I flew back to Toronto earlier this week after a whirlwind adventure overseas. Part 1 Paris. Part 2 London. All Parts Deliciously Fun. Except for opening my phone upon arrival home to see the news about Notre Dame on fire. Why does the world care? Because we are all tumbling into a digital black hole of platform existence only. Clinging to artifacts and icons helps remind us we were here once. London is full of those reminders.
Here are some of the wonders.
Tube Envy. As a Torontonian stuck with a 1970s transit system, I cannot say I exactly enjoyed zipping about London’s uber-efficient Underground, otherwise known as the Tube —after all, like any busy metropolis, it was often crowded with passengers chomping on full dinners. Then there’s that recent Transport for London study indicating the network’s nasty pollution problem. Many of the Tube lines run far deeper underground than other famed systems in Paris, Berlin or NYC, as I discovered in one of many Dumb Tourist Moves: walking down a very deep winding (and claustrophobic) staircase we later learned was only for emergencies—but that I was impressed as hell is a good snapshot. How can I not be? The sheer breadth of the grid and the efficiency of moving millions of users made me green. This alone is what stalls Toronto from being anything close to world-class.
Old and New Awesomeness. Time travel is authentic in London. Just use the sci-fi bathroom pods at Sketch after your afternoon tea that begins with a boater-festooned waiter offering caviar.
Take the Beefeater tour at the London Tower: our excellent Yeoman Warder told the many UK kids on Easter holiday among our group that no, “this is not a Harry Potter theme park, and this is not a costume. But there will be much talk about death, torture, and execution.” Who needs Fortnite here? Walk the Classic old Westminster Tour (try for a Tuesday, and you’ll get the clever Judy as we did, winner of the London Tourist Board’s prestigious Guide of the Year) and hear about suffragists and not just stuffy history lessons and gossip-did you know the folks at Westminster Abbey practice for the Queen’s funeral every six months? Visit the gorgeous baroque St. Paul’s Cathedral on a site that stretches back to the year 604, and see the first permanent video art installation of any cathedral worldwide. Contemporary artist Bill Viola’s Martyrs, installed in 2014, is as biblical as modern. Stand at the charming entrance of Liberty, founded in 1844, inhale the bevy of blooms, and then venture inside to peruse the famed silk prints and latest designer fashions, all housed in this magnificent Tudor revival building. Even if you don’t walk out with one of their signature purple bags, a walkabout at this store is time travel of the best kind.
Sunday Pub Dinners and Patio Heaters. Okay, my ancestors are all Brits, Scots, and Irishmen, so shoot me if I love nothing better than roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, despite the many other excellent dips into international cuisine. And while drinking outside in the damp gray mist that is often London’s forecast is hardly my cuppa, I couldn’t help being cheered by the crowds outside all the pubs as we walked the many
Proper Curation. Scratch that…Phenomenal Curation. How often have you been inside a museum or gallery and felt like a moron as you tried to make sense of the context? Why is this piece included? Okay, put down your hands, everyone. London has an endless list of museums and galleries, and there’s no way to see them all, but those I did hold a joint strength: they were curated sensibly. This is most evident in the Tate Modern, which is easily among my
Here are some ideas you can use. You don’t have to like all the art. You might see artworks that make you question what art is. It could help if you look closely and think about:
What is your first reaction to the work? Why does it make you feel or think like that? What is it made of? …Does the size of the work affect your experience of it?
One summer, I took a poetry masters class with the wizard that is Ken Babstock. Among the gems I walked away with was the gap between a writer and reader: your job as a poet was to eliminate it. To extrapolate here, this should be the job of every curator in the world. Why have public spaces devoted to stunning artifacts without making a transparent context for visitors to enjoy them? To quote the chirpy Tube announcers, mind the gap!
