This Time I Saw London.
By James Feinberg
Photos by Hal Drucker, unless otherwise credited.

© London Eye

DAY 1

Jet lag confused me to the point where I didn’t really understand what was going on, but a while in London woke me up and then slowed me down to the point where I fell asleep instantly when I reached the Marriott Grosvenor Square, (but only after trying out a lackluster burger at Auberge on 6-8 St. Christopher’s Street).

Take a Ride on the Magic Tour Bus.

The Big Bus of London is both a stream of information and an informative time machine. Our 2 ½ hour tour began and terminated at Marble Arch and Bond Street.

A confusing, chaotic, spectacular urban ride - what could it be but Big Bus’s London tour? The expedition into the centers (literally) of both London and England itself presents a satisfactory introduction to the diverse and cultural maverick city, guiding the rider through the high points of everything you might wish to encounter upon journeying to the capital of the UK. Passing by the Tower of London, the London Eye, Big Ben, and much more, with the guide’s eccentric and yet comforting voice blaring in the background, you could not help but be captivated as you are informed of the back-stories of the monuments you grew up learning about, but somehow about which you never learned the exact purpose. (Big Ben, to add to the traveler’s array of knowledge, is the name of the Parliamentary clock’s bell and not the clock itself.) None can resist its allure and complete thoroughness when it comes to the city’s history and culture.

The lines are long and the stop locations are misleading, but I enjoyed the bus greatly. I’ll admit that, at times, the guide was completely unintelligible. I’ll also admit that the four front seats on the top, which provide an incredible view through the higher front window, are far superior to any side or even outside seats the bus could provide. (Go for them while you can!) Apart from the confusion, the Big Bus is an amazing lesson on London for newcomers and even those who have visited many times before.

DAY 2

After inhaling a buttery croissant at Allan’s, the quaint tea parlour at 75 Duke Street, across the street from the Marriott, we headed out for an extensive day in the heart of the city, as we ventured to a museum, a playhouse, and what might be called a Ferris Wheel.


Underground
The Cabinet War Rooms
Imperial War Museum
& Winston Churchill Museum
Clive Steps, King Charles St.
Tube: Westminster Station
Click here: Churchill War Rooms Home Page

Inspecting the Royal Marine who “guards” the Cabinet door.	Winnie’s bedroom with mounted war map.

Evidently in London their space is so important that many major locations must be underground. Such locations include, for a start, a theater near the Statue of Eros in the center of the city and, of course, the Cabinet War Rooms Imperial War Museum underneath Whitehall. The underground bunker was used during World War II as a meeting place for Winston Churchill and his War Cabinet at the time, and is protected by a six-foot-deep slab of concrete and metal against bomb attacks, although it was never targeted. The War Rooms are a historical wild ride through the fear, the solemnity, and somehow, the fun, that was the lifestyle of those who lived and worked underneath the English seat of government for almost six years. The museum has gone into such intricate detail in its re-creations of the bunker (and sometimes its preserving of rooms left untouched) that the visitor will be astounded by it all. Occasionally, though, it can seem like a barrage of information that simply doesn’t end.

A 1920 political poster lampooning Churchill and his many hats in the admiralty, air ministry, munitions, and as a prolific painter.	The new museum contains many intriguing interactive devices.
The Map Room, up close and personal.

Churchill and Roosevelt kept in continuous touch below ground via a special phone hook-up.	The statue of FDR is in Grosvenor Square Park, minutes away from our hotel and the U. S. embassy.

In addition to the exploration of Churchill’s wartime workplace (with the free and necessary audio tour), a hall that veers off the middle of the exhibit leads to the Queen-sanctified Winston Churchill Museum, an interactive guide to Churchill’s 90-year life. Being relatively new (having just been opened in 2005), the museum was filled to the brim with astoundingly relevant technology and, perhaps more important, air conditioning. The five exhibits in the Churchill Museum include well-preserved artifacts as well as a continuation of the extensive audio tour. It was very well-designed and well-researched, much like its sister museum. My one beef with it was its location - back in the middle of the War Rooms tour, so that one had to double back after completing one’s walk through the bunker and then head back to the end of the War Rooms after finishing the Churchill Museum. To which Senior Press Officer for the Churchill War Rooms Nicola Osmond-Evans was good enough to respond: “James, the route has options and it would seem you might have peeled off into the museum earlier and then left it to rejoin the rest of the route. It’s worth bearing in mind that the area was not built recently from scratch. We are working with a layout that originally existed for quite different purposes - and the appeal is that you are quite literally walking in Churchill’s footsteps.” What Ms. Osmond-Evans is suggesting is that we should have stopped in the middle of the War Rooms tour and gone to the Churchill Museum, then gone back and continued with the War Rooms. That doesn't change my opinion that it was just irritating.

