Tuesday January 13, 1998

Arrive at MIA at 7:30 PM for 8:45 flight (BA 292) to London. The baggage was checked earlier in the day so we just had to go through security search etc. After a short wait we boarded and took off. The flight was a good one; they had London Pride beer as expected and the food was good. The dinner was served with real metal silverware! There was a bit of turbulence for several parts of the flight but it was relatively smooth. We arrived at Heathrow at approx. 10 AM London time on Wed morning. The plane was unloaded the old-fashioned way; stairs to the runway, then boarding a bus to the terminal.

Wednesday January 14, 1998

After clearing customs at Heathrow we walked out of the area and saw a man holding a card with "Goeser" written on it. This was our ride to town. After a short wait we were on our way. The ride went through several London neighborhoods; it was interesting just to look at the various residences & stores as we moved along. We arrived at our hotel at approx. 12 noon, checked in and went down to the pub in the hotel for lunch. The pub was a wood paneled room with a fireplace, bar and seating for 50 or more. Lunch was good and they had food already prepared and out so most of us had something with beef in it as the cut of beef looked great and it was. Since we had about half a day left and were slightly jet lagged we decided to go to the London museum. We left the hotel to go to the nearest tube stop, which was Gloucester Road. At the station we redeemed our vouchers for tickets that were good for 1 week anywhere on the London transportation system which is subways (The Tube), busses & trains. We then got on the tube to the museum. This first ride was probably the worst one of the week; for some reason the train would stop between two stations and wait for a few minutes then go on. It was a minor problem and didn't happen again. We arrived at the museum stop, got out and it was cold and windy. This was expected but it was the first time really outside with no shelter. We had a little difficulty locating the museum, but after a lengthy walk we eventually found it. The London museum is a comprehensive history of London, it is very well done, and could be toured in one full day. Since we didn't have that much time we made the most of it. It shows all the history of London from pre Roman times to the Middle Ages, right up to modern times. After a few hours everyone had seen most of it and since we all were tired we headed back to the hotel. We decided to keep dinner simple. Mom stayed at the hotel and asked us to bring her something back. The rest of us went to Garfunkle's restaurant in the nearby Gloucester Square Mall. It was all right, somewhat American, but reasonable and fast. The menu was burgers, steaks, fish, etc. Standard fayre. Picked up BK for Mom and returned to the hotel for a much needed night's sleep.

