Sadly, today was our day to leave London. We packed last night (after a bit of a lay down after the Ripper tour), so it was pretty easy to get up and out.
Leann had her last black cab ride. Above is a shot out of the glass roof.
Gay was kind enough to come back up to take us out to breakfast! Gay and I had a champagne breakfast (her with Eggs Benedict, me with blueberry pancakes), and Leann had her first Full British Breakfast, complete with grilled tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, streaky bacon, black pudding, etc.
Gay sat with us while we waited on the Eurostar line to open up – as usual, my passport didn’t scan, so I had to go to “a real person” and get checked in. Leann had been looking to get her passport stamped (which hadn’t happened at Heathrow); when she got trapped between the two doors that are supposed to scan you in and then out, so she, too, had to go to the “real person.” And we both got our passports stamped! So that wasn’t such a bad thing.
The train was packed – lots of folks heading over to the Olympics. A few photos of the “Train Trivia” that popped up.
We had heard from our black cab driver the other day that we should visit the St. Pancras hotel, especially the stairway, which has been featured in many music videos, including the Spice Girls’ first big hit. Since we hadn’t been able to really go exploring, Gay took some photos around the station and hotel for us. She said that staircase was as impressive as it had been advertised!
This was a standing poster at King’s Cross Station in front of the Harry Potter store. People would walk up and take photos with (ahem) their fingers up Charles’ nose. Poor Charles. He looks a little confused that he’s finally made it.
We’re now in the Hotel Marais Grands Boulevards. It is one of the top “Clef Verte” (Green Key) hotels in France, in a neighborhood in the Marais, and seems to be accessible to the Metro and many other things. There is a cute cafe, a pizza place, and a burger place with amazing reviews; there is also a grocery across the street. (There are also hair salons literally every block – perhaps not so much for cutting as for braiding?) Have to say – it is HOT, and HUMID! As soon as we stepped off the train it was like walking into a wall. Thank goodness the hotel has both A/C and blackout curtains (since our room faces due West.
We’re now watching the Olympics on TV, though (whut-WAHH), we can’t find anything in English and my VPN/Xfinity remote doesn’t seem to be working to get us alternative channels. We had gotten quite fond of the BBC reporters and the Great Britain team, plus they did a lot of coverage of the U.S. Team. Now, we’re just getting the French team, which isn’t quite as great, since our French isn’t really up to snuff to understand what they’re discussing, and the French are doing well in sports where we’d rather watch something else. Handball…More handball…(Who knew?)…plus we’ve seen the French swim, judo, dive, play basketball, etc. But it’s not against teams that we care about. (WHO SAID THAT?!) We did get to watch some of the rowing when we were waiting on the train, however, which was great.
Our two tours today were a Harry Potter Tour (3 hours) and a Jack The Ripper Tour with “Rippervision” (1 hour). We arrived at King’s Cross Station *way* early, so hung around until the store opened/we were able to get our picture taken. :-)
At King’s Cross Station
Here are some photos from inside the Harry Potter store! Got the gal with the Harry Potter license plate (in the rowing parking lot – long story!) a few things, got my mom some Hogwarts socks, and myself a Ravenclaw coffee mug. No, I don’t need another coffee mug, but it’s a super good size and – hello – Ravenclaw ;-)
One of the things that you can see now and again are pieces from the Blitz, up on the sides of buildings:
…but back to the tour. Our tour guide, Sam, was absolutely fantastic. As you can see from the picture, he gets asked by kids on the tour whether he’s a Weasley. (He just says yes.)
We only had a handful of people on the tour, which was great. No young kids, and everyone “kept up.” One pair was a mother and daughter from Germany (though the tour was in English), then the other family were from Salinas – a Mom (not a Potter fan), Dad, and their daughter who had turned 21 the day before.
One of the first things Sam talked about was that when Rowling had written the books, she was on the third book before she “realized” that she had set the railway station to get to Hogwarts at King’s Cross – the station she actually had had in mind was the next one down the line – Euston Station. By that time, however, there were a million books out…so…King’s Cross it is!
The mythical “Platform 9-3/4” is actually next to Platform 5. We also learned that, when Harry and Ron missed the train to Hogwarts and “borrowed” Mr. Weasley’s car to get there instead, St. Pancras station (right across the road) was “nicked” as they flew by.
run for Platform 9-3/4 this way!Sam holding photo of the flying car over St PancrasSt Pancras Station top tower (they must have fixed the “nick” ha)
We left King’s Cross and got on the Tube to Leicester Square. It’s *far* easier than it was the last time I was in London – you can just tap your credit card on the turnstile.
King’s Cross Station
From Leicester Square, we walked to Goodwin’s Court, which was used as Nocturne Alley in the movie. If you don’t recall, Harry was trying to use floo powder to get to Diagon Alley, but accidentally apparated here. People actually *live* on this street, so only one tour group can go through at a time and you have to be quiet. (It is apparently utilized all the time in movies and “period pieces.”). Note the Gryffindor door knocker – we both smiled at the sign. The bottom photo was the back window of a Mexican restaurant that backed on the street, advertising that people should come in to catch the “golden empanada.”
We saw a few other London sights and our fantastic guide told us little snippets of knowledge that I have now edited into the first 2 days of the blog! We learned quite a bit at Trafalgar Square. Admiral Nelson had won the battle of Trafalgar against Napoleon (though Nelson died and Napoleon lived). Because his crew loved him so much, they wanted to get Nelson’s body back from Spain to the U.K. – but it was a long, hot trip. So, they put his bottle into a barrel of brandy (never a shortage of alcohol on British ships.) Unfortunately, the wind being what it was pre-motor-driven ships, they ran out of brandy in the *other* casks before they got home. So, yes . . . They drank the brandy out of that cask. So, to this day, when you pour the brandy out of the bottle, it’s called ‘Tipping the Admiral.’
The statues were made from re-using metal from the battleGringott’s! (Actually, the South African embassy – the inside of Gringott’s is actually the basement of the Australian embassy – yes – even the chandelier!These stanchions are recycled cannons from the Battle of TrafalgarThis statute of King George I is actually the exact center of London.The sculptor commissioned to make the lions had only seen a painting of a lion’s face. He used that for their faces – but his Labrador for the body. So they are actually lionbradors :-)
While the statue of King Charles I is the center of London, he was beheaded and replaced by a “Republic” led by Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell, however, abolished drinking, dancing, celebrating Christmas…so the “Republic” lasted a few years, then *he* was hung and King Charles II re-took the throne. People were pretty upset about their forced Puritanism, however, so once King Charles II was coronated, they dug Cromwell back up, beheaded him, and put his head on a pike at Buckingham Palace for all to see!
Leann and I had seen this sculpture honoring the Women of World War II the other day, and Sam told us some facts about it. As you can see, it represents the “uniforms” or clothing worn by all the women, who took on the jobs that the men who had gone to war would have performed. (Of course, unfortunately, once they came back, they were expected just to “hang up” those clothes, as you can see here.) Women built the Waterloo Bridge (also known as the “Ladies’ Bridge”) and Sam told us that it was the only bridge that came in on time and under budget!
We headed over to the Scotland Yard area next. This is where they filmed Hermione, Ron and Harry taking Polyjuice potion to disguise themselves and enter the Ministry of Magic. I’m re-enacting the Polyjuice drinking – Leann is reenacting Ron acting as a lookout.
This was in the background when they were hiding and drinking the Polyjuice.
We stopped at the theatre showing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – J.K. Rowling’s play takes place after the end of the last book, and involves Harry and Draco’s children. It’s six hours long (!!) – in London, they are still sticking to that, though they have split it into a matinee and then an evening performance. In America, they have shortened it down to three hours! Sam said that it is really worth a see, and that parts of it are even frightening for adults. He also showed us the “same day” box offices, where you can purchase the tickets that haven’t been sold by the various theatres. Tickets ran from about 20-35 pounds, where the actually first-run shows are a multiple of that.
The tour is “A to B” so we did not end at King’s Cross. When we were getting back on the Tube, Sam mentioned that the inside of the Underground had been used many, many times in science fiction movies, especially in Star Wars (and that’s why Star Wars always premieres in London). The station below was used in scenes from Rogue One, episodes 8 and 9.
We had to go back to the room to recover from the walking (Leann’s Apple Watch logged 13,548 steps). After some power napping on Leann’s part (and photo uploading and blog drafting on my part), it was time to get back out and try to spend our pounds!
At the initial restaurant, we were first seated under a cold wind blowing down on the table. Once re-seated, we noticed that the menu proclaimed “CREDIT CARDS ONLY”! (What??) We blamed leaving on how cold the restaurant was, and headed out to try to find a pub to check off Leann’s “eat at a pub” bucket list.
