The Visitor (version Meg.0)

The last few months we have been blessed to have a few new visitors stay with us at our place in London. One of them is a cousin of mine that I haven’t gotten to see in many years. Thanks to a unique opportunity brought about by her photography school, Meghan has spent this summer just across the English Channel in Paris.

Meghan is one of the most free-spirited people I know so when we learned she would be completing her course work in Paris I wasn’t the least bit surprised. We just hoped she would have enough time one weekend to make her way to sunny London (did I mention it’s been one of the best summers in England in half a century?).

Thankfully on the first of August she made the short train ride from Paris to London where I caught up with her at St Pancreas Station. From there we made our way to the tube and a whirlwind whistle-stop tour of a half a dozen station and four different tube lines all to go three stations west of where we started. There’s absolutely no way I can re-map the route we took to get to Trafalgar Square that day (primarily because we were so busy catching up we might have missed transfers) but the important thing is we eventually made it. In between touring the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery we indulged in the most British of all activities. Afternoon Tea complete with scone, clotted cream and raspberry jam. The National Gallery has one of the best afternoon teas we’ve found in London so if you plan on making a visit to London I would definitely recommend you take some time to treat yourself to this quintessentially British tradition at the National Café.

The next day we made our way back into London for tours of the HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge.  When we arrived at Tower Bridge for Meghan’s Tower Bridge Experience tour we also got to see the bridge raise for an old time ocean cutter. Locals seem to believe that the bridge raise is a pretty rare occurrence yet somehow I’ve managed to see my fair share of them over the last few weeks. Anyway, it is fascinating to watch the ships as they pass through Tower Bridge only to turn right back around and had back the other way as the next bridge down the river (London Bridge) doesn’t raise.

Of course I thought the Belfast was really cool but then I do enjoy a WWII museum. Plus there might have been a few wax models throughout the ship that were rather humorous. And we might have got to play captain as well.

Amanda vetoed this picture...twice.  Don't tell her it's in here.

When visiting London if you’re planning on seeing historical sights such as the Tower of London it is probably wise to acquire a London Pass so you can avoid some of the lines and earn a bit of a discount along the way, depending on how many attractions you manage to squeeze in during your visit. Of course make sure you know which sights you are interested in beforehand as many of the Museum’s are free entry year-round such as the National Gallery’s, the Imperial War Museum, the British Museum and the Tate Museum’s are all free while the Tower, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms and St. Paul’s Cathedral are all paid entry and included in the London Pass along with nearly 50 other tours and attractions. Of course if you are coming to see us we can certainly help you decide what option is best for your visit.

Later that night we met up with a high school friend of Meghan’s, David, who also lives in London and knew of unique dining experience taking place in Canary Wharf known as Truck Stop London. Truck Stop London 2013 took place over three weekends this summer and included a selection of street food trucks and cocktail bars in one of the trendiest areas of London. From there we made our way to the London Eye where we got some great photos of London at night.

Our next stop of the weekend took us all to Camden Town which is a completely different scene in London than anywhere else I’ve been. Thankfully, David knew his way around the maze of stalls tight alleyways chalk full of boutique shops and eateries otherwise I’m pretty sure I would still be stuck in trying to find my way out. It is a fascinating area and a great place to spend an afternoon watching people, eating and according to Meghan and Amanda doing a bit of shopping.

From there we made our way to Abbey Road for the Beatles portion of the tour. Meghan is a huge fan of the boys from Liverpool so an opportunity to mimic the famous Abbey Road album cover was an absolute must. 

On the last day of Meghan’s visit we did some last minute shopping for a few London specific gifts, fish and chips in Covent Garden and the Tower of London. Having already seen the Tower and not having a London Pass of my own I left Meghan to explore the ancient Norman stronghold complete with the royal jewels while I enjoyed a chance to relax on a park bench across the street and catch up on some reading under the shade of a giant English Oak tree. I think we both managed to have really good afternoon.

She had to leave way too soon to head back to Paris, but we’re so glad she made the time to come see us!

Bow ties are cool

And sometimes fezzes.

I just hope someone hasn't lost their Tardis again.

Traveling Home

One of the trips we look forward to every year is our (way too short) week visit back home. It’s a chance to catch up with family, reconnect with friends and of course gorge ourselves on all of our favorite foods! This year however we had the added bonus of getting to meet the newest addition to the Powell family. Quentin George Powell! We were so thrilled that Greg, Alisa & Quentin were able to make their way back to DFW while we were going to be in town and we loved every minute we got to spend with them.

We already have taught him how cool the UK is.  Just check out that onsie!!

 

Yeah, the poor kid may not have been allowed to touch the floor.

