Another Pano & A Tour Guide

We were quite fortunate that all the tour guides we met in our 18 days abroad were excellent. Our guide to Paris joined us on the Eurostar and we discovered that she is a young French woman, now living in London and taking several tour groups to Paris each week. Charlotte is quite knowledgeable, organized, and more than willing to answer questions. And I also recall her answer to a question of mine.

She had come down the aisle of the train, taking attendance and introducing herself. We had settled in for the trip, enjoying the British scenery and noticing that we went through more than one tunnel. Since the Channel Tunnel is 45 miles long, it would take some 15 minutes to "undergo" the crossing. When our guide introduced herself, she had a soft voice with a relatively indeterminate accent to American ears.

We were a bit less than an hour from Paris and I was pretty sure we had made the crossing. As I noticed the farm fields looked much the same as they had earlier, I noticed our guide was coming down the aisle. I asked if we had indeed arrived in France. She smiled, gestured toward the window, and said, "Look out and see how beautiful it is and you will know, of course we are in France."

After she walked on, I mentioned that she had a definite French lilt to her accent. A clear French accent. Just as soon as we had emerged from the Chunnel!

Eiffel Tower Panoramas

Of course, at times,the photos can speak for themselves. The panoramic view from the restaurant level of the Tower was wonderful.

Eiffel Tower

The focal center of Paris, of course, is the Eiffel Tower. We were fortunate to be scheduled for a champagne luncheon on the main level of the Tower, and we were whisked up to a wonderful meal with a chicken dish that may be the best chicken I ever tasted along with certainly the best potatoes (au gratin, naturally). A nice Bordeaux was on the table and the company was interesting and excited.

After lunch we had a good half-hour to enjoy the view from the observation deck. Some of the sights of Paris in the next post.

Paris Bus Tour

With only a bit more than an hour, we were able to see quite a lot of the sights of Paris. The bus gave us a great view of the entrance plaza at the Louvre, and we managed to see the National Assembly, the Champs Elysees, and we were able to circle the Arc De Triomphe. A true teaser, making us all want to return to Paris for more time to walk, to see things close up, to meet people. But for the purpose of the day trip, it was excellent.

Nice Luncheon at the Eiffel Tower

Stratford out of the way, we got up early the next morning for a ride to St. Pancras International, the train station that is the London terminal for Eurostar. The high-speed train hits 185 mph and takes people through the Chunnel, making the time between the two capitols only two hours, fifteen minutes. An adventure in itself.

Arrival in Paris at the Gare du Nord was followed by an informative hour on a tour bus, seeing several monuments and buildings on the way to a wonderful luncheon. More on the tour in the next post.

Oxford University

On the way to Stratford we had a nice stop at Oxford. While the tour members who are Harry Potter fans were excited, I neither read the novels nor watch the films. Still, it was a nice morning's stop, fully steeped in British history and tradition. And anyone who spent a career as a teacher must feel awed to be present at one of the great universities of the world.

Trinity Church

Our tour to Stratford had made a stop at Oxford earlier and then taken us through the Shakespeare birth home. It was midday and of course, everyone was hungry. We were turned loose for 45 while minutes on Henley Street, outside the Shakespeare home, for a pleasant lunch and for some souvenir shopping. That is what most of the tour members thought. Having been told that there was no time on the itinerary for a visit to Trinity Church, we walked into a restaurant, ordered paninis to go, and ate lunch at a brisk walk.

The effort certainly paid off. The sense of pilgrimage could not have been completed without seeing the famed injunction not to 'digg the dust encloased heare.' With the walk, we had time to see the ancient churchyard, see the gravesite right front in the chancel, view the baptism and burial records on site, and look at the renovation underway at the old church. The pilgrimage was complete.

On Avon

For a literature teacher, for a drama teacher, for anyone who loves great writing, a visit to Stratford-On-Avon is more a pilgrimage than a tourist visit. Not much looks surprising, as we have seen photos of Shakespeare's birth home right in the midst of town, and we have seen pictures of the Hathaway house and flower garden out in a more rural area. We have seen it all, we recognize it, and yet we walk there in awe.

Truly our visit to the Globe Theatre two days earlier was more important, more alive, more of the essence of Shakespeare. Every time actors breathe life into Romeo and into Juliet, the spark kindles the flame and Shakespeare lives. Every time I have a ticket to a Shakespeare play I learn something new about the characters, people I know, and myself. But touching base with Stratford was very special.

Tower Bridge, not London Bridge

Among the interesting things to learn in London is that the London Bridge, the one that replaced the old London Bridge now located in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, is NOT the bridge most people think. It is a bridge or two down from the Tower Bridge, seen here, which is also NOT named for the Towers you see rising from the Thames.

Rather, it is the bridge that leads directly to the Tower of London, on the north bank and just to the left of the bridge as depicted here. And none of the bridges in London appears to be in danger of falling down.

