I'm sure many of my readers will recognize this scene.
Yes, it's in London, England. Sorry, just time for a quick selfie before going in to take tea with the Queen.
Yeah, right....
This holiday guy is on the road again this week, and travelling in Europe again. The centrepiece of this trip is a week-long Rhine River cruise with some of my favourite musicians on board. Starting with 3 days in Amsterdam, ending with 2 days in Zurich, and with a dozen musical events across the course of the trip, this is going to be like my favourite summer music festival -- but on the water.
Yes, it's in London, England. Sorry, just time for a quick selfie before going in to take tea with the Queen.
Yeah, right....
This holiday guy is on the road again this week, and travelling in Europe again. The centrepiece of this trip is a week-long Rhine River cruise with some of my favourite musicians on board. Starting with 3 days in Amsterdam, ending with 2 days in Zurich, and with a dozen musical events across the course of the trip, this is going to be like my favourite summer music festival -- but on the water.
Before I get to the cruise, I'll be making a side trip from London to Prague and back. And after the cruise, I'm going on to revisit 3 favourite European cities: Lucerne, Stuttgart, and Berlin. So it's a complex itinerary, and it's all taking me nearly a month.
But, as usual, I'm beginning in London. Although I've explained this before, it bears repeating: I always choose to fly from Toronto into London because Air Canada offers a daylight flight from Toronto. Since I can't sleep well on planes, taking this daytime flight means that I avoid missing a night of sleep, which in turn makes it much easier for me to weather the dreaded jetlag. Usually, I'm all squared away with the time change within 24 hours or less of arrival.
This trip also marks my first encounter with Air Canada's new "Premium Economy" class on long-range international flights. The former "International Business Class" with the lie-flat bed cubicles has now been rebranded as "Signature Class." Premium Economy fits in between Signature Class and the standard Economy Class.
In essence, the Premium Economy service is pretty much a cross between regular Economy Cattlecar and the Business Class service on the airline's shorter North American and Caribbean routes. You get a wider seat (7 seats per row instead of 9), much better leg-room, a folding footrest, a pillow, a blanket, a small amenity kit, and a better meal served on real dishes with real cutlery. Oh, yes, you also get access to premium lines at check-in -- but not at security where it would really help. For me, it was the wider seat and more legroom that really made the experience worth while.
Here are a couple of pix from AC's website to illustrate the point.
Arriving at Heathrow Airport is always a test of stamina. It was a solid 12-minute brisk walk from the aircraft to the border control centre. After waiting in line for 10 minutes or so, I was informed by the officer that I could have used the E-gates instead of lining up. I missed that tiny little message among all the huge sign boards that repeatedly admonished "All Other Passports Follow Orange Signs." Next time I will know better. After baggage claim (at least my bag was waiting for me), more hiking while pushing an uncooperative baggage trolley that never wants to turn corners (you skid the trolley around the bends, sideways), a shuttle train to Terminal 4, and another hike down a long passageway to a brand-new dual hotel. Only way I know how to describe it.
It's a big building with a central 6-storey atrium. One side is the Holiday Inn Express (a mid-market limited-service chain) and the other side the more upmarket full-service Crowne Plaza Hotel. Here's an aerial photo of the atrium, with the Holiday Inn Express lobby at the bottom and the Crowne Plaza at the top.
Both hotels are served by one set of elevators in the centre of the atrium. Interesting idea, because it means that I can pay the dirt-cheap room rates at the Express while still being easily able to access the full restaurant and bar at the Crowne Plaza. I hope this sort of thing becomes more common. And it certainly is dirt-cheap, presumably because it's brand-new and no one knows it's here yet. Two nights including breakfast right in Heathrow Airport for a total of Cdn$207? "Inconceivable!"
For my first full day, I decided to ride into London on the Underground (colloquially known to all and sundry as "the Tube"). There's a tube station in the subterranean regions right under Terminal 4, so my morning walk was short. It's a lengthy 50-minute ride with 18 or 19 stops on the way, but eventually I emerged on street level right in the heart of the "West End" -- the theatre and entertainment district -- at Piccadilly Circus.
