The Trip of a Lifetime: July 15 to 25, 2022 - London and Stratford-upon-Avon

July 16, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 90; London
The flowers are so beautiful everywhere, but come with a cost. I spent another day pretty miserable. I had hotel room coffee this morning. And I had a pot of tea twice, while we were out.They have something called white tea, which is mellower and not processed as much. I loved it.
We got into full boat voyage shopping mode today. Flea London Vintage and Makers Market was not much of a flea market. It was kind of lame. Then we hit the Truman Brewery Market. It was more of what we need, although I haven’t been able to replace the sports coat I threw away during the trip.
The world serves too much food…at least for us. No matter how little we order, they bring us more than we can eat. For lunch we got too much Thai food. It was delicious. The soup was Thai Dristan. When we got back to our apartment, I took some Roz elixirs and zonked for several hours. I feel somewhat better. Let’s see if I can sleep tonight and recover even more by the morning.
Cheers!
Frank

July 17, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 91; London
I feel a whole lot better today, and I almost feel like I’m home. People here say excuse me and don’t walk aggressively, doing that shoulder swerve move at the last second. It’s refreshing. Hey, I’m not judging. It’s just what I like.
Roz learned a lesson that I knew, but didn’t intercede, because it was in a grey area. Don’t go to “theme” restaurants when you are overseas. . You can go into any foreign restaurant in another land and know what you are getting. Vietnamese, shawarma, Chinese, Turkish. etc., etc. They have those people making their kind of food and it is often quite good.
Theme restaurants say things like, “Authentic LA Street Food,” “New Orleans Style,” or, in this case, “Mexican.” With theme restaurants, you need to look around and ask questions before ordering.
Now, it could have been a real Mexican restaurant run by real Mexicans, but it wasn’t. It was a theme restaurant run by people who didn’t speak Spanish and didn’t really speak English. And we didn’t find out until it was too late. We stopped there because they had a sign that said “Margaritas.” There was a frozen margarita on the menu and Roz ordered it.
She sent it back because it wasn’t slushy. The waitress returned with one in a bigger glass, Still not slushy. Her English was poor. She didn’t understand what we were saying.
So, Roz traded it in for a beer. I should have gone in first and looked at their margarita machine. They don’t have one. When we reread the menu, it turns out that it is actually a “frozen fruit margarita.” So we moved on from there and went to a pub, where I got to do some “beer research.”
I had East London cellar chilled ale. It was fun, but I like other beers more. You always hear that they drink their beer warm. It wasn’t. It is whatever temperature the cellar of the pub is. This was chilled; just right for this ale. Their ales are relatively weak; 4% more or less. I like a dog with a little more bite.
The reason they make it so weak is because it is taxed by percentage of alcohol. We solved that taxation thing with them in the late 18th century. That was over tea. Maybe they should make their revolution over beer. Roz got something called a watermelon sugar. It was a two-for-one special and they brought both at once. They were delicious and strong. Needless to say, I had to “help” her back to the bus. But we got safely back to the hotel.
We got some more shopping done for the cruise. I got a pair of black slacks that will do as my dress pants, but will be thrown away before anyone who knows me sees me with them. I also got a blazer and some shirts. We grabbed fast food, started checking in tor the cruise and crashed.
Cheers!

