Merrie Olde England TR - Read but Don't Reply! About This Page:

[scrappyjae]

More great photos! A must see museum if I ever get over that way.

[OhToodles!]

Great photos Cindy (even the photos of photos)! You sure got a lot in while you were there! No rest for the weary right?!

[chezp]

Ok, we will go and visit that museum, as it does sound fascinating. I can't believe I'd never heard of it until you mentioned it.

[cubfancolleen]

Originally Posted by chezp

Ok, we will go and visit that museum, as it does sound fascinating. I can't believe I'd never heard of it until you mentioned it.

Wow, Cindy, great job finding someplace new for Cheryl to visit!

[cindybelle]

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

Wow, Cindy, great job finding someplace new for Cheryl to visit!

I know -- I'm still pinching myself that I'd seen something in London that Cheryl hadn't. While Rick Steves recommends it in his travel book, it was actually a friend of mine who's been to London several times who recommended the Sir John Soane's Museum to us. She and her husband both loved it. Now we do, too!

[cindybelle]

We were hungry by the time we left the Soane Museum, and when Rick saw this little place, he figured it would be good for a quick bite. And he was right -- yummy, quick, and inexpensive. We split a plate and it was just right for a small lunch.







It was so good, I was tempted to get my own plate -- but we knew we'd be stopping for an early dinner, since the play would begin at 7:30 p.m.

Then we walked back to the British Museum. And now I see another nice photo of the "lobby" ceiling:




Rick, get out of that "Trentham Laver." It's a "fluted bowl supported on two griffins' legs and a central column springing from a floral ball. Oval platform below supported by six blocks carved with grotesque heads. Made up from a variety of unconnected ancient fragments and modern additions in the workshop of Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-78). According to Piranesi, this is from the villa of the Roman Emperor Hadrian at Tivoli.



Then I got Rick in trouble -- I asked him to pose next to this "Colossal Foot" so you could see how large it is -- however, I did NOT suggest he lean against the stand. A guard came over and chastised him. The foot is Roman, from the 1st or 2nd century AD. It was found near Naples and presented to the British Museum by Sir William Hamilton in 1784.

[cindybelle]

The Rosetta Stone is tough to photograph --it's in a fairly dark room and behind glass. But Rick gave it the ole college try:




The Rosetta Stone (196 BC): When this rock was unearthed in the Egyptian desert in 1799, it was a sensation in Europe. This black slab caused a quantum in the evolution of history. Finally, Egyptian writing could be decoded. The writing in the upper part of the stone is hieroglyphics, indecipherable for a thousand years. Below that is the same inscription repeated in two other languages: Greek and medieval Egyptian. By comparing the two known languages with the one they didn’t know, translators figured out the hieroglyphics – which are a complex combination of pictures and letters. It turns out the pictures are more phonetic than symbolic. The one that looks like a mouth or eye is the letter “R,” for example.


Rick bought his fishing buddy a puzzle of the Rosetta Stone before we left.


Here are a few more images from the British Museum:






Bronze helmet (Greek, perhaps Corinthian, about 650-570 BC)












Boxwood miniature altar-piece (Flemish, early 16th century -- the date 1511 is engraved on a small oval panel beneath the Last Supper).


Tired and satisfied after our museum visits, we went outside to sit on a bench -- it was a delightfully cool day, probably about 70 degrees F.

[cindybelle]

We walked around outside, enjoying the lovely day.




Sore feet, sore backs -- yep, now would be a good time to have a drink, preferably outside. We happened upon. . . .




And they had some tables outside. (Well, actually we were sitting in the outdoor tables belonging to a place next door, but they didn't yell at us so we stayed just long enough to enjoy our brews.)

A half pint of Guinness for me was perfect.






The little deli behind Rick was NOT part of The Plough. So we only stayed briefly. By the time we finished our beers, I had started looking at The Plough's menu and the air was getting chillier, so we moved indoors and had dinner.

We split the Mini Pie Platter (Steak & Kidney, Steak & Ale, Chicken & Mushroom, and Shepherd's Pie served with chips, mushy peas and gravy). The mini pies were mostly pie dough, so not the best. But the mushy peas were tasty (sounds disgusting, I know -- but the peas were good).



We were wishing we'd gone back to the Kebab place, but it was too late. We had a show to see!

[Grammy Grumpy]

Whew, I am finally all caught up. My oh my you have been so many places and seen so many things. When (hopefully not if) DH and I get across the pond I'll use lots of the info you have provided in this TR to formulate our trip!