Speaking of cold/warm, it has been the most incredible weather ever in London. All our guides have been commenting on it! It was probably about 28C/82F today, and is going up to *32C* in London tomorrow – !!! (Double it and add 30 for Fahrenheit – it will be within about 2*)
We wound up at “The Coal Hole,” a pub right next to the Savoy. It advertised “Standard Pub Fare,” and didn’t disappoint.
Leann reminded me that one ordered with the bartender at a pub, paid, then the food came out to you. I ordered a chicken pie for her, beef rib and wine for me, and a lager. Then, I taught Leann how to eat “The English Way” – in other words, stabbing a piece of food, then piling the other tastes up the back of the fork “behind” it. We both remarked that, while completely foreign, the fork *does* fit better in your mouth that way!!
Our guide
Our final tour of the evening was a Jack The Ripper Tour with “Rippervision.” Can’t say that I can recommend it, frankly. The group was exceptionally big and, though the guide was super knowledgeable as a “historian and 35 year Ripperologist,” it was really too bright out for the “Rippervision” (he used a book of photos until the very end, and even then it didn’t work that well).
I guess what we had expected was something more like … movies?…showing what it was like? Not quite sure. But it was just projections (of the same photos that the guide had in the book), made on a wall. They’re photos you’ve likely seen before, if you have any interest in Jack the Ripper (which I do). The advertising photographs in Get Your Guide for this tour were *definitely* misleading. The guide also projected the photos (touted as “Rippervision”) onto walls and columns, and often they were impossible to see. As I said – frustrating.
Some of the things that we found out was that it was 4 pence to stay in a “doss house” for the night (in a shared bed), or you could pay 2 pence to sleep standing up with your arms over a rope. The rope would be cut down at 6 a.m. This is where the term “hangover” comes from.
Jack London had come down to this area, and wrote People of the Abyss about the inhabitants.
Another frustrating issue (which I will state in a review, likely) is that the bulk of the actual historical areas are long gone. So, you stood in a (completely empty) huge retail area that Boris Johnson had built (having razed the beautiful 1800s buildings that were there), and were told “well, this is what used to be here.” It happened time and time again. In actual fact, the only 2 things that you saw that were original to the Jack The Ripper story was the 10 Bells Bar, and an alley where the women would “duck in” to “earn their money.” (And apparently still do today…guide told us not to lean against the walls. Eeeee-yew!)
There were dozens and dozens and DOZENS of people doing “Jack the Ripper” tours in the area. Honestly – at least six, seven groups (and our group alone had 40+). Considering basically *none* of the places that you imagined you would see are even in existence any more…would I say that *any* “Ripper tour” is worth it? Not really. The area is too gentrified to see anything original – which meant that what you saw were photos in a book of the areas. Readily available via Google. Hmm.
The guide kept us standing for about half an hour at the end, running through his theory of who the Ripper had been. He made a convincing argument, but standing for that long was *exhausting*! Worse, there were both stairs and a bench area where he could have had us all sit down. Suffice it to say, it sounds like the Johnny Depp movie “From Hell” espouses his theory – so we might want to rent that when we get home.
The photos below are from the tour – clockwise from the top:
*The Ten Bells Bar (named for the 10 bells in the church to its right). Our guide had lived above it for a while in the ‘90s and told us stories about the Victorian woman ghost in green…
*The headstones that were pulled up to make a park next to the church, no, the bodies were not dug up…and it became a place for the homeless to sleep in the filth and rats….
*A Society run for free by nuns (Women in one door, Men through another – just not enough beds)…
*One of the few alleys in the area still somewhat how it was back in Jack The Ripper’s time (and used partially for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter)….
*A store I just loved! “A noted house for Paper Bags”!!….
*homes (now selling for over L6 million) originally built by silk weavers – the glassed in areas at the top were where they set up their looms, situated to take best advantage of the sun….
*Corner house of these houses featured in Enola Holmes, TV show with Millie Bobby Brown playing Sherlock Holmes’ younger sister (super fun)…aaaaand…
*Some Elephants. ;-)
Leann and I caught an Uber back to the hotel…Though the walk ended close to one of the Tube stations, we couldn’t face being on our feet for even one more second. Frankly, I’m a little concerned what our final tally will look like for transport, as we have been using my credit card. Due to our hotel not being super close to a Tube station, we have chosen to use Uber or black cabs the bulk of the time – which are, of course, far more expensive than going underground.
Things we wanted to get to but just didn’t:
*St. Martin-In-The-Fields “tea in the Crypt”
*Harrod’s
*Sketch London
*Portobello Road Market…
Just not enough time (or, rather, not enough time when we wanted to be on our feet!)
Leann was off to the Tower of London for the Ceremony of the Keys and fish and chips, while I updated the blog and backed up our photos. (Fish was “meh,” but the chips with malted vinegar = a HUGE win!)
The Ceremony of the Keys has taken place to secure the tower every night for 800 years. They have been right on the dot except for one night due to the bombing of London in World War II… Though they did still do it, it was just “a bit late that night.”
tower bridge in daylightThe towerAnd the lights come upAn “archer” at the turrets!
A snap of Leann’s Beefeater guide…
The “Queen’s gate” (they brought the queens by boat to the Tower).
Below, Anne Boleyn’s “grave marker” to the left of where she was buried – not a headstone, because she was guilty of treason which meant that she had to be buried in an “unmarked grave.” (Henry VIII’s wives’ heads were never found when the bodies were exhumed – ? Whaaaat ?)
The pillow below is the exact spot where they did the “private” executions. (The others were done on a hill outside the building.)
Leann learned that the Tower had historically emptied their sewerage into the moat area. Per the architect it had been engineered so that the Thames would wash in and clean it out. However . . . it was too deep, so the sewerage just sunk to the bottom! Suffice it to say that moat’s stench was *definitely* the biggest defense of the Tower!
Crazy story: The Tower chapel was first, of course, Catholic. When the Pope wouldn’t give King Henry VIII a divorce . . . he invented the Church of England. The below baptismal font was broken up into three pieces and “hidden” by the priests into the crypt of the builder of the chapel at the tower (above); he and his wife were supposed to be buried in that chapel, but by the time they died, Henry decided “no Catholics” would be buried in “my church.” Therefore, it was “vacant” – so the priests hid the baptismal font there. When the chapel was being renovated they open up the crypt and – surprise! – there was the font!
The next morning (this morning) we were off to meet my friend Sharyn at The British Museum.
Here’s our lovely doorman Philip! (With a few double decker busses to boot!)
Our timing couldn’t have been better! Though we had specifically-timed tickets, so did dozens and dozens and DOZENS of others on line! Sharyn queued up while we were taking our Uber to the museum, and we stepped out of the car literally right as she approached the entry gates! Well done!
The British Museum is basically a testament to Imperialism. What can I say? Although some of the items that I’d seen the last time I was in London have been repatriated (King Tut’s items for example), others have not. There are lots of arguments on both sides. The pollution in Greece would have destroyed the marble of the friezes. If you put the items back where they came from, you’d have to build such infrastructure to protect the items that it would be a hardship on the repatriated country . . . Et cetera. (My friend Sharyn offered that perhaps we should give free private visits to every Egyptian, Greek, First Nations, etc citizen…)
There’s a new (to me) entry area with a fantastic dome ceiling (see below). The entire center is the bookstore. We flicked through some amazing books, including one you could buy and “find” items in the British Museum, following a “mystery written by” Watson (of Sherlock Holmes fame). What a great way to get people to really visit galleries other than just the Rosetta Stone! ;-)
Since you asked, here is a close up of the Rosetta Stone. (Follow the links if you don’t know why it is important LOL.)
I had to visit the Japanese wing, considering my new obsession with Iaido. What’s that? Well, kinda Japanese samurai swordsmanship. HERE is a link to my notes (so far). Just a couple weeks ago I moved up to a metal sword from wood YAY ME ;-)
The Scroll of the tortoises you see below was a collaboration of artists that included, at top, a then-80 year old samurai, next his 2 sons, then 7 of his compatriots, each showing his personality in “their” tortoise.
The priceless ancient items also have more modern art interspersed with them, such as the hand-carved vase of stone “feathers” from an artist in the ‘80s (yes, *19*80s). Amazing!
From Japan to Egypt…
some Greek/Assyrian/etc. …
Then, of course, some sweet and coffee!
We left the British Museum to one of the honestly most beautiful days I have ever seen. (Sharyn must have commented on it about 50 times ;-) .)
A few wonderfully British things we saw:
Gargoyles!
Unfortunately Leann is having real issues with her knee, so we let her lead the walk, heading towards Covent Garden.
BOY did I want a “swordstick” or a “dagger cane”! So so sadly, store was closed…
Every now and again Sharyn would wind up back in front, and I now know how Leann feels when she walks with me . . . I kept having to comment, “Slow down, Turbo . . . “ (to her laughter).
