London Symphony plays at St Paul's Cathedral

[Melensdad]

Got to London yesterday and was able to meet up with my sister for a long conversation and dinner (she gets married July 6), afterwards we had tickets to see the London Symphony play at St Paul's Cathedral. OK, I'll admit it, I was falling asleep during the concert. But it was jet lag!

I don't have the ability to download the images from my camera, but here are some iPhone pictures.

 

[bczoom]

That place is beautiful! How are the acoustics in it?

 

[NorthernRedneck]

Nice...hope you have a great trip.

 

[Melensdad]

That place is beautiful! How are the acoustics in it?

The acoustics are amazing. This is not an echo chamber type cathedral where sounds fight each other. I was worried that would be the case as many I have been to have been difficult to hear clearly because sounds seems to fight themselves as they bounce off the polished stone walls, columns, floors, etc.

But this seems very different in design that many of the gothic type cathedrals like Notre Dame in Paris, York Minster in York, or Westminster (also in London).

 

[Melensdad]

Following the music theme, we went to Royal Albert Hall today and took a tour, got to see the Queen's box, Queen's private room, Queens private staircase, etc. Pictures inside are strictly forbidden but I snapped one with my phone that was blurry, its the Queen's staircase, go down and it takes you her private entrance, but go up and it goes to her private royal pooper!

Also saw the Royal College of Music, College of Organists, walked through Hyde Park, saw the famous "Speakers Corner", visited the Wellington Arch and several other war memorials, the saddest of which was the Service Animal War Memorial.

Dinner was traditional Fish & Chips and now we are back at our apartment, which is located in one of the best food districts in all of London ==> THE POLISH NEIGHBORHOOD. We have Polish delis all around us and it feels just like being in Chicago!

 

[OhioTC18]

Keep those pictures coming Bob, they are super.

 

[pirate_girl]

Very nice

 

[EastTexFrank]

Bob, when you were at the Royal Albert Hall you were right across the street from where I did my Masters in Petroleum Engineering at the Royal School of Mines, next door to the Royal School of Music. As I remember it, the students union bar used to close at 2 o'clock which fortunately was the time that the bar in the Royal School of Music used to open. So, it was possible to start drinking beer at lunch and carry right through the day, not that I ever did of course. Man, those were good times but they were a long time ago, thank the Lord. Wouldn't have missed them for the world though.

Where is the Polish neighborhood????

Keep the photos coming. They bring back good memories.

 

[pirate_girl]

If I am not mistaken Frank (and I cannot speak for Bob) it's SW London- Wandsworth.
I have never been inside Royal Albert Hall, but enjoyed a picnic on the grass in that park just north of there.

 

[Melensdad]

Where is the Polish neighborhood????

North of the river. Surrounding the Ravensourt Park tube stop. If you know where Kennsington Palace is, its not too far southwest of there, due west of Gloucester Road (where several Embassies reside). We didn't walk there (because we visited it a couple times on our last visit), but Kennsington palace is just under 1 mile east by north east right up Hammersmith road. Wimbledon Common is about 1.5 miles due south. Kew Royal Botanical Gardens are about 1.5 miles west by southwest. If I understand it correctly, the neighborhood is called Hammersmith, Chiswick is to our west, West Kennsington to our east.

 

[Melensdad]

Got to see Westminster Abbey today and it was fantastic. Of the thousands of visitors who go there, between 80 and 100 get to take small group tours. Just out of dumb luck we were in one of those small group tours and had one of the Abbey Vergers give us our tour, there are 9 Vergers at Westminster. Being with him we were able to get into places where the public is not permitted, which gave us a bit of extra appreciation for what we saw, because he detailed much more of the history of the Abbey than we'd have otherwise gotten.

The Abbey is built around the tomb/chapel of St Edward the Confessor. Our little church in Lowell is dedicated to the same Saint. Oddly enough, Saint Edward is a Catholic saint but the church is not a Catholic church. Only because we were with the Verger were we allowed into the chapel of St Edward, which is an elevated chapel located above and behind the main alter of the church but hidden by a large screen and crypts of several kings and queens of England. If not for a wooden staircase you'd never know the chapel existed.

No photos allowed, but I managed to take some iPhone pics OUTSIDE of the Cathedral, one through a set of open doors!

