You might say that Friday, April 2, 2010, was a full day. A bus tour around parts of England, a play in London’s West End Theatre district, two celebrity encounters, an ultra-famous grave, and a Hard Rock Cafe. And once again, this was accomplished on virtually no sleep. I barely had time to grab a croissant before catching our 8am bus out of the hotel that morning. So by the time we made our first stop at a Welcome Break rest station, I was famished.
These Welcome Break rest areas were very nice, with snacks and drinks ala a convenience store plus several fast food chains. Unfortunately, our bus driver didn’t appreciate the fact that I brought a hamburger on the bus. She said nothing to me as I brought it on and ate it, but asked our tour guide Steen to announce that we were not permitted to bring food on the bus. Get real. Apparently, burger smell doesn’t come out of bus.
We arrived at our first of three major stops at about 10:15. This was Warwick Castle, a medieval castle located in Warwick, Warwickshire, abutted to the River Avon. Visiting the castle, it is easy to forget that this is an actual historic castle, built in 1068 by William the Conqueror, used for fortification for hundreds of year, and then home to the Earls of Warwick.
Getting ready to enter Warwick Castle
The reason that this fact is easy to forget is because today it exhibits an amusement park-type atmosphere, having been sold to Tussaud’s, a visitor attraction operation, in 1978. Within the walls of the castle today might be found many wax figures and live actors dressed to the various periods of the castle. Scads of tourists weave in and out of the various state rooms, common areas, and towers, All of this is done tongue-in-cheek with a real sense of fun. Bob and I were introduced at the “Royal Weekend Party” exhibit (based on a visit from the Prince of Wales in 1898) as Lord Satterfield and Butler.
I roamed the rooms gathering many, many of the photo opportunities of the figures, characters, and decor. I climbed the Bear and Clearance Towers that were built by King Richard III in the 1480’s. Once I entered them, I didn’t realize that I would have to go up and down three towers before I could emerge from them on the opposite side of the fortress!
Warwick Castle or bust!
Officially the smallest cannon, in which I’ve ever stuck my face
He’s Henry the Eighth, he is. Henry the Eighth, he is, he is.
I found this effigy of Queen Elizabeth, who had visited the castle on November 8, 1996, to be the most realistic wax figure I’ve ever seen
I’d later get caught, and be placed in the stockade
Metal horse
The actress portraying the queen really got into character and insisted that you bow before approaching her
Winston Churchill at the Royal Weekend Party
Asking the Duke of Marlborough, one of Winston Churchill’s cousins, to pick a card
A merry band of ogres
With our tour guide Steen
The posse…out on a mission to catch anyone who brings a hamburger onto the bus
The first in a succession of three towers I’d be forced to climb
Outside the castle, helping to prepare a hearty meal
Bob and I bid farewell to Warwick Castle
Our bus arrived in Stratford-Upon-Avon right around noon. This cool little town is also located in Warwickshire on the Avon River (obviously). Its main claim to fame is that ultra-famous playwright William Shakespeare was born here in 1564. In fact, on the way in, we could spot the cottage of Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife. The house in which he was born also still stands intact and our tour included a guided tour of the house. Beginning with a video presentation, we were led through the various rooms of the house, including the room in which he was born.
Visitor center and entrance to the Shakespeare birth home
The front of the home in which William Shakespeare was born
Earliest tome to include all of Shakespeare’s published works
In the birth room
Although photos are expressly forbidden inside the house, Bob was able to grab a bit of a blurry one of me in the birth room. We didn’t have as much luck with Shakespeare’s grave, which is in the Holy Trinity church in town. Bob and I walked there, in the steadily increasing rain, only to find that they were holding service, and thus we could not get to the grave. We boarded the bus and left Stratford-Upon-Avon just before 2pm.
