. And then we leave for France, Switzerland, back to France, over to Italy, and returning to France once again. Our journey will be busy and our planned itinerary is full of orchestrated visits to see various places of interest. We will get a taste and flavour of Western Europe by plane, boat, car, bus, train and of course lots of walking. Britain and Europe is a culturally vibrant and wealthy society with lots of young people and everywhere there were mothers pushing prams of children. Quite remarkable.

HEATHROW
We left Penticton Airport on Friday June 3 at 1:00pm for Vancouver International Airport. We finally landed at London Heathrow airport on Saturday June 4 at about 11:30am. Once cleared through customs we had to find a regional bus (#77) that would take us to Windsor, a small town of 27,000 people outside of Heathrow and 37 km west of London.

BERKSHIRE
The drive took us through the town of Staines (ugly) and finally into the high class area of the Royal Borough of Berkshire. You can see Windsor Castle from the bus. We hopped off the bus and had to then

locate our lodging, TravelLodge (booked for one night), which was down several streets and off the main high street. After almost 3o minutes of walking through the old streets of Windsor and past lovely shops and chic botiques catering to the hundreds of shoppers that day, we finally found the motel. We were exhausted. The weather was cool and overcast, but brightened several hours later. Once settled into our motel which was clean, very basic, rather dated, but conveniently located near the all the major sites, we set out for Windsor Castle. But by the time we reached the massive castle, it was closing (about 4:00pm).

We decided to walk around the majestic area filled with wealthy people. The historic town of Windsor dates back before 1070 when William the Conquerer started to build a fortification. It is also the week-end and early Spring residence of the Queen. In fact, on June 13 the Queen was going to perform the Garter Ceremony (oldest order of chivalry in the world), held at St. George's Chapel when the Sovereign installs new members to the Order of the Garter. Existing Knights are in attendance together with senior members of the Royal Family.

When we arrived in Windsor the weather was warmer and sunny,

there was a large wedding and the guests and party were mingling on the street in front of us. After walking around the beautiful and historic town all the way to the bridge crossing over to Eton and Eton Public School of Eton, we decided to have our first real English supper at The King & Castle Public House. It had a great atmosphere. Even the bottles of English mustards were all lined up at the back of the Pub. I had a lager and an Englishman's favourite meal, chicken tikka misala, and Pat had a craft English ale with yam and chickpea and spinach Curry. Yum! By this time, rugby players who had been following behind us dressed in their colours, hats and long socks, singing their team's tunes through the streets, entered the pub together followed behind by some of the rich young women from the wedding party. What a scene that was! It was a great introduction to England and its traditions. We walked back to our accommodations, but didn't sleep well after a very long day.

Early on Sunday morning June 5th we walked over to have breakfast at the Cinnamon Cafe where we had cinnamon toast, porridge and coffee. It was cool and cloudy that morning. We journeyed back to our hotel and then walked to Windsor Castle where armed police carrying HK MP5 carbines guarded the castle. We proceeded to line up where hundreds of other tourists were standing, but a Castle attendant dressed in in a blue uniform of the Royal castle told us to head up to the gate. So we followed his directions and soon a family from Texas followed us. They were a nice family but who laughingly told us that America is guarding Canada. Inside the castle we saw the State rooms, St. George's Chapel, Queen Mary's doll house and walked outside to see the grounds and the Long Walk as its known. Amazing views and a feeling of rich royal history. Photographs were prohibited inside the Castle, but we took fantastic pictures outside.

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

We then walked back to the TravelLodge, got our luggage and took a 15 minute walk and meet my uncle in his Land Rover. He drove us to his country house in a village called Aston-Clinton (pop. 3,700) just east of the town of Aylesbury in the county of Buckinghamshire, 40 miles west of London. After settling into our private room, we all set out by car to the county of Herfordshirte for a pub lunch beside the Grand Union Canal near a village called Tring.