Right away, we are not talking about clowns and acrobats. The word here derives from the Latin word for circle, and at one time Piccadilly Circus was the great-granddaddy of all road roundabouts. Due to heavy modern traffic, the circle has now been replaced with a 4-way road junction with traffic signals, and the fountain and statue which formerly stood in the middle of the circle has now been relocated to a pedestrian zone on the south side. The blazing illuminated advertising signs give a fair comparison to Times Square which marks the heart of New York's theatre district.
Example # 1 of why good writers always check their facts. The iconic statue shown here, poised on a bronze fountain, is not a statue of the Greek god Eros, the god of sensual love. It is, in fact, his brother: Anteros ("Ant..." as in "opposite of"). Anteros was the god of selfless love, and the statue was designed as a memorial to the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury, a particularly noteworthy philanthropist and politician -- and especially to commemorate the Earl's efforts to replace child labour with schools for all. A notable bit of trivia: it was the first statue in the world to be cast in aluminum.
South of the Circus, Regent Street stretches away to the Duke of York memorial column -- and beyond, across St. James Park, stands the tower of the Houses of Parliament.
West from Piccadilly Circus runs this street, long known as one of London's most distinguished addresses.
Notice that there's no "Street" or "Road" or any other suffix. London is chock-a-block with streets that have these kinds of names. The "City of Westminster" includes the whole area of the West End, Parliament Square, Buckingham Palace, and more surrounding regions. These places aren't actually in "London" at all, if you want to get really technical.
"Piccadilly" derives its name from the broad lace collars or "piccadills" so fashionable in the seventeenth century; a major maker of these frills had his shop here. Today it's home to many of the most expensive shops in London, all housed in buildings of aristocratic Georgian distinction...
...including one of the world's most exclusive purveyors of fine foods ("grocer" just doesn't cut it in this context). The ornate chiming clock was added in the 1950s by Canadian grocery magnate Galen Weston during the period when he owned Fortnum & Mason.
Piccadilly is also home to several of the most iconic deluxe hotels in the city.
After walking along Piccadilly for several blocks, I turned down St. James Street and stepped back another century or two into the past. Here, you don't find "shops" -- you discover "merchants," including these two lovely old premises housing wine merchants.
At the bottom of the street stands the sixteenth-century brick clock tower of St. James Palace.
This palace was built during the reign of Henry VIII. It is still the meeting place for the Accession Council, the assembly of distinguished nobles and clergy whose assent to the crowning of a new monarch is an important symbolic part of the process leading to a coronation. The Palace is also used for other ceremonial occasions -- as well as housing offices and other functions.
St. James Palace is the most distinguished address on this street, which also houses numerous famous clubs and organizations.
Again, no suffix. The name comes from a kind of ball game called "pall mall" which was played nearby in bygone centuries.
Language lesson: the name is pronounced as if there were only one "L" in each word -- to rhyme with "pal," not with "maul."
Between St. James Palace and Marlborough House (another royal residence) stands this dignified chapel, known as "the Queen's chapel." It was built for Henrietta Maria, the queen of Charles I, who was Catholic. This chapel was where Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother lay in state prior to her funeral.
At the bottom end of Marlborough Road lies "The Mall," a broad ceremonial boulevard running from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. Unlike Pall Mall, this one does rhyme with "maul." Only in England....
Across The Mall, you enter St. James Park, one of the Royal Parks surrounding Buckingham Palace. In the centre of the park is an artificial lake, and the footbridge across the lake yields some iconic views.
Okay, maybe "iconic" isn't quite the word for this one.
After I crossed the bridge, I walked west along the south shore of the lake and came up to the circle in front of Buckingham Palace, where I happened to spot this plaque in the pavement, quite by chance. Most of the crowds were walking right by or over it without giving it a second glance.
This is just across the street from the Palace railings where thousands of people piled floral tributes and lit candles in memory of Diana during the days after her untimely death.
Buckingham Palace itself is too well known to require comment. The statue in the circle in front attracts so much attention with the gilded group of figures on top that it's possible to miss Queen Victoria seated on her throne below, unless you know to look for her -- but it is her memorial. Like Piccadilly Circus, this former roundabout is now a circle in name only due to traffic congestion.
Northwest of the circle stretches this broad street, Constitution Hill.
Like the unwritten and traditional British constitution, the hill here is not especially visible until you try to proceed against it -- and then you can definitely feel its presence.