Thursday January 15, 1998

We got a good start on the day as we would throughout the trip. Our hotel rooms included a continental breakfast in the hotel dining room. This was cereal, rolls, fruits, cheeses and juices. All you care to eat, and without having to go outside the building into the cold and windy air. This would be a sightseeing day around London. We took the tube to Piccadilly Circus, walked to the square with a large fountain, and took some pictures. Then we took a city bus tour on London Pride Tours. The tour was called the Grand Tour, starting in Trafalgar Square, going by Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, The Houses of Parliament, 10 Downing Street, London Bridge, and The Tower of London, then back to the start. You could get out at any stop and get back on a later bus as it came by. We got off at The Tower of London for a tour. What had started out as a sunny day had begun to cloud up, and by the time we walked around to the entrance, it was drizzling. The beginning of the tour is outside, in order to show several areas; The Tower Green, where many famous prisoners were held and beheaded, and Water Lane, where many prisoners walked for the last time. Yeoman Warders, often called Beefeaters, who, are 20 year or more Army vets, guide the tours. The rain really started to come down; luckily the tour ended in the chapel where we were given more history and a chance to ask questions. We then toured the Crown Jewels, which have been recently set up in new cases with moving walkways going by them, so people have to keep moving. (You can go back as many times as you like.) The rain cleared and we headed for lunch at The Black Friar Pub. The Black Friar is a small classic old London pub across from the Blackfriars Tube station. We were there just after the lunch crowd was finishing, so the lunch specials were almost gone. We took the rest of the prepared lunches and sandwiches. Hand pumped Tetley's Bitter was enjoyed with lunch. The place was small but the décor was cool with small booths on one side, a small room at the back, and an area to the right where we ate. On the walls & above the bar were carvings of friars doing various things. After lunch we returned to the Tower to continue the bus tour. This time we boarded a bus with a half-open upper story; we sat up front for some protection from the cold wind. The tour headed back over London Bridge, along the River Thames, then back to Trafalgar Square. We then walked to Leicester Square to look for tickets for the theatre. Tickets were still available to a comedy called The Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde, playing at the Gielgud Theatre. Tickets were purchased for that night's performance. We went back to the hotel to relax & get ready for the play later. It was early, so I decided to venture out on my own to check out a pub. I decided on The Nag's Head, a tiny, unspoilt historic pub on two levels off Wilton Place, Knightsbridge. It was brisk out and it was good to walk into the Nag's Head, where it was cozy and friendly. Looking around the small room with about 10 people there, I saw several old game machines and a zinc covered beer engine. There was no space in the front room, so I found the small passageway down to the back area, where I ordered Adnams Bitter. Several people were standing at the bar, all locals, there for an after- work beer. They were a friendly bunch and one of them, a guy named Steve, had worked in South Florida for a while so he knew where I was from. It was an enjoyable time, but all too soon several of us had to go. Good-byes were exchanged and I headed back to the hotel. Upon my return we all got ready and took the tube to the theatre area. We found the theatre in time and had good seats: it wasn't sold out so we could take extra room which was nice as the place was old and the seats would be tight if all were filled. The play was a comedy set in Victorian times. Basically the play line was about a lady who thought her husband was perfect and she was shocked to find out he wasn't. He had pulled a fast one, back when he was young, to start making his fortune. She couldn't believe it and went back and forth about what to do about it; reject him, expose him or (finally) accept him, as he was really a good guy. It was a good play and the actors did their jobs well, throwing out many thoughts and one liners that the audience enjoyed very much. It was late when the play finished and we had not had dinner, so we looked for a restaurant. We had noticed a place called Adams Rib on the way over; they were still open so we ate there. The food was good, but we were in a bit of a hurry as the tube closes at midnight so we finished up quickly, went back to the hotel and called it a day.

