Globetrotting: to Disneyland Paris and back with TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Got up to leave at intermission? You really are "That Guy"! Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

Yeah.

 

I guess those Monsters at the Laugh Floor know what they're doing after all.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's get this report cranked back up.

 

We're still in London- and have just finished riding the London Eye.

 

There's a pedestrian bridge that crosses the river near here, but there was also a Taxi stand right by where we were dropped off, so we hopped in a Taxi, and asked the driver to take us to St. Paul's cathedral.  The guy I met in the Orlando Eye line told us that he had taken a tour of it with a guide, and that he had wished that he had more time to spend there.  We hadn't planned on visiting the cathedral, but it was close, and was also on the Tube line to our hotel, so we decided to check it out.

 

Here we are- looks like a lot of old churches:

 

 

There was a choir performing on the front steps:

 

 

We did go in, and found that it was something like $20 to tour the place-and no photography was allowed.  We passed.

 

We did enjoy the view from the steps:

 

 

This cool inscription was on the ground in front of the church:

 

 

If Queen Elizabeth can make it to September, she will surpass Queen Victoria as the longest reigning British monarch.  We are living in a time where history is being made.

 

From here, we headed down the street to hunt down our Tube entrance:

 

 

This is a side view of the cathedral:

 

 

I think that gold statue there on the column is St. Paul, but I can't tell you for sure:

 

 

We headed back to the hotel.

 

This old church was right across from it- the sign says it was founded in 1762:

 

 

This is a look down the street that our hotel was on.  There was a pub on the left just out of the shot- we decided that we would try it for dinner tonight:

 

 

That's the entrance to our hotel there on the right:

 

 

We took a nice little break in the hotel, and planned out our evening.  Since the weather was nice, and we would have some daylight left after we ate, we decided that tonight would be the night we went looking for that famous London crosswalk that all London visitors need to visit.

 

After our break, we headed out to dinner at the Black Horse pub.  I was hoping for some authentic London Fish and Chips, but we soon found out that the specialty of the house was pizza.

 

Oh well, they had beer:

 

 

And it ended up that the pizza was excellent.  Not what we expected to eat in a London pub, but we had no complaints:

 

 

From there, we headed back to the Tube, and after a train switch or two, which we were becoming very proficient at, we found the crosswalk that we were looking for.  When we first got there, we were concerned because there was some construction going on:

 

 

But no worries, we got to cross the road:

 

 

There was a record studio nearby:

 

 

For some reason, people felt the need to write graffiti all around here:

 

 

If these walls could talk:

 

 

There is a webcam here, and we texted the folks back home so that they could see us online.

 

This is the view from the webcam:

 

 

There's a monument right in the middle of the road here, but there is no mention of the famous boys who once crossed this street:

 

 

After our visit to Abbey Road, we headed back to the London Eye.  We heard that it's fun to see at night, but we also found out that the sun stays up really late in London.  It was after 9:30 pm when I took this photo, and it still wasn't dark yet:

 

 

As we continued to wait there for darkness, the clientele gathering around us started to look a bit scary, so we decided to head back to the hotel.  Another tube ride, and we were home for the evening.

 

That's how we ended day 3.

 

The plan for Day 4 was to hit the sights around the House of Parliament and visit Buckingham Palace, then head across the river for that tour of the Globe Theater we had missed out on today.

 

TCD

[Specularius 102]

I'm late to catching up on this report. Glad you got to see some of the world. A few short thoughts....Great call on NOT DRIVING IN DUBLIN!!!! I did, getting straight off the plane...not a good idea. Black pudding....it is made with pigs blood, that is why it is black. Molly Malone....was the "Madame" of Dublin, a lady of the night. It is a running joke in Dublin that the tourist get excited over her statue. I wish you would have had the time to see inside the church you took pictures of and "Dublinia" was worth the price of admission. 

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

You are right.  I'm sure it was expensive to build, but that thing has to be a huge money maker!

 

 

Have you seen Pulp Fiction?

 

I had the Royale with Cheese.

 

AKA the Quarter Pounder with Cheese. 

 

They did have some strange things on the menu, but we were looking for something quick and safe to eat before the show.

 

TCD

Look at the big brains on Andrew!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I have watched the Abbey road webcam a few times. It can actually be quite entertaining.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Loving this trip report!

