April in London – Part 1

One of the best parts about having your daughter do a semester abroad is that you have an excuse to cross the pond. Put that child in RADA’s Shakespeare program, then realize your visit coincides with Shakespeare’s birthday, and you begin to feel that the Bard himself has conspired to make that visit one of the most memorable, if not short, vacations you’ve ever taken.

It was just my mother-in-law Irene and I on this trip, and while we had a marvelous time together, we missed Mr TBTAM and my other daughter, who would have loved every minute of this vacation.

Where we stayed

The Academy, 21 Gower Street in Bloomsbury

If you want to hang with the locals, but still be close enough to walk to Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square and the British Museum, with easy access to buses or the tube to take you anywhere else you want to go, then Bloomsbury is where you want to stay. It’s the home of the University of London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, so the streets are teeming with students and academic types. Needless to say, I felt right at home.

Our hotel was absolutely wonderful – a linked series of five townhouses, with small but lovely rooms, a conservatory and garden for relaxing or taking your morning coffee, and a restaurant.

Not to mention free wireless internet, great towels and fresh bottled water left at your door each evening by the small, personable staff.

However, in typical British fashion, the place had its quirks, with smallish rooms, a tiny-tiny bathroom, a shower that never really got hot-hot, and perpetually cold hallways due to ill-fitted front doors in the townhouses that let the air in all day and night. (I really think the Brits just don’t feel the cold the way we Yanks do…) None of which took away from the charm of the place, and I’d stay there again in a heartbeat.

The Weather

It rained every single day, but only intermittently, rarely heavily and apparently not enough to halt drought warnings.  The rapid changes in weather, while unpredictable, brought some amazing skies and light –

Spitalfields streets before the rain fell

St Paul’s Cathedral and Millenium Bridge between the rains

Store Street after the rain

And in Stratford-Upon-Avon

we even saw a rainbow.

The Little Things that Make London Different

As always, when traveling I love the little things that remind me I’m not in Kansas anymore . Like the bathroom stalls

the rented opera glasses,

the different words they use

and of course, the people.

The Big Thing That Makes London Different

You really know you’re not in America when it comes to transportation. Taxis are quite expensive and cars pay a fee to enter the center of London. As a result, public transportation is central to the busy life of this international city and puts every American city, including New York, to shame. I’ve never seen more buses in my life, one very few seconds it seemed on the busier routes.

And the train stations! Gloriously bright and beautiful  – Liverpool Street,

Marylebone

and Charing Cross Road.

And although London is not yet Amsterdam, it’s getting there. We saw hundreds of bikes parked overnight at the train station,

ready for retrieval by commuters in the morning rush.

And of course, there’s Barclays’ Bicycle Hire  – launched in 2010 and still expanding. (Pic from Wikipedia)

The Best Thing About London

But the best thing about London? It’s where I got to spend time with two of my favorite people in the world – Emily and Irene.

A fine pair of traveling companions indeed.

Up Next – Part 2: Where We Ate in London