HERTFORDSHIRE
We walked 20 minutes along the historic waterway, the Grand Union Canal, where we were able to watch a family including young children open and close the 19thy century lock system, and saw the beautiful recreational boaters and river barges slowly power down the Canal, which extends all the way from Birmingham through Hertfordshire to London. We saw how the canal lock system operated by the local bargemen in the area. We finally reached The Grand Junction Arms

Pub north east of a little village called Tring where outside in the garden I had a pint of bitter, Pat enjoyed a lemonade, and we both shared Haddock in a Tring Ale batter, mushy peas and skinny chips. My aunt and uncle shared wine and a English cheese and cracker plate. The day was warm and sunny and an altogether fantastic day out. We walked back to the car learning about the historic Berkshire county. We then drove back to my uncle and aunt's house where later in the evening we had home cooked lasagna and salad for dinner. We talked late into the night until bedtime at 10:30pm.

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
The next morning on Monday June 6 at 8:00am we woke, had breakfast (tea, coffee, cereal/toast and fruit) and drove to Aylesbury to pick up our car rental (Enterprise), a new black Vauxhall hatchback Corsa. From there, we drove on the left hand side of the road up to the little village called Waddesdon west of Aylesbury (Buckinghamshire) near the gates of the estate of Waddesdon Manor, the Rothschild family from 1839-1957. We lodged in a small Victoria coaching inn built in 1887 called The Five Arrows. We enjoyed 2 nights at this luxury hotel with a buffet breakfast, where the patrons all maintained a quintessentially English hush whisper at the breakfast table. The quaint inn had a narrow walk up to our room

with the name of a Rothschild wine on the door. The suite was lovely with plush beds and rich colours and a window that could see out over the small village street. Before we left for our drive to Oxford that first day, we had a nice relaxing drink (wine and a beer) on the inn's patio. On our last day in Waddesdon on Wednesday we walked over to Waddesdon Manor and took a shuttle bus to the large estate of the Rothschilds. Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild bought and built his French chateau style country house on the sprawling estate of Blenheim Palace from the Duke of Marlborough in 1874. We only had time to tour the outside estate/gardens and aviary of Waddesdon Manor and return back the hotel in time to check out. Well worth seeing.

OXFORDSHIRE
On that Monday late morning, we left Waddesdon and drove up to the city of Oxford (pop. 150,200) in Oxfordshire through the many round a bouts' (traffic circle) using satellite navigation system. We parked at the Park & Ride and hopped on a double-decker regional green bus to take us to the centre of town. When we arrived, we could see where it would be impossible to park anywhere and glad we took the bus.

We were absolutely mesmerized by the this ancient university town dating back to the 12th Century. The university students were all dressed in their black undergraduate college gowns and had just

finished their exams. The streets were packed with shoppers, students and tourists, perhaps in the thousands. By this time we were getting hungry and had to sit down to power up our camera. So we found a nice little pub called the Social Club where there was free wifi and a plug for our camera. There, we enjoyed a quiche, an eggs Benny and two Americano coffees. After, we walked all through Oxford and passed by many of the 30 Colleges including Magdalen (pronounced Maud-lynn) College, and Pembroke College (couldn't visit due to exams). We actually paid to enter and visit the prestigious Balliol (pronounced Baylee-ill) College (est. 1263) where we toured the Front Quadrangle, the old Library and the Dining Hall. Some of the notable alumni include Adam Smith, Christopher Hitchens, Boris

Johnson, and Edward Heath. Finally we visited and toured inside the famous Bodleian Library, the second largest library in Britain (established in 1602 and housing over 12 million items).

At 4:30pm we took the regional bus back to our Park & Ride and drove back to Waddesdon through the English countryside. Back at The Five Arrows hotel, we had a fine dinner of trout and roast lamb. We were in bed by 10:30pm.

The next morning on Tuesday June 7, we left for Blenheim Palace near the village of Woodstock. The weather was a little cloudy but gradually became very humid through the day. We parked a couple of miles from the Palace and toured the great house where the present Duke of Marlborough lives and where Winston Churchill was born in 1874. We walked through all of the State Rooms, the Churchill Exhibition and the 2000 acre beautifully landscaped park outside grounds. In the afternoon we sat outside in the patio and enjoyed a nice carrot and lemon cake with orange and pomegranate San Pelegrino. Sir Elton John was schduled to play a special concert in celebration of the Queen's 90th official birthday the following week (June 12). I walked a 25 minute journey up to the 134 ft Column of

Victory which stands at the very end of the Palace Park and built in 1730 to commemorate the victory of the First Duke of Marlborough.

