London in the Rearview

We are about 5 hours off the plane, and I won’t lie, it is fantastic to be home.  Lots of Ella love and some cold TaB, and I feel like I am slowly recovering from the past 10 days.  While Tony and I had one of the best trips I think we have had with the students in another country, each year the toll these long-distance adventures take increases.  My legs will be sore for days, and the pile of mail we need to deal with is massive – not to mention the laundry!  

Nevertheless, it continues to be worth the effort.  I learn so much everywhere I go.  I noticed subtle things on this trip.  For example, I know in many entries, I have referenced how unfailingly helpful and friendly people in London are.  I cannot count how many times I would ask Tony a question about where sometime might be and a passerby would stop to answer it.  Or, someone would see us looking at a map and stop to ask how he or she might help.  More importantly, every offer of help seemed to be genuine and sincere.  Then, when we got to Atlanta’s International Terminal today, every time I went outside the terminal to look for the bus that was supposed to take us back to Chattanooga this afternoon, someone from the airport would approach me and say “Can I help you?”  Here’s the thing, though.  The TONE of the question was not genuine and helpful, but it consistently sounded accusatory – as though I had been caught crossing some invisible line I was not supposed to cross.  Perhaps I imagined it, but it struck me that we Americans are not always as welcoming as we could be.

I will offer another example.  London is an enormous city with many people.  Frequently, when we were walking along narrow streets or through parts of the Tube, we sometimes bumped into people, or they bumped into us – especially if they were rushing past us.  In every instance, they always apologized so genuinely that it was touching.  I cannot tell you how many times I have had people run into me on the street, in the airport, on campus, etc., with virtually no acknowledgement whatsoever.  While these apologies may seem like small gestures, they are powerful.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying Londoners are somehow better than Americans.  People are people all over the world, and that is why traveling to new places is so important.  I am just pointing out one way in which a cultural difference that affected me influenced how I felt about London.  That said, I remain acutely aware that it was many people on this side of the pond who made this trip to London possible to me and the other faculty and students.  

Another cultural difference I sensed is that people in England seem far more open about many issues than Americans.  When you see commercials in the U.S. that address treatments for, uh, farting, the commercials  are extremely nuanced.  In England, the ads are blunt and hilarious.  One product they market is called “Wind Setlers.”  The TV ads for “Wind Setlers” are hysterical.  

In other ways, the words they use for certain things are just charming.  I love that they refer to train cars on the Tube as “carriages” and the illegal disposal of waste onto land as “Fly Tipping.”

Okay, there is lots of laundry that needs to be done, and I have mail to read and work to do.  Seriously, though, if you don’t have a passport, get one soon and plan a trip overseas.  You won’t regret it.

Last Day in London

Tony and I ventured out to Abbey Road this morning.  I have said many times on this trip you can spot tourists because we often walk on the right instead of the left.  Here, Londoners not only drive on the left, but they generally walk on the left.  It is very confusing.  Today, however, it became glaringly apparent that tourists are also very rude.  Londoners have continued to surprise us at every turn with house kind and helpful they are.  Regardless of whether it is sincere or not, it is heartwarming to feel so welcome everywhere we go. Tourists, on the other hand, often surprise us with how rude, thoughtless and obnoxious they can be.  When this happens, we just pray they are NOT Americans.  

We had a wonderful lunch at another magnificent historic pub called The Harp.  This pub has been named the best pub in the nation several years in a row.  I don’t think many tourists go here because when we walked in most of the patrons looked like bankers who were there drinking their lunch, and they all stared at us when we entered.  The lady behind the bar, however, was incredibly friendly, and she took our order.  In addition to some great beer, we ordered The Harp’s homemade sausages on homemade buns with onions.  I got lamb sausage (YUMMY!), and Tony got the pork sausage.  

Following lunch, we indulged in some delicious gelato – I had hazelnut, and Tony had some sort of chocolate. 

I am so ready to get home, sleep in my own bed and see my sweet little Ella, but I am already missing this place.  London is such and vibrant city, and there is just so much to do.  I may be a girl who has spent most of her life in small town Chattanooga, but I have always felt that I am meant to be a big-city girl.  Whether it is Boston, Chicago, Munich or London, I think I need to live in a much larger city at some point in my life.  My years in Cincinnati gave me a taste of a somewhat bigger city, but all my years of travel make me realize that I need more.  While Tony and I are both worn out, it is a good sort of exhaustion because we have seen and done a lot, but we also feel there is much more to do.

I remember someone telling me not long ago that only 20% of Americans have passports.  If you are part of the 80% that does not have a passport, seriously think about getting one sometime soon and go somewhere.  See the world beyond the U.S.  You won’t regret it.  There are places I have visited that I would probably not visit again, but I have never regretted going anywhere.  If you think you cannot afford it, remember that not everyplace is expensive. 

Life is too short to live it all in one place.

Thoughts on London

We are planning our final day here in London, and Abbey Road will likely be our first stop.  As we look forward to coming home, I generally like to reflect on our visit.  Among the things I adore about London include:

1.       The Tube: It is fast, efficient, clean, and it goes everywhere.  The “carriages” always seem to run on time, and I wish we had Tubes all over the U.S.

2.       The People:  In addition to the diversity of people here, everyone is unfailingly polite and helpful.  I don’t know that I have ever been anywhere in my life where people have seemed so genuinely kind and willing to help perfect strangers.  It seems so odd that in a huge city like London there are so many people that are willing to just be nice to perfect strangers.  The world would be a much better place if it were more like London.

