The Red eye is a flying requirement for us form Seattle and we were very impressed with the Delta service and the seats, even in economy seemed just a smidge more comfortable then when we flew the Virgin 787. We were on an AirBus A330, which can accomodate almost 300 passengers. We made great time with a tail wind so in ahead of schedule. Here we are onboard in Seattle. Me and Amy and Margeaux and Nick.
The transportation system is well developed so it was a breeze getting to our VRBO right on a canal very close to core activities. To go with the flow we did rent bikes to get around, as it is a very popular mode of transport here and this place is flat and under sea level. We did take a tour of the city via one of the many tour boats, which is a good way to get familar with how the canal really determine how the city was laid out. The structures go back to 1600’s and some have sunk and had to be reinforced with concrete pillars 30 meters into the ground. There are houses that lean against each other, kind of like drunks holding each other up.
Our second full day was spent with a morning visit to the Van Gough Museum with his very prolific output over his lifetime. Some of my favorites here:
More of day 2 on day 3 time for bed
We are back in London now dropped off the car, surviving a hectic week of driving country lanes where the locals drive like they are on a 4 lane freeway, and you just hold your breath and hope you don’t careen into the ditch, mirrors barely clearing as they pass. The drive through the countryside is amazing however, the Cotswolds are a pastoral scene that has not changed in generations. Every little village you pass beckons with cozy pubs and Inns. Maybe a pint or two would of allayed my driving paranoia but maybe not such a good idea. So back in London, staying at a hipster hotel Citizen M on the South bankside by the Thames. I thought it would up my hipster cred but sadly I feel my age, as the room is more like a luxury accommodation that is if you were fly in a private cabin an Air Emirates AirBus A380! I have to crawl over Amy to get into bed, the shower/toilet is very much like an airplane enclosure out in the room and our luggage looks out of scale like we woke up in Gullivers travels. So that and the fact that I cannot grow a pony tail adds up to my oldster cred. Yesterday afternoon we went to the reconstructed Globe theatre to see King Lear and the performance did not disappoint. The King himself played with such animation that the audience was sniffling at times, me too. This great tragedy of Shakespeare, one of his best, really delves into fundamental human virtues and vices. Hint the vices do not prevail unlike many modern stories. Amy, pictured below got a great bowl of her very favorite squash soup. Pictures are of the Globe Theatre, an A380 passing over it, and the Thames with St Paul in the background. Today we go the St. Paul, The Tate Modern, also in a picture below, and the Tower of London, if we can fit it all in. Unfortunately there has been another terrorism incident by these venal cowards, so the terror alert has gone from severe to critical, so there will be an enhanced military and police presence today. Londoners carry on, as any great city like this would, but you cannot ignore the sense of vulnerability these assholes create.
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