Day 8: Paris

We woke up earlier, packed and took a cab to St. Pancras to catch catch the train. 2.5 hours later, we arrived in Nord train station in Paris.

Suzanne grabbed a few maps at the station while I lined up in the longest line for taxi cabs I’ve ever seen. Seemed like it took an hour before we got our cab. Our room at the Best Western Victor Hugo was tiny but was conveniently located. After a quick afternoon nap to recover, we headed out for an early dinner (by French standards). We gave up trying to dine at a highly-rated restaurant once Suzanne felt the people there gave us “dirty” looks because we didn’t have a reservation. We ended up in a restaurant down the street where for the first time in our lives, we got to taste the French delicacy: foie gras. Must say that I’m not a fan. The texture is too smooth and too fatty & buttery as a pate for me. I kept thinking of the poor ducks getting force-fed. Glad for the chance to sample it, but probably will not ever order it again. Suzanne’s steak and my sea bass were delicious.

Stuffed, we took a stroll to Arc de Triomphe at Champs-?âlys?©es. The famous arch was commissioned in 1809 by Napoleon after a battle victory. It’s in the center of this giant and very busy roundabout. The cars were constantly criss-crossing in seemingly chaotic traffic. Luckily there are underpasses to get to the arc.

The monument was massive, it felt bigger than in pictures. The facades were adorned with engraving and massive sculptures. I didn’t understand any the engravings, but they had to be commemorating important French battles or something. On the ground at the middle is the tomb of the Unknown Solder who was buried there in 1919. A fire was lit (usually lit at 6:30 PM).

We bought a ticket and head up to the top of the monument. The high panoramic view of the Parisian skyline was just breath-taking with the Eiffel tower visible nearby. We snapped pictures while waited until the sunset. The many avenues leading to the monument were pretty cool, viewed from the top. As the sun sets, the Eiffel tower lights up– what a sight it was.

On our way back to the hotel, we were disappointed that a local bakery that we came across earlier was already closed.

Day 7: London

This was our last day in London, so we decided to hit the well-known touristy places. We took the underground train, got off Charring Cross and headed to Adelphi Theatre to buy tickets to the performance of Love Never Dies (Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new sequel to The Phantom of The Opera). We then strolled the embarkment next to River Thames. We took photos at The London Eye, Big Ben and The Parliament. We took a river cruise heading toward London Bridge, but decided to hop off the next pier because it was too crowded.

We grabbed a quick bite at Leon’s which conveniently situated right across from the theater. I enjoyed the sweet potato falafel but the Moroccan meatballs weren’t good at all. After food, we crossed the street and caught the afternoon show. We quickly found out why we got good deals for row 1 seats. The seats were low relative to the stage, so our views were partially obstructed. But it was good show, not as good as the original though.

Suzanne was exhausted, so we head back to rest. I was planning to head over to snap some night pictures of Tower Bridge in the evening. But a 30 minutes nap turned into 3 hour nap– so we grabbed dinner at Pizza Express and turned in early. London Bridge will have wait for our return.

England was a wonderful visit. The wonderful museums, the rich and old architecture, the multi-day excursion to Bath and Stonehenge were the highlights for me. I’d love to explore northern England in the future. Goodbye England!

Tomorrow, we leave for Paris.

Day 6: London

We bid Bath goodbye and headed back to Paddington Station in London. We hailed a taxi cab to take us to the train station. At the last minute, I asked the driver to take a detour to The Royal Crescent. I was hoping to make the trip there early in the morning, but Suzanne & I both got up late. When the cab stopped, I quickly hopped out and ran onto the lawn and took the photos of the crescent. I bought a new camera specifically for taking the panoramic shot of this place. It was the “money shot.” After getting the shot I wanted after a few tries, I rushed back to the cab.

We checked into Melia White House right next to Regent’s Park, very nice hotel, fanciest place so far. After checking in, we caught bus #88 and headed to the National Gallery museum. We got off at the Picadilly Circus. Wow, it was an entirely different world comparing to quiet Bath. Soho was happening with crowds every corner: noises from construction, people hurrying from one place to another, buses and cabs zipping by. The weather was warm and humid so Suzanne stopped by a Japanese take out place and got a black sesame seeds & green tea ice cream. We happily headed toward Trafalgar square– Suzanne with an ice cream cone in one hand and camera in another. I told her she cannot looked more touristy, to which she replied that so was I– with a dSLR around my neck and a Stonehenge cap on my head. She got me!

The National Gallery housed a collection of paintings from British artists. The collection was pretty large, paintings of every style. I enjoyed them.