3.       The Food: I can’t get enough of the food.  It is so good.  When you think of London, you don’t think of “cuisine,” but we have loved everything we have eaten here – fish & chips, fish dogs, British ice cream, sausages, etc.  My guess is part of why the food is so wonderful is that Europe does not allow GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) in their food like the U.S. does. 

4.       The Surprises: Everywhere we go, we see or experience something we did not expect.  It has been magnificent.  Heck, see Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles on the day we landed was certainly a surprise!

Among the things I won’t miss are:

1.       The Weather:  The cold I can stand, but the constant rain (or threat of it) is a bit much to bear.

2.       The Prices: This is a pricey city.  You need lots of money to live here.  Internet access has cost us about $17 per day!

Lear, Law, Lots of Climbing -- Oh, and Sausages and Spamalot!

I continue to fall in love with London – its people, its food, and its history.  The weather has not charmed me as much, but I still adore this city.  My feet are so sore from walking so much (I have lost several toenails as a result of the pounding my feet have taken), and my already weak ankles are taking a beating.  Despite the fact that Tony and I are enjoying the food, ice cream and beer as much as possible, it is evident to me that I am losing some serious weight because all of my pants are literally falling off of me, and all my shirts are much bigger on my.  Win-win!

Monday was another day of vigorous exercise and site seeing.  First on our agenda was St. Paul’s Cathedral.  St. Paul’s is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London.  It is dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle and was originally dedicated in 604 A.D.  It was the tallest building in London until 1962, and its dome is among the highest in the world.  St. Paul’s is one of the many buildings in London designed by Sir Christopher Wren.  The funerals for Lord Horatio Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill, and Margaret Thatcher were all held here.  Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married here.  

When visiting the cathedral, you can climb to three different levels.  The first level is the Whispering Gallery, which runs around the inside of the dome.  Tony and I both climbed to that level.  The Stone Gallery encircles the outside of the dome, and the Golden Gallery runs around the highest point of the outer dome.

After tour the rest of St. Paul’s (including the crypt), Tony and I ventured back to the Westminster area of London to visit the UK Supreme Court.  This court is the supreme court in all matters until English and Welsh law, Northern Irish law, and Scottish law.  Everyone we met here was just so nice to us, and they answered all of our questions about how the court operated.  Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court where the hearings last just one hour, and each party gets 30 minutes to argue his/her case, and that is pretty much it.  The case is what is in the brief submitted to the court and the 30-minute argument.  One of the bailiff-type people at the UK Supreme Court told us that cases can sometimes go one for days, and that sometimes things get very animated in the hearing.  He chuckled as he told us this, perhaps remembering certain incidents.  I remember attending some hearings in the U.S. Supreme Court where people could get thrown out for simply dozing off.  What a difference!

After our great visit to the UK Supreme Court, we took a tour of St. Margaret’s Church next to Westminster Abbey.  It is an Anglican Church that is the parish church of the House of Commons (the lower house of Parliament).  It is named for St. Margaret of Antioch (also known as St. Margaret the Virgin).  Of note (at least to Tudor fans like me), is the east window of 1509 Flemish stained glass that was created to commemorate the betrothal of Catherine of Aragon to Henry VIII (later to be King Henry VIII).  Other windows commemorate Sir Walter Raleigh and poet John Milton.  

Monday night, our entire group was lucky enough to have tickets to opening night of “King Lear” at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.  Beyond the fact that the play wonderful, and our seats were fantastic, I think my favorite part of the evening was all of the students’ excitement as realizing the role of King Lear himself was played by Joseph Marcell – the guy who played the English butler Geoffrey on “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”  Good to know they are paying attention to what is important.  :-)

Today we slept in a bit then headed to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard.  We had plans to find Sarah Gardner, Emilee Cutright, Kyle Marcum, Dacey Fisher and Kristen Stanfill amongst the crowds because we had a long-standing promise to treat Sarah to lunch.  Despite the masses of humanity there (and no one’s cell phones working) we managed to find them!  We watched the changing of the guard (in the cold London drizzle), and then snagged Sarah to find another pub on our list.

One of the “Top 10” lists we discovered listed Zeitgeist as one of the best.  The site declares:  “A German gastro pub, with German beers, German football and German staff. Quite a gamble in the back streets of Lambeth, yet Zeitgeist does a fine job of attracting locals and non-locals of every nationality. The selection is unrivalled, with 16 German beers on draught and 32 bottled. The kitchen serves well-portioned Teutonic favourites such as schnitzel, currywurst and schweinebraten. Things can still get "interesting" during Anglo-German sporting fixtures, but this convivial venue is a true wunder-bar.”  It was quite a hike from the Tube, but it was well worth the walk. (We even met some goats along the way!!!) The food was great, and the beer was even better.  The proprietor is from Cologne, Germany, and we loved him.  He even took a photo with us.  Magnificent experience in every way!

After the German pub, we visited the British Museum.  It has about 8 million pieces in its permanent collection, and it is one of the largest collections of its kinds that documents human culture.  Among the pieces we saw were some extraordinary artifacts from Egypt and the Rosetta Stone!  Very cool.  

 

We indulged in a taxi ride back to the hotel (me with my ice cream, Tony with his coffee and Sarah with her honey peanuts from a street vendor), and rested a bit before going out again to see “Spamalot.”  Tony and I bought tickets before we came, and tonight was our night to see the show.  We had fourth row seats, and the show was outstanding.  The cast was brilliant, and the actor who played King Arthur was perfect for the role.  We had a wonderful time.  

The students are all having a good time, but I imagine they will get home at the end of the week completely worn out.  I will write more reflections on our trip tomorrow.

Joanie (and Tony)