 

[EastTexFrank]

North of the river. Surrounding the Ravensourt Park tube stop. If you know where Kennsington Palace is, its not too far southwest of there, due west of Gloucester Road (where several Embassies reside). We didn't walk there (because we visited it a couple times on our last visit), but Kennsington palace is just under 1 mile east by north east right up Hammersmith road. Wimbledon Common is about 1.5 miles due south. Kew Royal Botanical Gardens are about 1.5 miles west by southwest. If I understand it correctly, the neighborhood is called Hammersmith, Chiswick is to our west, West Kennsington to our east.

I never knew. I lived at Bolton Gardens in South Kensington for 3 years before and after attending college. It was only a 15 minute walk from flat to school. I had a very good friend who was Polish but his parents and grandparents lived in a Polish enclave in the East End and he was essentially a Polish Cockney. Now that's quite a mix.

Keep the photos coming. I was in London last spring and will probably be there again next year but it's been a long time since I did the tourist thing there. I'm really enjoying your travelogue.

 

[Melensdad]

Frank, Tomorrow we are supposed to go up to Oxford to see the college with Melen. She may be back next summer to attend a summer program at Oxford. Figured while we are this close we might as well spend the day looking around the city and campus.

We hate the tourist tours, but obviously want to see the main sights so we tend to rent in neighborhoods, shop in local markets and travel on local transport. Not really living here, but not doing the tourist-trap thing either.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Frank, Tomorrow we are supposed to go up to Oxford to see the college with Melen. She may be back next summer to attend a summer program at Oxford. Figured while we are this close we might as well spend the day looking around the city and campus.

You guys will love Oxford.

 

[pirate_girl]

North of the river. Surrounding the Ravensourt Park tube stop. If you know where Kennsington Palace is, its not too far southwest of there, due west of Gloucester Road (where several Embassies reside). We didn't walk there (because we visited it a couple times on our last visit), but Kennsington palace is just under 1 mile east by north east right up Hammersmith road. Wimbledon Common is about 1.5 miles due south. Kew Royal Botanical Gardens are about 1.5 miles west by southwest. If I understand it correctly, the neighborhood is called Hammersmith, Chiswick is to our west, West Kennsington to our east.

So you are/were further north than I'd thought.
That part of London is pretty boring.. IMO, but you did get some nice pics of The Abbey.
Are you driving around London yourself, or what?
I have never driven in central London, nor would Steve.
We'd come in from the M1 right into Staples Cnr.. then head toward Hampstead and stay in the youth hostel- Golders Green, just a walk from that tube station.

 

[Melensdad]

We are tubing in/around London, not driving.

Today was Oxford, just got back from a whole day there. Loved it. Looking forward to Cambridge (at the end of our trip after Scotland). Below are some of today's photos. The campus is amazingly beautiful but I was surprised that all the green spaces are behind tall stone walls. I guess given the history of the city, its medieval walls still intact, it makes some sense. We managed to get into 2 or 3 of the "colleges" at Oxford, plus part of the Library building. Didn't see nearly enough, but as the students are taking their final exams I suppose its not unreasonable to keep tourists at bay.

 

[Melensdad]

More from Oxford

 

[pirate_girl]

We are tubing in/around London, not driving.

Good pics Bob.
Who is the lady daring to etch on a wall?
Melen is a doll.. 'course you already know that.
Thanks for posting more pictures.
Oxford reminds me a lot of Bath and Chesterfield.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Thank you Bob. Great photos. I haven't been in Oxford for over 25 years but as you found out, parts of it haven't changed much in the last 500 years. Last time I was there was with my M-I-L and wife's uncle. It was during the summer and all or most of the students were gone. We were pretty much free to wander around the place. It was a wonderful, memorable day.

So, you're going up north to God's country. I can hardly wait.

 

[Melensdad]

We didn't make it to the castle, instead we made it to the Queen's Gallery, where some of her private art collection resides, then we went to the Royal Mews, which is the stable for the horses and cars for the royals. It struck me that BigAl's garage is probably something like the Royal Mews, large, elaborate and well stocked. Then over to Buckingham Palace just to say we saw it. They wouldn't let me in to see the Queen. I dunno why. Then a walk through the park, hop on the tube, etc etc etc

The highlight of the day was finding this in the supermarket

 

[Melensdad]

No exciting photos today. Took the train from London to Woking to visit my sister and attend a picnic at her home. The street she lives on is so narrow that the cab driver would not drive up to the house and dropped us 3 doors short at the corner.

