London: Less than 3 Hours Away

Plays, History, River Tour, Protests and Wandering Around...

When you are turning 71, and there is absolutely nothing you need, your best gift is an experience. (Actually, that is the best birthday present at any age.) So in February we went to London for a few days to celebrate my birthday. For Denise’s birthday we visited Monsanto and Mérida. We returned to London this month … it is just 3 hours away.

Ben was covered with schaffling when we visited in 2019. Its restoration is fabulous.

Theatre Fix

There was a time when Denise worked in New York in the summer … I was in Florida. She would head into the city on her days off and go to TKTS to buy a theatre ticket … I would fly up about once a month and we would always go to a show on Saturday night. We love musical theatre! So in February, we traveled to London and saw three musicals: Mean Girls, Mrs. Doubtfire and Six.

Of the three, Six was my favorite.¹ In 2019, we had taken a 7-hour free walking tour and visited Parliament with the help of Scottish friends, so (in February) when we weren’t in the theatre we mostly ate and wandered around.

This time we saw three more plays: the new Cabaret production (in the round), The Play that Goes Wrong and Hadestown. Of the three, Cabaret tops my list! If you plan to attend, make sure to arrive as soon as the doors open. As you descend into the Kit Kat Club the preformers entertain you with music and dance. You are immersed in the experience before the show even begins. However, as I watched the play unfold, a sense of dread enveloped me. Perhaps it was the No Tyrant/No King² protests scheduled for that weekend…but I felt like the proverbial frog in the cool, then boiling water.

A final note: in case you don’t know…London theatre is a bargain. You can see a very good show for about half the price of a show on NYC’s Broadway.

Saturday's evemt at the US Embassy.

Oops…We Went to the Protest Twice

We flew on Thursday (the 12th) and saw Cabaret that night. The next day we toured the Tower of London in the morning and then took the Uber boat to the US Embassy. (More on this below.)

I love London architecture… 1th century surrounded by modern buildings.

It must have been the impact of Cabaret on my psychie…but I truly thought the rally was that day. So as we walked about the US Embassy property I asked one of the guards where the protest was going to be. I showed him the email I had gotten confirming out attendance. He kindly said, “Ma’am, that is tomorrow.” We had a drink at a nearby restaurant and headed back to our hotel before the evening show.

We did return to the rally the next day and were pleased to find approximately 1000 people gathered for the two hour event. While there were signs and speakers, I especially appreciated a comedy troop that kicked off the event. Throughout the skit we were encouraged to throw banana peels at the two Donald Trump impersonators…very satisfying!

As you ascend Lift 109.

Uber Boat…Hop On, Hop Off

There is a lot of traffic in London. Frankly, I am surprised any driver gets where they are going. So a friend suggested that we take the Uber Boat. We did … and found it a wonderful way to travel about the city. You can buy a point to point ticket…or a daily ticket that allows you to use it like a Hop On, Hop Off to tour the city. We were staying at The Clermont Hotel³ (just 2 blocks from the Embankment Station/Dock). From there we could head east to the London Bridge, London Tower, Greenwich, etc….or could head west to Westminster, the London Eye, Battersea Park or Putney.

Luxury apartments in Battersea Park.

I am a huge SkyArt’s Portrait Artist of the Year fan which is typically held at Battersea Park. Again, British friends suggested that we visit Lift 109 if we visited Battersea Park. Once a power station, this site has been tranformed with shops, restaurants and luxury apartments. And wthhin one of the old power station chimneys, a glass elevator that pops out the top and provides a 360° view of the city.

Sunday…Galleries, Chinatown and Buskers

As our flight home was not until19:20, we spent Sunday morning visiting the National Gallery, and The Portrait Gallery. Later we walked to Chinatown and had a wonderful Dim Sum lunch, finally ending our tour in Covent Garden enjoying the street preformers. Nearly every museum in London is FREE. On our prior visit, we visited the Hunterian Museum.⁴

Three Final Observations

1. After 4 years in Portugal I was shocked by how fast everything is in London. Rush, rush, rush. Instead of the pedestrian crossing counting down from 30 … it seems to counts down from 10. Calma, calma!

2. Good news…Faro airport has implemented automated passport readers speeding the time it take to get through passport control when you return. When we saw the line our hearts sank … but it took less than 30 minutes.

3. Like Denmark, London is now nearly cashless. No need to get pounds from the ATM … simply swipe your card.

Boas viagens…

Nanc

1. A modern singing competition retells the lives of the six wives of Henry VII. In the show, the wives take turns telling their story to determine who suffered the most from their shared husband. Keep in mind, two were divorced, two beheaded, one died during childbirth, and one survived him…tough call.

2. Oddly enough, this was also the weekend of the King’s Birthday Celebration. (Actually it isn’t King Charles’ actual birthday….but a big parade and lots of parties none the less.) So as not to offend the British public, the No Kings event was called No Tyrant in the UK.

3. The Clermont is a lovely hotel, and only 2 blocks from our favorite London pub…Sherlock Holmes.

4. Named after the 18th century surgeon and anatomist, John Hunter, it houses over 2000 anatomical “preparations”, along with surgical instruments, illustrations and models. If you are a bit skeemish…you may want to skip this one.