The Victoria and Albert Museum. A reason to move to London. Period. No, I didn’t see the new Dior exhibit or the Mary Quant either because the V and A’s permanent collections had me enthralled at Go! Impossible to name a
Portobello Market. No, Hugh Grant didn’t inspire our visit to Notting Hill, nor did his film character’s description of his
Speaking of all things Dickensian, how about Bloomsbury? We walked and walked and walked through many areas of London, yet it was bookish Bloomsbury that grabbed me and whirled me round and round in a heady state. He (Charles Dickens) lived here. She (Virginia Woolf) worked here. Indeed, the literary capital of London is chock a block full of intellectual giants. I put on my fangirl hat at the Dickens Museum, which salutes the great author’s life as a people’s champion as much as it does his writing. And then there are all the green spaces and elegant squares. And the Bloomsbury Publishing House (Harry Potter!), the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and the University College of London, where my oldest student is. Walking about these leafy streets and stunning architecture will make the densest feel like smarty-pants, if only for a magic minute. Don’t forget: I’m still the dolt who lost her 100th umbrella on the Tube.
Dancing at the JuJu’s Jazz Band Ball on Brick Lane. The theatre in London is renowned and plentiful, and yes, we saw a play —All About Eve because the film is a favourite and of course, we had to see the theatrical adaptation—and lined up to meet the star (Gillian Anderson). It is okay to do this if you’re with me because we live on the hill called EXTRA. But the most fun I had in two weeks overseas (and maybe all year!) had to be at the JuJu’s Jazz Band Ball in Shoreditch doing the Lindy Hop (very poorly) with my guy —and also some tipsy Irish dude who thought he was being gallant asking me to dance until I said, come, meet my FAMILY who is here with me. This funky event space has weekly Brazilian and Cuban live music and funk and soul on other nights, but come Saturday, a swing dance revolution is in full swing, and you cannot escape it; total immersion. If you don’t dance, you can watch an endless parade of cuties, some with pin curls, finding one another on the dance floor. London is full of these offbeat hidden clubs, and no one was keener to dig them out than my travel buddies. More on that in a moment.
The Queen’s view out her window at Buckingham.
If you aren’t tired yet reading my list above, think of all the parks in London and then think of me dragging my posse and making them stop as I shrieked about yet another shrub. Hyde Park is lovely. Kensington has Peter Pan, and his spirit is sprinting about the Princess Diana Memorial playground. But it is the gorgeous green in front of Buckingham Palace, where I communed with the ducks and famous pelicans and took mental notes: I need that for my garden, and that…oh, that too… Dreaming is free. That’s a very good thing in London.
Speaking of dreams…
My kids live there as students/ grown adults who no longer need their Mom to pick their outfits. Their time there is temporary. Maybe forever, if one of them has her dreams come true. Time spent with them is my dream come true. I adore these creatures made of wonder, laughter and homemade macaroni casseroles. They know how to capture
First, a wee nap.
(PS Yes, honey, I didn’t forget the Fulham soccer match. A total blast, sure to make everyone’s top ten).
3 Comments
Love the pink fedora! We have a son in Hackney. It’s high time we played tourist again…
Anne,
Love your trip report! London is my favourite city.
I had a great time when I went just after Christmas – despite losing my carefully researched itinerary! I had saved a bunch a stuff on my phone and a back-up on my iPad. However – the day before I left my phone died and had to be replaced. I moved important stuff like theatre tickets and hostel reservations but the day to day stuff I had on my iPad. As I was getting my stuff together before departure I totally forgot only the iPad had the itinerary and I thought “I don’t need this. I have this great phone with all this memory, etc.” dumb!
But I winged it – for 10 days – did stuff I hadn’t thought of, walked all over the place. And the itinerary? Next trip!
Did you have your Tube adventure at Russel Square? A couple trips ago I opted to take the stairs instead of the tiny elevators – huge mistake!
Your daughters are lucky to be studying there! I would have loved to have such an opportunity.
I thoroughly enjoyed my virtual London Top Ten tour with you this Easter Sunday morning! Love your pink fedora, the Irish dude picking you up on the dance floor…come meet my family! plan, the photos (you are so good!), seeing your beautiful girls…love the black tam, Kate!, and gathering fodder for my next UK trip, which will be primarily a war trip, but some of your stops are now added t my itinerary. Thank you Anne! Blog on!