R&R #1 - London and Ireland, Part I

Dave’s boss scheduled a teaming session to be held in London, and we chose to add one of our three annual R&Rs (rest and relaxations) at the tail end of his business trip. Fortunately, we were able to include Benjamin, Melissa and Daniel on our first adventure.

Our trip began late one Saturday evening as we flew from Accra to London, landing bright and early Sunday morning. Fortunately, we were traveling with a couple of other Newmont folks, one of whom (Dale) has visited London often and knew his way around. We boarded the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station where we then took a taxi to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Since we couldn’t yet get into our rooms, we ate breakfast at the hotel, and then ventured out to begin a quick tour of the area with Dale as our guide. We arrived at Buckingham Palace

where there were loads of people standing around and in which the roads were blocked. I asked several people why the roads were closed, but no one seemed to know. A tour-guide “wannabe” was spouting off, so I went and asked him. He claimed that the roads were blocked off because it was Sunday…and Sunday is the day for the Queen’s subjects. I still don’t know what that meant….but….ok. He also claimed that when the Queen is away, there are only two guards stationed outside of the Palace (which there were on this particular day). He informed the listeners that she was probably in Windsor, as that is where she spends most of her weekends. When she is in the Palace, there are four guards stationed on the grounds. Well, not long after a REAL tour guide came by and told the crowd that there was going to be a changing of the guard, and sure enough, we heard the music begin and a band of the “Queen’s Guards” moved towards us, and the reason for the blockage was evident. According to the official British Army website, “The Queen’s Guards in London changes in the Forecourt of Buckingham Palace at 11:30 a.m. every day in the summer and every other day in the winter.” We were fortunate to be there at the right time!

In addition, there was a big 10K London Race that was in progress which went right through the heart of London; another reason for the diversion of traffic. It was great, as there were no cars or busses on the roads, making the walking tour much more peaceful. We were able to cheer on many of the runners/walkers, and even watched an 82 year old gentleman cross the finish line in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.

After walking around downtown London, we headed back to our hotel for a short rest and a shower. Dave and I then wandered over to Hyde Park, which is one of the largest parks in Central London and right behind our hotel. We had some yummy ice cream and sat in the grass to people watch. There are tons of people of all ages in the park; lots of families, soccer games, volleyball games, paddle boats, and just generally people hanging around. For dinner, we took in some American food by going to the Chicago BBQ Grill and visited a pub. Pretty quiet Sunday evening in London, but a good way to begin our trip.

As Dave had meetings/teaming on Monday, I ventured out on my own. I took a walk down the street, headed towards the famous Harrods Department Store. There are 5-6 floors, but frankly, not as cool as Macy’s in downtown NYC…in my opinion. The clothes were gorgeous, but the stores are a lot different than those in the US, which seem to fill their racks with clothes. These racks are spread out, and there are only 8-10 pieces of clothing on each rack. The shoe section was fantastic…and I drooled over a pair of 710£ Jimmy Choo sandals (that’s about $1,200 US dollars!!). I even tried them on….just so I could say I did. I wandered around the store wondering what it must be like to have the kind of money where buying a 710£ pair of shoes is just a fact of life.

After Harrods, I decided it was time for lunch. I went from one of the world’s most expensive department store to McDonald’s! It was a nice treat, and gave me some energy to continue my exploration day. As I was walking through central London, I came across a salon, where I booked a manicure for later in the afternoon. Shortly after, I found another department store that had a hair salon…and treated myself to a London-style appointment. My hairdresser, Marcus, is from Brazil and studied in NYC before coming to London. Before he cut my hair, he took me to the back where a woman shampooed my hair and gave me a scalp massage. Loved it!! It looks nice, but pretty sure it wasn’t worth the money I spent. But hey…I figure I had one of many London experiences.

One of the only things any of our kids said they wanted to do while they were in London, was go to the opening night of “Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” I ordered tickets online and had to pick up the tickets at the cinema.

I decided to try my hand at the Tube, which is the underground transportation system in London. I found it to be quite simple, inexpensive, and fairly quick. I made my way to the Chelsea area, found the cinema, and did a bit of wandering and shopping.