Another location of wonder on our trip, visited just before tea at Harrod's (loved the scones!) was St. Paul's Cathedral. The central dome as seen above is just one of many jaw-dropping vistas in this, known more as the People's Cathedral. It is not to be missed.

Next post is on toward Stratford.

Certainly Not the Queen

We had a lunch break that allowed for a quick walk to Trafalgar Square. Along the way we saw a horse-mounted guard who guards a castle that is no longer a castle (but the guard is a popular photo opportunity!) and we saw the Queen. Well, certainly NOT the Queen, but an actress playing a reasonable facsimile.

Filming was taking place for some television or movie scenes and I was quickly shooed off. But my disarming 'Sorry, silly tourist' look worked as it always does.

Buckingham & Downing Street

We were rushed from the Tower by our Tour Guide, as we were scheduled to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, a short rainfall cancelled the event, though it could have been staged, with our guide suggesting there had been no rain and no cancellations and a Monday morning was vulnerable to a quick cut. We did see the Palace, though, which was quite close to our hotel, and did see a changing later in the week at Windsor Castle.

Buckingham Palace looked quite splendid in the sun. Despite the necessary security fences, all present were able to see the building and get pictures of the Queen's balcony, the guards on duty, and the gardens around the building.

The same need for security means that Downing Street, where the Prime Minister leaves at the famed #10, is no longer open to tourist traffic. The dead-end street is gated and closed to the public, so this is the best I will get as a view to #10.

Our guide did add an interesting note, hard to comprehend by an American so used to the deadly opposition of the political parties. When Gordon Brown became PM, succeeding Tony Blair, he did NOT move into #10. These men, members of opposing parties, had swapped living addresses long before. It appears that Brown, with a larger family, swapped places with Blair for the convenience of the families. A nice touch of cooperation among opponents that might be lost on an American audience loving the nasty interaction of political enemies.

The Traitor's Gate

The dreaded Traitor's Gate, as seen from both sides here, was the gate that brought the most famed prisoners to the place where they would generally be executed. Seen from the bridge side (outside), a boat would bring the prisoner under the bridge and into the shelter of the Tower directly from the Thames. Seen from the gate side (inside the Tower), the boats would be drawn up to these ominous gates and rowed to the inner edge, where they would climb a concrete staircase on the way to their imprisonment. It is the most ominous portion of a visit to the Tower on a bright sunny Monday morning.

Ominous due to the difference in the meaning of 'traitor' to an American as compared to a subject of the historical Kings (and Queens) of England. A traitor, to an American, is one who has conspired to overthrow the lawful government and is a felon deserving punishment. While the words would be the same in British history, when the government is the reigning monarch, the actual working definition of 'traitor' might be anyone who irritated the monarch. Considering the names our Yeoman Warder mentioned, anyone who crossed Henry VIII or Bloody Mary or Richard III would have been legally considered a traitor and would have been executed. A chilling bit of history.

The Dreaded Tower of London

The educational portion of the London trip began the first thing Monday morning. We were booked on THE MAGIC OF LONDON tour, which featured the opportunity to see the Crown Jewels with the first group of the day, escorted to the site by a Yeoman Warder. The magnificent jewels cannot be shown here as all photography is prohibited within the chamber. But I had to include our Yeoman Warder, who told us proudly that he had recently joined an exclusive club that I have belonged to for over six years now. He is a brand new grandfather.

But he taught me plenty. For example, the notorious Tower, dreadful to those of us familiar with works such as RICHARD III, was not simply a torture prison. In fact, this building was the major castle of the monarchy for nearly 500 years. Built by William the Conqueror around 1080, it is nearly one thousand years old. That was among the things I never knew. And the power of time, the power of age and continuity, truly struck me as I visited there.

Of course, it was also a location of terror and death. No interior torture chambers are available to view, but the Traitor's Gate is. We will see it in the next post.

A poem:

ONE MILLENNIUM

One thousand years is a long time for anyone, especially an American;
Next year we have plans to return to Washington and travel once again to
Mount Vernon, for instance, where George Washington live more than two
Centuries ago, a truth that inspires awe and respect to innocent specatators.
Today we visited the Tower of London, built by William the Conqueror,
Five centuries was the seat of royal power in London, built around 1080,
Nearly ten centuries ago, nearly five times the age of Mount Vernon.
Respect is still natural and still lives in our hearts for Washington, but
Perspective makes the age of this London monument truly awesome.

Magic of the Globe

Our arrival in London early Sunday morning, followed by a full day of sightseeing and flying on the London Eye, was capped by something special for a retired English teacher. I had procured tickets online at face value for perfect upper level center stage tickets at the Globe Theatre. We left O'Hare at 6:00 PM Saturday and were at the Globe by 6:00 PM Sunday -- only 18 hours later due to the time zones we had passed through.

