London, Thursday, November 7, 2024
I couldn’t resist the title, although our ladies are anything but mean.
We got a surprisingly early start: everyone had slept well. When we were ready to leave the hotel, we started looking for Dan, who said he was there and looking for us! Unfortunately, after getting off the plane rather groggily at 6:30 AM, he had gone to the wrong Leonardo Royal; he was at the Tower, we were at St. Paul’s. He urged us to go ahead and he would catch up, which is what we did. Breakfast was at Paul, the St. Paul’s branch of the bakery chain. Their pastries are pretty good: fresh and warm.
The location is interesting: the arch just to the left of the cafe is the original city gate–the Ludgate–that stood at Temple Bar. When the street was widened, they moved the gate, lock, stock, and marble, to this site across the courtyard from the cathedral.
It was a very short walk down to the Blackfriars Pier, where we hopped aboard an Uber Boat headed for Greenwich. Here are a couple of crew members.
It’s always a treat seeing the city from the river, even in the fog.
The Tower, though now dwarfed by the new structures in the City, still dominates the river.
Some of us were glad not to be entering through the Traitor’s Gate.
Once in Greenwich, Sarah and the girls toured the Cutty Sark, one of the last Tea Clippers built for the China trade.
That’s them, the specks to the left in the bow.
On to the Old Royal Naval college, built between 1696-1712 by Christopher Wren; the main quandrangle, seen below, was described by UNESCO as the “finest and most dramatically sited architectural and landscape ensemble in the British Isles.” The ensemble served as a hospital for naval pensioners until 1889.
The complex has two spectacular spaces open to the public. The first is called the Painted Hall, designed by Wren in the early 18th century and painted by Sir James Thornill.
The ceiling in the lower hall is a piece of extraordinary Baroque propaganda.
The theme is peace and prosperity. William and Mary, coregents, sit at the center. If you look closely, you’ll see that William’s foot rests on the neck of a figure with a broken sword. This is a thinly veiled portrait of King Louis IV of France. So much for peace!
A tunnel through the undercroft of the complex leads to the chapel. Along the way lies a skittles court, constructed as recreation for the pensioners. Viv asked the guard if the girls could try it…and sure enough, they were soon launching balls (originally practice cannon balls) merrily toward the pins (originally belaying pins from the masts and sails).
As we entered the chapel, we were greeted by an extraordinary baritone voice in the middle of a Verdi aria: a student from the University of Greenwich Conservatory singing for his teacher. The chapel dates from a later time; destroyed by fire, it was redone after 1779 by James “Athenian” Stuart in Neo-classical style.
The town of Greenwich is almost as nice as the Old Naval College. The girls never saw a market they didn’t like, and the Greenwich Market certainly fit the bill.
After dragging them out of the shops, we had a nice lunch at the Coach and Horses, one of the many pubs in the center.
Docklands Light Rail and the Tube brought us back to the West End. We walked through Leicester Square, with a slight detour into the Lego Store. Here is James Bond behind the wheel of her Aston Martin DB5.
And here are two extraordinary queens posing together.
A young man treated us to some impressive magic tricks.
After walking through the Christmas Market in the Square, we strolled past the National Portrait Galley and into St. Martin’s in the Fields (no music, alas). Dan had popped into the Portrait Gallery for a quick introduction while we explored Trafalgar Square at dusk.
We saw the last of the light at Piccadilly Circus. We were of course now in prime shopping territory, and progress was slow.
We worked out way down Piccadilly, making one essential stop. In Hatchard’s, along with Fortnum and Mason one of the street’s two oldest establishments, dating form 1801. The interior retains much of its nineteenth century character, but they have made way for things besides books. Namely, a find selection of Paddington Bears. Ingrid made a find choice, a Paddington with his suitcase already packed to accompany us on our travels. Here he is the next day atop the London eye.
Needless to say, Paddington joined us on all our subsequent adventures.
And here is the motley crew outside Hatchard’s.
We then made an obligatory tea stop at Fortnum’s, which was crowded with pre-Christmas shoppers.
Back up Piccadilly, and left into Regent Street, and…the Christmas Lights were hanging but not yet alight. Viv found a couple of shops that matched her style, and popped in without finding that perfect thing. That brought us to Hamley’s, London’s best known toy store. You pay only a 50% surcharge for each item, all for the knowledge that it came from Hamley’s!
But the demonstrations are always fun. A young man treated us to some pretty impressive magic tricks.
And the dancing elves are always a hit with the younger set.
When we emerged from the phantasmagoria of toy capitalism, the Christmas Lights were ablaze on Regent Street!
Dinner was at a new place, and what a find! The Brasserie Zédel is just north of Piccadilly Circus. The proprietors–the same team that had renovated The Wolesley, another of our favorite places in Central London–had taken over an enormous underground space that had once belonged to a luxury hotel. As you descend, you pass a large bar and a cabaret.
Then you step into a glowing, vibrating space, the brasserie proper.
The huge space–they can do 200 covers at a sitting–is ablaze with elegant lights, marble, and gilding (they allegedly spent 275,000 pounds on 23k gold). And the food just about matches the space: good versions of French brasserie fare. We shared some rabbit rillettes; Dan had a hachis parmentière (a kind of French shepherd’s pie so that Iggles could eat the mashed potatoes), Sue some nice sardines, Sarah boeuf bourguignon, Viv a steak with a bordelais sauce, and I a fabulous choucroute with every kind of pork imaginable. Our waitress was absolutely lovely. I would say that this is a great stop for anyone with kids.
We returned on the tube, tired but happy; here is the night view from St. Paul’s onto Millennium Bridge, with the Tate Modern a murky presence in the background.