We drove back to Waddessdon village later in the afternoon and had hearty dinner at The Akeman Inn Pub & Restaurant.

GREATER LONDON
The following day June 8 we dropped off the car in Aylesbury at 12 Noon and got a ride from Enterprise rent a car to the train station bound for London. Everyone was very nice in England and helped us enormously. After just over 1 hour we arrived in the large Marlyebone train station at 1:30pm and tried to walk to another local train station to get tour hotel but strangely enough it was closed. So, we attempted to walk further hauling our luggage when I hailed a London cab. He took us to our private hotel in Bayswater area of London called Kensington Gardens Hotel. It was a fine looking regency style hotel at 9 Kensington Gardens Square. We were welcomed by a lovely and hospitable English woman landlady of Iranian background. She explained all the process of handing our keys and when we needed we could use the breakfast room at the sister hotel down the street called the Phoenix. The entrance to these hotels was by strict camera and had to be buzzed in everytime. Finally we received the key too our

room on the 2nd floor but had to walk up four flights of stairs to get to our suite. Ofcourse there was no 'lift'. And that was fine. The hotel was beautifully refurbished with a cast iron staircase, green wallpaper and our room was small but comfortable and with a nice view of the tree lined street below. The hotel was close to all the major attractions by way of easy access the Tube (underground) down the street. We loved it! That day we purchased an oyster card which gave us a 3 day London pass to use on buses and trains throughout Central London.

In the afternoon we met up with Mum and Dad who were also travelling through Britain. We went down the street from our hotel to the very French, Valerie Patisserie where we enjoyed tuna sandwiches, cake, and tea and cafe au lait. From there we walked through Kensington Gardens and saw the outside of Kensington Palace. We walked down embassy row where we saw all the large

embassies, and later had dinner in Bayswater at one of the best voted restaurants in London, called Heleki Greek Restaurant. It was one of those small restaurants packed with very rich business people and we ended up sitting in the corner table beside the owner of the restaurant. By about 8:30pm we returned to our respective hotels.

On Thursday June 9, we had breakfast at the Phoenix hotel (served by lovely young new immigrant Polish women) and journeyed back to Kensington Palace to take a self-guided tour of the official London home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Passing through the gates, we noticed Catherine Duchess of Cambridge outside in the Palace private gardens playing and photographing her royal children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. We couldn't believe it! We were amazed that we actually got to see a moment in time of the royals relaxing in their private home.

On the official self-guided tour, we walked through the King and Queen's State Apartments, an exhibit called Victoria Revealed, the large King's Staircase, the King's Gallery, and a special exhibit called Fashion Rules, a nostalgic look at all the fashions on display of the Queen, and Diana Princess of Wales. Finally we took a look around the Palace Gardens and enjoyed a relaxing lunch on the patio of the Kensington Palace restaurant. By late afternoon we had walked through Kensington Gardens and out to the massive Prince Albert Memorial. We walked to Princess Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, a large concrete water park full of young children and set on the

banks of the Serpentine lake. Pat dipped her sore feet in the water and rested for an hour. Ofcourse, we then went to take photos outside Buckingham Palace. We returned back to the hotel via the Tube, had a light dinner at Bella Italia in Bayswater, of Bolognese and Ricotta Cannelloni and of course, wine.

One of the centerpiece moments of our trip in London was a special historic military event called Beating the Retreat. This event dates back to the 1690's when the beating drum was sounded to break the troops off fighting and withdraw safely to base camp. As darkness fell, the camp was secured. This event continues on a ceremonial fashion at Horse Guards in London, with soldiers of the Household

Divsion performing music, military precision drills, all with horses of the cavalry, cannon and fireworks.

At 8:00pm that Thursday night we arrived at Horse Guards parade on a perfect night with Mum and Dad. World War 2 British Spitfires started off the event and included the massed bands of the Household Division (Coldstream & Grenadier Guards) and Household Cavalry performing and parading the Regimental Colours in front of dignitaries and diplomats, with HRH Prince Andrew taking the royal Salute. It was a truly a spectacular pageant with a historic backdrop, singing, fantastic music, an event never seen anywhere else in the world.

Once we finished that event we headed out have a drink with Mum and Dad at a public house in London and found a nice one called St.

