One week in London

Bus tour of Cliffs of Dover (4) and Canterbury (4). We had around 2-3 hours to walk from the parking lot to a light house and back. Being in nature was nice. Canterbury was VERY crowded. We had around 3 hours there. I felt my 12th grade AP English teacher smiling down on me as I entered Canterbury Cathedral and saw where Thomas Becket was killed. We read both Canterbury Tales and TS Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral in that class. Bus ride back into London? Miserable due to slow-moving traffic.

Bletchley Park (5). Spectacular. Wonderful. Amazing. The website said to plan for 4 hours there. I was there for 6. And still didn’t see everything. As I walked through the huts in which the code breakers worked, I felt like I was walking on hallowed ground. I actually was a little emotional in those huts thinking about how much the staff here did, and many never received the credit they deserved. Bletchley Park was easily the highlight of the trip. Thanks, British Library tour guide guy! Chuck stuck to the travel plan and went to art museums, which he much enjoyed.

Bath (3.5). Train trip. A roman bath. Georgian architecture. Interesting but did not knock my socks off.

The British Museum (3). Man, that’s a big place. With a lot of stuff. There were an incredibly large number of people there. We joined the queue a little before opening, and once we were allowed to enter, we went straight to the Rosetta Stone before it got mobbed. It was nice to see it up close. Yes, there are a lot of interesting things there. Chuck loved the place. Dave? Overstimulated. I went to the big open space at the entrance, sat on a bench, and tried to figure out how to respond to a text from a toxic co-worker who was terminated by our employer after I left for vacation and whose text asked me if I would feel comfortable giving him a positive job reference. An elderly Japanese couple approached the bench. I slid over to give them space to sit. They looked at me with huge smiles and proudly said a heavily accented, “Thank you.”

London Walks Jack the Ripper walking tour (4). We had a great guide for this evening tour. I will admit I knew pretty much nothing about Jack the Ripper. I learned a lot! Unfortunately, most of the sites connected with the murders are now either gleaming modern buildings or surrounded by them. But at the end of the tour, we were in an area that still had a bit of late 19 th century London character.

The Churchill War Rooms (4). The War Rooms are cool. The Churchill Museum tucked away within the rooms is better. It does a very nice job of telling Churchill’s story from birth to death. I found his childhood particularly interesting. His aristocratic grandmother called him a “handful.” His parents were distant. He went to boarding school at 7 where he was lonely and not a particularly good student. His father didn’t think he would amount to much in life. But he had a nanny who adored him. And he adored her. She was the adult to whom he was connected and with whom he corresponded until her death when he was 20 years old. What a lovely woman… to invest in a child… who was “not hers.” I also found a new favorite Churchill quote in the museum: “Success is going from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm.” Churchill knew failure.

London Symphony Orchestra (5). This was another highlight of the trip. The showcase piece? Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 12, which the composer tilted “The Year 1917.” The piece was written and dedicated to Lenin right after Shostakovich joined the Communist Party in 1960, a tortured decision for the composer that is still subject to criticism and analysis. The performance was top notch and much enjoyed.

Windsor Castle (5). I will admit that this made it on the itinerary because it was one of those “I’m going to London, I should see it” things. Sometimes the touristy things are touristy because they are quite spectacular. For me this is true of Windsor Castle. It’s impressive – inside and out. We hung around for evensong at St George’s Chapel. I’m not Anglican, but it was a nice experience.

Memorable Food

Chuck tends to like to eat close to the hotel. So, we look for good food nearby, not for Michelin star restaurants. We had a nice meal in a nice environment near the Waterloo station at Mamuska Polish Restaurant. Away from the hotel, we had a nice fish and chips when we met a friend of Chuck at The Angel, a neighborhood pub on the Thames outside the tourist district; of course, we asked us to take him to a local place he likes! In Canterbury, the meat pie and mash (we added a side of vegetables) at The Old Buttermarket was quite nice; the volume of food that was too much for one person, but it was just right for sharing between two, which we did.

Conclusion

I’m fortunate to have a handful of people with whom I can travel, and I had a great time in London with good ol’ Chuck. He’s a good guy, and I like that trips with him require minimal planning on my part. Next up with Chuck: the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda in July (we’re trying to hit all the Presidential libraries) and then Peru in August.

Dave, thanks for your report and your ratings. I would love a TR on Peru when you return. Close to top of our travel list.

1. So, what did you tell the toxic coworker?
2. Was the British Library tour done by the library or an organized tour through someone else?

@Tammy... I will be happy to post a report on Peru!

@Allan...

1. I told the toxic co-worker that my integrity would require me to share both his strengths and his weaknesses. I offered my perception of these. I observed that the weaknesses I would be obligated to share would unfortunately make my reference unhelpful to him. Narcissistic and vindictive are two additional good descriptors for the guy. It took me a while to try to craft a response that hopefully would not provoke retribution. I was successful!

2. The tour was one of the British Library's "in house" guides booked through the museum itself.

Bookmarking, thank you Dave!

Nice way to organize a trip report! Very helpful!! I have been wondering about that bus tour to Canterbury so it's good to see your feedback.

That was a very well crafted and enjoyable TR, Dave. Thank you, and I'm glad you had such a good trip.

Dave, thanks for the trip report. I like your rating system.

Bletchley Park was the highlight of our short London visit a few years ago. And I find the British Museum to be overwhelming, so l booked their 90 minute Around the World Tour for my visit last month. It was well done and just enough museum time for me.

Great trip report as usual, and well done on the toxic coworker email (I'm sure the atmosphere of the sophisticated British Museum helped temper your response). I'd love to go to Bletchley Park on my upcoming trip but my 20 year old niece probably won't be up for it. Next time!

FWIW on my trip to London in 2023, my nephew and I both tapped in and out on the tube as you did and it was about that price range for a full day of moving around, so I think you did ok on that.

Thanks for the great review, Dave. I agree about Windsor Castle - it really does exceed expectation.

I really enjoyed your trip report. I am keeping Bletchley park in mind for my family trip next year, thanks!

Enjoyed the report. Many years ago we were in the middle of nowhere in southwest France among ruins. The only other people we ran into were from Barcelona. Told them we were from Kentucky. We parted ways and out of the blue we heard “basketball!!!”

Dave's Trip Report (5)

Wasn't expecting to enjoy a trip report this much. Thanks Dave!

Luv2Travel -- I'm glad you found the report was bookmark worthy :)

Valerie -- Hi! The bus tour let us see all there was to see at the Cliffs of Dover, I think. For Canterbury, there was much more than could be explored, but I was pretty happy with what I saw. Meat pie and Canterbury Cathedral -- those were my big goals. Bus ride back into London -- brutal.

CJean -- Thanks for the kind comment!

jeanm -- That 90 minute Around the World tour sounds pretty good and would be about right for my attention span.

CL -- maybe if you get your neice to watch the Imagination Game, you can get her to go Bletchley Park? Thanks for the affirmation on tapping with the credit card.

Mary -- Yes, Windsor Castle hugely exceeded my expectations. It's very unique.

pbscd -- Thanks to you, also, for your kind words. Bletchley Park is defintely worth the effort to see.

Sheila -- Nice story. I was on a tram in Vienna, and a couple of teen girls approached me when I was wearing my Kentucky sweatshirt. They wanted a photo with me to prove to people back home that there was a guy in a Kentucky sweatshirt in Vienna. And... I'm moving back to Lexington in the fall after 22 years away.

Lisuza -- Thanks for the generous rating!