We also got to spend some time with a number of friends over the course of our visit thanks to some fantastic parties hosted by several of our dear friends. They really were a great way to spend some quality time with so many wonderful friends so to Bill & Debra and Robyn & Scott a very special thank you.

Thanks also to Garrett and Beth for being flexible on the one day we were all in town at the same time. We really enjoyed getting to see you guys and are so excited about all the news you shared with us. You’ve got some amazing adventures in store as well and we can’t wait to share them with you!

 

Of course it wouldn’t be a trip home without spending time with relatives. Again special thanks to Mom and Dad, Bootsie, Jonathan, Grandma and Grandpa Powell and Becky and Bob for hosting family get togethers and/or providing much appreciated room and board while we were in town. We certainly wouldn’t have been able to see as many of our friends and family without you guys. And last but certainly not least thanks to those of you who came from out of town to spend some time with us, particularly Amanda’s parents and Grandmothers. It’s always wonderful to spend as much time with family as we can when were home and were incredibly grateful for the time we got to spend with all of you.

All in all it was an amazing trip home and we loved getting a chance to see and visit with so many of you!

Quiet, please.

When I told people in my office I was heading to Wimbledon for the day, they asked if I really liked tennis.  I don’t think ‘not really’ was the answer they expected.  Well, it’s true.  I don’t LOVE tennis.  I do really enjoy sports (you know, watching them, not playing…because who really wants to get hot & sweaty?) and given the chance to watch people at the pinnacle of their sport, live – I wouldn’t pass that up.  Plus, we’d been having some amazing weather & I wasn’t going to miss the three days of summer this year.

So you’re saying that you decided to go to a major sporting event that people plan for years to attend just two days before?  How in the world did you get tickets?  Did you have to pay a fortune to scalpers?

Haha.  No.  Believe me – I want to see everything I possibly can, but I am my father’s daughter & that makes me cheap frugal.

Here’s how the crazy ticket system works over here.

You can apply for tickets 6-10 months before the tournament through the public ballot.  There are just a couple of rules on applying…from the website:

In order to apply for tickets for The Championships, you need to fill in a Public Ballot application form:

• To obtain an application form, send in a stamped, self-addressed envelope from 1 August 2013 to: AELTC, P.O. BOX 98, London SW19 5AE by 15 December 2013. Ballot forms for 2014 are not yet available.
• Only one application per household. Don't ask for more than one form: we will void your applications.
• If you do not send in a stamped, self-addressed envelope, you will not receive a form. No letter is required.
• There is a separate ballot for wheelchair spaces so please make sure you write clearly 'WHEELCHAIR' on both the outer and on your return envelope.
• Non-UK residents should send in an International Reply Coupon instead of a stamp. If your post office does not provide these, please simply send your self-addressed envelope.
• The stamped, self-addressed envelope should have your return address and should be the type 'DL' which is approximately 110mm x 220 mm (4 1/4" x 8 5/8")
• It will greatly assist us in processing your request if you send the correct size of envelope (and self-seal if possible, rather than gummed).
• Requests postmarked after 15 December 2013 will NOT be processed.

Once you receive the application form, you have to fill it out by 31 December and send it in.  If you then are lucky enough to get tickets you have 2 weeks from the time of notification (which could be anytime from February to three weeks before the tournament starts) to purchase your tickets.  To say the least, it’s intense.

However, they also reserve around 5,000 tickets that you can buy on the day of … if you’re willing to stand in line.

As Wimbledon had been going on for the better part of a week already and we didn’t have tickets, we suddenly became willing to stand in the queue.

So at 6:40, we headed to the train and made it to the back of the queue at 7:41.  How do you know it’s the back of the queue?  They have a very large flag!

When you join the queue, you are given a queue card with strict instructions to stay in your spot.  You have to stay in order to be let through the gate.

If you’re in the queue, there are rules.  A book of them.

Only the British would publish a 20 page booklet on how to stand in a line.

You could tell that there were some experienced professionals at this whole queuing thing.  A group of 4 women came in behind us, immediately put down their picnic blanket, popped a bottle of champagne, assembled their plastic champagne flutes, opened a package of strawberries and toasted their girls’ day out.  I bet they had a pretty fun outing.  The rest of us looked something like this…

After about 2 ½ hours of standing in line, a little bit of rain, we made it to the ticket booth.  You can buy Centre Court, Court 1 and Court 2 tickets all of which also give you grounds admission to visit the other 15 or so courts plus watch the prime courts on the jumbotrons.  Obviously the prime court tickets go first, so at nearly 3,000 back in the line, we didn’t think we had a chance at getting any.  However, the booth we walked up to had two Court 2 tickets left.  So in a spur of the minute decision, we bought them.