Stephen's Tavern. The place was packed with people. We found a nice corner and had a round of British Ale for Dad and I, a 1664 for Pat, and tea for Mum. Soon, in came a bunch of older British MP's to have a final pint before they headed back home. It was enjoyable to see. Finally after 11:00pm, we all took the train back to our respective lodging. We were asleep by Midnight.

Friday June 10 was also going to be be a busy day. In the morning, Pat had a bad toothache and I went looking for a dentist nearby, which I found just down the street. It was called Porchester Dental. It was staffed by a dental assistant and a female dentist. I returned to the hotel to give Pat the news and we went back to assess Pat's tooth. The diagnosis was a infection and and we were given a prescription to take. So we found the local pharmacist/chemist.

After getting ready to embark on our day in London we headed out to the scheduled 1:30pm Ritz Hotel for High Tea. We were joined by Mum (aged 80) and Dad (aged 81) at Palm Court where all the famous and wealthy had High Tea. At the entrance were large flowing union Jacks and at the centre of the room was a large vase filled with flowers. We started out with flutes of champagne and all had an enjoyable time with lots of house tea (Royal English), and the very finest salmon and chicken and vegetable sandwiches. We were also brought delicious cakes and scones of every kind, all layered on the table. Unfortunately, I managed to knock over the milk and it went all over the table and on to the floor. The waiter quickly came to my aid and slipped a menu under the tablecloth and voila, it was cleaned for the most part. The bill was 196 pounds including a 2o pound tip and we received a menu. After finishing off, Dad got the pianist in the hotel to play something and he played the famous tune by Irving

Berlin called, "Puttin' on the Ritz". We walked around this opulent hotel, the grandest in all of London. It was more like a palace than a hotel.

Afterwards we ventured out on a hop on hop off bus tour of London. I noticed children in their school uniform and boater hats crossing the street. We saw all the major sites including the famous and giant London Eye (ferris wheel). We traveled down Regent Street filled with thousands of shoppers and traveled down Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street with high-end boutique stores; Trafalgar Square; St. Paul's Cathedral, Canada House, the Royal Courts of Justice, into the financial district, and saw modern architecture like the oddly designed St. Mary's Axe commonly called the Gherkin for its pickle like design, the most modern commercial skyscraper in England; 20 Fenchurch, a massive commercial steel and glass building; and finally saw the top of the 95 storey tower

called The Shard, shaped like a shard of glass.

We then hopped off the bus at the Embankment where we walked down past the historic 11th century Tower of London, and on to a Thames River cruise boat where we enjoyed the historic commentary and saw major London sites including a large ship carrying supplies to Britain's Oversees Territory called Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific going under the majestic Tower Bridge, and many others monuments, all from a unique angle.

In the evening, we took the train to St. Martin's Theatre in London's West End where we saw the oldest play, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. The seats were very small and we sat high up in the balcony seats. The Mousetrap was well acted but the story itself was a little dated. We can't say anything about the story ending... its a secret. After the play we dropped in to the Continental cafe called Patisserie Valerie for an Americano coffee, a coke, and a shared handmade chocolate cake. It was well after 10:00pm, and so we headed back via the Tube to the hotel and we were in bed by Midnight.

Well, it's Saturday June 11 now, and our last full day in London. We woke up at 8:15am and headed to our breakfast again at the Phoenix hotel next door to our hotel, Kensington Garden Hotel. We headed off via the 'underground' to Westminster Abbey, then the Banqueting House and finally the centerpiece of our London trip, The Parliament Buildings in the City of Westminster, a borough inside Central London.

We arrived at the Grand Lady of Churches, Westminster Abbey just before 10:30am. This medieval Gothic building dates back to 960 AD with later additions built in 1080 and 1245 AD.

Then we walked to the Banqueting House at Whitehall (the present day British government offices). I wanted to see this historic building, famous, because it was there in January 1649 that King Charles I

(tried for treason at Westminster Hall) was beheaded on the scaffold outside the first floor window of this building. I asked the tour guide and he said the event took place just above the large painting of Charles I on the large staircase. The classic architecture of the 18th century architect Indigo Jones is reflected all over London and is the only remaining component of the original Palace of Whitehall. Inside is just as magnificent. The hall itself was used for royal receptions, ceremonies and balls and remains today a place of dinners and celebrations for the public and British government members.