Another Harry Potter store. A Nimbus 2000, already wrapped to ship? Or, a niffler, anyone?
We discussed when Sharyn had been a city planner, and how she remembered London saying that they were going to “clean up” the awful Covent Garden area and turn it into . . . What it is now. We talked a lot about how visionary folks like that have to be!
We moseyed back to The Strand Palace, and had a “chatting siesta” – Leann had a siesta, Sharyn and I chatted :-)
After changing into our appropriate tea outfits, Leann and I were off to Champagne High Tea at the Palm Court at Langham. As soon as you enter the hotel, you breathe in their exclusive ginger lily perfume. We were 20 minutes early for our reservation, but they happened to have a *fantastic* table in a corner “niche,” so we were able to, well, basically begin early and stay late! :-)
We had a lovely tea, trading Darjeeling 2nd flush for Assam for a Chinese tea that I *promised* to remember the name of and, of course, do not (it sounded like Assam…) – Ali Shan! (Gorgeous, floral tea. Wow. Leann had 2 pots! :-) )
Their version of a “Ploughmans” was actually my favorite of *both* high teas we had enjoyed – a pear and date chutney, a super beautiful Pitchfork white cheddar, and a cheese scone – YUM! HERE is the menu!
Ultimately, we picked our purses up off the “purse footstools” and headed back to the concierge area.
We had had a bit of a tease with the doormen before heading in. We’d asked one about the amazing, spicy ginger lily scent wafting through the atrium. He told us that the other doorman was “even using it as an aftershave,” but he wasn’t “quite sure” that he was “ready for that.” I quipped “didn’t he know” that the “most handsome ones” don’t need to “do things like that…?”
Well, upon leaving the tea, the doorman I had “kidded” actually presented. Leann with a bottle of the ginger lily cologne! (L30!) We were so surprised and truly, ridiculously, gobsmack-ed-ly thankful! :-)
The doorman on the right was the gift-giver.
The day was just too lovely not to take a bit of a walk through the area. Ultimately, however, I hailed a black cab to save Leann’s poor knee for tomorrow’s tours (a 3 hour Harry Potter one, followed by a visit to Harrod’s but then back to the hotel for some work, and finally a Jack the Ripper tour that evening).
On Leann’s “bucket list” had been riding in a black cab with suicide doors.
We don’t think that people really realize how big of a deal it is to get your London black cab “medallion.” The cabbie must pass an exceptionally difficult test, called “The Knowledge.” They sit in a chair and the examiner tells them their starting and ending point, and the nascent cabbie must list every street and stop light passed on the way. Cabbies also need to know landmarks for the customers, and pass a written test that includes a map of London with “fake streets” you must suss out.
Though we’ll admit to taking Uber the bulk of the time (it’s cheaper and hey, has an app) – well – it’s just a drive “from place to place.” The Uber drivers don’t know the landmarks; they generally just follow their GPS/don’t really know how to get “around situations,” etc. (We’ve asked our Uber drivers a few times about a landmark, etc and unfortunately, we’re just lucky if they speak English.) Black cab cabbies drive until they’re done with it, but then have a pension for life.
(As an aside, the black cabs now have a glass ceiling, so you can see out both the windows and the top! :-) )
Cue our cabbie on the way home, Brian. He was lovely, chatty, knew the landmarks, and even gave us some admonishments for our trip to Paris. (“Don’t accept anyone at the train station that asks if you need a cab – they are scabs! There, cabbies are like us, licensed ones can’t solicit you, you can only hail them. They also have to wait in a specific stand. So just ignore anyone who approaches you. You promise me, right? Right?!”)
Another bit of knowledge – Did you know why the black cab is shaped the way it is? So that a six foot tall man with a bowler hat could get in without removing his hat (truth!)
At the end, though he “could git in tru’ble for dis!,” Brian set up these photos for us once we reached the hotel. Bravo, Brian! The perfect end to the perfect day!!!
Well, I’ve just toodled Leann off to her “locking the gates at the Tower of London” ceremony by way of the best local fish and chips shop in TripAdvisor, downloaded photos from her phone, H’s phone, my phone . . . And now time to put it all together.
So – Hi!!!
Has to be about a year ago, a friend texted me out of the blue saying, “You and Leann want to go to the Olympics?” (My reaction – “Um, whaaaa?”) Turns out that you need to enter a lottery to be able to purchase tickets early on; she had, and had won. This allowed her to purchase sets of 3 tickets (to “lower ranking” events) for 6 people. Leann and I chose Men’s Water Polo, Men’s Trampoline (which may or may not be taking place in a museum), and Men’s Beach Volleyball (at 9 p.m. – on “the beach” . . . At the foot of the Eiffel Tower!) We all wanted to go to the Rowing finals, Women’s Skateboarding finals . . . Then booked a few events together, and a few separately, via Get Your Guide (recommended by the American Express concierge as “Not a scam.”)
As Leann hadn’t been “across the pond,” we decided to take a few days in London first.
Delta had a few issues along the way – first, cancelling Leann’s direct flight … then just cancelling her trip altogether (Me: “Why did I just get an Amex credit for the $ value of your flight?” Leann: “#$@*&^@# Delta!!) … then getting hit by the computer issue last week and having to cancel ?5,000? Flights – but ultimately we both made it! (NOTE: In my opinion, best seat in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class = 1A. Only one person “behind” you, you don’t share an overhead bin, and there is a HUGE “vent” that you can put your things on, just not for take off and landing. Virgin’s lie-flat seats are a little oddly configured, so this made a HUGE difference.)
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Lounge at SFO – champagne with H marble and snacks – my fav way to start an adventure!Leann, ready for the Paris Olympics!
After a thankfully uneventful passport control and customs, I met Leann with one of my best friends from my 8 years in Washington D.C., Gay (“Half Way”) from the Hash House Harriers. What a surprise! Gay lives down in Kent, and we had discussed possibly trying to meet up in London – she looked at our arrival schedule and decided to meet us at Heathrow! She had a bag of “treats” to welcome me “back” – PG Tips, Hobnobs, Digestives, Cadbury chocolate . . . Yum!
After a bit of up and down and around and skyways and lifts, we met our Uber driver in the Heathrow car park and headed in to London. The sedan was able to fit the three of us, our carryons, and our checked luggage (hat tip to Solgaard’s large “trunk” – wonderful!), and off we went. Leann took the front seat to have a better view (to the left is MI5 as we crossed Vauxhall Bridge), and to let Gay and me catch up on about !35! Years.
We checked in at the Strand Palace and Gay came up to the room with us. We opened the door … and at about half way open, it slammed into the foot of one of the beds! The room is clean, mattresses are comfy, shower head can be raised so only minimal ducking … Who needs a ton of floor space? :-)
TallTail and Half Way circa 1989 – and 2024!
We decided to head down to the Art Deco-inspired “gin joint” at the hotel. The atmosphere was fun; each cocktail was inspired in some way by a historic event at The Strand Palace or person involved in its history.
Gay told us that it had been raining before we arrived, and we all wondered how it would affect the Olympics Opening Ceremony, which we thought was starting at just about the time our drinks arrived. (No TVs in the “gin joint.”) We had a super fun evening, though Leann and I were starting to be a bit “worse for wear” jet-lag-wise. Gay had taken a train up from Kent and was staying at a nearby hotel, so we bid her “adieu,” actually thinking we would be able to meet up the next day (Spoiler Alert: Bad cell phone communications…*sigh*)
When we got back to our room, Leann and I changed into jammies (mine, the ones I had “liberated” from Virgin Airlines), turned on BBC, and were just in time to see the Ukrainian athletes slide by in their barge on the Seine. We had missed the beginning with Lady Gaga, the Marie Antoinettes holding their heads in the windows of Versailles, ménage at Trois at ?the library?, all countries before “U”, etc. – but we saw the end of the parade of athletes, the “fashion show,” dancing, “steampunkesque” horse and rider on the Seine (amazing!), fireworks, parkour/ninja delivering the torch, Carl Lewis and Serena carrying the torch in the wavy water (Serena looked seasick!), turn-of-the-last-century-style balloon as the Eternal Flame “caldron,” Celine Dion and, of course, *THE RAIN*! We discussed how we hoped that none of the athletes would come down with a cold! It was *pouring*.
Some photos of the Opening Ceremony that we watched in bed. An artsy shot of the stairs, looking up from our floor.
Didn’t sleep great this first night . . . And then, waking up at about 3 a.m. local time, I had a “Waaaaaait a second…” moment, and quietly got out my phone and started doing a bit of research.
