Returning to London

October 20, 2017

This is my fourth visit to London, the third one with Hubby.

We arrived at our hotel, somewhat disheveled and not a little exhausted, at about 2:00 p.m. The wait at passport control was much longer than we've experienced before, long enough that I almost seriously considered paying the £75 annual fee for the fast-entry option. But not really; you can eat a lot of good food, even in London, for £75.

The pub was decorated for Halloween

After checking in and quick look at the condition of our folding bikes (no visible damage -- whew!) we went for lunch at a nearby pub. Dave had steak and ale pie; I had fish and chips. Both were delicious, although mine was definitely excessive. I was hungry, however, so I managed to eat a significant amount.

... and with traditional pub decor

Steak and Ale Pie

Cod and chips

After lunch, being anxious to test out the bikes, we went back to the hotel and set them up. Everything looked good, so we set out for a ride to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, touching on Kensington Palace, the Albert Memorial and the Serpentine.

We then went to Harrod's. In my ESL class we had done a listening exercise about this famous store and I'd promised the students I would buy some candy from the food hall. But first I had to show Dave the Egyptian room and the Egyptian escalator. While in the Egyptian room, I spied my sister-in-law's doppelganger. An eerie feeling.

True to my word, I bought two tins of candy for my class, as well as bars of chocolate for the daughters-in-law. As it was getting dark by this time, we hopped back on the bikes and rode through side streets back to the hotel. 

I was quite tickled, when riding down Mallord Street, a totally charming street in itself, to spot a blue plaque stating that A.A. Milne had lived there. I regret not taking a photo, but found these on an English heritage website.

I neglected to mention that our flight from Calgary to London was surprisingly pleasant. We were on the Dreamliner - the Boeing 787-9 -- and it was almost empty. The plane is more comfortable that many planes, as it is, and because there were so many empty seats, we had room to stretch out and move around. Not only that, but I'd totally forgotten that when booking the tickets I had requested a fruit platter instead of the normal meal. Score! I enjoyed this so much more than the regular airplane meal that I will do this all the time in future.

June 25 - Delft

Saturday, June 25 - Delft

Of course, this post has to be written in blue. This is another place I visited with my family when I was a child. 

We always had lots of Delft blue stuff around the house. I have a few things left, but the nature of this stuff is that it breaks. One of my Delft tiles has a classic crack that adds character, but the others are still intact. 

And, although my dad was Dutch and liked Delftware, we never did decorate a Christmas tree like this!

I began this day the same way I started out yesterday -- on the train. This time I debarked at den Haag. 

It was Veterans Day, and there were army guys (I didn't see any women) and vehicles everywhere. That was kind of interesting. There was even a guy in a kilt. He was nice enough to pose for me, as long as I photographed him from the back. Ha ha 

It was another gloomy day, but by this time I felt like I was used to the rain and cooler weather. I had bought a few items to make me more comfortable -- leggings and a warmer sweater -- so I was ready for anything the sky might deliver.

After a quick look at the military exhibition, I made my way to the bike rental shop. This shop was somewhat less salubrious than the others, and the bike I was offered seemed a bit rickety, but I swallowed my misgivings and signed the contract. (It turned out to be just fine.) 

Then I asked the rental guy about the best way to get out of town and onto the bike path to Delft. 

He told me, but once I got away from the station, I had no idea what he was talking about.

One of the military guys saw me looking puzzled and asked if he could help. I told him I wanted to ride to Delft. He said, "That's a long ride," (it's about 12 km, so not that far) and sent me in the opposite direction.

I ended up by some streetcar tracks and a multitude of choices as to bike lanes. There were no signs, but finally, using my maps app I figured out the general direction I needed to go. The nice thing about Dutch towns is that there is always a safe place to ride a bike, so at least that is not a concern. Being lost means riding on the wrong bike lane, not on a busy street with four lanes of 80 km/hour traffic. So, in other words, I think I was on the wrong bike lane, but I rode in the general direction until I finally came to some signs, one of which pointed to Delft. The street I rode on was kind of interesting, with Polish, Turkish and African shops. It didn't seem to be the nicest neighbourhood, but when you are on a bike, that is not such a big deal.

I finally got onto Delftweg, which is absolutely delightful. It runs along a canal and again, there is something new to see with every pedal stroke.

I loved all the waterlilies on this stretch of the canal.

The square here was quite busy, and there was even a traditional market underway, but first I wanted to head for the tower. I wasn't taking a chance on its closing earlier than expected.       This tower is the second highest in the Netherlands and has 376 steps, and I must admit, it is quite impressive looking. 

This is a caveat from the website: 

Physical fitness

The tower has 376 steps and reaches a height of 85 metres, so it is only appropriate for visitors with good physical fitness. There is no lift. The tower itself has a total height of 108.75 metres. 

Fortunately, although I am not as young as I once was, I am still reasonably fit, so I was ready to tackle the climb. The first set of stairs is made of wood, and this is followed by a set of stone steps.

And once at the top... the view is marvelous.

The Nieuwe Kerk (new church) from down below

I parked my bike beside the church, just behind the statue of Hugo Grotius, or Hugo the Great. He was a Dutch judge who, as far as I can tell, introduced the idea of "just war." 

The Town Hall seen from the ground

All around the square are shops featuring Delftware. The selection is quite overwhelming, so much so that I couldn't decide what to buy and ended up with just a few small things for souvenirs. 

You can get almost anything in Delft blue, it turns out!

I couldn't decide whether this delftware Nativity set was unbearably vulgar or kind of nice. I do know one thing -- it was expensive. 

To buy three pieces: Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, you would have to part with €395.00! 

I went into this shop, one of the few remaining workshops where traditional hand-painted Delftware is still made. Most of it, like almost everything else n the modern world, comes from China.

And I wandered through the market. There were the normal stalls with cheese, fruit and vegetables, baked goods, fabric and other things, but there were also a lot of used items -- lots of Delftware, some wooden shoes, Indonesian handcrafted items, etc. Prices were good and there was a pretty awesome selection of some really beautiful things. Of course, I didn't have much room so I was not tempted to buy anything, but it was fun to look.

And finally, it was time to head back to den Haag. The ride back along the canal was lovely and peaceful. And then I was back on that same street, with the ethnic shops and this temporary bike lane through a construction zone. Around here, they would just post a sign saying "sidewalk closed" and let cyclists and pedestrians tough it out, but I imagine that in a bike-dominated place like the Netherlands, that would not go over too well.

More from London

Although the area south of the Thames is full of history and old buildings, it also home to The Shard, which forms a sharp contrast to its surroundings.

After crossing the Thames via Tower Bridge and visiting the Tower and The Monument, I wandered the streets and came to St. Paul's Cathedral. It is every bit as spectacular as you would expect.

As usual, I didn't go inside, just looked at it from the outside.

In the same area as St. Paul's, I came upon the Royal Exchange (above) and the Bank of England. I kept one eye open for Mark Carney, but didn't see him.

Another war memorial...

This unusual-looking church -- St. Mary Woolnoth, built in 1727 -- was also in the same area.

 On my way back to the hotel, I had to stop in the area of Old Bond Street and The Burlington Arcade.

Any Bertie Wooster fan will remember that this is where he is forced to go to sneer at a silver cow creamer for his Aunt Dahlia.

I found the arcade and even found a shop window full of silver animals -- but no cow creamer.

  Not too far from here is London's Chinatown.

 And I am not sure where this is, although it looks like it's near Hyde Park, but this nicely painted bike lane caught my eye and made me scratch my head. Huh? Do they really expect you to ride right into that signpost?