As so, on that note, continue on please!

[cindybelle]

We worked our way back to Covent Garden, where I prevailed upon Rick to don a bobby's hat.




Isn't he adorable?


Then we walked to the National Theatre to see "War Horse." Of course, no photography inside the theater -- so here are my photos of the photos in the book I purchased there. By the way, apparently London theaters don't give you a Playbill or equivalent -- we were shown to our expensive seats and I started to ask for a program and then realized there weren't any. So of course I forked over 6 or 7 pounds (about $11) for a nice color booklet. So I might as well get my money's worth and share some of the photos with YOU, right?

The story is largely about Joey, whom we first meet as a foal. The three people you see in this photo work the foal's head, forelegs and back legs.




In no time at all, the audience forgets about the three actors who manipulate Joey. It's pretty amazing how caught up in the story you get and how quickly you start thinking of this "contraption" as a real, live horse.

As the story unfolds, Joey is sold to a man who drinks but whose son (Albert) soon makes friends with the horse and begins working with him.

When Joey emerges as a fully-grown horse, we see that two of his "manipulators" are inside or rather under his body while the third person who works Joey's head remains outside the horse. Again, we quickly forget about these three actors/manipulators and simply respond to Joey as a main character in the story.




Joey is a race horse, which means he's not earning his keep. Albert's father accepts a bet that Joey can learn to plow. The scene where Albert pleads with Joey to pull the plow the requisite distance to win the bet is pretty nail-biting. And the actors/manipulators of Joey make the audience feel every breath and every straining muscle of that horse.



There are other "horses" in this play, as well as some other animals. I wish I had a good photo of a barnyard goose and its manipulator, because they served as the major comic relief in the play and were hilarious at times. The actor behind the goose waddles as he's manipulating the goose ahead of him.

But the story is largely dramatic, about the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of a horse. That's why I love this poster so much:



Isn't that positively chilling?


Our review: Rick and I both found ourselves mesmerized. Overall, we think the play could use about 20 minutes of editing down (it's about 2 hours 40 minutes, quite long for a straight play) -- but as Rick said, "I didn't get sleepy once!" And for a non-theater guy like Rick who's been on his feet all day (all week, more like), that is nothing short of amazing. So yes, this is a great show. There's a company on Broadway (Lincoln Center) in New York now, so people on both sides of the "Pond" have an opportunity to see it. We give it

Of course, getting back to the Aster House via the subway was insane afterwards -- everyone from the Theater District seemed to be crowding into the Tube at once. But those subways hold a lot of people, so it didn't actually take us terribly long to get back to South Kensington.

Whoa, let's rest -- tomorrow we meet Cheryl and Mark!



: snore:

[cindybelle]

Changing of the Horse Guard at Whitehall: Rick had happened upon this 30 years ago but didn't have a camera on him at the time. He's been determined to see this ceremony ever since and to record it. It's definitely worth checking out.














Then Rick waved me over to where he was standing, and I posed next to this marvelous guard:

[cindybelle]

Periodically that guard would march a bit. Mostly he hollered at the tourists for getting in the middle of the area where they horses would come through.












Finally the guards dismounted.




The country was saved, and Brittania rules the waves!

[OhToodles!]

Maybe one day War Horse will make it's way to the Fox. I think I'd like to see it after your description.

[Colexis Mom]

More great pictures and yummy food!

[cindybelle]

We were quite near Trafalgar Square and so decided to see if we could get a bit closer to one of the enormous lions.




Then I figured, why not hoist myself up a couple more huge blocks and get closer to the battle reliefs.




And then I prevailed upon Rick to push my lard-butt up so I could pose in front of the lion.



There's a lot of room up there, so don't be scared of it -- if I can get up there, you can too!

Then it was time -- oh my goodness, it was time to head to the Disney Store at Covent Garden! And soon there they were -- Cheryl and Mark! (Of course, we made Rick and Mark take photos -- they ARE good for something after all. )



It was tempting to buy Mickey as a Guard or Minnie as the Queen, but I simply don't have room for them! I'm holding the bearded Goofy who did go home with me.


However, Queen Minnie did go home with Cheryl, who simply could not resist! Gawrsh, it's so good to see Cheryl again! I hadn't seen her since May 2009 at Passporters' Decade of Dreams celebration at WDW.