Friday January 16, 1998

Today, we had arranged to take a tour outside of London to Bath, Stonehenge & Salisbury. The tour company sends busses all around London, picking up people for the various tours, bringing them to a central location and then loading the actual bus for the tour you are signed up for. The bus was loaded up and we headed out. The guide went through the bus to find out about her tour group. (Dad told her he was from "West Cuba") The group was varied: several Americans including us, some Middle Eastern types, and a group from Spain. This last group was large enough that our guide did most of the tour in The Queen's English and also Spanish. And we thought leaving Miami would relieve us of Spanish for a few days! Anyway, as we headed west out of London, she pointed out many interesting sites. We took the same route we had taken into town a few days before: it was interesting to now have a guide indicating the things we hadn't noticed. After we passed Heathrow Airport we were on more rural roads in farming country. The fields are split up by hedges, some of which are 300 years old. Many farmers believe the hedges help the crops, so they keep up the hedges very well. The country area seemed very green for January. Some of the green was ground cover and some was Evergreen trees. After about 2 hours we arrived at Stonehenge. The area is relatively flat, so the stones stick out well. They have tried to hide the parking area and buildings so when you are at the Stonehenge monument you can feel like no modern things are there. The future plans are to move the road for the same reasons. After parking we walked under the highway via a tunnel to get to the monument. The stones are so big that one wonders how people 5000 years ago brought them there and then put them up as they are now. Some of the stones are local and some are from Wales-several hundred miles away! The pathway is now around the monument but not right by it as people were damaging the stones and stealing them. It was a sunny day, but cold and soon we had to head on to Salisbury. As we approached Salisbury, 500 - year old ruins were pointed out as well as newer buildings. In town, we ate lunch at The Cloisters pub. Lunch was pre - ordered and was good; we ordered our own drinks-a local brewed bitter. We then had some time to look around Salisbury. There is a cathedral there, which is 600 years old, and being restored but still in good condition. It is hard to believe this building has survived this long and is still all together as it is. The square around the cathedral has been built over many years so there are many different styles and ages of buildings around it. We then headed to Bath, about 1 hour away. Bath is in a valley, so as you approach, the entire town is visible from above, a cool sight as there are old buildings mixed in with newer, but all seem to belong together. In Bath we went to the Bath museum, which goes through what is left of the Roman bath, almost 1900 years old. The baths were thought to have healing powers, and people from Roman times, to about 100 years ago, came from far away to bathe in them. Now they are only to look at and most of what may have been is speculation; based on old reports and more recent drawings and photos. We also toured the Bath cathedral and found it in better condition than the earlier one, as it has been recently restored. It was much lighter in this one so better pictures were taken. We then took the bus back to London; the mountains of Wales were visible, as it was a clear day. Once back in London we stopped at Sainsbury's store for a few items, then ate at Bellavista, an Italian restaurant and disco near the hotel.