Swan Lake of Sauce
The Swan at the Globe Brasserie works swimmingly for me
21 New Globe Walk
Bankside
www.swanattheglobe.co.uk

I had my doubts at first, as the fancy restaurant almost never turns out to be really good, but the Swan at Shakespeare’s Globe delivered and more to outdo itself for one delicious lunch. With a charming atmosphere and a view of the Thames and St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Swan added a lovely and beautifully decorated location to its remarkable fare. The service was mediocre and the fries not much more than potatoes, but the lamb made up for it all. The lamb! Ah, the lamb. One could not ask for a better, sweeter, chewier lamb than the one served at the Swan. Surely the best food I’ve had in London so far.

I was privileged enough to visit the restaurant on my way to Shakespeare’s Globe, in which the Swan is within its grounds. The Globe was amazing (see below), but I don’t want to drag the Swan down- it was pretty great too. I can still taste that lamb, by the way. Just a little bit, in the back of my mouth. I’d advise you to take a look at Swan if you’re in the area.

St. Paul’s is viewable from the Globe’s Swan’s Brasserie.	Among the “groundlings” at the Globe Theatre are Alice Drucker (foreground) and Stella Richards (center) a friend of my grandparents and a  famed London theatrical manager. She in turn introduced us to Neil Constable, Chief Executive of the Shakespeare Global Trust which oversees the theater and its performance schedule.

Visit Thee? By Thy Commandment Alone Shall I Live. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is all it’s cracked up to be.
New Globe Walk
Shakespeares-globe.org

© Shakespeare Global Trust
Sam Wanamaker was a great American actor and an even greater Patriot, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era and moved to the UK where he was the force behind the faithful reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London. His daughter Zoë is a classical theater performer and a perennial screen presence as Madame Hooch in the Harry Potter series.

There is such interesting history behind the Shakespeare’s Globe (built thanks to the efforts of Sam Wanamaker) that it would be impossible not to enjoy a tour of the full theater and its modern foyer. Its message and craft go back so far that no one could be uninterested in its inner workings, its past, and the shows performed there. Since the original theater burned down in 1613, the Globe has been known of worldwide and wished for by many. Now I have gotten the chance to see the stage, the seats, and the balconies, and it is amazing. So is it any surprise I give it an amazing review?

The theater was rebuilt almost to the letter beginning in early 1997. Unfortunately, its main patron, Mr. Wanamaker was not alive to see it open (as he died in 1993), but he would be proud of its loyalty to the Elizabethan design. Everything but the floor of the theater, which is now concrete where it should be a mixture of sand, ash, and hazelnut shells - is built exactly as it would have been in Shakespeare’s time. The open, fire-retardant, thatch-roofed building is so impressive that I wished I could have stayed and looked at it longer. I regret that the shows only run from April-October and that I couldn’t see one.

People appear as ants, the Thames a stream, and Big Ben a wristwatch.

It’s astounding. As the pod climbs the side of the Eye, a better and better view is acquired until you reach the top, and it’s all downhill from there. People appear as ants, the Thames a stream and Big Ben a wristwatch. The ride is slow enough to truly appreciate where you are and what you’re seeing, and high enough to see most of London. The wheel even takes your picture at the end, though I was the only person to pose or even to get into the Photo Zone. I put two thumbs up and grinned like a maniac. We ended up buying the picture.

While fresh in my mind, every evening I typed up my day’s activities and adventures on my trusty laptop.

DAY 3

A full and exciting day took us all over central London, from palaces to churches to theaters.

Some of it was amazing and amusing …
… like unexpectedly bumping into Nita and Steve Lowey, longtime friends of my grandparents and parents of Jackie, longtime friend of my mother’s. Less than 48 hours earlier Rep. Lowey had – as expected – defeated her opponent and readied herself for her 12th term in a distinguished career in the House.