July 18, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 92; London
We took a day off from each other today. We do that every once in a while. It’s healthy. Back home we don’t spend a lot of time together. We kind of live our daily lives in separate parts of the house, but we eat most meals together and they usually take a while, because of my eating challenges. Now we are together almost always. It isn’t fun. I don’t even like to be around me all the time.
I started out to walk to Big Ben by noon and record it ding donging for my grandson Arlo, who is obsessed with clocks, but it didn’t sound. It is undergoing repairs. It’s been kind of cool with blistering hot days spread in; today was one of them. It was supposed to go to 100 degrees and I think it almost made it. I had to walk at a brisk pace to make it on time. By the time I got there I was parched and hadn’t had time to stop for coffee or tea either.
After, I bought Street churros and set out in search of a pot of tea and a bottle of sparkling water. I couldn’t find any so I settled for a weak IPA and sat and had brunch on the Thames in a beer garden.
There are a ton of rude walkers in the tourist areas, even though the paths are usually pretty wide. In our neighborhood it doesn’t happen, but next to the river, people are very aggressive walkers. The cyclists here are a little less aggressive here than in Europe, but still think they always have the right-of-way. They just slow down before charging forward.
I passed the Globe on my way home. We are seeing Lear there this Sunday. I am going because I love Shakespeare, Roz because she loves me. It will be three hours and forty minutes on wooden benches like they had in the early 17th Century. They give tours of the theater, but she may throw me in the river if I add that to Sunday, so I did that today.
The Globe is a semi-outdoor venue. It was hot and I only understood about 20% of what the guide said. One reason is because this is tech week for Midsummer Night’s Dream, which replaces Lear next week. They do their final practices onstage and work out the technical bugs. Photography was strictly prohibited, but I managed to capture some interesting videos before they made us put our phones away.
I finally had tea and mineral water at 3:30. The pub I was in was nicely air conditioned, it was still pretty early and they music was good, so I had a pint of London Pride Bitter, which is a cask aged 4.2% ABV ale. It is actually delicious, and the low alcohol was good too because I had to hike a mile back to the hotel.
The first beer I ever made was a bitter. My girlfriend Judy bought me a plastic beer kit and the bitter ingredients came with it. I don’t remember exactly when I made it, but I know I was in the 92nd district, because I took some to work, and Captain McMenamin wasn’t happy. I figured he would be cool. After all, he had goat medicine delivered to the district.
And he was cool in a lot of ways, just not “Hey let’s have a round of bitters at work” cool. I had Captain Joe twice in my career, once in the 17th, and once in the 92nd. He was an awesome guy. He may have been the captain when another squad (I was in 1 squad) threw a last-out party in his office and inadvertently left polaroid pictures of a naked woman dancing on his desk, that he found when he got to work the next day.
Maybe he didn’t wan’t the 92nd to devolve into that…anyway I digress. Making that gallon of bitters started a hobby I still do. If you like beer and I like you, I will certainly turn you on to some of my home brew. I’m not a fanatic. I make “kit” beers, but they are delicious.
I grabbed some street food, which was very spicy, and then turned in. Tomorrow is moving day. We are moving pretty close to here for the next week, then on to Southampton for three days. On the 29th we set sail for NYC.
Cheers!

July 19, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 93; London
Today was, once again moving day. A very, very hot moving day. It was only a 15 minute walk to the new hotel. I would have hoofed it over in two trips, just ‘cause I can, but temperatures reached 40 degrees C (103 F) today and I decided to ride over in a cab instead. The new place is even smaller than the last place, but right behind the Tower of London and we have a killer view.
We got there three hours before checkin, so we left our bags, had some lunch and then headed to the Tower of London. It was interesting. I thought it is one tower. It’s actually a complex with a bunch of towers. They have the crown jewels on display.
You know, most of the good things in the USA were brought from England. Things like the Magna Carta and English common law. But, there is a reason we broke with them. Maybe we are too much like what we broke away from. Maybe we have decided to have crown jewels. As I toured it, I thought more about Washington than London. The fight for freedom is never over. I’m glad we visited it.
We went to a German restaurant for dinner. I had weinerschnitzel and it was delicious. As I write this a front is moving through. I am on the rooftop lounge looking West. The rain is starting. Our room is tiny and has very little room for two humans to coexist. The inside areas are filled with loud, inane, hotel Musac; So, I am going to say good night…and
Cheers!

July 20, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 94; London
Today was haircut day for me. I hope this is the last one on the trip. When we get home I will do it myself, out just let it grow back in. This one cost more than $65.00. He did a good job, but I still look like me. For that kind of money I should look like Brad Pitt now.
We did the Tate Modern after that. There was some good stuff and some really bizarre stuff mixed in. It was a lot of fun. Way better than the Guggenheim. It’s a giant building. I think it was a power generation station in a previous life. There were tons of school kids in uniforms playing loudly on class trips. It was a festive air, even though, listening to those kids talk reminded me that all in all I’m just another brick in the wall.
I am still not 100% and was dragging all day, so we came back to the hotel and I took a nap. Then we headed out to get some supplies and get a bite. Markets here are scarcer and have less than in Europe and Morocco. We had to go to four and still need two more items.
For dinner, I decided to recreate a USA under-the-weather comfort food meal, a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup, which was the soup of the day. I ordered the baked camembert, which came with toast. In my mind I saw toast with cheese melted on it. What I got was an entire wheel of baked cheese. It had chunks of garlic embedded into it and it was delicious.
Cheers!