The ornate gate facing Buckingham Palace on the north side of the circle is the entrance to Green Park: the Canada Gate. It was presented by Canada to the British government as a part of the Victoria Memorial scheme, and installed in 1911. It's opened for ceremonial occasions only.
Green Park is a space of forests and lawns, without displays of flowers -- hence the name. I kept walking north through the park, and came back out to Piccadilly, somewhat farther west. On the way to the tube station, I spotted this intriguing structure (a Christian Science Church) at the far end of Half Moon Street.
An unusual street name, of course -- but what's really appropriate for me is that this is the street in which Algernon Moncrieff had his flat, in the first act of The Importance of Being Earnest.
But, as usual, I'm beginning in London. Although I've explained this before, it bears repeating: I always choose to fly from Toronto into London because Air Canada offers a daylight flight from Toronto. Since I can't sleep well on planes, taking this daytime flight means that I avoid missing a night of sleep, which in turn makes it much easier for me to weather the dreaded jetlag. Usually, I'm all squared away with the time change within 24 hours or less of arrival.
This trip also marks my first encounter with Air Canada's new "Premium Economy" class on long-range international flights. The former "International Business Class" with the lie-flat bed cubicles has now been rebranded as "Signature Class." Premium Economy fits in between Signature Class and the standard Economy Class.
In essence, the Premium Economy service is pretty much a cross between regular Economy Cattlecar and the Business Class service on the airline's shorter North American and Caribbean routes. You get a wider seat (7 seats per row instead of 9), much better leg-room, a folding footrest, a pillow, a blanket, a small amenity kit, and a better meal served on real dishes with real cutlery. Oh, yes, you also get access to premium lines at check-in -- but not at security where it would really help. For me, it was the wider seat and more legroom that really made the experience worth while.
Here are a couple of pix from AC's website to illustrate the point.
Premium Economy Cabin
Economy Cabin
Arriving at Heathrow Airport is always a test of stamina. It was a solid 12-minute brisk walk from the aircraft to the border control centre. After waiting in line for 10 minutes or so, I was informed by the officer that I could have used the E-gates instead of lining up. I missed that tiny little message among all the huge sign boards that repeatedly admonished "All Other Passports Follow Orange Signs." Next time I will know better. After baggage claim (at least my bag was waiting for me), more hiking while pushing an uncooperative baggage trolley that never wants to turn corners (you skid the trolley around the bends, sideways), a shuttle train to Terminal 4, and another hike down a long passageway to a brand-new dual hotel. Only way I know how to describe it.
It's a big building with a central 6-storey atrium. One side is the Holiday Inn Express (a mid-market limited-service chain) and the other side the more upmarket full-service Crowne Plaza Hotel. Here's an aerial photo of the atrium, with the Holiday Inn Express lobby at the bottom and the Crowne Plaza at the top.
Both hotels are served by one set of elevators in the centre of the atrium. Interesting idea, because it means that I can pay the dirt-cheap room rates at the Express while still being easily able to access the full restaurant and bar at the Crowne Plaza. I hope this sort of thing becomes more common. And it certainly is dirt-cheap, presumably because it's brand-new and no one knows it's here yet. Two nights including breakfast right in Heathrow Airport for a total of Cdn$207? "Inconceivable!"
For my first full day, I decided to ride into London on the Underground (colloquially known to all and sundry as "the Tube"). There's a tube station in the subterranean regions right under Terminal 4, so my morning walk was short. It's a lengthy 50-minute ride with 18 or 19 stops on the way, but eventually I emerged on street level right in the heart of the "West End" -- the theatre and entertainment district -- at Piccadilly Circus.
Right away, we are not talking about clowns and acrobats. The word here derives from the Latin word for circle, and at one time Piccadilly Circus was the great-granddaddy of all road roundabouts. Due to heavy modern traffic, the circle has now been replaced with a 4-way road junction with traffic signals, and the fountain and statue which formerly stood in the middle of the circle has now been relocated to a pedestrian zone on the south side. The blazing illuminated advertising signs give a fair comparison to Times Square which marks the heart of New York's theatre district.
Example # 1 of why good writers always check their facts. The iconic statue shown here, poised on a bronze fountain, is not a statue of the Greek god Eros, the god of sensual love. It is, in fact, his brother: Anteros ("Ant..." as in "opposite of"). Anteros was the god of selfless love, and the statue was designed as a memorial to the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury, a particularly noteworthy philanthropist and politician -- and especially to commemorate the Earl's efforts to replace child labour with schools for all. A notable bit of trivia: it was the first statue in the world to be cast in aluminum.