On Tuesday I hooked up with Michele, her kids, and her mom, Claire, for some sightseeing. We left the hotel on a cool, early morning and headed towards Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. Not really knowing anything about London, I always thought Big Ben was a clock. Not So! Big Ben is actually the nickname for the bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster. So, when the tour guide asks how many hands are on Big Ben…the answer is “none,” because it’s the name of the bell, not the clock. Trivia, trivia! The Palace of Westminster is also known as the Houses of Parliament, and is where England’s two houses: House of Lords and House of Commons (like our Senate and Congress) meet.

It’s a beautiful, old building, with unbelievable detail and architecture. We were unable to go inside, as arrangements had to be made in advance, due to Parliament being in session.

Next, we visited Westminster Abbey, which is right across the street from Parliament. It is also provides a view into old England with its intricate, old, and fascinating architecture. There are thousands of years of history in this building, which was originally occupied by Benedictine monks in the 10th century. They established a tradition of worshiping daily, which continues today, and in which we briefly participated while inside the church. There are statues, paintings, stained glass, and other artifacts, but none so disturbing or interesting (depending on your point of view) than the tombs and memorials of some of the country’s most significant people. Taken as a whole, Westminster Abbey is home to the most significant single collection of monumental sculptures than anywhere else in the United Kingdom. It is most famously known for the site of the royal weddings of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and of course most recently, Prince William and Kate Middleton – now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. We were able to stand at the front of the church and look down the long aisle through each of the brides walked.

Our next stop took us a little more north to one of Gordon Ramsey’s restaurants for lunch. For those of you who have never heard of him, Gordon Ramsey is the star of Hell’s Kitchen USA. He is a famous chef, who opened up his first restaurant in the chic Chelsea area of London in 1998. He has since expanded his many restaurants to include the Maze and Maze Grill, as well as establishments in the NYC, LA, Tokyo, Dublin, Paris, Tuscany, Sardinia, and Melbourne. Michele, Claire, the kids, and I ate at the Maze Grill. According to our waiter, Ramsey does make an occasional appearance in the restaurant, but primarily with the intention of eating with his children. The Maze Grill has a little more “kid friendly” menu as one can order hamburgers, spaghetti, and ribs. Otherwise, the menu is fairly unusual, in American terms, with roasted bream (fish), pork belly, sardines, squid, and pigs on toast (??). However, there are some yummy looking steaks on the menu, and the dessert was to die for!! Not sure the price was worth the food served, but hey….I can always say I’ve been to one of his restaurants, and isn’t that what adventure is all about? Trying the unusual? On a side note…I ordered the penne pasta with Bolognese sauce (spaghetti) and it was delicious! Not too adventurous on my part!

As coincidence will have it, when I returned to my room that evening, I turned on the TV and came upon one of Ramsey’s other shows, Restaurant Nightmares, USA. So, I sort of came full circle!

Benjamin, Melissa, and Daniel were scheduled to fly into Heathrow at noon on Wednesday, and I had to get Dave and I moved from the Mandarin Oriental to our next hotel – Gloucester Millennium, while he finished up his day of teaming. After misspelling the name of the hotel several times over when trying to get a cab, I learned that the “u-c-e” are silent – Glah-ster. After I was settled, I stepped across the street to the conveniently located tube station to await their arrival. Melissa, unfortunately, puked virtually the entire way across the Atlantic Ocean as she contracted the stomach flu somewhere between Elko and Minneapolis. As they came through the station, I could see she was quite pale. I got her settled into her room with pepto and a suggested nap. The boys and I went exploring the Gloucester neighborhood, but didn’t get far (across the street), where we had some lunch, and sampled a few of the local brews.

Later that afternoon Dave met us at the hotel and we took off for the play, Wicked. The kids had a hard time staying awake, mostly because they were exhausted after a very long trip. I, on the other hand, LOVED the play and have rated it my favorite to date. The singing and acting were both absolutely phenomenal. I highly recommend to anyone who loves musicals.

After a much needed rest for the kids, we purchased tickets on the Big Bus Tour, which could take us all over the city. We stopped at Hyde Park, had a bite to eat, and then took off for Buckingham Palace and my 3rd visit to the Big Ben/Parliament/Westminster Abbey area. We decided to take in Ripley’s Believe it Or Not, so off we went for the closest tube station.
Later in the day, we chose to go on the “Ghosts by Gaslamp” walking tour. Sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it? Just as we were heading out on the walk, Daniel noticed he had forgot his camera at the last pub/restaurant we had been at, so Benjamin and I waited for him while Dave and Melissa started the ghostly tour. Dave sent us text messages with directions on how to catch up to them.