I was to start off with a guided tour of the Churchill War Rooms, which is run by the Imperial War Museum. Back when I was in grammar school and high school, my family had a board game that we called the “London Tube” game. I don’t really remember how to play it, but I *do* remember that if you had to get to the IWM (Imperial War Museum), it was *way* down in a part of London that was difficult to get back from, at a station called “Elephant and Castle.” Leann and I had planned that she would go to the IWM, I would do the War Rooms, and we would meet when I was done.
Herbert and I had gone to the IWR the last time we were in London. We both loved it. But my 3 a.m. wake-up was a reminder from far earlier, when I had been in London with my cousin Robin. That memory centered around St. James’s Park – which is far from Elephant and Castle – walking past the War Rooms “entry” and discussing it.
Sure enough – I looked up the War Rooms – and they were *nowhere near* the actual War Museum. Yikes!
When Leann “finally” woke up (about 5 lol), I told her what I had uncovered. We decided to scrap the idea of actually going to the IWM at all (remember the Tube game? It’s out of the way, not near other sights…) She would come with me to the War Rooms (which are, indeed, across from St James’s Park), and do what she had really wanted to do at some point in our travels – head down to the Thames and see Ben Ben, Westminster, etc. Perfect!
We found the only coffee shop open in about a 5 mile radius at that hour (truth!), took a few snaps, and then she was off to the Thames, I was off to the War Rooms. The streets were deserted, though we kept coming across barriers, police, etc. (More on that later.)
A couple of telephone boxes left up – for tourist photos! (No phones inside)
Here are a few shots from Leann’s jaunt while I was 12’ underground in Churchill’s War Rooms. (Yes, only twelve feet!) I cropped them to be a bit more artistic, but I would *bet you* if you asked her nicely, she’ll show you the actual photos. :-) And BY the way, did you know that “Big Ben” is NOT the name of the clock tower? “Big Ben” is the name of the bell inside…the clock tower is Elizabeth Tower. Yes, really!
Meanwhile, I was (only) 12 feet underground, doing the tour of the War Rooms. If you think they are a close and claustrophobic rabbit warren now, imagine adding thick cigar and cigarette smoke from every single person! When the “fresh” air came in from outside, it was so polluted with dust, grit, etc from the continual bombing (plus the “usual pollution that was rampant in London until just recently” per our guide), in actual fact, the cigarette and cigar-laden air was considered preferable!
A Churchill quote on the outside of a glass, behind which is the cabinet war room.One of Queen Victoria’s sayings that Churchill kept on his desk. That is his chair. He was so stressed that he wound up over time leaving gouge marks down the arms from the signet ring he wore.This photo shows the super thick cement Churchill had poured between the floor of the Treasury Building above and the tunnels below. They had to have a U.S. company come in to pour it – and then, decades later when they were making the museum, another U.S. company to come and drill through it!The “V bombs” were so deadly and quiet – this is a piece of a tally of their destructionThese sort of warnings were throughout the “rabbit warren”Map roomPutting pins into the map, each pin representing a convoyMarking convoys in the AtlanticEach pin hole was a convoyCan you see all the pin marks? Each represented a convoy in the Atlantic. This is in the map room. The U.S. would not come to help for D Day until they knew they would be safe from the German subs. Once the U.K broke Enigma, the stage was set.These phones are in the map room. The lights between are because Churchill’s nap room was next door – when he went for a nap, they shut off the ringers and just had the lights. These phones reported every troop/carrier/etc movement in every war theatre.This door was made to look like an indoor toilet (note “occupied” spinner). The War Rooms have no running water. Instead…. . . It was a super secret direct line to the President of the United States!From the gift shopTook photos instead of buying ANOTHER coffee mug!
Once Leann and I met back up, we headed over to Buckingham Palace, which was PACKED with people obviously believing they were going to see the Changing of the Guard at 11:00. It was about 10:50 … but it was Saturday (no Changing). Since we were “In The Know,” we headed through a gorgeous sunny St. James’s Park up to Fortnum and Mason to have a scone and some Countess Grey.
Fortnum’s!Marzipan mushrooms, figs, bananas, etc.More marzipan fruit!A man with an important job on the 1st Floor, definitely!Fresh tea measured out at Fortnum’s
We tried to catch a cab from F&M to Raffles, where we were having lunch. First, the driver texted us that we had to walk about 3-4 blocks, because the roads were closed. Once we got in the car and drove about 3 more blocks, he said that we would get there faster if we walked – it would take him about 40 minutes by car but it would take us about 25 minutes to walk. And he charged us the full fare – ah well….
We followed Citymapper through back streets and wound up on the Plaza behind the horse guards – just as they were having a changing of the guards! That was a huge surprise! In case you’re wondering, the guards with the big bearskin helmets are all infantry. They “stopped smiling” during Victoria’s reign. She had lost her husband – the love of her life – early, and from that moment she started wearing black and “never smiled again.” The guards in “sympathy” also started looking more stalwart. It’s currently $200 if you are caught smiling, which goes directly to the Royals. Leann and I talked about it being like a Secret Shopper in a store – perhaps they have “Secret Tourists Snapping Photos”??
When we finally made it to Raffles, we accidentally wound up in the Drawing Room versus the Guard’s Bar, and had a spendy high tea. It was great, just unexpected. Our waiter was particularly nice. He was from Portugal. Actually told us he had been almost a shut-in computer guy, but after COVID he decided to get into the hospitality industry and “learn how to” talk to people, etc. He now was exceptionally proud to be a waiter at Raffles.
Note the wee hourglasses (?minute glasses?) – 3, 4 and 5 minutes’ worth of sand, depending upon how “dark” you liked your tea.The tart gooseberry “columns” in front and the slivered peach and ginger tarts to their left were our favorites.Poppyseed “lace” on top of a poppyseed and lemon sconeArtichoke, yuzu and blackberry “amuse bouche,” then the tea sandwiches behind. If you’re really hungry, you can have another serving of the sandwiches before they give you the “sweet.”Gorgeous shortbread “basket” – all the “strawberries” are actually piped “jelly.”
Turns out the Amex concierge had booked us in the Drawing Room though I’d asked for the Guard Room Bar. When I went to the Guard’s Bar to apologize that we hadn’t shown up for our reservation, they felt bad for us and gave us a glass of champagne, gratis. :-)
There had been an *enormous* protest when we were at Raffles. The maitre d’ told us that they had been told to “plan for” two protests today, but had found out that morning that there would be three. That’s why *so* many roads were closed.
The bartender at the Guard Bar gave us a “back way” to avoid the protest, closed roads, etc on the Strand, which we followed. It took us under the Embarkment and then into a sweet little park that ended right behind the Savoy, which was across the street from our hotel. Score!
Police laden down with machine guns across their chests = a completely different visual than anything I expected in the U.K. As most folks know, generally Police in Britain do not have guns. The idea is that if a policeman is shot, “everyone knows” that the police do not have guns, so it’s far, far more egregious than other countries.
We walked back to the hotel; Leann took a nap while I started downloading photos for this post! The wifi here is pretty slow, so it’s been a bit of a slog.
She headed out about two hours ago for her “Key Ceremony” locking the doors of the Tower of London – and she wanted to get a “fish and chips” while alone (since I’m allergic to fish). She did text me that she made it, had a great time, and was checking off another thing on her “bucket list” – a ride in a black cab with “suicide doors” on the way back to the hotel.
As an enormous surprise, a beautiful cheese and fruit plate, and champagne, showed up at our door, courtesy of my friend’s family, as a thank you for helping them through some personal sorrow. What an amazing surprise! I am now completely happy and completely stuffed!
Tomorrow: British Museum meeting up with another friend from the U.S. who moved back to the U.K., our “actual” high tea at The Langham, some other things that I’m forgetting about (lol) and a Jack The Ripper tour in the evening!
These are a couple of flowering bushes that I liked at our hotel:
We left the hotel and were on our way in a van with a trailer. The van did not have enough room for me to get my legs into the seat, but I was able to sit in the first seat behind the driver (Rod sat in the passenger seat). Unfortunately, at one point the driver took a wrong turn, and in trying to back up, wrapped the hitch on a telephone pole, with the van on one side and the trailer on the other! They wound up getting it sorted out, but that left us with a bit less time at our stops that day.
Our first stop was back at the Hundertwasser Toilets for a “bio-break.” I was sitting with Elizabeth, who was kind enough to duck down so I could take a photo of the “Kawakawa” sign!
shots of the town signtaken over Elizabeth’s backspeeding around the roundabout!
