Sunday- Sunny day agenda with an umbrella....

Ok- so it began spattering, went into anything but dull, but definitely wet and ended with light rain. So we began inside at the British Museum (PHOTO), the oldest public museum in the world and saw so many amazing things. We met Cleopatra's mummy (PHOTO)- did you know that she died at the age of about 17yrs old? There were pieces of the Greek Pantheon and of course, the Rosetta Stone! We could have easily spent several days here.....but next time.

From the museum, we headed to Harrod's , London’s most famous department store- what they don’t say is that it has to be one of the most expensive stores also…..no worries, we found some wonderful biscuits & candy. The store was gorgeous- chandeliers, painted ceilings, lots of glitter!
Fortnum & Mason, said to be the most elegant because of it’s beautiful, elaborate window displays, was also an amazing store of delights- teas, jams, more biscuits, and hampers of goodies. It has a clock on the building that when it strikes the hour- 2 gentlemen come out of their doors & greet those looking up from the street below. They then apparently get bored & return to their little rooms & the doors close.
We then headed to the underground tube again- trying to find our way back to Westminster Abbey. To help find our way through the underground maze with unscheduled closures for weekend maintenance, we came upon a tube attendant who had to be one of the nicest people in London. He joked with us for 5 minutes during which he gave us directions to the Abbey. I think he had as much fun as we did!
As we approached Westminster Abbey (PHOTO) , a long line of people would approach the guard one by one only to be turned away. When our turn came, instead of telling the guard that we wanted to visit like the others in front of us- we told him that we were there to hear the organ recital. He then smiled at us & said, why didn’t you say so, that’s a horse of a different color. He then opened the gate to let us enter. The recital was wonderful and at last, we were able to peek into the Cathedral where Prince Williiam & Kate will soon be wed.

Saturday Sprint

Saturday was a really busy day. We started out at Portabello market (LOWER PHOTO)- a street market that spans over 10 blocks with antiques, fruit & veg markets, homemade wares, clothes, fresh plates like paella, etc. It was lively- people from all around the world with different languages. A cup of cappucino & away we went to another area of the city. We continued on to London Bridge (PHOTO), walking the path along the Thames River. The day was sunny & it felt good. We found the Borough Market (PHOTO) with it's cheese, olives, jam, meats, oils, etc & bought items for our dinner- fresh pasta, sardinian sausage, sicilian tomatoe sauce, & aged reggio parmesean cheese. Appetizers of oloives, grapeleaves, cheese, & bread were also secured. Then we went to see Big Ben, Parliament (PHOTO), & Westminster Abbey. The buildings are beyond impressive. These building date from 1000 years ago. What struck me the most was how ornate the buildings are in London. We also saw the London Eye- the huge ferris wheel across the river. What a great day. We got home nearly 10 hours later, popped open a bottle of wine & sat down with all of our food goodies to eat. Yummy

We will see what awaits us tomorrow as we are told it will rain. Here on the news- rainy weather is described as follows: it is "dank" outside, or "wet & dull", "spattering", or various other interesting phrases. However, we will not be put off by the weather- we still have one more day of adventures!

ABC tour- Another Bloody Cathedral....

Arrived on Friday into London and found our little flat- really pretty neighborhood & located near 2 tube routes. Our first stop that afternoon was to see St Paul's Cathedral. Well- it is nothing short of magnificent. This is where Lady Di was married & Churchill was laid out for his funeral. It has a whispering gallery where you can stand on one side of a gallery to whisper into the walls & the person on the other side of the gallery ( approximately 100 ft away) can hear you so clear- amazing. Pictures are not allowed inside but it is so impressive- like St Peter's Cathedral in Rome which influenced Wren when he designed it. We went up 237 steps to the highest open level & viewed the city of London. We finished out time with attendance at Evensong- the choir was so beautiful. Later, we learned the tube system, went to the market & headed home.