It was almost 1:30pm and we scooted down Parliament Street where we saw the stately government buildings of Whitehall on Whitehall

including the Prime Minister's office and residence, #10 Downing St. And we walked through Parliament Square where we saw the statutes of Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill. We then passed by the majestic Elizabeth Tower housing the Big Ben bell. Turning down Abingdon Street we came to to the visitor's entrance called Cromwell Green Visitor's Entrance to the Palace of Westminster, and Houses of Parliament (Lords & Commons). We met up with Mum and Dad and entered the historic legislative buildings, the very centre of power in the United Kingdom.

We pre-paid for a guided tour of the British Parliament Buildings and arrived in the St. Stephen's Entrace. Westminster Hall is parliament's oldest remaining building at the Palace of Westminster. The Hall dates back to King William II (Rufus) in 1097 (stone floor, with giant timbered roof support beams) and down through royal history served as both a royal court and a feasting hall. Today it serves as a place for state ceremonies such as early coronations and the lying in State of Prime Ministers such as William Gladstone in 1898 and Winston Churchill and Kings such as Edward VIII in 1910 and Queen's such as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 2002. In 1649 King Charles I was tried here for treason by Oliver Cromwell's government. We

walked up St. Stephen's Porch and saw the giant ornate glass windows and the newer dedication window dedicated to the Women's Suffragette Movement.

Next we moved into St. Stephen's Hall, the original Commons Chamber after it burnt down in 1834. Re-built in the 1840's and early 1850's, it was a wholly more splendid hall now lined with statutes of Britain's famous MP's and Prime Ministers such as Edmund Burke and Horace Walpole on either side of this magnificent Hall. The walls are covered by large paintings. It has now become the majestic entrance but was burnt down by a fire in 1834.

We all moved along through the Robing Room where the Sovereign prepares to enter the House of Lords, and then we proceeded to the House of Lords Lobby, and then the to the ornate Chamber itself made up of 75o Peers of the Realm. It is resplendent in red leather

bench seats and a blue carpet. As we entered we saw the gold gilded throne where the sovereign sits and reads the throne Speech during the State Opening of Parliament ceremonies. It looks more like a Cathedral setting than a government debating chamber. There was the Government, opposition and Bishop's Benches. Until 2005 this room was the highest court in the UK when the law was reformed and established a separate Supreme Court.

Afterwards we moved along the narrow oak paneled Content Lobby to get to the Moses Room, a large Committee Room decorated with a frescoes of Moses bringing down the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai. Back through the Central Lobby we travelled through the Commons Corridor to reach the Commons Lobby where stands the statutes of Churchill, Disraeli, and Thatcher. We passed through the Commons entrance where the Black Rod bangs on the door to request all sitting members of the Commons to move to the House of Lords where the Queen delivers her Speech. Inside the House of Commons Chamber, it looks like a private men's club, with leather green benches facing across each other, a red line on the floor to signal a sword's length debating span and wood panelled walls, with an upper balcony or Gallery for the public and journalists to sit. We all stood on the Government benches and saw the Canadian made

oak table where the Dispatch boxes are placed for each Leader (PM and Opposition) to speak from. The Speaker's Chair was made as a gift from Australia after the Parliament Buildings were bombed during the Blitz in World War II. 646 Members sit in this House to debate and it was clearly never built to handle the number of these MP's, so often times they have to stand in the back of the Commons to register their vote. The original House of Commons Chamber burnt down in the 1834 fire, it was rebuilt in a gothic style to reflect the St. Stephen's Hall design and then it was destroyed again in 1941 by German bombs and rebuilt lasting until 1950. Today the Mother of All Parliaments stands as a representative of Parliamentary democracy.

We all left utterly awe struck by the historic Palace we had entered, standing on the very spot of Prime Ministers and British

Parliamentarians down through history. Much later in the evening we enjoyed a classic British supper of Purple Lager, 1664, Founder's Pale Ale and Chicken Mushroom Pie at the Bayswater Arms Pub, a block from Kensingtom Gardens Hotel in London. We then headed back to our respective hotels and we fell asleep by 11:00pm. The next morning we set off for Paris!