One thing that I likely didn’t mention in the previous post about the toilets was that I hadn’t been able to locate my superglue. I completely emptied my (small) purse – nope. So, I had “affixed” it in the window with toothpaste (yes, really)! I was a little nervous to go in to see if it was still there. While we were driving, I found the superglue – right in the pocket it was supposed to be!! So I went in, and luckily the marble was still there. I “dusted off” the dried toothpaste, applied the superglue, and we were back on the road again! Here are a few more photos from the Toilets:
We stopped for a “coffee stop” in Whangerei. It is a port town, that decided to revamp the entire waterfront. They didn’t have a lot of tourist visitors, and so they decided to put in a Hundertwasser Museum! It opened in 2021. They even had some of his artwork, loaned from Vienna. In the photos below, you can see the museum, a HUGE fig tree out front, some kids doing art in a side room, the uneven floors (Hundertwasser felt that flat floors were not “natural”), some of the tiles and designs (including a black kiwi bird and a seahorse), and then coffee, prosecco, and H (in the glass)!
photo from Cindy :-)
Here is a posting about the “uneven floors”:
Next, we headed to a small park with Kauri trees. They are now endangered, so you have to spray and wipe your feet before entering. These kauri were not possible to get logged out – so they are some of the most ancient in New Zealand. A lot of the kauri wood was exported to the U.S., and the sap was used for linoleum! Because no gold was found in this area, timber was their export. The first kauri in the photo is the McKinney Kauri – not a great picture, but you can see the dimensions on the sign. It’s 800 years old. The 2nd is the Simpson Kauri, which is 600 years old. The tree ferns were at least 30 feet tall!
this is the sap – it’s used to make linoleum!
Then, off to our final “pub lunch” in New Zealand! I’ve mentioned before that their signs are pretty classic. It is their Voting now (for the next 2 weeks), and there are a lot of Vote signs on the road – my favorite, though was the “No Fart Tax!” sign. (Yes, really, there’s a “fart tax” for the methane made by farm animals.)
Our pub was no different! Here are a few photos not only of the pub (including some photos of the teams that had to drag the kauri from the forest), but also the signs at the pub:
Cindi and the gigantic burger!yep – brasread the “Dog Found” all the way to the bottom…
Then, we were off to Auckland Airport. Air New Zealand has a thing called “OneUp.” When you choose your seat, you can choose to enter basically a “silent raffle” to the next higher tier. As Lynn and I were in Premium Economy, that would mean Upper Class. The minimum that you can “bid” is $500, so I bid $501. And I got it! So I was able to have a lie-flat seat, etc. on the way home. (P.S. – Lynn tried to do it at the airport, but they wouldn’t. And there were at least 6 seats empty in Upper Class, plus she said only about 15 people total in Premium Economy.)
Unfortunately, as we were waiting for the plane in the Priority Pass lounge, I just started feeling “Not Right.” I thought it was a migraine, which I get on occasion. I hadn’t been drinking that much water that day, so tried to “load up” on water while waiting. The lovely free food/beverages/etc. just looked nauseating.
It got worse as we boarded. I turned down dinner, and asked for a cup of “hot white sweet tea” instead. Then I asked the flight attendant to fold the seat down.
I told them not to wake me up for breakfast, so I was lying down/sleeping for the bulk of the flight. I did have another “hot sweet white tea” about 30 minutes before landing, and took some Tylenol.
Global Entry was easy peasy – my update came the day before we were to fly out! (My Global Entry had expired in 2020.) Melissa picked us up, and Lynn was able to “re-jigger” the things we had put in her bag v. my bag for ease of transport.
And – yes – you guessed it. I had worn my mask assiduously on the plane out to New Zealand, but hadn’t worn it there, or on the way back. And the little “T” lit up on the COVID test! I guess I am no longer in the ever-dwindling cadre of NOvid folks! Melissa is off to Tahoe, luckily, so basically I’m lying around feeling crappy. I did get Paxlovid, but I can’t really make it down the driveway much less feel confident in the car, so my poor Mom is going to pick it up for me. Well – back to bed! There you have it – the trip to New Zealand!!!
As I believe I mentioned last post, it was pouring yesterday, which basically belayed what we were supposed to do on that day. But our Fearless Guide Rod was able to “smoosh” it all into one day – today!
Pohutukawa – New Zealand “Christmas bush” because it blooms usually around Christmas. (We were way up North = warmer)A Tui eating nectar from the Pohutukawa. They have a huge vocal range and Maori used to teach them to speak (a la a magpie)
We walked from the hotel over to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. First, we visited the museum.
One of the most interesting “juxtapositions” was the “non-Māori” history, and the Māori history of New Zealand, side by side.
For example, above is Abel Tasman, the “discoverer” of New Zealand. He was Dutch, hence naming it after Holland’s coastal province (“Nieuw Zeeland”). Of course, he never actually landed on the shores (talked about that already). In juxtaposition, here is Kupe – Māori tradition is that Kupe and his people voyaged from Hawaiki, their homeland in Eastern Polynesia. Aotearoa, the country’s Māori name, is said to come from Kupe’s wife, Kuramarotini, when she first saw land. Apparently she cried: “He ao, he ao tea, he ao tea roa!” (“A cloud, a white cloud, a long white cloud!)
Here is another “juxtaposition.” This is Captain Cook. On the right is Te Koukou. The land that the Europeans “discovered” was occupied by many independent tribes. Every part was under the mana (authority) of a particular group, led by their rangatira (remember what that means? Tribal leader). The people identified themselves by the names of their hapu (extended kin groups). Contact with outsiders led them to define themselves collectively as “Māori,” from the term “tangata māori,” meaning “an ordinary person.”
The above explains how things got off on the wrong foot. Not only did the “invaders” use trumpet calls that were interpreted as challenges, but they also paid zero attention to the Māori traditions of Tapu (“taboo”) such as areas that were not to be walked on, etc. This shows a Māori putatara at the left.
Once the bumbling Europeans (who said that?) started to somewhat integrate, as mentioned in a previous post. the Māori realized that they could be traders; they could also charge “license fees” for ships at anchor. (NOTE: Once they signed the Treaty, the ships stated that they paid this fee to the CROWN, not to the Māori. The tribes were VERY confused – as that was not how their version of the Treaty was written. More on that later!)
We had learned about trading during our tour the day before, but we uncovered at the museum that the biggest item of trade was Rope. The Europeans had an unending need for rope on their ships. One large naval ship might have 40 kilometers of rope rigging that would need to be replaced.
Philip King, Governor of the Norfolk Island prison colony, wanted the convicts to make rope from the flax growing there. He knew that the Māori had great expertise in this area. So – instead of paying the Maori to make the rope – you guessed it – he abducted two young Māori men.
Unfortunately, they didn’t know a thing about making rope, as it was “women’s work.” Interestingly though, King kept them on as they were hard workers, and ultimately they came home with pigs, potatoes, and vegetable seeds for their community – who shared with the next – and so on and so on.
how the Māori “divided” the North Island into various whanau, each headed by a rangatira.
Quick learners, the Maori started to have ships of their own (built in New Zealand to the “European” style). Unfortunately, they sailed one to Australia, and it was either blown out of the water or it was confiscated, because it wasn’t flying “a national flag.” That is what led to what is now called the “United Tribes of New Zealand” flag. (Remember, this was well before the Treaty of Waitangi).
There was a lot in the museum about the colonizers – French, English, etc. The U.S. sent a lot of trading ships to New Zealand, and they (of course, only a few years from their own independence) were very skeptical of discussions about whether New Zealand should be a colony. The English “promised” the indigenous tribes that they would protect them from the French, who were in “colonization” mode then as well. Apparently, the English made the better argument.
After visiting the museum, we were hooked up with our guide. The first thing he showed us was an enormous war canoe. It was taken out in 1983 when Prince Charles and Diana visited New Zealand to return the rangatira cape that had been presented to Queen Victoria. It is taken out once a year to celebrate the Treaty (don’t worry – it’s on tracks to get it down to the water!).
The warship was made of three enormous trees. The middle tree’s stump was still in evidence – Mark was kind enough to “model” how large around it was. The canoe is 84 meters (276 feet) long.
next to a “standard-sized” warshipCoxswain seat (the rounded seatback is in front of this carving). The cox basically pounds a big stick, and says a chant, that you repeat to stay in time. At the other end is the guy with the rudder.
The “topknot” on a totem is very important. As Māori believe that the spirit enters through the fontanel, it represents the “silver thread” between Heaven and the individual. The head is the biggest portion of the totem because it’s the most important – all the senses “live” there.
We also learned about the “tongues” of totems. If the tongue is sticking out straight, it can be a “true teller,” but it can also be a challenge (like in the haka, where both men and women bug their eyes out; women jut their chin whereas men stick out their tongue). If the tongue is right facing, that represents more of a “spiritual” totem – left facing represents more of a “business” totem (can also be warlike). If the tongue is split it’s a liar OR . . . politician!
From here we headed up to the top of the hill – where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. We passed a tree that Queen Elizabeth had planted in 1953.