Some, well, not so amazing. Like breakfast at Richoux’s…
A Toast (Of Sorts)
Richoux’s pleasant decor doesn’t do much for its barely adequate servings.
41a South Audley Street
Off Grosvenor Square, Mayfair

Richoux, a restaurant near where my grandparents and I stayed, was a beautiful location - nicely decorated, with excellent service and kindly workers, but frankly the food I chose didn’t do much for me. The French Toast was slightly burnt in the middle and even more so on the sides, and the hot chocolate had a strange tang unfamiliar to my taste. Even the strawberries weren’t as firm as I had hoped they would be. Though perhaps I had chosen a meal not quite right for me, I had hoped that food as filling as French Toast would keep me going for the long day ahead of me. I expected more of Richoux. Some of Richoux’s possible foodstuffs didn’t look terrible. Perhaps I should have opted for the croissant, or some other breakfast. But I tell ‘em like I see ‘em (or, in this case, taste ‘em) and I didn’t get what I really wanted from Richoux, which was a delicious first meal of the day. I feel that if a restaurant doesn’t deliver, you shouldn’t bother. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned that way.

The Queen’s Guards’ military band played The Beatles’ Michelle, Ma Belle in march time and it was delightful. Photo: James Feinberg.

I had heard a lot about the Changing of the Guard before I arrived at Buckingham Palace at 10:50 in the morning. One thing I didn’t expect, however, was the insanely gigantic crowd surrounding the gates of the Palace when we arrived forty minutes early. Another was the half-an-hour length of the ceremony, which kept me on my toes- literally, to see over people’s heads - for the majority of the Changing. I was lucky enough to make my way to the front after about 20 minutes of jumping to see even the tops of the guards’ hats, where I saw the last part of the musical portion. It was very entertaining, if the rest of it wasn’t.

I’m sorry to say that what I saw of the Changing of the Guard was ridiculously stiff and, at times, somewhat boring. While the music was well-conducted and well-played, the Changing was essentially a mobile man screaming unintelligible commands at a group of immobile men while another mobile man on the other side of the front lawn did the same thing. It might have seemed elegant and graceful had I been able to see the whole thing at once. I was crowded so far up to the front that my face was stuck between two bars for ten minutes. Elegant though it may have been, it was even more uncomfortable.

If you’re thinking about bringing your kids, grandkids, friends, or family to the Changing of the Guard (which occurs on odd-numbered days in November from 11:30 to 12:00), make sure they have the stamina for it. For that matter, make sure you do as well.

Dear Abbey
Westminster Abbey is a great tour.

Broad Sanctuary, SW1, London www.Westminster-abbey.org	A partial view of The Poets’ Corner. © Westminster Abbey

One thing about Westminster Abbey you should know- there’s a lot of dead people. The 500-foot-long, cross-shaped church has about 3,300 people buried beneath its floors, including writers Rudyard Kipling and Charles Dickens, scientists Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton, and kings and queens like Mary, Queen of Scots and King Henry VII. It’s a lovely space, with wonderful architecture on the ceilings (the Chapel of Our Lady has an incredible one) and mosaics on the floors (check out the main altar stage where the kings and queens of the country have their coronations). The Verger tour of the Abbey is very interesting, and to see names you know on the floors is exciting. Only at the Abbey could graves be so commonplace that they are walked over as if they are part of the floor,

The exception to this rule, of course, is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The tomb hosts a soldier whose name and rank is not known. He was brought home from the WWI battlefield and buried here to stand for all of the soldiers who have lost their lives in wars England has fought. The soldier won a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor. His is the one grave that is not walked on, as a sign of respect.

Westminster Abbey is full not only of bodies, but also history. The Abbey is one of the best locations I’ve visited so far.

Everyone Makes Mistakes
For The Ivy restaurant, maybe the third time’s the charm.
1-5 West St.
www.the-ivy.co.uk/

Were it not for a Good Samaritan with a smartphone whom we turned to in desperation we might have missed our entrees and the first act of War Horse. The gentleman walked several blocks out of his way to escort us to the The Ivy, to ensure we got there. For your sanity, the nearest tube station is Leicester Square. Leave by Exit 3 and turn right. Walk up Charing Cross Road and take the 2nd turning on your right into Litchfield Street. The entrance to the restaurant is around the left hand corner on West Street, opposite St Martin's Theatre.