July 21, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 95; London
I felt really good this morning, so I went for a run across the Tower bridge and along the Thames. It felt so good to run here again. I didn’t get to run in Paris, so this post wasn’t done last month. In early April 2001 I proposed to Roz. We decided to get married the same date in 2002 and go to Biarritz France for our honeymoon. By July my mom passed away and then my dad got sick.
Christmas was approaching and we didn’t know how much longer he would be with us, so we decided to get married on New Years Day 2002, so he could attend. We asked Suzanne Walters, the mayor of Stone Harbor, and a good friend of my dad, to officiate.
By the end of the year he went into the hospital and eventually slipped into a coma. Before the coma, we were going to have the ceremony in his room, but opted for the 88th Street Pavilion, around the corner from our house instead. We had already started booking things for our honeymoon, so we still planned on April. I found out the London Marathon was the weekend after our honeymoon and I begged Roz to add three days to the trip and let meta do it.
She said okay and I applied. After months I had not heard anything from them. I called the chartered accountant house in London running the application process, and some snarky accountant said, “Well I guess you didn’t make it in, mate. I don’t see your name here.” I was pissed, but found another race. The Paris Marathon was the week before, so we could add a weekend in Paris before heading to Biarritz.
Roz was skeptical about how much fun she would have on a honeymoon with a man limping around all week because he did a marathon. So, I said the magic words, “It’s April in Paris, they wrote a song about that.” She said okay and I applied and was immediately entered.
Well, guess what happened the very next day? You’re right. I got my race packet from London. So, I broke the “good” news to Roz. You are going to both London and Paris on your honeymoon. And she also let me rent a board and go surfing for a couple hours in Biarritz. She still reminds m,e of all this stuff every once in a while.
As I crossed the Tower Bridge this morning, I remembered something that happened there 20 years ago. I had met John Bingham, the Penguin who wrote for Runners World, at a marathon in Corning, NY. I ran a 4/2 Galloway with him and several other runners. That’s run four minutes and walk two. He did this whole chant thing where he would say “oley” and we would say “oy.” It was fun. Later, I did several races at that pace and had some success. In fact I ran Paris at that pace and had a decent time.
With just a week of rest (tourist rest - waking around all day) before London, I had some kind of crazy plan. I don’t even remember what it was, but I remember my ass was dragging as I reached the Tower Bridge. And then I started hearing people chanting, “Oley, oley, oley, oy, oy, oy!!!” Could it be? Yes, it was the Penguin and very large his running pace group. I joined them and finished the last few miles of the race.
The London Marathon is so different than Paris. Paris is serious, London is festive. Paris starts on the Champs Elysee (where Jonas Vingegaard will probably finish in yellow on Sunday), but went out into industrial areas for several miles. London starts at the Greenwich Observatory and stays around the Thames, going past lots of pubs with bands on the roofs. There were tons of spectators at both. They were serious in Paris, shouting “Allez, Allez, Allez!!!”
In London many of the runners were in costume and the spectators laughed at them and showered them with money, because it’s a charity event. Most of the costumed runners carried homer buckets to catch the money in. If John Bingham helped me finish the race, there was an 80 year old man wearing a Queen Elizabeth mask and what looked like a speedo, but when he pulled up on it, a Union Jack appeared, who helped get me through the first half.
People would bow and say, “Oh yer Majesty!” He would come over with a fake scepter and anoint them. He was more than 20 years older than me and putting on a show, and we were going the same pace, but it was all good. I used to say, I was seeing the world 26.2 miles at a time. And I had run Paris just a week before. At some point he actually pulled away from me.
That time we were only here a long weekend. This time we are filling in what we didn’t do before. So today we did Buckingham Palace, The London Eye and Big Ben. The tourist area of London is jam packed. The pictures and videos tell the story better than I can. We had lunch at Shakespeare’s Place, which had very little to do with the Bard, and the food was mediocre and expensive. Later we went past a place called Sherlock Holmes, but fool me once… We had some Thai soup in the hotel restaurant and called it a night.
Sorry I wrote more about old memories today than new ones, but it was what I needed to do.
Cheers!

July 22, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 96; London
Long day of visiting the National Gallery, shopping, editing photos, getting ready for some big things this weekend, and trying to tie up some loose ends as this trip winds down. I will let this amazing art speak for itself. Maybe I’ll put my emotions into words when I get some time. Enjoy!
Cheers!