Saturday January 17, 1998

Today would be a full day of shopping, pub crawling, eating, and finished off with a play. After breakfast, we took the tube to Harrods, the London department store with everything you could imagine available. One of the first rooms is the food hall, where all kinds of gourmet, deluxe food items are on display. The delis are supplied with some of the best meats from around the world, with many exotic items on the menu. You can eat there; the lunch counter is not your Father's Woolworth's. I found a Harrods' Lager to bring back home, as well as several small items. We wandered around the store for a while, breaking up to check out what looked neat to each person. I looked at electronics and kitchen items and realized that all of the European electric systems are different than ours, so if you wanted anything, you may as well wait and get it at home, so it will work. We got back together and found our way out, as it was time for lunch. We took the tube to the Holborn station to find a pub called The Cittie of York, at 22 High Holborn. This pub dates back to the 1600's; the last rebuilding was done in the 1890's. As we walked in, there was a stairway down to a cellar bar, which we didn't use, as food and drinks were in the main bar. As you enter the room, it has a long bar along the left side, small screened booths on the right side, and large vats toward the rear. We were there for Saturday lunch, and it wasn't too crowded, so we got one of the screened booths. Prepared lunches were by the door and all looked great. I had read of this pub in several books and it is considered one of London's great pubs. We all got lunch, and all was great "pub grub", delicious and filling. (A good base!) I went to the bar to get drinks. The house beer is Samuel Smith's, one of England's oldest breweries, and one of the best. I ordered Museum Ale for the beer drinkers and Cokes for the non-drinkers. Then I noticed they also had a Stout and so I did the right thing: I ordered one, as I knew this would probably be my only chance at Sam Smith's Stout on drought on this trip. This was a good choice, as both the beer and foods at this pub are top rate. (All agreed on this.) I could have stayed all afternoon, but we had to go, so I paid up and we left. We went back to Leichester Square to check for tickets for a play. As we walked to the booth, we decided to break up for a while. Bruce went to see Westminister Cathedral, Mom & Dad went to look for the tickets, and I said that I would wait at a small brewery chain that I had noticed the last time we had walked by. The Faun and Firkin is one of about 70 Firkin Brewing locations; this one actually didn't brew there; it was brewed nearby. It was crowded, so I stood at the bar and tried a Dogbitter Dark Ale. It wasn't memorable; and shortly, M & D came by ready to go on to get the tickets at the theatre, as none were available at the special place they had checked out. We went one tube stop away, which is Covent Garden. This area is apparently where all the local young people go for weekend fun and folliesThe streets were full of people and various "shows". It looked like a pretty cool place to be on this Saturday afternoon. We found the theatre and got the last tickets for the 7:45 show of The Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre. Dad said that Rules restaurant was nearby, so we started out to find it. We went by many cool pubs and places but couldn't find it. We were getting tired of looking and not finding it, so I said I would go into a pub for directions, while they checked one more street. I went into Marquess of Anglesey and asked if anyone knew where the place was, and no one did, so I ordered a Young's Double Chocolate stout in order to ponder how to find it. Soon, Dad came by and said that they were giving up and would see me at the hotel. I replied that I would finish my beer and then locate the restaurant so we could find it later. After I finished, I rechecked the map and went to check where Rules was. I returned to close to where we were, found a cop, and he directed me to where it was. (We were only 1 block away the entire time!) I took a picture of it just for proof, and then headed back to the tube. On the way, I went into another Nag's Head Pub. (Nothing like the cool one of several nights before.) It was a tourist place, and I had one small beer and left. The tube station was closed, due to all the people in the area, so I had to walk to the nearest one, about a two minute walk. (M & D had taken a cab, as it turns out) Upon my return to the hotel, it was time to clean up and get ready for dinner at Rules. We all got ready, and Dad wanted to take a taxi to the restaurant, so we hailed one just outside the lobby. The taxi was one of the big black London cabs that are known worldwide. The driver was a pleasant chap, who knew Rules and took us there quickly and directly. It was wet out, so the taxi was a good idea as the walk from the tube station is about five blocks from Rules. Rules is London's oldest restaurant, almost 200 years old, frequented by actors, writers and other assorted stars and celebrities. The walls are covered with all sorts of memorabilia; from playbills signed by Charles Dickens, to old articles about openings or other items about various actors. It is all well done, everything is framed and neatly put up. You could spend a day checking out neat stuff, but since people are eating all around, it isn't possible. This was our finest dinner of the trip. Drinks were ordered along with starters. The oysters were fresh and good, served on a rack, which had all the sauces below it. The Stilton tarts were excellent as well. The main courses were all very good: my pepper steak was rare and needed no knife to cut it; Mom and Dad split a rack of lamb which they said was one of the best, and Bruce had a lamb shank which he enjoyed immensely. Dessert was a great end to a perfect dinner. The theatre was about three blocks away, and it was drizzling, so we ran under awnings and dry spots all the way. The Woman in Black is a thriller, done with only two actors playing all the roles. This was a surprise, but the soundman really made it work. The play starts out with a man telling his story, and as we go along there are certain tragic events in his family's past that are all associated with a mysterious woman, always dressed in black with no visible face. As it goes on, it turns out that this has been going on for 30 years or more. At the end, it is a surprise to find out how long this had gone on and what started it. After the ending, we went to the tube station, went to the hotel and called it a night.