 

Best part of St. Paul's Cathedral for me was climbing up to the the dome for a bird's eye view of the City.  Cheaper than the London Eye, but  lot more work.  Also, the staircase is a very narrow spiral staircase.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm late to catching up on this report. Glad you got to see some of the world. A few short thoughts....Great call on NOT DRIVING IN DUBLIN!!!! I did, getting straight off the plane...not a good idea. Black pudding....it is made with pigs blood, that is why it is black. Molly Malone....was the "Madame" of Dublin, a lady of the night. It is a running joke in Dublin that the tourist get excited over her statue. I wish you would have had the time to see inside the church you took pictures of and "Dublinia" was worth the price of admission. 

 

I remember you mentioning that you drove in Ireland, and I was tempted to try it, but since we weren't going to leave Dublin on this trip, I ultimately decided against it.  After seeing the traffic in the city, and all the road construction going on, I was glad that I skipped the car.

 

I think it's a pretty bad trick for those Euros to play on us Americans by calling something made of pig's blood pudding.  Gross.  I'm glad I didn't know that before I ate it.

 

I didn't know that about Molly Malone- and the sign on her statue skipped that detail.

 

I hadn't heard of Dublina.  That sounds like something that I would have liked.  I'll have to try it the next time we go.

 

Ireland is definitely a place I want to visit again.

 

Look at the big brains on Andrew!

 

 

Good job.  I was trying to think of another Pulp Fiction reference, but couldn't think of one that didn't include a bad word.

 

I have watched the Abbey road webcam a few times. It can actually be quite entertaining.

 

True.  I watched it back when Twin #1 visited London last year- it is fun to watch all the shenanigans that happen there.  Fortunately for us, we went after evening rush hour.

 

Loving this trip report!

 

Best part of St. Paul's Cathedral for me was climbing up to the the dome for a bird's eye view of the City.  Cheaper than the London Eye, but  lot more work.  Also, the staircase is a very narrow spiral staircase.

 

I didn't know you could climb up the dome.  I'm not sure I would like that narrow spiral staircase, though.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Day 4 began in London.  We had another full day here, and the plan today was to see all the stuff around the House of Parliament, and maybe do a little shopping (not my choice).

 

We took the Tube to the exit closest to Big Ben, and came out right across the street from the big clock:

 

 

 

I believe that this is one of the buildings used by parliament:

 

 

We were across the river from the London Eye:

 

 

We headed over to Westminster Abbey-this is a look back at Big Ben from over that way:

 

 

There was a square there with a lot of flags and statues of great statesmen, including FDR:

 

 

I don't remember what this building was- but check out that dude's scarf.  Fancy:

 

 

This side of Westminster Abbey was covered with scaffolding:

 

 

It's a very cool looking building:

 

 

Here's another photo of the building I can't remember the name of- it was across the street:

 

 

This sign tells us that the church on the Westminster Abbey grounds is called St. Margaret's church:

 

 

A view of Big Ben and the London Eye from here:

 

 

One of the few photos of us together from this trip.  If only I had a selfie stick!:

 

 

It was crowded around here, and there was a long line of people waiting to go into the church.  Neither of us wanted to wait in the long line:

 

 

There were taxis parked nearby, and we knew that Buckingham Palace wasn't far.  So, we took a couple of shots of the outside of Westminster Abbey, and then were going to get away from this crowd via taxi:

 

 

 

We got in the taxi, and the driver took us over to Buckingham Palace.  It turned out that we chose the worst possible time to visit, as we had arrived for the changing of the guards.

 

The problem was that we arrived after everyone else.

 

I held up my camera over the heads of the mob in front of us, and got some shots of what everyone was here to see:

 

 

 

 

It was your basic mob scene:

 

 

We really couldn't see anything.  There were a bunch of people standing across the street, so we went over there, thinking, perhaps, that the other side of the street was elevated and the people over there could see the guards.  Nope:

 

 

So that was a fail.

 

Looking at all the people crammed in here- we didn't want to see what was going to happen when the ceremony was over and everyone tried to leave at the same time.  So, I flagged down a taxi, and we headed over to the Globe theater on the other side of the river.

 

There was a small fee for the tour, but it looked like an interesting place, so we bought our tickets and headed in.  The first thing we saw were museum-like displays.

 

I thought this sign was interesting:

 

 

The tour started outside, where we met out tour guide.  He gave us a brief overview of what life was like on this side of the river back in Shakespeare's time.  The guide was great, and kept the tour interesting:

 

 

The outside of the theater is a tall, round wall.  We were brought inside to see the stage:

 

 

As you can see, there is no roof over the theater.  The majority of theater goers in those days would stand out in the open for the performances.