There are many things on the menu in Covent Garden’s The Ivy, a (normally) five-star restaurant near the theater playing Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap for an eternity. They include liver, duck salad, and lamb rump. As the first was unappetizing, the second just weird, and the third a meal from yesterday, I decided to go classic with the ‘’Ivy burger.’’ Unfortunately, there were some mishaps. I can’t blame the restaurant- they tried, after all- but there were just a few things wrong with the original burger, and then the second burger, they brought me.

The first burger looked fine, but then I was delivered a large gravy boat filled with what seemed to be ketchup (I had ordered ketchup to go with my burger and fries). Too late I was informed that it was actually “ketchup [mixed with] your American mustard.” This was when I had already spooned the substance onto my burger, so, being repulsed by mustard, I asked for another burger. The second, though I didn’t realize it until after I had finished it, was both covered in onions and had a bun covered with what appeared to be chives. The fries, however, were spectacular.

Perhaps I judged them too harshly. Perhaps they didn’t hear correctly- the restaurant was loud, after all- when I said “ketchup” and “no vegetables.” Perhaps they assumed that was what I would enjoy. But I do have one thing to thank them for. The Ivy has given me a new restaurant motto: “Never trust a mysterious viscous substance in a gravy boat.”

© National Theatre

A Horse at War.
War Horse is a masterpiece.
New London Theatre
Drury Lane.
www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/london_shows/show/item103686/War-Horse/

It’s a play, and a musical, and a puppet show, and a war. War Horse has literally everything, and there’s nothing to regret about this incredible display of talent and craftsmanship. Documenting the story of a boy whose horse is sent to fight in World War One, War Horse uses enormous puppets, which are controlled by three people who work together with the elegance of ballet dancers. The show’s acting is superb, and its occasional singing of British battle songs merely livens up an already excellent time. Even jokes are littered throughout the wartime epic, and the audience loves them. War Horse does absolutely everything right, and there’s not one thing they scrimp on.

The special effects are amazing, if a little loud, and the puppetry cannot be matched. The horses are so realistic that you begin to believe in them. The goose is so real that you begin to sympathize with it when it gets the door slammed in its face. This show is amazing. I am not exaggerating when I say it is the best play I’ve ever seen. And to top it off, Stella Richards arranged for us to sit dead center in the same orchestra row in which the Queen viewed it.

DAY 4

Today was much quieter than yesterday, and we spent a lot of time in the Underground as we traveled to far corners of London for classic excursions to famous monuments and locations.

Tower of Strength
The Tower of London is a low-pressure, fun day trip.
Tower Hill
www.tower-of-london.org.uk
Tube: Tower Hill Station

	© Tower of London
	© Tower of London

We slept late the morning of our outing to the Tower of London, which proved to be a good move as the lines were far shorter than we had expected. Upon arriving we waited only a short time before the beginning of our tour of the grounds, which was led by a self-proclaimed ‘yeoman.’ The yeomen, glorified in song by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, police the tower and have lived and worked there for 900 years. These men even have a doctor living inside the gates in the event of an emergency, for the gates are locked at night and they are unable to leave. Our yeoman gave us an exciting and fascinating tour, showing us buildings such as the White Tower and several others of the 20 towers in the Tower of London. ( No, there’s not only one.)

After the tour ended we left the group immediately for Bowyer Tower (the tower built by the Duke of Wellington on the premises in the 1840s), the tower that holds the crown jewels. The jewels are amazingly well protected, but a journey into the vault shows that they are also well kept. Numerous golden gifts of loyalty to past kings and queens keep crowns, scepters, orbs, robes, and - you guessed it - keep the jewels company. After leaving the jewels, we visited the legendary ravens, which are said to protect the welfare of the kingdom, the monarchy, and the White Tower. The Tower of London hosts many other attractions, and all are appropriate for a stimulating day out.

A Man’s Food is His Castle.
Il Castelletto Italian Restaurant
17 Bury Place; One Block from British Museum.