Sunday January 18, 1998

Today would be "Museum Day". As there were different interests, we went different ways so each could see what they wanted. I would go to the Toy Museum and The British Museum and the others went to The National Gallery and The Victoria and Albert Museum. We all went to the tube station and went different ways. I took the Circle Line to Paddington to see the Toy Museum. It was wet out as I walked the five blocks to the museum. The area is one of those areas where entire blocks are the same white color. The museum looked almost like a residence. It was a cool set up - 3 floors of various models and toys. The first thing was a working coal mine done in great detail, showing above and below ground operations. Upstairs has model cars and trains of all types. Not a lot of American toys, but it was interesting to see all of the European stuff. There were a few Lionel trains as well as Matchbox cars. No Coronation Coach, the rarest Matchbox that started it all. At least that's what I thought, until I went into the "Military" room where there were several "State" models on display. This is where the coach was, the first one I have ever seen. There also was a room with all auto racing toys and models - really cool. It was time to go, so I went back to the tube to go to lunch. For lunch, I decided on The Orange Brewery, a brewpub about five blocks from Sloane Square. It was a chilly, windy rainy walk to the pub so it was nice to finally find it and walk in. This was probably an old pub, taken over by Scottish Courage, and made into the current place. I walked up to the bar and asked if I could get a sampler of their beers. The landlady replied that they were all out of their beers. (This was said fast and with a heavy English accent, so I asked again, still no beer.) I have never been to a brewpub that had none of their beers available. Despite the rough beginning, I ordered a Beamish Stout, a smooth chocolatey stout, and chili on rice. I sat by a window, looking out at the wet day, drinking and waiting for the lunch. The chili was hot and filling, great for this type of day. I finished all too soon and walked back to the tube to go to the British Museum. The British Museum is so extensive that you could spend days there. Since I had only a few hours, I decided to check out only part of it. I started in the Prehistoric and Roman Britain galleries, which were full of ancient artifacts. Notable here was the amount and condition of the artifacts, especially the ivory carvings, which must be among the most numerous and well preserved in the world. I then found myself in a gallery of time; hundreds of timepieces from very old pocket watches to huge wall clocks, from various times in history. In one display of pocket watches, they were dismantled, so the insides could be viewed as well as the fancy casings. It was getting late, so I went through several Roman galleries very quickly, so I could get to the Egyptian galleries. The Egyptian exhibits are being renovated, so most of the display is in one large room. The walls are lined with caskets, which are all decorated differently and very well preserved. In the new display the mummies from the various caskets will probably be on display with them. For now there were just a few on display, as well as a mummified cat and several other pets. The time was running out so I headed for the way out. As I was walking out I thought it was too bad I didn't see the Rosetta Stone, the tablet that enabled us to "translate" Hieroglyphics. As luck would have it, I walked right by it on my way out, so at least I got to see it for a few minutes. I found my way back to the tube and went back to the hotel. We really had no dinner plans, so a restaurant was needed. After consulting my good pub food guide and making several calls, we decided on a pub called The White Horse, on Parson's Green. At the Parson's Green tube station it is one block away. As we walked toward it, Bruce remarked that the neighborhood looked suspect, but nothing really was out of order, and it was only one block. This would be one of those pleasant surprises that happen when you venture out to an unknown place and it turns out to be great. As we walked in we could hear a jazz band playing in the warm and dry bar area. There were several large tables open for dinner only, which was what we needed, so we took one close to the band. We were given menus and ordered drinks. Dad and I had Thomas Hardy's Ale (12% ABV), Mom got wine and Bruce had a 7-Up. The ale was almost wine-like, at that %, but good. We then ordered our dinners. We all decided that the chicken dish sounded good and ordered it. In the meantime, I was talking to the girl about how I found out about the place (Internet) and I had noticed they carried all kinds of unique and rare beers and wines from all around the wold. She said that the owner enjoyed many different tastes and if he liked one, or if his customers did, he put it on the menu. She also said that many people were now coming in and mentioning that they first heard about the pub on the 'net. One of her recommendations was Chimay Blue, a Belgian Trappist Ale (9%ABV), so I ordered one for Dad and me. This also turned out to be a very good choice, so good that I took one to go and brought it home to remember a great night out. The dinners came and were served in the middle of large plates, as some of the finer restaurants do nowadays. As we started, all were remarking that the food was great, and I think that this dinner could have been served in any of the finest places and be totally acceptable, but we got it in a cool pub with live jazz! I had one more ale, and everyone was finishing up and ready to go, so we headed back to the hotel. It wasn't too late, so I decided to check out our own downstairs pub, for a nightcap. It was fairly crowded, so I stood at the bar and had a Stoli Black Russian (very necessary) and went back up to bed. Tomorrow would be our last full day in London

