Getting there

The trip:

First we stopped in Illinois to see my dad for his 89th birthday, and were met by Molly's sister, Katy, brother George, and brother Tom and his twins, Adrian and Owen. (Photos may be forthcoming.)We were missing Herb, Yda and the bros' SOs, but it is so great when we can get together in any configuration. At the end of the four day visit, we flew to London for four days there.

As Amy and Jamie had lived there last time we were through, we had both poked around this city a little, but we felt like we had only scratched the surface, and neither of us had a good handle on it. One thing we have learned is that we both get to know a place a lot better if we can walk it. Mike booked a hotel in the West End, near a lot of stuff, and it turned out to be a great location for us. Two days we bought tube passes, but the rest of the time was hoofing.

[I have no intention of showing the usual tourist photos of Big Ben and other lovely sights, though sure enough, I took them. I'll stick with our perspectives on just a few items.]

We walked into the government area a couple of times, stopping by Westminster Abbey for an organ concert, a choir service, and taking in the ambiance. I don't know just Who all these folks were, but they looked like lively sort of gang:

I took this for two reasons: to see if anyone else from St Charles, Illinois thinks that the Methodist Church there is a rip-off of Westminster, and to record the gray skies we were encountering. We were wearing raincoats a couple of days!

Regent's Park was near our hotel, so we hiked it one morning, enjoying the Queen's Garden.

The inscription reads, "This fountain erected by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association was the gift of Sir Cowasjee Jehangir (Companion of the Star of India), a wealthy Parsee gentleman of Bombay as a token of gratitude to the people of England for the protection enjoyed by him and his Parsee fellow countrymen under the British Rule in India." The next photo shows its placement:

The question naturally arose, relative to the plaque's wording: is this a cattle trough or a drinking fountain? Is it perhaps both? Would you water your cattle here? Me either. So, I drank from it.

Continuing our livestock eye's view of London, we also visited the Royal Horse Grounds. This is a "panorama" shot of the Grounds, which are, appropriately enough, horseshoe shaped.

Covent Garden, home of Eliza Doolittle. Down in a well of a courtyard, this lively group of buskers played fabulously, the cellists dancing along with the rest of them, peg scrolls hooked on shoulders. They played Ravel's Bolero, a hornpipe,and Pachelbel's Canon while we enjoyed their artistry.

View from the Tate Museum towards St Paul's Cathedral over the River Thames on a very new pedestrian bridge.

Courtauld Gallery: So, we dutifully went to the Tate, and saw the Modern stuff there. But the place itself left us cold. Huge, modern and concrete, it was a tad difficult to warm to. Luckily, Katie, Mike's sister, had tipped us off to the Courtauld Gallery on the other side of the Thames, so we also went there. Much more betterer! We liked it a lot. Thanks, Katie!

All of this may sound kind of high-brow. In all honesty, however, our main quest was vegetarian restaurants. We scored several times, our favorite being Vitao, a vegan, completely gluten-free and raw food place run by idealistic and sweet young people who make amazing food. If you're in London, eat there.

And now, on to Italia! Andiamo!