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Published: September 16th 2008
Coincidental Meeting
Arnie, Heather, and KathyGardens, Coincidence, and Laughter
There has been a great lack of internet access but finally !
With London being just a stop over point we had only one day for some of the sights and while Beth & Al took the train to Brighton for a day we started our day in ‘the tube’ to Kew Gardens.
We were greeted with what seemed to be a postcard picture of the commercial area just outside the station. A postcard picture is one way to describe this small market area but words like picturesque, quaint, and pretty would work too so jumble all of these together and in your mind’s eye you might get the right picture. It is one of those scenes that even a photograph doesn’t properly capture. I suppose that’s because an areas atmosphere is just something that you have to experience.
The Kew Gardens are only about a 3 or 4 block walk through a somewhat upscale neighbourhood with Mercedes, BMW’s and other pricer vehicles parked in every driveway. The neighbourhood real estate office offered homes in the area with starting prices in the area of £800,000 to £1,000,000 and you don’t get much
yard for £1,000,000.
It’s amazing what can be done with a couple hundred years of gardening. The Kew Gardens are a sight that could be toured over two or three days and there would still be much left to explore and discover. We only had about 4 hours and visited ‘the Palm House’, (actually we wandered through 3 main greenhouses). Our first stop was in this tropical area and as the door closed behind us you immediately felt like you were in a tropical jungle. Warm, high humidity, and instant fogging of glasses and camera lenses. It was nearly 10 minutes before my glasses fully cleared.
There are tropical plants from around the world and I suppose the collection started with plants from around the old British Empire. When you recall the old saying that the sun never sets on the Empire that is pretty much the world isn’t it ? Palm trees soar up to the roof top beyond the walkway at the top of the building that allows you to have an overview of the collection. But the plants are so thick and dense that there really is only a view of the top of a
Soaring Palms
The trees reach the roof jungle canopy. The Gardens are a great educational opportunity. Did you know that the largest seed of any plant in the world is the “Coco-de-me” Seychelles nut palm ? When we visited there were also a couple groups of teen students with cameras and sketch pads.
From here we moved on to the Waterlily House. Much smaller, and more temperate than the Palm House but lots of lily plants and some huge saucer-like lily pads. Leaving here we wandered the grounds of the Kew Estate which offers so much to see. One of the sights was what appeared to be a huge old oak tree. Turns out the tree really was old. A seedling from about 1765. Tucked away from the main walkways in the garden we discovered King William IV Temple, dated 1837. This smaller building is now empty except for plaques along all the walls commemorating various battles.
Returning to the main pathway we made our way to a tree top path about 18 metres above ground in, (obviously), the tops of a grove of trees which gave us a vantage point to overlook the gardens and greenhouses. After coming down from the tree tops we
Water Lily House
Big as small boats explored The Temperate House, another greenhouse, (much more comfortable than the Palm House), and also having trees reaching the rooftop.
A very quick tour and walk about Kew Gardens but we had to leave to take the tube back into central London and the Leiscester Square area. Here in central London we popped into the Cambridge Pub, (and just in time to get a seat), where we had dinner. Our 2nd floor table gave us a view into the foyer area where other patrons waited for a table to become available. Some waited longer than others, some just gave up and left. Thousands of miles from home Heather looks up to see a co-worker, Arnie Larsen and his friend Kathy, who has taken a year from her work and is touring the world. From London she is moving on to India and South-east Asia. The obvious, “what are you doing here?” question and the second coincidence turns out to be that they are in the pub for dinner before going to the same next door theatre we were going to.
“Spamalot” is a great show, full of laughter, spoofs, songs and Pythonesque scenes. There is great interaction between
Coca ?
Largest plant seed in the world the actors, orchestra and patrons. The two lead actors, an East Indian male, and female with a great voice, both seemed to add a little something more to the production, almost like subtle personal touches. The entire cast seem to simply just be having fun throughout the production, not like “acting” at all. The show ends with something of a surprise ending and because I don’t know if it was just a London production ending, or a scripted ending I won’t disclose it. But I will recommend that if you get a chance to seem this production you really should. I don’t think you would be disappointed if you understand Monty Python type humor. It was a great way to end our time in London.
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Bev
non-member comment
looks beautiful
Your pics are great, as is the writing, (as usual). I am glad you finally got a chance to post something, I was starting to get a bit worried. Talked with Jess last night, and she is doing great. Looking forward to your next post. Have fun.