Blogs from Greater London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

So, there was no blog last night because we had a very early flight out Friday morning and had to pack! Its amazing how several little things have a tendency to crowd an overcrowded suitcase. We managed, made it to the airport, caught our flight and are now in Rome. We really hated to leave the Balmoral House Hotel because we loved it so much. We especially loved Flavio, our young Italian who checked us in, made taxi arrangements for us, gave us great travel advice (for both London and Rome). I really think he hated to see us go! So Friday was a big day. We wanted to go to the changing of the guard. We got up early, had another wonderful breakfast at the hotel. This time beans were served with the eggs, ham ... read more

Today seems so very long. We boarded our plane and took off at 7:30 last night. Dinner was served at 9:30 and then we tried to sleep. I really don't sleep well on a plane. I cover my eyes, use noise cancelling headphones and still just don't sleep. I did get about 3 hours of sleep. Because of the time change breakfast was served at about 2:00 am (7:00 am in London). This threw us off just a little. We landed at 8:30 (London time) which was 3:30 West Virginia time There's a 5 hour time difference. We were happy to get off the plane and walk a little. We walked right to customs and stood in line for the next two hours. It was so easy to get from the airport to our hotel. We ... read more

Visited Notting Hill and it seems many others had the same idea on a cold and wintery Saturday. Notting Hill was a movie and featured a bookstore, but it is also an iconic area of London.... read more

I recently saw a list of "worst" attractions. Not sure of their criteria. Here are mine: Hollywood Walk of Fame (hokey) Stonehenge (big disappointment) Venice canals (stinky) Any bull ring in Spain (they all look the same!) Statue of stars, Hong Kong (reminds me of Hollywood) Macao (basically, Las Vegas east) Universal Studios (terribly boring) London Eye (go to the country fair instead!) Napa Wine Train (an expensive ride for mediocre food and wine) Any wax museum (enough said) But to be fair, there are many great ones: Amazonia (one of the two best places I have been) Angkor Wat (ditto) Berlin Wall (no longer there) Torres del Paine (magnificent) Milford Sound (ditto) Tsukiji Fish Market (Tokyo) truly unique, now gone!! van Gogh Museum (like a dream) Our great National Parks Fenway or Wrigley (shrines to ... read more

Hadestown is a folk musical, now Broadway-bound after a long production history. Anais Mitchell (daughter of Quaker sheep farmers Don and Cheryl Mitchell of Middlebury) started with a concept album, which then became an off-Broadway show directed by Rachel Chavkin of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. It’s now on the huge Olivier stage at the National Theatre. And it’s good. The charismatic narrator (André de Shields as Hermes) recalls Morgan Freeman in The Gospel at Colonus as he guides us through the elements of a universal story. With a few twists. In this version, the underworld is not simply where we go when we die. It’s a kind of corporate dystopia, where Hades rules over workers who have signed over their freedom for a slave-like existence that provides the necessities of life in ... read more