My sister's fiance is a really nice guy, got to meet his parents, his sister and her family, plus a bunch of friends. As he is an international pilot for British Airways many of the guests were from around the world, Australia, France, USA, Japan, etc. Looks like this may be a fun wedding . . . the wedding is Wednesday.

We are leaving London early Tuesday to move closer to the wedding venue. Not sure if I'll have internet when I leave here.

Thursday we get on an early train to head up to Wales and will be staying with Anita/ICE QUEEN for a few days. She has quite a long day scheduled of sightseeing but we are looking forward to seeing those sites. We leave her and head to Birmingham where we catch a flight to Glasglow. After we get to Glasgow we pick up a car and head up to our cottage on the shore of Loch Lomond.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXGVFJqSqqg&feature=related"]YouTube - ‪The Corries - Loch Lomond‬‏[/ame]

I believe we will have internet at the cottage. We are hoping to relax at the cottage but also hoping to head up to the Isle of Iona for a day trip. It would be a long full day, but its supposed to be one of the most inspiring and spiritual places in the UK.

http://www.isle-of-iona.com/

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FmGrG5zT1Q&feature=related"]YouTube - ‪The Holy Isle of Iona, Scotland‬‏[/ame]

 

[EastTexFrank]

My Lord Bob but you're busy.

I hope that your sister's wedding goes well and you all have a great time.

Say "hi" to Anita from all of us when you get to Wales.

Ah, the Corries. I had trouble playing the video but it really wasn't needed. I have most of their music going way back to the Folk Trio and Paddy Bell. I can still remember the the first time I took my wife to one of their concerts. She had never seen anything like it. It's a pity that Roy Williamson had to die so young.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs are beautiful ... if the sun shines. It's a great place to recharge and it sounds as if you'll need to rest up a mite.

I've never been to Iona although once, many moons ago, I did sail past it.

Take lots and lots of pictures. I'm enjoying your vacation almost as much as you are.

 

[Melensdad]

Iona may be a bit of a reach, its about 4 hours each way from our cottage, so we'll have to start early and end late if we are going to spend a day there. Hoping to make it!

I'd really like to get up to the Orkney Islands one day, but that won't happen this trip.

 

[Melensdad]

Well things are not going well today. Melen's blood sugar is climbing today. We were on the Tube heading for Windsor Castle and Melen's blood sugar went over 300 so we turned around to change her insulin supply tubing and injection site. We had also planned to hit the Globe Theater today too.

We'll sit home for a little while, change her tubing, and then probably head out again in an hour or two.

 

[Melensdad]

We got back out of the apartment the second time today about noon and made it to Windsor Castle.

So just one question, why don't they have air conditioning in England? And why the heck can't they at least air condition the trains? On hot days even the freshest people will begin to 'glow' on the trains and by the end of the day that 'glow' of perspiration tends to stink too. I'm just sayin...

 

[Melensdad]

And from inside the castle walls...

Tomorrow we leave London and head to the wedding venue. There are pre-wedding activities lined up for tomorrow afternoon/evening. Wednesday is the actual wedding.

Thursday we hop on a train and arrive in Wales at 15:35, hopefully Anita/ICE QUEEN will find us at the train and not be afraid of my new, and very grey, beard and run away.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Thank you Bob, that brought back memories too.

As for the a/c, it's not usually necessary for the two weeks a year that we call summer. Besides, before they modernized, you used to be able to drop the windows and get some air. .... and people used to wear heavier and more concealing clothes, not T-shits and shorts, which helped to keep the "glow" under "restraint".

Enjoy your sister's wedding.

 

[pirate_girl]

So just one question, why don't they have air conditioning in England?

Yeah, or public drinking fountains..
Loving the pics Bob.

 

[pirate_girl]

As for the a/c, it's not usually necessary for the two weeks a year that we call summer.

Nor are window screens. They don't exist.
Daddy long legs and other bugs coming in freely through open windows. lol

 

[Melensdad]

We left London and are now sitting in Farnham where the wedding will take place. Not sure what happens next but I'm hungry!