Day 2: London

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Day 2:
Max: Caitlin got some sleep and I must have gotten a little. We have planned to get through customs and then go to the lavatory and clean up and change out of the clothes we have been in for the past day and a half before we catch the train to Kensington. We are to meet John Pegg, another DNA cousin, for a whirlwind tour of the highlights of London. So: train to taxi to door man and there is John! Our first time meeting after a year of emails while we have pursued the almost unfathomable puzzle: How are we related? He is soft spoken and easy to like. Bags in the luggage locker and off we go. Lunch in The Crypt: honestly, an old crypt that is entirely light, airy and beautiful serving delicious smoked mackerel, creamed potatoes, and some peas- but not the forewarned mushy peas - followed by bread and butter pudding. Now we are ready to face Trafalgar Square.

Caitlin here: we wandered briefly through the National Gallery and I think more than anything it was just cruel to mom - numerous times we had to forcibly drag her out of one gallery. Too much to see in London to look at a bunch of old paintings! Bah. And hiking boots to buy, to boot (ha ha). We wandered around Trafalgar Square, saw a bunch of dead guys being honored on plinths, and then across the Thames for stunning views of the old Scotland Yard, “The Gherkin,” Big Ben, The London Eye, etc. and some pretty prime photo-ops. We poked around the Horse Guards Building, cruised by, but did not go inside, the Banqueting House (again cruel to mom, “It has a ceiling by Rubens!”) and managed to wind up in the middle of a protest over all the recently announced budget cuts. Not only was it a protest in London, it was a protest at which the Reverend Jesse Jackson was speaking!!! Crazy. As it was getting late, we quickly ducked into a pub (and quite a lovely one, I must say, especially since I’m the one who picked it out) for a gin and tonic before making our way back to the tube towards dinner with Roger.

Max: Roger Nixon is yet another of my DNA cousins, and what a delight it was to have the opportunity to meet up with him. We had a wonderful time over drinks at our hotel and then went on to Indian Cuisine. Seeing as how Roger is a professional genealogist and John Pegg has a marvelous knowledge of history and the geography of the Derbyshire area, from which our “clade” seems to have evolved, the dinner time conversation dove deep into theories about our genetic roots. However, we tried our very, very best not to bore Caitlin beyond her ability to keep her poor sleepy head up. We had a brisk and beautiful walk through Kensington to the hotel and took our leave of Roger—so sad—with promises to meet again someday soon. John Pegg helped us set up our electricity with adaptors so we wouldn’t burn the place down, and finally Caitlin and I could take well-deserved hot showers and fell asleep like stones. That is until 4 AM London time when I awoke as if shaken: The Dread Jet Lag had set in…….

Caitlin: Despite the fact that I must have started to drift off at least 12 times during dinner, it was a wonderful meal with wonderful company. Such a pleasant evening, from start (walking along the gorgeous streets with Roger, who so kindly filled my ears with all sorts of tidbits and knowledge about the area) to finish (walking back down said streets getting to know this “John Pegg” fellow a bit). And have I told you yet how delicious London smells? I can’t say what, exactly, it smells like….but I think I might be in love.

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Photos

Our First English Train!
The Heathrow Express to Paddington Station

The Crypt
Holy Mackerel they have lunch....delicious smoked mackerel

Cousin John Pegg
Our Brit cousin, savior, tour guide, and all around good guy.

Yanks in London
In front of the statue of George Washington, who stands on soil from Virginia

Trafalgar Square
The statue of Lord Nelson with one arm missing but no eye patch

Boots Fit for a Queen
Well not a queen, but I need hiking boots to climb Mam Tor and this guy was going to make sure they fit!

The Thames
Beautiful clear weather and a beautiful sunset.

The Old Scotland Yard
We think.....

The London Eye
...is apparently growing out of our heads

Out of Our Heads
A theme was developing with John Pegg taking photos. Where is the pub?

Hey! We're in a Protest March
Caitlin: Moms obviously just don't "Get It." Max: Caitlin obviously wasn't around in the 60's --this is how one "Gets It."

DNA Cousin Reunion
After a thousand years or more, our genes are reunited. Cousins John, Max, and Roger. Huzzah!

Comments

[Jim Sherman]

THEATRE??
Max, will you guys be seeing any Theatre whilst in England? Royal Shakespeare? I was curious. And if you do, PLEASE TELL! :)

[Jennifer]

Banqueting House
Hope you can swing past the Banqueting House again. Not were the ceiling canvases painted by Rubens, the building itself was designed by Inigo Jones, and it was one of the last things King Charles I saw alive. He was marched out of the Banqueting House to the scaffold on which he was beheaded. The National Gallery has so many Old Masters' works. The Van Dyke portait of King Charles I is lifesize. He was a very small man, and he is mounted on a very small horse. The National Portait Gallery is also worth the trip, As is the Tate Gallery. And the British Museum. Truth is, you could easily spend a month in London and its environs and still not see everything it has to offer. There is so much history there.

[John and Max]

To Jennifer re: Banquetting House
Jennifer, I am dying to see Banquetting, we did go by again on our way to the British Museum and after Winchester Abbey, but it was closed for a private function. That story shows up in day 3 or 4. When we walked by, Cousin John showed us exactly where Charles' head dropped into the basket. Now we're in the North climbing hills and jumping across rocks in the Neolithic bronze age state of mind....No sleeping will be allowed our last days in London--way too much to do.

[John and Max]

Jim RE Theater
Jim, I am not sure....I found to my great dissapointment that the reconstructed Globe is no longer performing--too late in the seaon. And I so wanted to be a groundling.......

[anonymous]

Huzzah...
Very nice, it's what I've been waiting to see. You do seem to fit in there... Especially the pub with Caitlin and a cousin! John

[Richard]

Experience
Blast! I was going to give you the benefit of my experience traveling to England (don't ask for a rest room--WC or public facility instead. You seem to know this, however. Also, a penny is a penny, but pennies are pence. Don't call them pences, like I did, etc.). Be SURE to tour a castle, the Tower of London and a cathedral (we toured Winchester Cathedral). Don't expect to find any ice for your drinks, unless you insist on it. Then they'll bring you maybe one cube. The big "1" on the train cabin means First Class. They're unlikely to challenge you on it, but they won't like it if you ride first class on a peasant ticket. There's too much to go over at this point, so have a great trip and say "Hi!" to Caitlin for us, will you?

[John and Max]

Pences
ah, I thought those were French thoughts....bad joke. I think we are very much in debt to the Brits for converting to 10 pence instead of 12--makes life ever so much less difficult. Their dimes, however, are the size of our silver dollars and I am just adjusting to notes from 5 pounds up and from there on down its coins. Words like queue, windscreen, and petrol are creeping into my vocabulary--which Caitlin finds hillarious. I am a chameleon!