 

There was some covered seating, but that was for the rich folks:

 

 

Our guide took us up to a seating area, and explained what we were looking at:

 

 

This building is actually a replica of the original theater which was built using materials and techniques from Shakespeare's time.  The guide explained that the drive to build this theater was led by an American actor named Sam Wanamaker.  When he told us that, I pictured the actor Sam Waterston from Law and Order, and had it in my mind that is who the guide was talking about.  I had that all wrong.

 

The stage itself had a cover over it, and a lot of very intricate details:

 

 

 

They still perform plays at this theater, and there was a performance set for that evening.  We thought about attending, but decided to pass.  It would be interesting to see a Shakespeare play performed there.

 

On the way out of the theater, we passed a BBQ stand, and look what they used to cook their BBQ:

 

 

In case your name isn't GDF, those are Big Green Eggs from the US of A.

 

We headed east along this side of the river in search of a Tube station.  When we went through this little tunnel, we passed by this guy playing an accordion right next to a sign that says "No Busking."  I didn't know what busking meant, and I guess this guy didn't either:

 

 

We ate at Nando's again for lunch today.  There were some other menu items we both wanted to try, and our walk took us right by the one we had stopped at the day before.

 

Then we headed to the Tube for a ride to a part of town we had not yet visited- The shopping district.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Really enjoying your photos, especially the ones of Westminster Abbey!

[jmaul 65]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing this I immediately thought of National Lampoon's European Vacation when the guy steals the camcorder. Guess you got your camera back.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I got way too far behind, so too much to comment on. 

 

I can't believe the London Eye is $90! 

 

Love Pulp Fiction!

 

I'm an English nerd, so I'd love to visit the Globe, even though it's a replica. 

 

But the best part.... Big Green Eggs in London! Wow! Maybe that will help me talk Jason into going?  

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Caught up - so much great stuff.  I can't believe how much you've already packed into so few days!!

 

 

 

 

Awesomesauce!

 

I heard beans for breakfast was a thing there, but we never encountered it.

 

Hmmm... beans are on the menu for breakfast at lots of places up this way.  Although up here I blame the French Canadians. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Really enjoying your photos, especially the ones of Westminster Abbey!

 

Thanks, Gwen. I'm glad you like the photos so far. If you like photos of old churches, stick around, our hotel in Paris was across the creek from this really big old one.

 

Seeing this I immediately thought of National Lampoon's European Vacation when the guy steals the camcorder. Guess you got your camera back.

 

LOL.

 

Guess what was playing on the telly (that's what they call TV's over there) one night when we were in London?

 

National Lampoon's European Vacation!

 

DD had never seen it.

 

It was really funny.  We cracked up at the scene where they checked in to their hotel in London, and the only channels on the telly were cheesemaking and "snow."  Then there was a scene where Clark ran over a bicyclist, and the biker kept apologizing to them.

 

I'm pretty sure the camcorder getting stolen happened in Paris.  Right before the wiener dog jumped from the Eiffel Tower to fetch the beret he thought was a Frisbee.  I should have paid better attention to that scene.  We had an unfortunate encounter with a street thief in Paris.  But, you'll have to wait until we get there before I tell that story.

 

I got way too far behind, so too much to comment on. 

 

I can't believe the London Eye is $90! 

 

Love Pulp Fiction!

 

I'm an English nerd, so I'd love to visit the Globe, even though it's a replica. 

 

But the best part.... Big Green Eggs in London! Wow! Maybe that will help me talk Jason into going?  

 

The London Eye was $90 for two.  And that was for the Fast Track ticket.

 

I am a bit of a Shakespeare buff myself, and really enjoyed seeing the Globe.  One day, I want to go and see a play there and stand in the mosh pit.

 

I'm glad you got to see the BGE photo- I took it just for you (and Mr. GDF).

 

Caught up - so much great stuff.  I can't believe how much you've already packed into so few days!!

 

 

Awesomesauce!

 

 

Hmmm... beans are on the menu for breakfast at lots of places up this way.  Although up here I blame the French Canadians. 

 

Yes, we packed it in!  I'm still tired, BTW.