July 23, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 97; Stratford-upon-Avon
I took a pilgrimage to Stratford-upon-Avon today to see Richard III at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. I caught the Tube right outside the hotel to Marleybone Station, where I caught two regional lines to the home of the bard.
It is a three hour trip each way. I tried to book the round trip tickets last night and this morning and luckily the website’s payment processing system was down. They wanted over $90. I booked at the station for $41! Pilgrimages are never as easy as you think they are going to be. The route I found said to make a connection in Dorridge.
The lady in the ticket office confirmed that, but of course the ticket said “Valid only via Banbury.” The train had crappy Wi-Fi, so I used some data to go on the rail line website and confirm the train was running, and stayed on past Banbury to Dorridge. I got to the town two hours before the curtain went up. I sat in a park along the Avon and had a pint and baguette sandwich.
I stopped in the RSC Store before the play for a few souvenirs and a program. The other day Roz bought a couple shirts with French cuffs but we have no cuff links here. The store has a set for sale. One says “To be” and the other says “not to be.” Hehehaha. Now she has links. The play was really good. It’s not one I am that familiar with. I’ve never seen it performed before and haven’t read it.
What a great job they did. The real Richard was a hunchback, limped and had a deformed arm. The actor usually hunches over a bit and limps. The lead today, Arthur Hughes, has a deformed hand. It worked well. There are many times Richard and others mention his deformity, and you could see it hanging out of his sleeve.
I splurged and got a front row seat. It was totally worth it. They were right there. I had to rush to get the first train, or I would have wound up getting to the hotel after 10:00. Roz said Tina was sad. She has had a lot of bad things happen to her. She got in late too, so we went out for a quick bite and then crashed.
Cheers!
July 24, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 98; Shakespeare’s London
We saw Lear at the Globe today. What a different experience than yesterday. First, Roz went. I think she would have liked yesterday better, The RSC is a modern, totally enclosed theater (a building with artificial lighting). The Globe is an authentic, enclosed but open air theater.
Everyone who went into the RSC sat in a comfortable seat and walked out after the play. In the Globe, people sat on benches, almost none with backs. And before intermission, two of the “groundlings” standing in the “yard” (the closest spots in the venue are standing room only) passed out and were escorted out in wheelchairs.
The acoustics at the RSC are state of the art and those at the Globe are “rough.” In fact, being at the Globe feels like being part of some sort of medieval reenactment. It was a lot of fun…for me…Roz went back to the hotel after intermission. The play was great. Kathryn Hunter played Lear. Her performance was inspiring and intriguing. If I had a problem it is that her voice didn’t fill the theater, but that’s just my opinion. She was playing an elder statesman slipping into lunacy or maybe dementia.
It’s an interesting play in that it was written during a time when Queen Elizabeth had recently died, King James was brought in from Scotland to succeed her, there was a plot to overthrow his government (the gunpowder plot - which I recently read), and there was a devastating plague raging through London. There are many interesting insights on life to chew on in this King Lear.
I got up and ran this morning; over the Tower Bridge and back across London Bridge. Fun stuff. Time to get back into running every day. My allergies are almost cleared up and I feel better every say. We had brunch at the Globe and takeaway in the room for dinner. One more day here and then on to the next step, another one leading us back home.
Cheers!

July 25, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 99; London
I went jogging to the “beach” this morning. As a beach it leaves a lot to be desired, but we aren’t here to sunbathe or go for a muddy swim in the Thames. Today was our next to last maintenance day. We did wash. Because we are in the middle of the tourist area, the closest laundromat was a bus ride to our old neighborhood.
I hadn’t had tea yet and there were several pastry shops with very interesting things in the windows, so I stopped at one and had tea and a plate full of super sugary goodness. I tried to find out where the guys are from and what kind of pastries they make, but their English is very limited.
As I sat there, they kept bringing me new stuff and going “Try, try…Good? Good?” It’s an Arab neighborhood, but these guys looked Pakistani. Oh well, I don’t know what they are, but they sure taste good, good. We also got our COVID-19 testes for the ship. It looks like they want us to self-test and then we are on the honors system.
We also mailed 3 boxes and an envelop from the Post Office. It cost close to $130 and I think in total se’ve spent around @1,000. We were there for a while packing the boxes, filling out the customs forms and dealing with the employees. We overheard many conversations. One between an elderly customer and a clerk was telling.
The clerk asked the man if his procedure had been scheduled and he said he is scheduled to meet with his “super-specialist” in two months, and then he will go on a waiting list for the actual procedure. They commiserated about how long everything takes, how it is getting worse, and that eventually they fear that only paying customers will be able to to have anything done.
I had a similar case at the IRS, where I had to allow an 80 year old taxpayer living in Spain to buy private health insurance, even though they have “free” healthcare, because she needed a hip replacement and they put her on a three year waiting list. I felt sorry for this old man, and thankful for what we have back home.
On the way home we grabbed Pret a Manger and ate in the room. This evening I rented a car in the US to drive us home. We dock at Brooklyn Terminal. We will take a shuttle to Newark Airport, pick up the rental car and then head south. Can’t believe that will be happening next Friday. We did most of our packing and then crashed.
Cheers!