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Published: August 2nd 2023
Big bustling London. There’s always something to do in this metropolis. To say that it doesn’t sleep is not entirely correct. London takes a while to wake up in the mornings. Even on workdays it seems that the inhabitants are tucked away in their pokey little apartments until well after sunrise. At this time of year, the sun gets up pretty early too. To me that seems like a waste of daylight! When London finally springs to life there is always something for the traveller to enjoy. Mum and I have both been to London a few times and seen most of the big attractions. This time around we took in a stage show. If you are easily offended, I recommend that you stay well away from ‘The Book of Mormon’. Mum went a second time to ‘Jersey Boys’ too. The theatre options are extensive.
I had two days at the Oval watching the cricket. I’d love to fill you in on all of the details of two day’s play but perhaps not everyone wants to hear about the 13 runs scored off the bat in the first two hours of day two. (I have to admit that
Weapons inside the Palace
A guards' room from William III and Mary II's time. Guns, axes, swords.wasn’t the highlight of my stay!) I’ll just say that I had a couple of good days watching my favourite sport and met some Englishmen that were easy to chat with. Bob from Liverpool had also come by himself to watch, and this was the last test match of the summer. He’d been all over the country watching every test match played in England this year. We said that we might meet up again in four years, when the Ashes are played again in England.
Mum and I also spent most of a day at Hampton Court Palace. Henry VIII and his wives lived there in the 16th century. Running the palace was quite an operation. There were lots of staff who all wanted to eat. So, the kitchen area was very big and an impressive supply chain for fish, meat and vegetables was coordinated by staff, each with a budget for their part of the food supply. A different person was in charge of fish, meat, vegies, etc. Some of it came from local suppliers, but wine came from France and spices from further away. Then through the centuries the buildings were changed and extended to suit the
succeeding Monarchs. William III and Mary were shipped in to fill the job when England found itself without an heir to the throne. An early Seek.com kind of thing, I guess. Anyhow, they had to keep up with the times and twice per week they ate lunch publicly. Folkes of suitable rank in society were delighted to watch them pick away at 40 or so courses from an enormous table. Back in those days they didn’t have social media, and this was the best substitute that they could come up with to show the world how rich and awesome they were!
In the 21 century, we decided to order just what we could fit in at Borough Market. Don’t get me wrong, Mum and I are pretty awesome too. This market is tucked away just south of the river, near London Bridge and has a plethora of food options. We bought some olives, a delicious truffle brie and ciabatta to take down to the riverbank and enjoy in the shadows of the shard. Being so close to the continent, London has a fantastic selection of European foods to choose from.
London has very good transport services but inevitably
there will be some walking. Mum had a day at Kew Gardens when I watched cricket and the day at the palace involved a fair bit of walking too, so she has been pooped most nights. Luckily there was a good bub with typical pommy fare to enjoy just down the road from our hotel.
To get out of London we made the mistake of booking through Ryanair. Well, it is cheaper, of course. However, the combination of Ryanair’s attention to customer service and Stansted airport’s size and security system mean that you really should arrive at least two hours before your departure. We did that and only just made it to the gate in time. Oh well, lesson learned.
That took us to the second city in this tale, Milan. Now this isn’t the domain of the stocky, mafioso type of Italian. No, this is for the tall skinny fashionistas. So, as you would imagine, we fit in perfectly. I’d brought my best t-shirts to parade around town and my eye-catching Australian cricket hat is sure to influence the coming season’s trends!
Milan has a modern function in its fashion sense, with all the leading brands
One of Henry's chefs.
Been in the job for centuries on display. It is also steeped in history. The most noticeable landmark is the famous Duomo Cathedral. It is simply enormous and incredibly intricate. The number of man hours put into carving over 3000 statues is unthinkable. We walked on its roof and saw over the city, with few other buildings taller than it. On the roof, there are statues that are hidden from view of anyone at street level. I can’t understand why they were put there when no one was expected to see them. The spire is huge and topped with a gold-coloured statue. I wouldn’t mind betting it is made of gold. The floors are marble and from inside the many stained-glass windows are super impressive too. One feature that I really like is the small hole in the roof that acts as a sundial. At one o’clock a circle of light lines up with a line on the ground. Depending on its position on the line, one can tell the date, with zodiac signs indicated along the line. You can also tell when its one o’clock, because the light is on the line! Very clever and different to other sundials I’ve seen.
We also spent
a day at Lake Como. Now this is a place for the show-offs. You need everyone to see you in your best bikini here. Sadly, I’d left mine back at the hotel. It meant that I couldn’t strut my stuff on the rocky beaches that the show-offs were pretending to enjoy. Of course, if you want to throw around a few more euros you can pay for a banana lounge in front of one of the overpriced hotels. But the lake itself is very scenic. It is Y-shaped and carved out by glaciers long ago. Not far away are the ski fields and I bet that is where the show-offs spend the winter months.
Whilst in Milan we caught up with some friends who moved from Australia, back to Europe in 2022. Dave and Liliana took us out to have ‘apericena’ one night. We ordered a drink and then the plates of food kept coming to our table. Its an Italian thing, a bit like tapas, but with different types of food. We had lots of sandwiches, including prawn and smoked salmon. There was a plate of cured meats, yum! We also had nuts, olives and cheese toasties. I’ve
never had that style of dinner in Italy before. I think it’s particular to the north. And another thing they do well here is gelati. I think I saw the most precisely rounded balls of gelati delicately placed on my cone at the gelati store. Very good gelati too!
Today is our last day of independent travel for a while. Tomorrow, we join a tour group in Zagreb and from there we’ll be taken to the Dalmatian Coast to start our cruise. I know that Mum will be glad to put her feet up. I’ve been dragging her around lately. Sorry Mum!
Ciao!
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