Monday January 19, 1998

Our last day would consist of a trip out to Canary Wharf, back to the Big Ben/ Parliament area and the Banqueting House, high tea at Fortnum & Mason department store, finished off by a great dinner at Quaglino's Restaurant. Canary Wharf is an old wharf area that has been a rough, run-down area for years. It now is one of the up and coming areas on the Thames, with all new buildings and a big shopping mall. To get there we took the tube to Tower Gateway and transferred to a light rail line, which took us out to the new mall at Canary Wharf. The train station is right at the entrance to the mall, which is round shaped, and three stories tall. The mall has clothing stores, jewelry stores and a few places to eat. It looked like there were offices all around the area, as most of the stores looked like they served the office crowd, and the place was quiet at 11 AM. We went outside to see the area and it was very windy. There is a fountain just outside and after we walked around it M & D said they had had enough of the wind and would wait for us inside. Bruce and I wanted to walk down to the river, so we started out. As we walked we could see that most of the tall buildings were fairly new and some were still under construction. There is going to be a wide-open walkway along the river but for now it is still incomplete. We made it down to the river and took several pictures. It was getting colder, so we headed back to the mall. It was now lunchtime and the mall was now full of people, so we headed to the train and returned to Tower Gateway. The Westminster tube station is where you get off for most of the famous London government buildings. We had toured the area on the bus earlier on our trip, but never had walked it. After you come out of the station you see the Tower of London, which we have toured. As you walk down the street, Big Ben is right in front of you. The clock is so tall it is better to walk down the street for a better view. The Houses of Parliament are along side it, as well as several other large buildings. We walked to the corner and turned down the street to The Banqueting House. As we walked we passed 10 Downing Street, which is where the Prime Minister lives and works. We passed it and looked back to see a caravan of official looking cars, with lights flashing, turning in. Dad said that it probably was Gerry Adams of Ireland, in town for a meeting with Prime Minister Blair. We soon arrived at the Banqueting House, which is used for royal banquets, balls and concerts. It dates back to Henry VIII, and has been restored to its original glory. When you tour, it is mainly one big banquet hall with incredible paintings on the ceiling. To check out the paintings in detail there are big mirrors on wheels, so you can move them around to see any one of the nine different paintings. There are small benches placed around the sides of the room, with descriptions and history of each painting. After we finished, we retraced our steps to the tube, to go to tea. We went to Piccadilly Circus and walked to Fortnum and Mason, which is a fine department store, for tea. As you walk in the store it has gourmet food on the first floor. We found our way to the elevator, which only holds four people. We got to the fourth floor and were seated for tea. The dining room was painted in light pastels and had matching tablecloths. It is a popular place, as it looked full the entire time we were there. Tea consisted of tea; of course, small finger sandwiches, scones and sweets, all served on a three layer serving plate. We sat back and relaxed and enjoyed our time there, which ended too soon, anyway. After tea we looked around the store for a while, then went back to our hotel. Our dinner reservations were for 8:00 P.M. so this gave us some time at the hotel to pack up for the flight home and relax. As the time for dinner approached we took the tube to Green Park Station. We followed our map and found our destination about one block away from where we thought it was. Quaglino's, recommended by a friend, is noticeable only by the doorman standing out front of the huge glass doors. We walked in, confirmed our table (our name appeared on a printed out list), then checked our coats. The entrance is deceiving; the seating area is one big room, with room for at least 200 diners. The interior area is all very modern design; an interesting use of mirrors makes it look as if there are more people there than there are. The furniture and all the dining implements are all of modern, clean-lined design. The entire meal was excellent, and very reasonable, as we had been told. Memorable items included: My beer, poured in a tall slim flute glass, the spinach, the Carpaccio of beef, swordfish steak, and a chocolate tart, ice cream dessert. It was a very enjoyable dinner, which we savored as much as we could, as we knew it was our last in London, on this trip. As we went to claim our coats, Dad took a couple of photos with his pocket camera. These will become shots of a great place and pleasant memories of our final night in London. We walked out into a very cold wind, found our way to the tube and back to our hotel for the night

Epilogue

On Tuesday January 11, 1998 we were in the hotel lobby at 8:45 to catch the bus to Heathrow. We got there three hours ahead of the flight time. Flight BA 293 at 12:15 P.M. As we walked into the terminal there were people everywhere. British Air had a big problem; the computers were down system wide, so this meant that many flights were cancelled and others were late. We listened as flights to Tokyo, San Francisco and many others were told to "go home and call later". We had no "home" to go to so we waited nervously, hoping Miami wasn't cancelled. They were doing some flights by hand and we were lucky; they let all Miami passengers go to the concourse area. No gate was assigned so we waited in the international concourse area. Our original time came and went with no notice, so we got something to eat and waited. Eventually a time and gate was posted and we moved to that area. There was a long line and no flight personnel to be seen, so everyone just waited. And waited. Finally, the crew appeared and started loading the plane. The plane was loaded and a guy wanted to get off, causing a 45-minute delay. We left Heathrow four hours late for the nine-hour uneventful flight home to Miami.