After grabbing a quick dinner at hotel, we took a taxi cab to Her Majesty’s Theatre and caught Phantom of The Opera. It must be something 20 years since I saw Phantom the first time. The performance was great and the music was as good as I remembered. The ending was a bit different from I remember though. This one had the phantom dissapeared, which isn’t the ending I vaguely remembered. I thought The Phantom died in the original.

Day 5: Oxford

We figured it’d be cool to visit one of the oldest universities in the western world. Oxford is in Whileshire which is conveniently an hour of train ride from Bath. So we started the day with a train ride from Bath to Didcot Parkway and then the connecting train to Oxford.

First destination was Oxford Castle. The castle was part of a few battles but it became a prison for last few centuries. The coolest part was climbing the spiraling stone steps up to the tower.

After stopping by a Spanish restaurant for some paella, we headed toward Oxford. As I mentioned to Suzanne how unusually quiet the place was, we made a turn and boom! People everywhere… Oxford wasn’t a sleepy college town I had imagined. We walked toward Christ Church College which probably is the best known part of Oxford. The place was used to film some Harry Potter scenes. I can see why. The place was medieval and just reeked with old traditions everywhere you look. There main court was huge, surrounded four sides with high walks and old buildings. The center was a little lilly pond with a statue in the center. I imagined that the court yard can appropriately used to film scene where Harry Potter learns to fly the broom. Another highlight was this long dining hall. The walls where adorned with old paintings of famous Oxford people. The only one I recognize was William Penn– founder of the state of Pennsylvania.

Next, we visited St. Mary’s and climbed these narrow stairs to the top of the tower. It was interesting negotiating the space with other visitors in cramped spaces. The top had nice views of the town.

There were a few other places I wanted to visit, but we decided to head back. We walked through a few very busy blocks of town on our way back to the train station. That area of town was extremely commercialized and modern, a bustling contrast to the old and traditional Oxford that I had imagined. Too bad, because it kinda shattered the images I had in my head of Oxford. You know, like scenes from the old movie “Goodbye, Mr. Chips.”

Day 4: Bath – Stonehenge & Roman Baths

The day started with a breakfast at the hotel. There wasn’t nothing that was good to me. The sausage was bland and had a weird consistency that I didn’t care for. The scrambled eggs were also forgettable. Oddly Suzanne liked the breakfast, go figure…

We then headed into town and caught the morning tour to Stonehenge. The tour bus was a small with the driver also acted as the guide– a friendly gentleman who spewed out facts at each attractions we came across. He may be knowledgeable but the guy can use some humor. After about 15 minutes into the ride, he explained that the ancient Celts sometimes would produce these gigantic carving on the hillside near settlements as a way to declare their presence to the neighbors. They serve as warning signs for other tribes to stay away. The carvings were done by digging into the dirt until the white chalk layer is revealed. The carving we saw was called The White Horse. We were told that horses were common carvings and that they symbolized strength.

We reached Stonehenge after about an hour of driving.

I first read about Stonehenge when I was in the 5th grade. At the time, I was fascinated by UFOs and was reading all the books of the subject that the local library stocked in the children’s section. Seeing all the photographs over the years has me somehow imagined it to be a huge thing. Seeing it for the 1st time in my life, made me realized that it was quite smaller than what I had visualized. But it was still very impressive site. These rocks were massive and the human feats were simply unimaginable for ancient times. It’s also mysterious as you ponder on its purprose and use. As an impressionable kid, I bought into all the UFO’s theories out there, including aliens building the Stonehenge (and the pyramids as well).

I was surprised how accessible it was– being conveniently only a few hundreds feet from a major highway. I suspect that we’l be reading about one terrible accident on one foggy morning how dozens of cars rammed themselves into Stonehenge and knock down everything… gasp!

Suzanne & I circled the Stonehenge and came back to Bath after the 3 hour trip. Next stop was the Roman Baths. Built about 1800 years ago, the ruins were built by the conquering Romans around Bath’s hot springs. A temple was erected because the springs were considered holy and the water believed to have healing power. Bath houses with piping were erected around the area. The main attraction being a big retangle green pool surrounded by 2 stories of Roman columns and statues. Suzanne & I also liked the many items displayed. My favorite display is the reconstruction of the front of the temple– video projection fills in the missing pieces giving you an idea what the temple would look like. Having a museum built right on the excavation site is very cool.

Next we headed over to a spa for a dip in the spring water and a dinner of pheasants– a relaxing end to a busy day.