Saturday, January 31, 2009
London's Playground: Covent Garden
Evensong At St. Pauls
Pit Stop
I've never been a fan of public restrooms, but with three little girls, it's a virtual certainty that I'll see the inside of at least one every day. Today's special loo visit was to the ladies' public restroom at Covent Garden. It was interesting for several reasons. First, although it was definitely a women's room, the attendant, who was all over the restroom the entire time we were there (which was not insubstantial; little girls take a LONG time to use a public facility and, for some strange reason, have a tremendous desire to touch every nasty, germ-infested surface) was male (that did not escape Cecily's rather LOUD notice). Second, the set-up was quite strange. The passage to the stalls is virtually blocked by a solid column with a ring of electronic hand-dryers around it. When it's your turn for the next vacant stall, you have to do a little shimmy around the ladies who are drying their hands (try to do that with three little girls hanging off of you -- each trying to shove her sisters aside so SHE can get the FIRST stall). Third, the wall dispensers don't have the typical feminine hygiene products that we women are used to seeing. Instead, they offered a "Fresher-Up Pack" that included face freshener (I was tempted to buy a pack just to find out what that was), shampoo, moisturizer, a comb, an emery board, a toothbrush, hair clips, a safety pin and cotton wool (which I assume is a cotton ball). All this could be yours for a mere two pounds (about $3). It made me wonder if the restroom was a frequent stop for homeless people or perhaps a stopping-off point for backpackers or hostel-dwelling travelers. The final surprise (that I failed to see when I first entered the bathroom because I was trying to stop Cecily from yelling, "Mommy, I really gotta go or I'm gonna pee my pants!") was a scale at the front of the facility -- just where all the ladies in line can see exactly how much you weigh. Oh, and it costs 40 pence. You must PAY for the pleasure of being publicly humiliated! Why someone thought it might be a good money-maker to put a pay scale in a public restroom is beyond me. I'm shocked that it showed no evidence of vandalism! I usually complain to Scott bitterly about each trip to a public bathroom with the girls (specifically complaining about why CAN'T a man take an 8-year-old into the men's room?), but today's visit was very interesting. For that, I guess, I owe my little princesses a thank you.
Lords: The Aging House of Horrors?
A Trip To Buckingham Palace
Reader Poll: What's Your Favorite Room?
The White Drawing room on the left was Laura's favorite room. It is by far the most gilded of the rooms and because it backs up to the queen's private apartments it has a clever little invisible door which allows her to walk through and join her guests. The Ballroom in the center was Olivia's favorite room with its massive pipe organ and chandeliers which drop an amazing 11 feet and are five feet wide. She suggested she might like to get married there some day. (We're getting a price quote.) The state dining room on the right was Scott's favorite with its enormous highly polished table and series of oversize ancestral portraits of the current queen marching down the wall.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Eavesdropping On Olivia
Australia Day Tastings 2009: My Big Day!
Australian Day Tastings 2009: What I Learned
Our Day At The Tate
Taking Out The Trash
Olivia's Journal: Modern Art
Today I went to see modern art some of which me and Meredith could see but not daddy. But sometimes daddy would see stuff that we couldn't see. My favret is the lily pad one which had lotsd of lilys on it. It just had lots of bright, bright, butiful colors. I also liked the one called Returning. It had a sudger that I could see but daddy couldn't.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
At Last We Find Some Animals
What's One of These Worth?
Olivia's Top 10
A Taxing Question
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Quiet Time
After that it was a walk down the Thames, return home and early to bed for everyone.
Groceries On The Doorstep
Monday, January 26, 2009
Olivia's Journal: The Big Eye and War Museum
Editor's note: This is Olivia's journal entry for January 26. Olivia surprised us by proposing to make the entry in cursive handwriting. She has been working on forming her letters, but this is the first serious effort at composition she has undertaken and certainly the first she has undertaken voluntarily! For a first try, it was pretty good! For those readers who don't like squinting, the entry reads: "Today I went to the big eye whitch is the biggest ferris wheel in the wold! You could see millions of miles away. I also went to the cabnit war museum and saw the bombs that Germany had dropped on Europe. They looked like mini roketships. I saw the Churchill museums. I learned that if Churcill didn't get help from America and Russia then there would be no Europe."
A Birdseye View of London
Iconic
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Olivia's Journal: History and Horses
RIP: Charles I, King of England
Canvassing Canvasses
When Enough Is Enough
Horse Guards, Happy Girls
Olivia finally got her trip to Horse Guards at Whitehall today. We witnessed the daily 4 p.m. inspection--a tradition carried on since Queen Victoria surprised the guards one day and found them all drunk and gambling and thereafter order daily inspections. The newly opened Horse Guards museum was a great hit. The girls went to great pains to each color a guardsman to enter into a coloring contest. They enjoyed seeing the horses and colorful guards, trying on the guards' somewhat heavy unforms and armor, learning about the guards' role in various military conflicts, their vital role in guarding the monarchs of England and occasional treachery within the ranks. We laughed when we learned that the various jobs of the Horse Guards are apportioned based on the results of the daily inspection: those who clean up best get to sit on the horses at entrances to royal palaces; those in the middle get to stand; those who perform most poorly get to muck out the stables the next day. Although this out-of-the-way museum isn't well known and only infrequently visited, it is a London treasure. More people should make the trek to enjoy the 300+ year history of this institution.
Another Sunday, More Cathedrals
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Quotes of the Day
Olivia: "I'm not crying; I'm whining!"
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Meredith: "We had fun at Kristin's house yesterday. We went for tea. But we didn't have tea. We had tropical punch. And we had fruit salad. But it didn't have any salad in it, only fruit."
Tea and Toys
A Palace For A Princely Price
left to the right: Alexandra Palace palm court entrance; the rose window built in Germany weights 2.5 tons; The BBC's was founded and began broadcasting from the palace in 1936.
The website seemed straightforward enough: "Visit the only trade show for make-up artists in the world. On in London this weekend only. Suitable for children and families." Check, check check. We set out Saturday morning to see a trade show at the Alexandra Palace, built in 1875 as a recreation center for Victorian London. It is an imposing venue in east London set on a hill with wonderful views and surrounded by a large park. We were accompanied by busloads of excited teenagers and young twenties, headed to see the same show. The tube was crowded owing to the closure of the two of the main tube lines for repairs, but we squeezed in for the 18 tube stops and the bus ride. We were dropped at the imposing Palm Court and hurried in to buy our tickets. That's when we found out we wouldn't be proceeding further. At an eye-popping f45 per person (f40 for kids) we weren't that interested. For the equivalent of $280, we'll learn about stage make up on television. The question remains how (and why) all these youngsters were willing to pay the same price. And they say there's a recession... To salvage the day we showed the girls the enormous broadcast tower that is incorporated into the building. The palace was the first headquarters of the BBC starting in 1936 and remained its principle office for many years. The girls learned that radio and tv waves are around us all the time, but you can't see them or feel them. They are still suspicious, but they understand the concept at least.