An early train from Audley End took us to London where we stayed two nights at The Celtic Hotel in the Bloomsbury area just off Russell Square. Twice before we’ve stayed at The Celtic and always enjoyed our stay. The rooms are pleasant and clean, the price is reasonable, and it includes a generous hot breakfast.
It was great to be in London again. We feel like we almost know our way around. Once we checked in at the hotel, we set off to wander the streets, making our way down to Covent Garden and their Christmas market. It’s primarily about shopping and eating. We enjoy the shopping and looking part, although we don’t buy anything since we’re living out of our backpacks. We also enjoy the buskers. Today there was quite a vivacious string quartet playing the William Tell Overture (“The Lone Ranger Theme”) and other upbeat classics. It was great fun just to watch and listen. We also saw a hundred or more folks gathered round what appeared to be a film crew creating a short film or commercial. There were multiple takes because the star was a cat that was somewhat less cooperative than the young man with the guitar singing for him.
For lunch we looked online for a recommended Indian restaurant. It was called Dishoom, only a few blocks away, so we found it, waited a bit (often a sign that the food is good) and enjoyed a lovely meal. We both loved it, although even the “not spicey at all” dishes were still challenging for Sara. After dinner, we continued walking and exploring London. We strolled through parks at dusk and walked past Buckingham Palace. It was a beautiful evening.
The London production of Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre: Sara has wanted to see Hamilton on stage for ages. She found tickets here that were substantially less than those in New York, so we treated ourselves. Happily, we spent some time reviewing the lyrics and the story of Hamilton’s life ahead of time, thus making it much easier to follow and appreciate the story. The newly refurbished Victoria Palace Theatre was gorgeous, and the production was outstanding. This was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
The next morning, after a lovely breakfast at The Celtic, we headed out again to walk London. This time we headed down through Green Park and the Knightsbridge area to visit Harrod’s once again. We found it and browsed at least three of the five stories. We enjoyed being amazed by the many ridiculously expensive items available for the amusement of the fabulously wealthy. We saw a child’s play car, studded with jewels, to sell for a mere $30,000. We saw a television that takes up an entire wall, cleverly named “The Wall” with a price tag exceeding $500,000. (Would some millionaire please just buy this and give it to Trump. Then let some grown-ups have a chance to run the country.) When we left, Sara gave Evan permission to tell her, the next time she expresses interest in visiting Harrod’s again, that she doesn’t need to or want to do so.
Further on, we visited the Victoria & Albert Museum which we learned is about much more than just Victoria and Albert. It’s huge and houses a wide variety of artifacts. We spent time in a photography exhibit, the English history section, the Middle Eastern, Arabic collection, and in the museum’s café. We enjoyed it, but neither of us lasts very long in a museum. After an hour of looking at displays and reading the explanatory posts, we have to move on. So we did.
Christmas at Kew Gardens: That evening we made our way out to Kew Garden. While walking the Camino, we met a young man from London who said that we should not miss the “Christmas at Kew” held each year at Kew Garden. So we took the “Tube” early down to Kew Garden, roamed the area, and found a place to eat. We entered Kew Garden at 5:20 (the specific time on our tickets for entry), so it was already quite dark.
“Christmas at Kew” is all about the light shows and the music as visitors slowly walk through the botanical gardens following a prescribed path. The light shows were dazzling and the music perfectly matched. Meanwhile there were plenty of spots along the way to buy food, sweets, rum cider and mulled wine to warm you up on a cold winter night. The gardens are huge, so the walk took nearly two hours. Another magical experience. Then a quick ride on the “Tube” back to Russell Square and our hotel.
The next morning we walked to the mall just a few blocks from the hotel and watched a movie to relax. We had just recently heard of the new Martin Scorcese picture, “The Irishman,” with Robert Di Niro, Joe Peschi and Al Pacino. Three and a half hours long, but absolutely riveting stuff. That took us into the afternoon, so we headed off to catch our train back up to Audley End. Once there, we headed back, with a dinner stop at The Queens Head along the way.