From here, we (and a gaggle of other tourists) were invited into the Māori marae, similar to what had happened when we had our “day in the Māori life” a week or so ago. The greeting was very similar, with a woman representing the “priestess” coming out, and a woman representing “us” introducing us to the priestess. Then, a “rangatira” was chosen from the audience, to represent our “whanau” (remember: pronounced FAH-now; extended family). He was presented a branch from one of the men, who came out and did what he hoped was an imposing “haka.” Interestingly, our Rangatira – Joe – was standing right in the middle, and was Māori! He picked up the branch the “peaceful” way, which we had learned about at our other marae experience, and then we were invited in the marae after taking off our shoes.
lintel of the marae
We were then treated to a singing/”dancing” show; however, the “dancing” was really based on stretches, warmups, and then practicing done with different weapons. There were three women and two men. As you can see, Rangatira Joe had to get up and stand very still while they practiced “around” him!
One thing we learned from our guide is that in 2008, the U.K. wanted to “re-ratify” the Treaty of Waitangi. However, as I’ve mentioned before, the English version and the Māori version were different. In the museum, they had copies of the original version, the Māori version, and what the English translation of the Māori version really means. When the Māori were gathered for the “ceremony,” the British just wanted them to sign “as they had before.” The British stated that this was just “ceremonial” for the anniversary of the signing. They said that Māori had already “agreed to” the English version. (They were all to sign the original English version of the Treaty this time.)
The head of the Māori delegation said two words: “Prove it.” The critical part? The Māori had signed the Māori version of the Treaty oh so many decades before – not the English version. Therefore – under English Common Law – the portions of the contract that were “different” would be “stricken”. . . which of course were the portions stating that they agreed Britain owned their land, the Queen could use Eminent Domain to do what she wanted, and the like (versus their version, which said the Queen was basically a rangatira who would protect them from harm and honor their land ownership and rangatira status; that their relationship would be a mutually beneficial partnership).
Many in our group had actually been to New Zealand before – and were very surprised at how much Māori language was included on everything – street signs, directions, historical markers, etc. We wondered if this change had happened around the time that it was “discovered” that “under English Common Law,” in actual fact, the portions that had been “mis-translated” in the Māori version (which the rangatira all signed) would not be binding.
One thing our guide had discussed with us was that the Māori had beaten the British via “trench warfare” (I discussed this yesterday). He said that they took the idea from eels – that when you hunt eels, they come out of a very small hole, but it digs down and ultimately there is a large compartment were all the eels are. He said that once the Māori and British were “friendly,” the Māori explained how they had dug the trench around their village and “tunnels” between the houses, etc. The guide stated that this is where the idea of trench warfare came from, that was incorporated into the British “war machine” from then on. Thank you, eels. :-)
We went back to the museum – there was quite a moving section that had to do with all the Māori who had fought in various battles. Here is a video I sent to my “Whanau.” Unfortunately I only captured 24 seconds, but you get the idea. It was an enormous crescent that was supposed to represent a lei. The black dots were Māori who served in the British Army in all wars from 1840 to World War I, the blue were those who served in World War I, the green World War II, and the grey all the wars after WW2. The red “dot” on any of those colors represents that the person had died in the war.
After leaving the museum, I think we grabbed lunch, but we were very soon in the van to head to the boat to take us out to the “Hole in the Rock.” This was where Lynn had wanted to leave her second one of Jim’s marbles, because he was a “water baby” and they hadn’t been able to get out there on their honeymoon. (If you like the idea of “cremarbles,” check out Public Glass.)
We passed “black rock” cliffs (basalt), a few beautiful beaches, and the Cape Bret lighthouse up on the hill and lighthouse keeper’s house below. The day before (when we were supposed to take this trip), the waves/water were awful, but luckily the day was beautiful.
On the way back, the boat docked at Otehei Bay. I pointed out as we were coming in what looked like a floating yurt – and it was! HERE is their Instagram :-) Otehei Bay was a beautiful area, where you can stay in a small cabin overnight. They have one restaurant – no WiFi as you can see from the sign below! The oddest thing was that they had no rubbish bins. When Don asked about it, he was told that stopped people from throwing things away . . . UNLESS they just left their debris on the beach, where the staff had to go pick it up. (??) Unclear on the concept?? It was low tide, and you could see what “used to be” oysters – that the birds had eaten up!!
We headed back to Russell when the ferry returned, and had our Farewell Dinner at the Duke of Marlborough (remember the story from our Russell tour?) This was one of the fishies in the bar:
Late day – time to pack for an early departure back to the Auckland airport! (Quite a ways away)
If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!
This is a “Waratah” – New South Wales, Australia’s flower. We drove past it in the van in Russell and Chris, our van driver and tour guide (originally from Scotland) told us about it. I thought it was really interesting looking!
The Bay of Islands is made up of 144 islands. We are staying in Waitangi, and were driven this morning over to Paihia to meet the ferry to Russell. Paihia is a touristy little town – though of course, we’re out of the tourist season, so it was mainly touristy shops without a lot of people!
I did find another shirt for my daughter in case the first one doesn’t fit (and some cute socks), and some “stocking stuffers” for my grandboys. I also bought a fridge magnet for my daughter’s manicurist, who had done my “Māori-style” nails that are getting a lot of Ooos and Aaaahs from local staff. It is a green “arrow” like they have on their highway exit signs, and says “Middle Earth” (with the arrow). She’s a big Lord of the Rings fan, and I hope will like it. At the Paihia Dollar Store, I also bought Marilyn (of Jim and Marilyn – she’s the only Marilyn left now) a pack that had dice and some playing cards in it, because she said that, what with the weather, “of all trips,” she couldn’t believe she hadn’t brought her playing cards (dot dot dot).
The weather was very blustery and rainy when we headed out to Paihia, and it continued on the ferry to Russell. You needed “sea legs” to get off the ferry and onto the land, as the dock was heaving up and down. And it was a big dock, too!
We met with Chris, a spry 80 year old, at the dock with his van. Rod stayed behind to try to figure out what was up with the weather, our remaining tours, etc. He is certainly earning his salary these past few days! Chris was Scottish, so had a bit of a lilt in his voice. He was wearing shorts – which made me cold just to look at! – but he said it was that or a kilt, and the kilt “kep’ blowin’ up in da wind…” ;-)
So here are some tidbits about what we learned on our trip around the island, plus some photos (not that many). As I type this, I’ve decided not to head out to the dinner tonight in Paihia. Though it sounds like a great restaurant (The Swordfish Club), it’s a “pay your own way” dinner and I’m a little bit exhausted/want to keep the blog updated/want to just be quiet. So – here we go, with “tidbits” and photos :-)
In Russell, like on Waireke Island, a number of the homes were shipped over “whole” from the mainland. It’s less expensive than building them! Also like Waireke Island, the island doesn’t have water – each house has a rainwater catchment system.
Zane Grey (yes, that Zane Grey, the writer of “potboiler” Westerns), per Chris, “single-handedly” put New Zealand on the map for big fish sport fishing. Here is a bit about him:
In addition to his 57 Westerns, Grey also released 8 books about fishing throughout his career. One of these, the beautifully-written Tales of the Angler’s Eldorado, was penned in 1926 about his time in New Zealand. He tells of some of his best catches in the region, described his saltwater and freshwater fishing experiences, and detailed many of New Zealand’s uniquely wonderful environmental and geographical characteristics.
He also wrote many articles for international sporting magazines over the years, which described New Zealand, and in particular the Bay of Islands, as a world class game fishing region. He is widely credited today with playing a huge part in the foundations of New Zealand’s modern fishing industry.
In Tales of the Angler’s Eldorado, Grey said, “The New Zealand coast is destined to become the most famous of all fishing waters. It will bring the best anglers from all over the world.”
Well, we can’t really argue with that.
A plaque indicating that “History is memorialized by the Victors”…
In showing us around the island, Chris explained that houses like the 2-story stucco one he lived in, which we drove past, can’t be built any more in Russell unless they fit within the “historical template.” In showing us what that looked like, he drove us past homes with copper gutters, and foundations made of crushed whale bones – ! These homes also are built from Kauri wood, which is endangered now. The “historical accuracy folks” just mean to make it fit within the “template” – not actually use the materials – so I think the Kauri and whales are safe :-)
We drive past a Māori meeting house. This is the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, a/k/a the Māori flag. I believe that we will find out more about it tomorrow, when we learn more about the Treaty of Waitangi. We heard a bit about this in Auckland, but Waitangi (where our hotel is located) was where the treaty was actually signed.
a mailbox in Russell
But let’s go back in Time, a bit before the Treaty. As we drove around the beautiful island, we learned a good bit about New Zealand history, presented in a very engaging fashion.