 

I would eat beans for breakfast if given the opportunity.  But, the opportunity never came up.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Thanks, Gwen. I'm glad you like the photos so far. If you like photos of old churches, stick around, our hotel in Paris was across the creek from this really big old one.

 

I'll be here!

[diane+ not THAT monte 7]

Another epic TCD TR .

 

 

 

NTM

[Travisma 1,317]

The problem was that we arrived after everyone else.

I held up my camera over the heads of the mob in front of us, and got some shots of what everyone was here to see:

TCD, you needed a wait for it......SELFIE STICK!!

Could've gotten shots over everyone's head.

[caveat lector 181]

That is a cool picture of the building built around some old ruins. Somebody put some serious thought into integrating something that was built 100s of years ago. Outstanding.

Btw, you're a jersey boy. Isn't there a black horse pub in Mendham. Wonder if there is any lineage?

[DramaMama .......... Janet 75]

Excellent pics of the Globe!  

[Northerngirl--Lori 5]

Enjoying this trip report! I cant wait to see the shopping district.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Another day -- hopefully another update!

[Dalspot ... Karen 21]

ROFL.... I thought the same thing, wondered how many folks have their cell phone stolen when they ask a stranger to take their picture...

 

Seeing this I immediately thought of National Lampoon's European Vacation when the guy steals the camcorder. Guess you got your camera back.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'll be here!

 

Ok, good.  I'm glad there will still be someone reading what I post when we get there.

 

Another epic TCD TR .

 

 

 

NTM

 

Thanks.  It was an epic trip, so I'm glad the TR is epic too.

 

The problem was that we arrived after everyone else.

I held up my camera over the heads of the mob in front of us, and got some shots of what everyone was here to see:

TCD, you needed a wait for it......SELFIE STICK!!

Could've gotten shots over everyone's head.

 

Funny you should mention selfie sticks.  We ran into a ridiculous amount of them at a Paris landmark.  You'll see why when we get there.  I hate them more than ever now.  I will never use one.  Never.

 

That is a cool picture of the building built around some old ruins. Somebody put some serious thought into integrating something that was built 100s of years ago. Outstanding.

Btw, you're a jersey boy. Isn't there a black horse pub in Mendham. Wonder if there is any lineage?

 

I really enjoyed the architecture in London.  Too many places stifle creativity with restrictions on what can be built.  London clearly allows new things to be built in the midst of old, and it has worked out very nicely for them.

 

I can't help you on the question about he Joisey pub.  I escaped from Joisey when I was 17, so I hadn't frequented many bars.

 

Excellent pics of the Globe!  

 

Thanks.  The pictures don't do the place justice.  It was really fascinating to hear how much trouble they took to try to be authentic.  I didn't point this out when I posted this photo, but do you notice how there are cracks in this oak beam?:

 

 

Our guide explained how they used freshly cut "green" trees in the construction, as they would shrink after being put in place, and help hold the joints together.  The white exterior walls are made of a plaster that came from clay mixed with cow hair.  The cows in Shakespeare's time apparently were hairier than modern cattle, so they had to go to great lengths to find the right kind of cow hair.

 

Enjoying this trip report! I cant wait to see the shopping district.

 

Glad you like it so far.

 

We're going shopping next.

 

Another day -- hopefully another update!

 

Yes, there will be an update soon.

 

ROFL.... I thought the same thing, wondered how many folks have their cell phone stolen when they ask a stranger to take their picture...

 

Like I said, it turned out that Paris' reputation as being overrun by gypsy thieves is well deserved.  Sadly, I learned that lesson the hard way.  There will be no ROFLing when we get to that part of the TR.

 

TCD

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Excellent pictures!  I have not been to the Globe Theater, but hope to get there one day.  Thank you for the picture of the sign about "If you have said, ... you are quoting Shakespeare.  I will read that to my students tomorrow.

 

 

Btw, you're a jersey boy. Isn't there a black horse pub in Mendham. Wonder if there is any lineage?

The Black Horse Inn Pub in Mendham was one of my favorite restaurants ever!  Years ago, it was a small space with the authentic low ceilings, a huge fireplace, and chairs you would swear had been there in the 1700's.  It was updated in the late 1980's I believe and very yuppified.  Still good food, but not as much atmosphere. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Excellent pictures!  I have not been to the Globe Theater, but hope to get there one day.  Thank you for the picture of the sign about "If you have said, ... you are quoting Shakespeare.  I will read that to my students tomorrow.