• Go past super tall statue and across 2 street down north umberland ave.
• Left at Sherlock holmes restaurant, down craven passage alley.
• Thru arches shopping building.
• Right in front of Pret a manger then left thru gate by Treats and Gordon. Watergate walk.
• Walk a little way past tables then up stairs on left.

Maybe you had to be there, but the text tour was way more fun than the actual ghost tour. When we finally caught up with Dave and Melissa, they were at a wine bar, but alas…no wine was to be had as the tour continued. After another 10 minutes or so, we all agreed we were bored to death (no pun intended), and left the tour and went back to the Sherlock Holmes pub for a pint or two. After calling Dave’s mom to wish her happy birthday, we went back to the hotel for the evening.

Friday was the big premiere of the Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2 movie, which we watched at the Curzon Theatre in Chelsea. The door to the theatre left a lot to be desired in terms of size, but once we got into the actual theatre, we found it to be quite large. The movie was a success, and we all enjoyed it. Afterwards, we went down the street to a pub (recurring theme, don’t you think?) and stood outside watching some pretty amazing cars pass by us –Lamborghini, Porsche, Jaguar, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes. Chelsea obviously is an area where there is lots of money!

Because the Gloucester Hotel did not have rooms available Saturday night, we had to move to another new hotel. The concierge arranged for a “people mover” to transport us to the Park Plaza Embankment Hotel, which sits right on the Thames River. A people mover is just a better way to describe a minivan! This hotel was the least expensive of all three places we had stayed, and in my opinion, was the nicest and most definitely the most modern. The play, “The Lion King,” was on the agenda for Saturday, and we watched it at the Lyecum Theatre. The costumes were amazing, but we all agreed that the singing/acting were not as good as we expected. Both Benjamin and Melissa have seen the play in NYC, and both felt it was better there. With that being said, we still all very much enjoyed the experience.

The skies were threatening after the play, and we chose to go back to the hotel to get settled, as we couldn’t access our rooms before we left. As we exited the tube, the rain started to come down in buckets. We were getting soaked, even with the borrowed umbrellas we had gotten from the hotel concierge. So…yep…you got it…we stopped at a pub to get in out of the rain. The one drink extended into several drinks, and before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We stopped at an Italian Restaurant (Picos) and had a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel.

What happens in Picos….stays in Picos….right kiddies?

Now that we were down by the Thames River, we actually got to see a whole different view of the city of London.

We were on the opposite side of Big Ben and Parliament, which sits right on the river. I had no idea when I was on the other side! Also, on our side of the river were the famous London Eye and the London Aquarium. Michele and her family had ridden the London Eye and she didn’t recommend it, which was good, because none of us were really that interested in going up. Instead, we visited the aquarium. As were stood in line outside, the skies opened up again and the rain came down…hard! Thank God we had our umbrellas, and even then our shoes and pants were soaked.

The aquarium had an extensive collection of marine life, but my favorite was definitely the penguins. After all, who can’t love penguins!! There were tons of kids, and lots and lots of people, in general. I suspect the weather had something to do with it.

Ice cream was next on the agenda, as we sat along the Thames River, just taking in the view of the London skyline. While the Thames River is supposedly one of the cleanest rivers in the world, you could have fooled us. It was full of litter and quite brown. I guess it’s all relative….
We took off on a walk down the river, and ended up at the London Millennium Bridge, which Benjamin and Melissa pointed out was the same bridge that was blown up in the Harry Potter movies by the deatheaters. It provided another great view of the city.

We stopped at a bar (not a pub….but a bar – Oh? There’s not a difference?). Then, we stopped at a place to have some dinner, and was the first and only place Benjamin or Melissa were carded – and that was just to get in the establishment.

One thing about food in London. It’s not that good. We ate at a variety of restaurants during our week, and I can only think of two good meals I had, excluding McDonalds! I think there is actually better dining options in Accra. The variety of ales and lagers, however, is quite extensive!

Our next stop….Ireland.