Wicked

Kent and I had our first real date day in London on October 23rd. We took the tube down in the morning after putting the kids on the bus. We intended to go to Westminster Abbey, but it was closed early. So, plan B was the Winston Churchill Wartime Tunnels museum. It was really amazing--they built these command centers under a building near 10 Downing Street. From there, Churchill could command the war and (they hoped) be safe from bombings. Although they reinforced the building, there was no way to be sure that the building would withstand a direct hit from one of the air raids. When the war ended, they just turned out the lights and went home, so most things are preserved exactly as they were at the end of the war. We saw the tiny closet where Churchill could speak on the phone to Roosevelt and Truman, and the map rooms where they tracked troops and battles. There was also a magnificent museum to Churchill's life in general, where you could really get a sense of the whole man and the experiences that shaped his views and also changed them.

After the museum, we walked through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace and then on down Buckingham Palace Gate toward the theater. We stopped for dinner at Bumbles--so fabulous! And then headed over to the Apollo Victoria to see Wicked. We had never seen it before, or even heard much of the music, but now, I am obsessed. The production was outstanding--especially Elpheba had an amazing voice. I have been listening to and singing the soundtrack nonstop, substituting words as appropriate: Now, I am folding laundry...now I'm scrubbing toilets, etc. Makes my life seem much more glamorous when set to music!

And they all lived happily in a little Crooked House...

On the day before they left, Megan and Peter and I went to Bury St. Edmunds to see the Abbey Ruins and the Cathedral (and also to do some shopping for yummy British treats to bring home!) After Bury, we drove on to Lavenham, one of the best-preserved Shakespearean era villages around. It was really lovely. The houses were colorful, timbered, and as you can see, crooked. This is now a gallery with handmade goods from local artisans. There were antique shops and tea houses and pubs, all in mismatched colors and tilty timbers. I loved it! We were so sad to bid Megan and Peter goodbye and can't wait till they come back!

Blenheim Palace

This palace is billed as "England's answer to Versailles," and it truly is magnificent. The land and seed money for the building of Blenheim was a gift from Queen Anne to the First Duke of Marlborough for his victory at the Battle of Blenheim (during the War of Spanish Succession in what is now Austria) in 1704. Winston Churchill was born here on November 30, 1874 as his parents attended a party. He spent much of his childhood here and it was here at the Temple of Diana that he became engaged to Clementine. Kent and I recreate the scene:) The house and grounds are enormous. It was another glorious day, and the kids enjoyed taking the train down to the yew maze and the playground. There was also a butterfly house and lots of puzzles and a giant chess board on the grounds. All good things must come to an end, however, and it was time to head home. We were so glad Megan and Peter were with us! It made it extra fun for us all.

Avebury

If Stonehenge is compact, Avebury is sprawling. It is another stone circle over a mile circumference, in fact, they just built the village right in the middle of it. Some of the stones were massive, and some had been worn down. The great fun of this was walking right up and touching; although the kids were disappointed to see the sign asking them not to climb on them. Madeleine was more interested in the sheep that grazed in the fields all around the stones. (Boots or something you can hose off would have been good...tip for next time.)

Who needs a Bath?

We then drove west on towards Bath. As Madeleine, Bronwyn, and Colin tried to find their place in the world on a huge ground map in front of the Abbey, we checked out the Roman Baths and the Abbey.

We took a walking tour of the city led by a lifelong resident, who was informative and patient during the brief but intense rain shower. We walked past the Avon River (different from the one running through Stratford), viewed some gorgeous Georgian homes, past the Assembly Hall, into the Circus and in front of the Royal Crescent.

Our tourguide also loved Jane Austen, and was happy to point out places in the city which Austen mentioned in Persuasion and Northanger Abbey.

We recharged on pasties and pastries and were off to our last stop of the day.

Stonehenge

After what seemed like a very brief night's sleep, we were off on the next adventure: Stonehenge. We drove through what must have been the world's narrowest and curviest roads (nary a lane divider in sight) until we rounded a bend and saw it:

We got some audioguides and walked around and around it (unfortunately at a pretty good distance--after years of renting hammers and chisels for sightseers, they wised up and roped it off). It is much more compact than I had envisioned. The stones themselves are mammoth, of course, but it actually takes up less square footage than I had imagined. The most fun was seeing all the little details like the hip-bone-like joiners of each lintel (the cross pieces at the top), and then trying to imagine how these people put this together over 4,000 years ago, and most intriguing of all: WHY????

To Be or Not to Be?

Next stop...Stratford-upon-Avon Apparently, Avon was the Saxon word for river, so there are like 4 Avon Rivers in this general area, and Stratford is the London suburb where the Olympics are going to be in 2012, but this is the place we were looking for today. We took a photo in front of Shakespeare's house and everyone got to impersonate Will in the face board. The house was in a nice pedestrian mall with shops and cafes. We then walked down the river to the Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway are buried. On our way out of town, we drove by her cottage, which was closed for the evening, but we got a lovely view of the outside! Stratford-upon-Avon is at the upper edge of the Cotswolds, so we drove through this gorgeous country side as night was falling. We stopped for dinner in Chipping Camden, eating at the Lygon Arms Hotel. Very yummy pub food. While we are on the food subject--I'm not sure why British food has such a bad rap. We have found most of the restaurants to be very good, with a couple being downright outstanding. There is a favorite local place, Jude's Ferry, which has the most wonderful food. I, whose motto is "nothing from the sea," have even partaken of the famous fish and chips. And they were actually pretty good, greasy, but good. And the scones, and crumpets, and digestives...don't even get me started. Seriously, I can't stop.