Week 5--Becoming Londoners

Monday April 19, 2010
A Night at the Theater

Tonight Tony and I went to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre. Love Never Dies is the Phantom of the Opera sequel. It was fun to do something different with our evening. We had great seats, strawberry ice cream at intermission, and the performance was wonderful. It is amazing what can be done on stage. Theater in London is fabulous and I may have gotten Tony hooked!!

My London Learning for the day is that Andrew Lloyd Webber had the exterior of the Adelphi Theatre painted black to promote the play Love Never Dies…and a few days after seeing the show news came out that Andrew Lloyd Webber could face up to a £20,000 ($30,744) fine for doing so!


Tuesday April 20, 2010
A little more about living in London--Grocery Shopping

My first posting I wrote about the grocery stores and differences I had observed—mostly that they are smaller—size, selection, etc. Unfortunately, the prices are not smaller. Our food budget for a month here in London is equal to about 3-4 months in the States. I go grocery shopping every other day. This is not only due to the small size of the refrigerator, but also because the food is not full of the preservatives so it doesn’t last as long, and because I have to carry it home—about half a mile to a mile. At times I really miss my car!

I had Tony take this picture of me carrying home the groceries on Saturday . Usually, I also have my black shoulder bag and a coat--but it was a nice day so no coat and we had Tony's backpack with us.

My London Learning for the day is that cheese is rated by strength (1 for weakest/most mild and 7 strongest). So, when you purchase cheese in the grocery store just look for the number on the package and you will know the strength.

Wednesday April 21, 2010
Wellcome Collection--Lovely

Located a short walk from our flat is Wellcome Collection. This is an exhibition of the personal collection of a man named Henry Wellcome, “entrepreneur, philanthropist, patron of science and pioneer of areal photography.” His collection is interesting, odd, and contained a wide variety of unrelated things—medical instruments, a shrunken head, a mummified body, prosthetic limbs, diagnostic dolls, a brass corset (from 1800’s), paintings, a lock of King George III’s hair, and…

A torture chair from China, 1700-1900 (next to that is a birthing chair and next to that is a dentist chair)...

A used guillotine blade…

Napoleon’s toothbrush…

Florence Nightingale’s moccasins…

And Charles Darwin’s walking sticks

Confession time…today someone asked me what I thought of London and living in the UK and I said…Lovely!?! It came out without thought and with every Britishness behind it (no accent though). Crazy! I’m picking up their words…Lovely, isn’t it!

Also, Happy Birthday HRH Queen Elizabeth II. My London Learning for the day is that the Queen celebrates two birthdays! That right—two times a year (and this is not including her half birthday!) Her actual birthday is today, and her official birthday is celebrated in June.


Thursday April 22, 2010
Routine

I enjoyed the late morning in Hyde Park and then off to the weekly free concerts that I attend at our church. This weeks concert was a piano and violin duet—Leslie Townsend and Manuel Bega Santos.

My late afternoon was spent at the Science Museum. The exhibits I saw were about Plastics, Materials and Communication.

Plastics…

A few things from the exhibit...

Plastic Blood

Tupperware--I think my mom had this same measuring bowl.

Toyota concept car--made of plastic.

Materials…

This is the line up of materials used in the house--wood, carpet, tile, plastic, slate, recycled soda bottles, cork, you name it and its a material its in the Material House! And I don't think that any layers are repeated.

Communication…My London Learning for the day came from the Communication exhibit…opposite from the reaction in America, the British did not favorably receive the invention of the telephone. It was seen as the tool for luxury and trade. Well, things have changed---they are all about their mobiles! That’s right a cell phone is called mobile here.


Friday April 23, 2010
Lunch with Tony in “The City”

One of the wonderful things about living in London is that we live close to Tony’s work and since I have some free time---okay a lot of free time---we can have lunch together often! So, today I went to “The City” and had lunch with Tony. We went to a sandwich shop, had hand carved turkey sandwiches and ate in the patio area of the restaurant. It was enjoyable, relaxing, and probably a good break from the office for Tony.

More about the London borough known as “The City”—It is the square mile or historic core located north of the river Thames. This borough is central to the other 32 borough’s of London. It is also the heart of the financial district.

Tony’s office is located on London Wall.

His office is a short walk from the Museum of London and the remains of the London Wall. Though the wall itself has been rebuilt several times, the foundation is the original built by the Romans.

The London Wall remains...

So, after lunch I went to the Museum of London. This museum focuses on the history of London. I was able to view the first part of the exhibit--up to the great fire of London 1666. The second part of the exhibit is undergoing some changes and will reopen in late May.

My London Learning for the day is that today is St George’s Day—England’s national day! St. George is the patron saint of England.

Weekend Saturday and Sunday April 24-25, 2010
A walk through Kensington Gardens and a visit to Kensington Palace

Kensington Gardens is located on the west side of West Carriage Dr with Hyde Park on the east side. It was the perfect day for a walk in Kensington Gardens—bright, sunny and a high of 68 degrees.

We enjoyed a tour of the state apartments at Kensington Palace (no pictures allowed). Kensington Palace has been home to several members of the Royal Family, most recently the late Princess Diana. She lived in the Palace from 1981 to 1997.

My London Learning for the weekend has to do with housing…London is home of the most expensive residential street in the world—Kensington Palace Gardens with the southern part of the street named Palace Green. It is also known as Billionaires Row. Saturday afternoon, Tony and I walked down it, but of course no photographs are allowed to be taken on the street. Several embassies and homes of ambassadors are located on the street, so there is a lot of police presence--especially in front of the Israeli embassy. But...we did get some pictures from Kensington Park, so you are seeing the backside of two of the homes.