South of the Circus, Regent Street stretches away to the Duke of York memorial column -- and beyond, across St. James Park, stands the tower of the Houses of Parliament.
West from Piccadilly Circus runs this street, long known as one of London's most distinguished addresses.
Notice that there's no "Street" or "Road" or any other suffix. London is chock-a-block with streets that have these kinds of names. The "City of Westminster" includes the whole area of the West End, Parliament Square, Buckingham Palace, and more surrounding regions. These places aren't actually in "London" at all, if you want to get really technical.
"Piccadilly" derives its name from the broad lace collars or "piccadills" so fashionable in the seventeenth century; a major maker of these frills had his shop here. Today it's home to many of the most expensive shops in London, all housed in buildings of aristocratic Georgian distinction...
...including one of the world's most exclusive purveyors of fine foods ("grocer" just doesn't cut it in this context). The ornate chiming clock was added in the 1950s by Canadian grocery magnate Galen Weston during the period when he owned Fortnum & Mason.
Piccadilly is also home to several of the most iconic deluxe hotels in the city.
After walking along Piccadilly for several blocks, I turned down St. James Street and stepped back another century or two into the past. Here, you don't find "shops" -- you discover "merchants," including these two lovely old premises housing wine merchants.
At the bottom of the street stands the sixteenth-century brick clock tower of St. James Palace.
This palace was built during the reign of Henry VIII. It is still the meeting place for the Accession Council, the assembly of distinguished nobles and clergy whose assent to the crowning of a new monarch is an important symbolic part of the process leading to a coronation. The Palace is also used for other ceremonial occasions -- as well as housing offices and other functions.
St. James Palace is the most distinguished address on this street, which also houses numerous famous clubs and organizations.
Again, no suffix. The name comes from a kind of ball game called "pall mall" which was played nearby in bygone centuries.
Language lesson: the name is pronounced as if there were only one "L" in each word -- to rhyme with "pal," not with "maul."
Between St. James Palace and Marlborough House (another royal residence) stands this dignified chapel, known as "the Queen's chapel." It was built for Henrietta Maria, the queen of Charles I, who was Catholic. This chapel was where Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother lay in state prior to her funeral.
At the bottom end of Marlborough Road lies "The Mall," a broad ceremonial boulevard running from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. Unlike Pall Mall, this one does rhyme with "maul." Only in England....
Across The Mall, you enter St. James Park, one of the Royal Parks surrounding Buckingham Palace. In the centre of the park is an artificial lake, and the footbridge across the lake yields some iconic views.
Okay, maybe "iconic" isn't quite the word for this one.
After I crossed the bridge, I walked west along the south shore of the lake and came up to the circle in front of Buckingham Palace, where I happened to spot this plaque in the pavement, quite by chance. Most of the crowds were walking right by or over it without giving it a second glance.
This is just across the street from the Palace railings where thousands of people piled floral tributes and lit candles in memory of Diana during the days after her untimely death.
Buckingham Palace itself is too well known to require comment. The statue in the circle in front attracts so much attention with the gilded group of figures on top that it's possible to miss Queen Victoria seated on her throne below, unless you know to look for her -- but it is her memorial. Like Piccadilly Circus, this former roundabout is now a circle in name only due to traffic congestion.
Northwest of the circle stretches this broad street, Constitution Hill.
Like the unwritten and traditional British constitution, the hill here is not especially visible until you try to proceed against it -- and then you can definitely feel its presence.
The ornate gate facing Buckingham Palace on the north side of the circle is the entrance to Green Park: the Canada Gate. It was presented by Canada to the British government as a part of the Victoria Memorial scheme, and installed in 1911. It's opened for ceremonial occasions only.
Green Park is a space of forests and lawns, without displays of flowers -- hence the name. I kept walking north through the park, and came back out to Piccadilly, somewhat farther west. On the way to the tube station, I spotted this intriguing structure (a Christian Science Church) at the far end of Half Moon Street.
An unusual street name, of course -- but what's really appropriate for me is that this is the street in which Algernon Moncrieff had his flat, in the first act of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Living vicariously, Ken!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!!
Big Love!!
Ally (stuck in Canada)