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Published: February 25th 2010
The UK has been just brilliant. I think the best way to describe England would be to say it is "same, same, but different" to America. London, which is where I spent a majority of my time, reminds me of New York and Hollywood, while still holding that old European feel. It may of felt like N.Y. and L.A. because I was there during the BAFTA awards (like the Oscars) and London Fashion Week. However, it also reminded me of Seattle a bit because of the gloomy, wet weather.
I was so fortunate to have my dear friend Wendy to stay with in Richmond (a cute town just outside of the city) and to show me around the bustling city. As Wendy would say I got the "whistle-blown tour" of London. But we did manage to check everything off our list for me to see and do:
X The Palace (Queen's home)
X Big Ben (famous clock tower) / Westminister Abbey
X St. Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Diana got married)
X Tower Bridge (what we think of as the London bridge)
X Ride the London Eye (largest ferris wheel in Europe, each car's as big as Squaw Valley's tram) / Waterloo
X Picadilly Circus
X Leichester Square (where many movie premieres are)
X Covent Gardens / Royal Opera House
X West End Theatre (saw Chicago)
X Harrod's (giant, high-end department store)
X Fortum and Mason's (famous for traditional afternoon tea with scone, clotted cream and jam - yummy)
X Liberty's (another department store)
X Regent St. / Oxford Circus (shopping - but couldn't really buy anything 😞 ...traveling light)
X V&A and Tate Museum
These are some of the major sights I visited as I know I am missing a few we also saw. We got around the city in the tube (subway system), the infamous two-story red buses and walking. Sadly, I forgot to ride in one of the black cabs, which looked quite spacious compared to ours.
I was able to venture away from London and see a bit more of England; the country side! I took a train southwest to Newton Abbott to visit Christie's (from Wolfdale's) family in Dartmoor National Park (South Devon). It was such a pleasure to go see and experience this part of the UK. The country side was absolutely beautiful and just as I'd imagined. To my surprise though it was very close to the coast (obviously I hadn't looked at a map - lol). It was lovely to see such diverse scenery within miles of each other. Spending time with Christie's family was really amazing as I nearly felt at home. The lifestyles of are families are very similar as they own a restaurant and inn in the park. Her dad, step-mom and brother were all hard at work when I arrived as the place was packed with visitors for Sunday lunch. We all sat down for lunch and dinner and it was absolutely delicious (and I am quite the little critic). Between meals we went for a drive in the park. It was truly stunning landscape and had the most precious old stone villages. The livestock wandered all about; the Dartmoor ponies were my favorite! Christie's father was such a bless as he gave me several history lessons and told me stories. It was really wonderful to see this part of the UK, I couldn't believe the ancient background of it all.
For my last day in London I spent it at the office of "Peace One Day." This was such an exceptional opportunity to have. Jeremy Gilley (Wendy's son) began working on this nearly 13 years ago and has had great success. A resolution was signed/passed by the UN in 2001 (all 192 countries) for one day of peace, meaning a day of nonviolence and ceased-fire, to fall on the 21st of September. What they are doing is utterly extraordinary. The documentary he made is shown all over the world (as an ambassador, Angeline Jolie presented it in NYC) and now they have an education package that is being taught all over the world in schools (it's already reached 16 east-coast states). They also have started a project called "One Day One Goal" that is trying to get all countries to participate in this sort of futbol (soccer) tournament no matter the age, level, etc. They have amazing sponsorships: Coca-Cola, Ben & Jerry's, Dior, Puma, Urban Outfitters, to name a few. Just while I was in the office they were speaking of Lenny Kravitz and Jude Law as they get great support from many famous people. I could go on and on about all they are doing. I worked with 15 people who are employed by P.O.D. (I think there are 22 employees all together), who are literally working so very hard for one day of world peace to take place each year. As you can imagine the office was mad; I couldn't believe some of the conversations I heard and tasks they were working on. My job for the day was to start a database for them to have for the up-and-coming 2012 Summer Olympics in London with all of the National Olympic Committees information (205 countries) and a list of each sporting event. At the end of the day I was rewarded with a signed copy of Jeremy's book and a designer onesie for my new cousin Sierra!
My time in England was surely enjoyable. I was thoroughly taken back by London, what a magnificent city; I adored visiting Christie's home and seeing where she grew up; and felt honored to work with such a revolutionary, world-wide NGO. I definitely would love to return to the UK soon. The two things I'd love to take home with me from this brilliant country are their adjective vocabulary (my favorite was "yummy" to describe a person, place or situation) and the clotted-cream (mmmmm!).
Hope all is well at home with everyone. Miss you all so much, but I will be back before we know it! Off to my beloved Roma!!!!!!
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Auntie Linda
non-member comment
WOW!
Sounds like you had a trip to London like your Mum and I had! Totally on the run! The countryside sounded WONDERFUL! On your next trip back to London your Mum and I will go for sure as I truly loved it as well. Party-on Girly!!! Love you tons! Auntie P.S. U. Steve and I went and watched Werewolf last night and he sure was howling at the moon!