So on we went. 

For a spur of the minute decision, we had amazing seats.  We were behind the umpire, about 4 rows back and just three seats off the net line.

I can’t tell you the names of the people we watched.  Our court had all doubles matches.  Two mixed doubles and two women’s doubles.  But I can tell you it was some of the best tennis I’ve ever seen.  (Yes, I realize that you would hope it’s the best I’ve ever seen, when my comparison is the Marble Falls High School Varsity squad.  You know what I meant.)

During a break on our court, we stopped to eat our strawberries & cream.  I’d prove it with a picture, but after taking one of the booth, we ate them all before we remembered we didn’t take a picture of us eating any.  My attempts to purchase another bowl (totally for the photo op & not at all because I wanted them) fell on Adam’s deaf ears.

Our matches ended about mid way through Andy Murray’s quarterfinal match against Fernando Verdasco.  We went and sat on Henman Hill.  ‘Sat’ is a term that I use loosely.  As the hill looked something like this three sets into the match.

Henman Hill is the large open air area with the main jumbotron in the park.  And as it’s on a hill, it has a sense of built in stadium seating for your picnic blanket.  It was named after Tim Henman, a British tennis player popular in the early 2000’s.  People have been informally calling the space Murray Mound now that Andy has become more popular.  Guess time will tell…

Andy struggled through the first two sets and most of the third before finally turning it around to win in five (4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5).  I like to think he knew when I sat down to focus on his match.

Pillow Pets

I decided to do a big clean this morning, so I moved all the furniture to sweep the floors.  Apparently I moved the girls' pillow into the perfect location.

Melting Oysters

An Oyster Card is the London Transport System's electronic ticket.  You load them and the use it like a debit card for any public transport in the city (tube, train, bus or boat).  You then touch them to the reader at each station to enter the tube or bus or whatever you're trying to travel on.

And thankfully, they still work after you forget to check your husband's pockets before doing laundry...

Where England began

 

In case we weren’t sure beforehand, I have an absolutely wonderful wife. A few weeks ago on our way down to Brighton she agreed to visit a small town just outside of Hastings known as Battle. Hastings is commonly referred to as the site where William Duke of Normandy defeated King Harold Godwinson and England as we know it began, but the actual location of the conflict was further north. After having landed on the south coast of England near Pevensey on the 28th of September, William constructed temporary fortifications outside Hastings in order to fortify his position in southern England. Just two weeks after making landfall William then road north to meet King Harold and his army of more than 8,000 on the fields surrounding Caldbec Hill in what is now the village of Battle.

In one fateful day of fighting William’s army of 7,000 managed to overcome the English army holding the high ground perched atop Caldbec hill. The days fighting extended into the evening even though King Harold had fallen earlier in the day and it wasn’t until the next morning that Harold’s body was identified as one of the fallen previous days clash. With the death of King Harold, William continued his march on London and eventually entered the city in December of 1066 where he was crowned King of England on Christmas day in Westminster Abbey.

A few years after claiming the English thrown (1070), William the Conqueror, at the behest of Pope Alexander II, began construction of an abbey on the site where King Harold supposedly fell during the battle. As you’ll see from the photos a bit further down the Abbey has since been demolished with only a footprint of what would have been an impressive structure still visible.

As is generally the case here in England it was windy, cold and rather wet on the day of our visit to Battle but that didn’t discourage us from make our way around the battle field huddled under umbrellas while listening to one of the better walking guides we’ve come across.

From the path you can get a pretty good idea of the task facing William’s army as they prepared to charge up the hill and into battle nearly 1000 years ago.  The importance of maintaining the high ground was arguably far more important in William’s day than it is today as an army’s ability to inflict casualties from above was considerably greater when the primary standoff weapons were throwing spears, bow & arrows and trebuchets. 

While the main Abbey Church was deconstructed shortly after Henry VIII dissolved the Catholic Church in England there remains a series of cellars that were presumed to be either office spaces or guests quarters for visitors of the Abbey along with the ruins of the Dorter and Common Rooms and a very well preserved ice house.

 

 

Within the footprint of the Abbey, where the high alter once stood, a monument to the spot where King Harold fell in battle has been added to commemorate the spot where the course of English history was forever changed.

The grounds covering the Abbey and Battlefield are currently run by English Heritage so of course we had to make a stop in the gift shop. I must admit that the life-sized suit of armour is high on my list future acquisitions and they certainly had a few decent replicas for sale. However what I wasn’t expecting to find was this! (Be glad Alisa, Amanda said Quentin was too young still.)

Where was the toy Trebuchet when I was a child, that’s all I’m asking?