Russell was the first capital of New Zealand (for 18 months). Then it moved to Auckland. This upset the Māori, who suddenly had to pay tax on items for “export” to the capital. Then, when the South Island was settled, the capital was moved to Wellington, which is more central.
We have heard a few times now that Tasman was the first to “discover” New Zealand, but Chris explained that he really only circumnavigated it. When Tasman came close to land, Māori gathered on the beaches, doing the haka (remember the war dance from a blog post before?) So, he decided to just move on . . .
Captain Cook was next, then ultimately 50 white folks decided to emigrate. They were met by 120 Māori on the beach doing the haka . . . but of course, the white folks just kept coming, and ultimately Russell got its nickname as the “Hell Hole of the Pacific.” This small town in the early 1800s had 17 grog shop/brothels! The whaling ships would use it as a port of call due to the deep water areas (and women willing to enter into “three week marriages”); even convicts on their way to Australia would jump ship in Russell to escape. The area didn’t have any police force until the 1830s, but even after, they weren’t particularly effective to stem the tide of licentiousness.
Christ Church in Russell is New Zealand’s first church. One of the first donations for its construction came from Charles Darwin, who could not believe the “very refuse of society” that he saw in Russell. The cemetery includes headstones for Tamati Waka Nene, who was one of the first chiefs to sign the Treaty of Waitangi (and sided with the British during the Battle of Kororareka). Also there is Hannah King Letheridge, the first white woman born in NZ, and graves of some of those who fell in the Battle of Kororareka. (More on that later.) The Church still shows the scars of the Battle of Kororareka, with musket holes clearly evident.
However, to give services at Christ Church, the Anglican missionaries would row over from Paihia. They had no intent of living over in Russell. In other words, these missionaries stayed on the mainland (Heaven) and wouldn’t come to Russell (Hell). However (per Chris), Catholic missionaries came out, and “bypassed Heaven, going straight to Hell.” They founded the Catholic church, and built some of the first industry in New Zealand (e.g., a bookbindery and hide tannery for making books).
kauri tree (about 80 years old) – ignore van window reflection!
In the beginning when the white folks were mainly whalers (and the people that serviced them), the Māori were fairly happy to co-exist with the whites, trading kaori trees (for masts), guiding, information, women, etc. for white “stuff” (such as guns, alcohol, shovels, etc.) However, ultimately, England sent “settlers” to “tame the land,” and this was a problem, since these settlers wanted to be the “traders,” they didn’t want to trade with the Māori.
As we’ve heard before, ultimately this lead to the Treaty of Waitangi to get things sorted out. The Treaty had two versions to sign – one in English, one in Māori. The English version made it clear that the Māori were agreeing that they would be subservient to Queen Victoria and her governor. The same paragraph in the Māori version stated that “All people would be equal.”
Of course, once it was signed, Māori were forbidden from owning or purchasing shovels, guns, alcohol, or anything that could be used as a weapon. They were also forbidden from entering the schools. They had been promised (when they sold the land for the churches) that Māori and Pākehā (non-Māori) had the same right to burial in consecrated ground. Of course, after the Treaty – Nope.
Hōne Heke, who had been a signatory on the Treaty, ultimately ran up Flagstaff Hill and chopped down the Union Jack, telling the then-current governor that the Treaty was over, it was not as had been portrayed. The British put the flagpole back up – Hōne went back and cut it back down. I believe four times. The English had 1,500 soldiers, and Hōne Heke gathered 850 Māori tribesmen, all from different tribes, which was unheard of. (They were used to fighting each other, not presenting a united front.) The Māori defeated the English, who complained that the Māori “didn’t fight properly.” They didn’t fight in formation, carry a battle flag, regiment in straight lines, etc. (Sounds like the British v. that other rambunctious colony in the 1700s, eh?)
Ultimately Hōne Heke blew up the British munitions dump, and all the whites retreated to the Navy ships in the harbor. While they tried to attack the Māori from the sea, Hōne Heke’s folks destroyed everything down to the ground, except for the churches. This was because Hōne Heke was a “very Christian man” – so much so that he had been baptized Catholic, then Anglican, then Methodist!
I’m sure that we will learn a lot more about this period of history tomorrow.
As I mentioned, we learned a “scatter gun” of Russell history from Chris. There are 73 children in the school now – from kindergarten through “when their parents decide to send them to the Mainland.” (I’m guessing 8th grade? I didn’t ask.)
There were a few more signs that I wasn’t able to take photos of out of the van, such as the “Naughty Penguin” restaurant and “Hell Hole” Coffee. Caught this one though:
But back to the “Hell Hole.” In 1841, “Johnny Johnston’s Grog Shop and Brothel” got the first liquor license in New Zealand; he changed its name to The Duke of Marlborough to be more respectable. HERE is a bit about its history, which actually gives a very concise history about the island! We will be having our farewell dinner (for the 11 of us left on the tour) tomorrow night. (WOW, already?)
Chris described Russell of the 1800s as “A huge, steaming, bawdy town of whalers, grog shops, and brothels.”
There are kiwi signs all over the islands. You can’t have your dog off leash, etc. because kiwis still nest here, so the Bay of Islands area is a Kiwi Preserve. I might have mentioned this before, but I tend to like to leave the “Do Not Disturb” on the door, so that they won’t make up the room. I make my own bed, and don’t really need towels every day, etc. (And Lynn has been willing to humor me.) Some hotels have gotten in on the act and give you credits to your “loyalty card” if you do this. At our hotel here, they take the $ that it would take to clean your room, and give it to the Save The Kiwis Foundation, which is resettling kiwis on their island. (I wonder if it’s tied into the Kiwi Hatchery that we visited last week?)
Back to bits and pieces of what we learned. The Eagles Nest is one of the most exclusive hotels in all of New Zealand. The most expensive room is $20,000NZ a night – the “least expensive” is $3,000NZ per night. The hotel owns “from the hill to the sea” in this area. We went up above it and took some photos in the serious wind! Here are a few (including the mosaic up at the top – brrrr!)
The island is a dolphin, whale, and seal sanctuary (as well as the kiwi). It has a very hilly terrain, with mainly forest inside the hills.
There are many, many multi-million dollar homes. The one above looks out on the most amazing view (same as the Eagles’ Nest!) It was built by two Americans, who have never actually been on the island. The building was finished right before COVID started – now the house is done, but no one has set foot in it. 60% of the homes on the island are Holiday Homes; the “new millionaires” are the locals in the trades (building, plumbing, etc.)
The above is Long Beach, a lovely, sheltered cove on the ocean side of Russell. Off to the left of the first picture (don’t mind the van mirror) is the deep water port, where the cruise ships come in and dock, sending their people onto the land via tenders. It increases the “population” of the islands by 400-500% for a few days! This has been difficult post-COVID, as many people who used to work in hospitality in New Zealand were kicked out – then haven’t come back.
In 1963, Queen Elizabeth commented about the view from this hill – which is now called Queen’s View Road.
Well, that’s about all the notes I have from today. As I type this, it’s lovely and sunny outside the sliding door of our ground floor room. It has a glassed-in lanai sitting area looking out on the garden and (to the far right) the tennis court. Of course, when I started typing, it was hailing!
Tomorrow – the Treaty, a Māori celebration (I’m guessing that a haka will be involved), a boat trip to the Hole In The Wall (where Lynn plans to leave her marble), and (maybe?) a trip to the Hundertwasser Museum. That seems like a lot – I really really hope the Museum doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. Our plane doesn’t leave until quite late, so maybe the idea was to visit on the way back to the Auckland Airport! Wow – we’re already leaving – ????
If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!
As you may recall, the day started for our guide, Rod, at 4:00 a.m. with notification that our flight had been cancelled. He jumped on things, however, and was able to get us on the next flight from Queenstown to Auckland. Good thing, too, since the flight after that flight went awry as well!
Lynn and I were both surprised that somehow he had managed to get us all aisle seats! Queenstown airport is small enough that you don’t get screened and then go to gates – you are screened right before you go to your gate. There was some hassle with both Lynn and my carry-ons, but we finally got through screening after they took our bags apart. Funnily enough, my issue was a lighter that I carry in a bag with other “I might need these some time” things. They said I could carry it on – in my pocket! I thought that was odd until Lynn pointed out that if it started a fire in my pocket, I would be quicker to address it than if it did it in my backpack up in the baggage compartment!
Unfortunately, Rod said that while trying to “can the worms” “released” due to our flight cancellation, we weren’t going to be able to make the glowworm caves. He’d tried to get everything else re-arranged, but because of timing, that one bit the dust.
It was raining by the time we got to Auckland, but we were hurried into a van with a trailer for our luggage. Unfortunately, the seats were too close together for moi, so I was sitting with the top 1/2 of my body facing forward, and my legs out to the side into the aisle. David noticed my position after a couple hours like that and had me trade with him. He has always taken the farthest back “bench” seat, in the middle. There is no one in front of that seat – so no issue with my legs. Success!