On the path to the Holy Trinity Church…along the River Avon…in the rain
In front of the Holy Trinity Church, inside of which Shakespeare is interred
On the streets of Stratford-Upon-Avon
My visit to Stratford just seems like jesterday
Our journey continued toward the famous college town of Oxford. Our bus traveled through the hill region of the Cotswolds – sometimes referred to as the “Heart of England”. I didn’t get much out of the scenery as I was dozing. We also made an important pit stop along the way, and it has nothing to do with bodily functions. Bob had bribed Steen to take us a bit out of the way to visit the grave of Winston Churchill.
Churchill, who served as Prime Minister to England from 1940-1945, leading the Allied Powers along with Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin to victory in World War II. He returned as Prime Minister from 1951-1955. He is the only Prime Minister to have received the Noble Prize for Literature, and the first person to be declared an honorary citizen of the United States. Churchill is buried in a modest grave in the St. Martin’s Church cemetery in Bladon. I was very glad that we made this detour.
The grave of Winston Churchill
We made it to Oxford and Oxford University a little after 3:30. Oxford is the third oldest surviving college in the world – and the oldest English speaking college, established around 1096. It is still regarded as one of the leading academic institutions in the world and counts among its alumni Sir Walter Raleigh, Oscar Wilde, Dr. Seuss, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Albert Einstein, Tony Blair, and Bill Clinton.
We only visited one of the constituent colleges, Christ Church, which also serves as the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford. For about 30 minutes, we perused the Hall of Christ Church, the Christ Church Cathedral, and the Tom Quad. We then left the University and walked a bit around the town. I stopped at the Varsity Shop and bought a hoodie for Jamie, which I never gave to her.
The spire of the Christ Church Cathedral
Paintings of famous alumni adorn the Hall of Christ Church, where the students dine
Tom Quad…and please, no comments about fish
The nave of the Christ Church Cathedral
On the streets of Oxford
The bus ride back to our Central Park hotel was a couple of hours. Once we got back, Bob and I hightailed it back to the Theatre District via bus to catch Andrew Lloyd Weber’s newest play Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre. This is the sequel to Phantom of the Opera. The set pieces were amazing and the story was fun. But so far, the music didn’t quite catch me the way the Phantom songs have. I picked up the CD when I got back home and plan on seeing if it will grow on me or not.
After the show
When the show ended just before 10pm, Bob and I set out on foot to locate the Theatre Royal Haymarket. The play Waiting for Godot would just be letting out and we wanted to try to meet Sir Ian McKellen. We did that – and more – when I had the unexpected surprise of meeting Roger Rees from Cheers fame. You can see both of these encounters by clicking on their respective names.
As busy as the day had been, it didn’t end there. Bob and I then hailed a taxi and asked them to get us to the Hard Rock Cafe. The London Hard Rock opened on June 14, 1971, as the very first Hard Rock Cafe. This represented my 23rd Hard Rock Cafe, and also set a new record as being the third in a series of three Hard Rocks three successive days in a row. This time I went with the Caramelized Mushroom and Swiss Burger. Although I don’t collect memorabilia from the stores, it was unfortunate that the Hard Rock store (which was actually located next door to the restaurant) closed at 11:30. Bob was unable to pick up a pin and I was unable to get memorabilia from Mom’s ‘my friend Connie’.
The first Hard Rock Cafe. Number 23 for me.
Them are some good burgers* (*said in British accent)
Animation cels from Pink Floyd’s The Wall – along with Paul McCartney’s gold record for Get Back and Queen’s platinum record for Sheer Heart Attack
Early Beatles member Stuart Sutcliffe’s bass guitar, along with clothing worn by Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison
George Harrison’s Gold Record for Meet the Beatles and Paul McCartney’s Platinum Record for Abbey Road
We left the Hard Rock about midnight, catching a bus that had doors that wouldn’t close. We had to de-board the bus and re-board once it had been fixed. I was only on Facebook for a short time before I was hung up on and forced to get some sleep.
There was one day left in London, and it would be spent finally actually seeing some of the city itself.
The trip will conclude in the next posting…
Burgers on the bus, the forbidden bench, stolen photos . . . you are such a delinquent. Tsk tsk.
Erin
June 26th, 2010