 

 

The Black Horse Inn Pub in Mendham was one of my favorite restaurants ever!  Years ago, it was a small space with the authentic low ceilings, a huge fireplace, and chairs you would swear had been there in the 1700's.  It was updated in the late 1980's I believe and very yuppified.  Still good food, but not as much atmosphere. 

 

The replica of the Globe that we looked at earlier just opened in 2003, so it wouldn't have been there back when you visited London.

 

Thanks for the info on the Black Horse pub in NJ.  I knew nothing about it.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Update time. 

 

We left off with the tour of the Globe Theater.

 

Now we're walking along the south side of the river.  The economy in London must be booming.  Look how many construction cranes there are across the river:

 

 

We found our way to a Tube station, and headed under the river to an area of London we had not yet visited.

 

It's kind of cool how every part of the city has a slightly different vibe to it.  This area had nice trees, and lots of double decker buses:

 

 

Before we started with the shopping, DD wanted to track down a building owned by her Alma Mater.  We found it down a side street:

 

 

This is an education center owned and operated by Florida State University.  Students can come here, and live right in that building, and take as semester's worth of classes.  What a sweet deal for the students, and an even sweeter deal for the professors.

 

This is a view of the street we were on:

 

 

From here, we walked about a half mile to the first store DD wanted to visit.  It's called the Top Shop, and it was huge:

 

 

I went inside the store with her.  There was so much commotion in there:

 

 

I really hate shopping and stores, and I especially hate to go shopping with a woman (no offense to any female readers).  The fact that I was blessed with four sisters and three daughters is proof that God has a sense of humor. 

 

I was not having a good time in the store trying to keep up with my DD and offer suggestions about her potential purchases.  She had her own credit card and lots of money on tap from graduation gifts, so I told her that I would wait for her outside.

 

This was a Friday afternoon, and look at all of the people out shopping in the middle of the day!:

 

 

 

Am I right about London's economy?:

 

 

I forgot to mention that the Top Shop has its own DJ right inside the entrance.  I think you can see her in this photo:

 

 

More double decker buses.  At this point, we still had not ridden one.  But I wanted to:

 

 

I guess since she knew I was waiting, DD did not take too long shopping, and we met up outside of the shop.

 

We took the Tube back to our hotel to give our feet a rest.  I took this photo of one of the many ads we saw for Las Vegas, of all places:

 

 

After taking a little rest in the hotel, we headed back out for some more shopping.  The loose plan was to find our way to Harrod's Department Store, and possibly grab a meal in one of their cafés.

 

This is the same kind of car Twin #2 drives, and it was parked right outside of our hotel, so:

 

 

This is a look at our hotel:

 

 

The bus stop was closer to us than the Tube station.  I wasn't real clear on how the buses worked, but the same reloadable card we had been using on the Tube worked on the bus, and we headed upstairs and got the front row of the top:

 

 

I really enjoyed the view from up here:

 

 

It wouldn't be a TCD TR without at least one bad selfie, so here you go- a double decker bus selfie:

 

 

We hit a bit of traffic:

 

 

And look at this- some dumb tourist is taking a picture of a double decker bus.  What a nerd:

 

 

Do you recognize the dome on this building we are going to pass?:

 

 

If you guessed St. Paul's cathedral, you're right- we had been here yesterday, and now we drove right on past it:

 

 

Down the street a bit, we drove past this dragon statue.  Cool:

 

 

There were lots of trees around this part of town:

 

 

The bus stop was convenient to this Pizza Hut.  We stayed on the bus, though:

 

 

We got a good look at a lot of different architectural styles on this one bus ride:

 

 

When we got to a place called Trafalgar Square, we hopped off the bus.  I wanted to take a look around here.  One of the big landmarks here is this column topped by a statue of Horatio Nelson:

 

 

There were several stations we saw around town where they had bikes that you could rent.  I thought that was one of the worst ideas I have ever heard of.  These people are nuts to be on bikes in the city traffic:

 

 

Here's some old building that was in the area.  Sorry, but I didn't catch its name.  It looks cool, though:

 

 

I think this is the bottom of that same building.  There's a Tube station beneath it:

 

 

There are some big fountains that are supposed to be impressive to tourists somewhere around this area, but I think they were across a really busy road from where we were.  We decided to pass, and to get back on the bus.  So we headed back to the bus stop:

 

 

Next stop, Harrods!

 

TCD