There are some fun signs in New Zealand – I’ve mentioned this before. Here are a couple others:
Mark was kind enough to share his winnings (Whitaker’s chocolate) from answering the most questions correctly on Rod’s New Zealand quiz. This was a very nice one!
We drove and drove. And drove and drove and drove. Finally we got to Kawakawa – which was supposed to be a 10 minute “bio-break” but it was the Hundertwasser Toilets, which I had basically chosen this trip to see.
I had decided to place H’s last marble for this trip in the Toilets in some position or another.
I found a spot in a window on the Women’s side.
I think he would enjoy getting to see women come and go (as it were – ha ha) all day.
I took lots and lots of photos :-)
There were also Hundertwasser columns, walls, planters, a lamppost, etc. in various other parts of the little town, but there wasn’t time for exploring. I did take some long-range shots with my trusty cell phone!
I have to say, seeing all the architecture made me a bit maudlin. Herbert just loved Hundertwasser’s work and had been so excited to visit New Zealand to see where Hundertwasser had done the final works of his life.
Also, the countryside looks so much like home! So, lots of memories and all that . . .
Don and I talked some at dinner about Linda and Herbert. I like hearing stories about how people meet, their backstory, etc. How he and Linda originally met (in junior high) was a good one. :-)
Tomorrow – The Hole In The Rock, where Lynn gives Jim’s final marble she brought the “heave ho.” Unlike Herbert, who was not a great swimmer though he could snorkel for hours, Jim was a “water baby” and so Lynn feels this will be a great spot for him. The weather isn’t supposed to be great, so fingers crossed that we get out there in the boat!
If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!
Elizabeth and David are a couple on our trip. They came to New Zealand for their 25th anniversary (late ’80s I believe), but Elizabeth didn’t “get to” bungee jump. So she was going to do it this time around.
They went when we did the Dart Jet Boat – Elizabeth wished she could have “done it all” but time didn’t permit.
David was born in 1935 – Elizabeth in 1942. They’ve been together for a long time, and are quite a couple. (David is our “Rangatira,” you might remember.)
David shared the photos of Elizabeth’s jump – so I thought I’d share with you. Look at that joy!
Today we took a trip out to Arrowtown. It is a picturesque mining town about a half hour bus ride from Queenstown.
Rod did an orientation walk, and then Lynn (who leads Chinatown Tours in San Francisco and worked the Immigration Station on Angel Island) headed over to what had been the Chinese portion of the town (basically gone now).
One thing that was different than the San Francisco Chinese “experience” is that there wasn’t violence against the people – though there was just as much prejudice.
Chinese men from Guangdong (formerly Canton) had come out to work in the gold fields. Once the gold petered out, they turned into the main farmers for the area, and faced a lot less prejudice because the “white folk” didn’t consider them to be competition.
Dave, um, “posing” at the open pit toiletinside the home – quite amazing dry-laid stoneMark shows how short the doors were! (Mark is 5’7″)
Lynn had been looking for “just the right” pounamu necklace. Part of what I’ve done is scout out different shops while she’s been doing something else. I found three in Arrowtown, but one had great promise. And – yay! – she found a wonderful one. I found one too. Can you see me shaking my head at myself?
After the shopping, we headed to the “bakery on the corner” for hand pies. Lynn got a spicy chicken (which was very spicy) – I got a steak and mushroom. They were DE-licious!
We took them to The Winery, not knowing that they had cheese boards and tapas . . . but they let us sit outside and eat our pies with their wine! It was a gorgeous day so that was great.
The Winery is a genius idea. You turn in your credit card, and they give you a card with a chip in it. You insert the chip above a bottle of wine that you want to try, and choose if you want a “tasting pour,” a “half pour,” or a “full pour.” I tried out a tasting pour for a few reds (one a different Bordeaux blend from my New Favorite Winery, Man O’War!). When it was getting close to the time to catch the bus back to Queenstown, I spied an Arrowtown “dessert wine” made from quince in the “whisky room” that contained a good 15 whiskies, a gin, and a few dessert wines “on tap.”
The “Broken Heart” (quince liqueur) smelled like honey and cinnamon (very “Christmassy”), but upon sipping it was not the super sweet, viscous wine that I was expecting. It was definitely “on the sweet side,” but it had a dry finish. It tasted of sort of an apple/pear/tropical combination – delicious! If I had an extra pound in my luggage and a way to wrap it, I was tempted to bring a bottle home. It was so different. But in reality, Herbert was the one who loved dessert wines, and I’m not sure I would actually open it. I can definitely recommend though if you like something other than your standard port or madeira after a meal.
I’ll just add a quick note about the space-age public toilets in Arrowtown. You press a button to be let in, and it not only talks to you, but everything is automated inside. The funniest part? You’re locked in, until you washed your hands OR wait 10 minutes!! (I imagine that any “non-hand-washers” might just have done it to get let out!)
Tonight we go on the steamer Earnslaw (mentioned in the previous post). It will take us to a dinner on the other side of the lake, at a large sheep station. It’s our Farewell Dinner, as five of our “merry band” are heading off. The rest of us will be heading to the Bay of Islands, including glowworms, some other things Rod mentioned and – of course – the Hundertwasser Toilets!!!!!
UPDATE: The steamer was great – Don went down and talked with the engineer, who was ecstatic to talk to someone who could really appreciate the “workings” of what he did. Don took the photo and video below. You can see the feet of the guy who is shoveling coal in the still photo! I’ll also include a photo of the sheep station from the boat.
“workings” of the Earnslaw – very “steamy”!!!
After a delicious dinner, we had a “farm demonstration” from the shepherd. She ran her “eye dogs” (border collies), and her huntaway for us. Her huntaway was part Labrador, part English pointer, and part “barky dog.” Yes, a mélange! The shepherd said that she was the “ideal dog” because she could be taken hunting and used as a huntaway to drive the sheep.
Rabbits have overrun the South Island as pests, so they are hunted, as are some of the other “varmints” like possum and stoats. When she takes her dog out for hunting, the lab and pointer kicks in – silent, plus helps to point out the game and fetch it back! When she is running sheep, the “barky dog” comes out, and the dog works to move the sheep by barking at them from behind (I talked about this more in depth on the post where we met with Chris the shepherd up North). Very versatile and useful dog!
We were in an open amphitheater for the demonstration, which is quite cold. We all thought we were just going to the dinner inside, so were not prepared for the “nip” outside! Gluten-free Marilyn and Jan – both of whom were raised on farms – stayed in the lounge of the restaurant, because they said “they knew” what “farming was all about” and “it’s just cold and miserable to do this after dinner in the dark.” It led to a very funny interchange – they said that “Farm” was a “4 letter word that started with F” to which Lynn and I said we would try to replace our “usual” “4 letter word that started with F” with it. As in “It’s farming cold out there!” “What the farm is going on?” (Reminds me of when Herbert was watching Battlestar Galactica and replaced that “4 letter F word” with “Frack,” their made-up swear word of the same usage!)
We got back to the hotel, and had some hugs and farewells to the five that are not going to the Bay of Islands. Gluten free Marilyn gave me the sweetest thank you card for making her the hat! I hope that I can stay in touch with her and Jan. They travel together a lot and are really great. It might be fun to try to be on a new trip with them. Actually everyone was really super. I think that Jim and Marilyn, and Don, are going in June on a trip that includes Paris and Italy. It got us into a discussion of whether the part of Notre Dame that is being touted as “to be open” for the Olympics (in July/August of next year) will really make it. I watched a fascinating documentary on everything that they’re doing to fix it. Jim said no way would it be open at all – I just said that the “plan” was to have the apse open – we’ll see!
I’ve been hearing about the potentiality of the House ReTrumplicans holding the government funding hostage, which would lead to a government shut down back home, which could lead to flight cancellations. I’m hoping that won’t be the case for us, as we go straight from Auckland to San Francisco. If we had had a stop in LAX (like on the way out), I think we might be more likely to run into trouble. However, we received the following this morning:
Good morning all: At 4.04am this morning I received notification that our Flt NZ614 to Auckland was cancelled. The only alternative for us was NZ616 departing Queenstown at 11.55 am a delay of 2.15hrs. We will now depart the hotel for the airport at 9.45am so please have a long breakfast and suitcases out at at 9.00am for the porter. This will impact my plan for the day however don’t worry I’m working on another plan. So sorry about this. Rod
We were already up early to get our bags out for the flight we thought that we were going to be on, so didn’t quite get the extra sleep we might have, but at least I got a bit more time to update the blog! With that said – here’s hoping that’s our only “hiccup” and everything else goes perfectly!
If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!