Last Day in Liverpool

Today, Thursday, was a full and final day at Aintree Hospital for Bob. I continued my exploration of northwest England & took a train ride to Southport, on the coast. It is a rather small town, lots of little shops, and a pier that goes out to the water. Along the pier was their version of amusements, arcades, and snacks- no thrashers but fish & chips….all closed however for the season. The sun was out this afternoon & I loved the 50 degree temp as I walked along the pier. The train ride went through a nice rural area of the country.

When I returned to Liverpool, I walked to the Town Hall & was able to gain admittance after pleading to have the opportunity to take a picture of their grand staircase- it is a replica of the Titanic staircase. And I met a fellow named Frank Carlyle, who is a pretty famous Liverpool historian. He was quite impressed that I knew the story of the staircase & when I knew who Sir Lord Nelson was- well, he then decided to show me the sword of Lord Nelson in a special glass case. I can thank my friend, Jon Pain, who gave me a book entitled: I Never Knew That about London. If you goggle Frank Carlyle, he has DVD’s & You Tube videos of his lectures at the University- he is quite amazing. Later that day, I visited a few more sites around Liverpool & met Bob for dinner at an Italian restaurant- The waiters basically only spoke Italian- who would have guessed- in Liverpool…..and I was able to practice my few words of Italian mixed in with Spanish. Tomorrow, we head to London & onto some new adventures.

Liverpool Here We Come

So, I am finally getting a few minutes to blog about Liverpool. Liverpool people are extremely friendly & helpful. Liverpool (photo), which sits on the Mersey River, at least at this time of year, is cloudy, somewhat foggy, and quite windy at times. Fortunately, we have been able to have fairly warm days- 45 degrees on the average. Our first day, Monday, was devoted to our dear Beatles- we went to the Beatles museum, which has a special exhibit devoted to John Lennon & we visited 'The Cavern'where the Beatles first played. It was fantastic to relieve the 60's as we knew it. We grabbed our first pints of beer (Carling- quite good) & 'proper' fish & chips at a local pub. In the pub, after we sat for awhile, we learned that one goes to the bar to place an order- and your table has a # written on it to tell them where to deliver your food. Good thing we figured that out! We may still be waiting to order food.....


Tuesday, I took a train to a town called Chester, a town with Roman walls & ruins from roman baths- way cool! The streets (photo) were very quaint, cobbled streets, timber black & white houses & storefront, and a 1000 yr old cathedral that was beautiful. I went to their market place & peeked in their shops- wonderful sweet & cheese shops (chestshire cheese, of course). Interesting about the trains are that if they are off schedule, they put you off & you pick up another train with the same route, so that they can make up time.....I was concerned at one point that maybe I was going to the wrong town. No worries, 2 little ladies, also going to Chester adopted me & made sure I knew where to get off, where to pick up the local circular bus to town & most important, how to find my way back to Liverpool & Bob (who probably wihed I had just stayed put- but really was happy I did travel to see more sights)...Of course, they speak English- Brit English, which can be a bit hard to understand at times. Also- I kept forgetting to walk on the left side of stairways, escalators, whatever & was constantly saying 'sorry' (AKA- stupid American...) That night we went to an old church that was preserved & is now a Cuban resturant....the altar is a bar!! The entire resturant is lite by candles...the food was fantastic.

Wednesday, I toured more of Liverpool- going to their Anglican Cathedral (PHOTO_) (largest cathedral in UK & 5th in the world of the another bloody cathedral club & other local sites like Town Hall etc. It is easy to walk everywhere- safe & clean. Later, I attended Bob's closing presentation of the conference....210 of the 250 people registered stayed to hear him at 4pm - He quite literally brought down the house- it was a treat & delight to hear him give his talk- 1 hr long & no one left as this also was the last day, last talk- quite phenomenal- Of course- I am biased- but I tell you this truthfully. But the best was to come- a group of nurse, doctors, administrators of the hospital, Aintree, took us out on the town...going on a short pub crawl- because "we must"....so much fun & good beer at tjhe PIGS & WHISTLE PUB and THE LION.... Then off to a resturant outside Chinatown for a chinese banquet- literally, ? 5 courses...I lost track with a way tooooooo full a belly.

I am signing off as i have a new town & another train route- heading to Southport, England- more to come.....