An unlikely find down the road from the British Museum, Il Castelletto serves delicious traditional Italian dishes for all ages. Their pizza was uncommonly flavorful, and the bread was warm and appetizing, accented by the butter to a very high degree. The restaurant’s wait staff made the meal even more pleasant. They themselves speak English, Italian, and Spanish, to cater to types who frequent their pizzeria. Even the decoration was pleasing, and featured all sorts of Italian pictures and paintings, with soothing maroon wallpaper in the background.

Even though the service itself was a bit slow, the restaurant and its food charmed me. It was small and reminded one somewhat of a fancy restaurant in miniature. If you visit the British Museum, try out Il Castelletto. It’s down Bury Place across the street from the museum. It’s unexpectedly great!

The British Museum has Maintained its Charm.
Great Russell St
www.britishmuseum.org
Tube: Tottenham Court Road

The Rosetta Stone

Thomas Young, an English physicist, was the first to show that some of the hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone wrote the sounds of a royal name, that of Ptolemy. The French scholar Jean-François Champollion then realized that hieroglyphs recorded the sound of the Egyptian language and laid the foundations of our knowledge of ancient Egyptian language and culture.

Every Clock Has Its Day
“Clocks and Watches” at the British Museum is a compelling exhibit.

The Holy Roman Emperor is seated on a throne beneath a canopy. A procession of German princes pass by three heralds. At the base of the main mast a clock shows the time. Sailors in the crow’s nests use hammers to strike the hours quarters on inverted bells.	The original rolling ball clock, circa 1820, was designed by William Congreve. The ball takes 30 seconds to roll from one end of the table to the other. At each end a catch is released, enabling the mechanism to tip the table the other way so the ball rolls back. The ball travels about 2,500 miles each year.

In the British Museum, just off the Money exhibit on the 3rd floor, lies a gripping exhibition on the history of timepieces in Europe. The exhibit includes amazing clocks and explanations of how they work. It even incorporates a massive clock stripped down to its inner workings. Though the clock rings regardless of the time, it does ring, and loudly. Upon a random time, the colossal weight drags down on a hammer, causing it to ring the bell deafeningly.

Within the exhibit one might find many interesting clocks. One is an automaton that is shaped like a golden galleon, about two feet long and a foot tall. Upon the hour, figures on the boat would proceed along its deck as if taking part in a parade, after which the boat would propel itself along whatever surface it was resting on and then ‘fire’ its ‘cannons’ one by one. Another interesting clock is the Rolling Ball Clock, which tells time terribly but is interesting to watch as a ball rolls back and forth along the inside of the clock to inform the hands of what time it is). The clocks and watches of this little-known hall are remarkably intriguing.

How does a mechanical watch work? Click link below, or copy and paste the following to see an animation from the British Museum, that explains how.
www.britishmuseum.org/explore/galleries/themes/room_38-9_clocks_and_watches/watches_animation/play_all.aspx

© Rules

Rules, London’s oldest privately owned restaurant, dates back to the late 1780s when Thomas Rule opened an oyster bar in the heart of what is today Covent Garden. Passed into the hands of his sons and then grandsons, the bar remained in the family’s hands for well into the 1910s, when Charles Bell decided to trade businesses with Tom Bell, a British man who owned a restaurant in Paris. Rules then passed to Tom’s daughter, Patricia, who then sold it to Jon Mayhew in 1984. Mayhew has owned Rules to this day. Throughout the years, the 221-year-old ‘oyster bar’ has been owned by only three families, but has remained popular- and rightly so - for all two centuries of it.

Rules’ rib-eye steak is slightly tough but delicious. Its fries are crisped to a T, and delectable. The service is as good as it can be, and the staff is likeable. In short, in all the time it has existed, Rules has lost none of its charm or scrumptiousness. There is nowhere better to go in the Covent Garden area.

DAY 5

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Rd.
www.vam.ac.uk

After an early wake-up and a half-an-hour visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum, we were off to the airport and the trip was over. It was fun while it lasted!

CHEERIO!

We thank the following professionals who contributed their precious time and considerable efforts on behalf of mykindofholiday.com in London.
James Feinberg & Hal Drucker

Nicola Osmond-Evans, Cabinet War Rooms; Robin Vermeire, London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor; Victoria Ribbans, Westminster Abbey; Stella Richards, Stella Richards Management; Leah Larkin, London Eye; Francesca Maguire, Globe Theatre.