Art Museums and the Ripper

Hello from London Town!

And welcome to our new blog! Please let us know any comments or suggestions.

We arrived here late Monday night. Our flight was uneventful except for a 1 ½ hr. delay because we had to return to the terminal just before take-off to drop off an ill passenger (that was a new one).. Unfortunately, Virgin Air was quite disappointing: The food was tasteless, the entertainment system outdated, and lots of things were broken (including one of the toilets). We had heard such good things about this airline but would be in no hurry to fly them again.


Distinctive red telephone booth

 Our hotel, The Caring Hotel, is your typical British budget accommodation. A very clean but very tiny room with an even tinier bathroom. Low wattage lighting and no frills whatsoever (one towel a piece, no shampoo etc.) But, it is perfect for us, and the price is quite reasonable (for London). The neighborhood is great -- tree-lined streets and lots of stately Georgian buildings with white pillars flanking the doors (most of which are now hotels). Plus, three Tube (subway) stops and lots of shops are close by.

Our first day was a full one beginning with a trip to The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square. We have not been here in almost 15 years and were thrilled to see that little has changed. London still has the distinctive red double-decker buses, black taxis, and red telephone booths on every corner.




Trafalgar Square

 We have to thank Rick Steves for suggesting The National Gallery museum’s audio guide. He says it is one of the best in Europe, and we would have to agree. The museum traces the history of painting up to the Impressionists and the commentary on the paintings was brilliant -- Anne felt as if she was spending a day in art school!



The café in the crypt at St. Martin in the Field Church made an atmospheric choice for a healthy lunch. Feeling energetic, we decided to walk along the Thames to the Tower of London. The weather was perfect: blue skies, crisp and cool -- pretty amazing for London LOL. All that walking made us thirsty so we stopped off at The Black Friar pub. This ancient place was once a monastery, and Henry VIII supposedly met with his court here to figure out how he could get rid of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. History is all around us here. We each had a pint and continued on our trek.



Tower Bridge 



Our goal was to join the “Rippin’ Yarns Jack the Ripper” tour at 6:45. Every walking tour outfit in London offers a Jack the Ripper tour, but this one is conducted by a genuine Beefeater, one of the 36 guard/tour guides at The Tower of London. Our Beefeater guide, Ken, explained that all the Beefeaters and their families actually live inside the Tower. They are on call 24/7 in case there’s a fire (or some fool falls in the moat!).

Anyway, other than being a bit overdramatic from time to time, Ken gave us a great tour and a lot of new details about The Ripper (not to mention showing us some very grisly pictures). By the conclusion of the tour, Ken had laid out a pretty convincing argument about the true identity of Jack the Ripper. If you want all the gory details, just drop us an email.

On Tuesday, we moved on to modern art with a visit to The Tate Modern. BTW, many museums in London are free (which helps to offset the high expense of everything else!) As an example, one discounted ride on the Tube costs 1.80 pounds (about $2.88 American dollars!)



A carpet of "sunflower seeds."

 Modern art is always fun and the Tate was a hoot. Our favorite art work was a special exhibit by Ai Weiwei, a Chinese guy who covered the floor of the main hall with “sunflower seeds.” The “seeds” were actually made of porcelain and hand-painted by 1600 Chinese artisans. There must have been millions of these seeds. The best part was that this was an interactive exhibit so everybody was playing in the seeds -- throwing them in the air, rolling around in them, etc. What an incredibly imaginative and joyful work of art!

Tuesday night, we headed for the Adelphi Theater to see “Love Never Dies,” the sequel to “Phantom of the Opera.” The Phantom is a hard act to follow, and the sequel has received mixed reviews. Frank thought it was a bit of a “chick flick” -- too little action and no memorable songs. Anne was familiar with the music and enjoyed it much more. Both agreed that the special effects and magical illusions were nothing like we had ever seen before; live theater has really come a long way.

Hope all is well and that you are enjoying a beautiful fall. More museums, theater and walking tours to come.

Cheers from Merry Olde England!
　
　



Frank plays with his nuts (or should we say sunflower seeds)!