London Treat

Four Days in London

How about a trip to London for a jam-packed 4-day visit? London, England, that is, not closer-by London, Ontario. So much better. Sorry Canada! 

This wasn't the Big Ben-Tower-Buckingham Palace major-sights tour. This was a personal itinerary of  what we most wanted to do in our four days holiday. Only four days, but they were absolutely great.

 London is a roost for every bird. 

-- Benjamin Disraeli 

Historic Boutique Hotel in the Centre of Town

Our visit started with our reservations at a great little vintage hotel in the city. Quite an expense but wow! London is an expensive city and, if you're able to take the splurge, this hotel is worth it (said by a generally frugal traveller). Being here, in the heart of London, the Hazlitt hotel itself is a trip through history. Located on Frith Street,  near Leicester Square, very near Covent Garden, theatres, Soho art, and nearly everything on our agenda.  It was within walking distance of  the British Museum and  the National  Portrait Gallery. The Tate Modern could easily be reached by taking the underground.

The Hazlitt's period furniture coupled with its modern conveniences made for some nice surprises. The house is yours to enjoy, with its tea room and self-serve bar (complete with serving set and tea for you and company to brew). Its library, paintings and antique furniture in the corridors add to the treat of staying  there. The rooms are named, not numbered. Ours was the Madame Dufloz room, named, we were told, after a "well-reputed  prostitute" of the 19th century. I enjoyed that oxymoron and the room as well.

Our room was unusual. Open the first door and you enter a small wooden-panelled vestibule (seen below). Open the vestibule door to enter the large bedroom and adjacent and sitting area.You can see the mirrored vestibule through the windows inside the bedroom-sitting room. Why, I wondered, have this extra little hallway? I imagined some uses Mme. Dufloz might have for it, putting myself in her place en deshabille on the settee.

 

  The vestibule  door opened to the large and comfortable adjacent bedroom and sitting area with fireplace. Our modern wheelies spoil the impression, but I hadn't yet found the closets hidden within the panelled walls. The furnishings and fabrics must have delighted an interior decorator. 

   

The large bathroom had  a claw-foot tub and huge shower with copper fittings. But there was a problem: no toilet seen. An ornate wooden chair that looked as it came from a well-heeled priory stood along one wall. Lo and behold, lift up the flat wooden cover, and there it was! Throne, indeed.

The hotel staff were friendly and accommodating. They liked the place, too. And the Patisserie Valerie, down the street was to die for!

Our district was alive with people all the time. With all the buzz and action here, the hotel was so quiet, like entering another dimension. We slept wonderfully well, insulated from all outside but only steps from joining it. 

What did we do besides enjoy our hotel? We walked, took the tube, benefitted from dollops of genuine friendliness among Londoners, and saw something wonderful every day.  We also ate surprisingly  well. When did London turn into a fine dining city? I remember it as a banger-and-beans place, plus a few “exotic" take-outs”that served souvlaki or East Indian. I haven’t been to London for years, obviously. Now it was both an edible and fun city! 

View  of London from British Museum  restaurant, 

Museums

Here’s a rundown of what we did: The Courtauld Collection, an absolute treasure of paintings on my must-see list, plus the workplace of a favourite art historian cum novelist, Anita Brookner.  The Tate Modern was another must-see. I was less impressed by the work there than I’d expected, but the space is stunning for showing art. The National Portrait Gallery is a bit stodgy but shows how portraiture changed over the centuries as life changed. The British Museum just doesn’t get any better -- even when  crowded, it leaves you space to roam and discover. Its rooftop restaurant is a fine place for lunch and a view of London town.

I love wandering through museums, and the British Museum is one of the best. Just for fun, I picked out one of the items that made me stop and look. There were many, but this expression caught my attention: he looked as surprised to see me as I was to see him!

Sumerian? British Museum, 

Theatre

We managed to fit in three theatre shows in just four days! We chose the shows based on tickets available, given the great rep of most London productions. All were good: The Woman in Black (very well acted); The Jersey Boys (odd thing to see in London but I'd never seen it on Broadway, and this production could not be beat;  and Singing in the Rain. 

Hampton Court

One unforgettable trip we took was to Hampton Court. Thanks to London-born and bred colleagues who told us we really should not miss Hampton Court… at least once in a lifetime. They were right.

In about an hour's train ride from London, you reach a greener area that appears a world in itself. Below is a glimpse the countryside with Hampton Court in the distance. It was Henry VIII's retreat after he seized it as a "gift" from Cardinal Wolsey.

Having just read Hilary Mantel’s two books on Thomas Cromwell put me in the right time frame for entering Hampton Court. And there he was: Henry VIII come to life, strolling the grounds imperially. Along came a smiling Ann Bolyne, although you knew she had little reason to smile. 

We spent a wonderful day wandering the castle grounds, exploring its layout as a self-contained little community serving the needs of a (rather self-indulgent) king. Strolling the interiors with all its historic art and furnishings.  The connecting buildings extending along the court included kitchens where chefs cooked actual Renaissance feasts  that seemed to go on forever (the smells were good, and the fireplaces enormous). We saw quill-written recipes in hard to read old English. We listened to doctors very earnestly diagnosing medical humours of the time: "sanguine but tending toward phlegmatic ” We even saw the impressive line of castle privies along  one external wall, with waterworks engineered for them. We went into the castle chambers to hear a debate among Henry’s ministers, then continued to walk through living history.   

                                  

  

  

Everything came to life in this outing to Hampton Court, informatively and not in a Disney-like manner. There were more adult visitors than children, and the level of information was appropriate for all. I wished I could  have stayed overnight. Henry made sure each privileged guest's room had its own privy.  But I'm not sure the threat of beheading would have been worth the overnight.

We tried navigating our way through the historic garden maze. Imagine all that must have gone on there. I hit a few blind alleys, but quickly found my way. I used some sightings of modern buildings in the distance (higher than the garden maze walls) that would not have been available to long-ago maze wanderers. We sat for a bit in the rose garden purveying the grounds before leaving with many memories of Hampton Court.  

It was our last night, and spending it at the Hazlitt was a good finale to a good trip. A genuine treat of a holiday. 

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You can read and see more about other travels and creative adventures by this itinerant artist at Creative Life News here

 @ janetstrayer.com