ROMEO & JULIET was performed in traditional format, though not traditional casting (which would have required all males on stage). The play was performed in a solid, straightforward manner including several interactions with the groundlings standing on the verge of the thrust stage. Ticket price for the groundlings is always just 5 pounds, about $9. Following the conclusion of the play, the cast members all participated in a dance.

While all the actors were finely cast and did a great job, for this American audience member, the star of the show was the theatre, from the traditional thatch roof above to the cobblestones below. My mind knows that this recreation was built to modern building codes in the 1990s, but my heart felt that some of those stones were ones walked on by William Shakespeare, Richard Burbage and the rest more than 400 years ago. The atmosphere was magic, the play was wonderful, and our first day in London was a major success.

Maybe it was not the stones. Maybe the feeling was more personal. A poem about the feeling of where I walked:

FOOTPRINTS AROUND THE GLOBE

This particular Globe Theatre was built some four hundred years later;
The skyline and the vista from the site is completely different.
Modern food preparation and sanitation are totally reinvented;
Fashions worn by the playgoers are radically different in every detail.
Perhaps a few of the stones we walked on were here, but most were not,
But there was still a sense of walking in footprints around the Globe.
Those belonging to Richard Burbage and William Shakespeare.

Like Meeting a Friend

It was indeed like meeting a friend on the road and far from home. And the fact that we had never seen any of these people had no effect on the feeling.

We were walking toward Parliament and passing Westminster Cathedral on Sunday, July 5, at about 11:00 AM. Long lines were waiting to enter Westminster, and several groups were either headed into or out of the Cathedral. And then I noticed the EF tour guides shepherding their groups toward the tour or taking pictures of happy young people coming out of the building.

I have never been on a trip with EF Educational Tours (yet), but my son, Eric Beato, is EF's Director of Communications in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He also writes and edits Following the Equator, EF's educational travel blog that represents the company quite well. You could check out that blog at http://equator.eftours.com/

And he will be pleased to know how positive an impression the EF groups in London made on me -- and how much they reminded me of home!

Churchill, Of Course . . . & Lincoln

On our first walk we came across a small statue park with several British statesman on display, literally across the street from Westminster and from Parliament. A great view of Churchill, recognizable from a distance in a stern walking pose.

But in an adjacent shady area on the next block, I found a statue I had come to look for. A replica of one I have known from my youth, when I lived in walking distance from Lincoln Park, I often visited the St. Gaudens' work of Honest Abe standing before a chair. It was a pleasant touch of America found downtown in London.

Look, Kids: Big Ben, Parliament

It was Sunday morning, July 5, and my friends and family at home thought it was still 5:00 AM. I knew the time was 11:00 AM and we headed out on our first walk.

Since our outstanding travel agent Marc Tonti, of Tonti's Classic Travel & Tours, booked us into the Jolly Hotel St. Ermin's on Caxton Street, we were literally a five minute walk from Westminster Abbey, perhaps six minutes to Parliament. And we were armed with tickets for the London Eye, the major attraction built for the Millennium, so European Vacation's Clark Griswold has not seen it as yet.

What a feeling to be in London. What a feeling to be in Europe. What a feeling to have tickets for ROMEO & JULIET that very night. More London adventure on the next post.

EUROPE!

Back for about 27 hours from the Europe vacation with no discernible jet lag -- just this feeling of being a bit sluggish in going about the business of a few yard chores, a few errands, a trip out for pizza, catching up on the newspapers. Unless that sluggish feeling IS the jet lag?

So here we are, back in the Chicago suburbs and getting started in reliving the adventure. In the series of upcoming posts, the images and memories will reflect on my first view of Europe, a trip that visited 8 countries in 18 days, generated more than 7,600 images to sort and prepare, and also resulted in 31 poems so far. All 8 & 18 will be included along with some of the poetry and many of the images (not all, I promise!) and several of the memories. I hope you enjoy what turns up daily in this space.

SPECIAL NOTE to my new friends: many of the great memories of the travel revolve around the wonderful, friendly people we met. To my friends from North and South Carolina, from New York and from Oklahoma, from Seattle and San Francisco and San Diego and Arizona and many other states, and to my friends from Manchester and from Wales, thank you for being a part of my memories. You made it special and if you expressed an interest in my pictures, please attach a comment or send me an email and let me know if you like the images. If there is a particular thing you saw and you mention it to me, if I have a photo I will include it and if you want me to email you some pictures, all you have to do is ask.

Since most of the new friends listed above were met aboard the beautiful Eurodam, please be patient as I rewind my visits to London and Paris which began Sunday, July 5. The cruise images will follow!

SEVEN MILES IN THE SKY

Seven miles in the sky jetting toward the sunrise on the shortest night
Of my life, literally, arriving four or five time zones ahead of schedule,
Most everyone settled in for thirty or forty winks, whatever we could.
Using my iPod for white noise blocked out the talking and the crying baby,
Refusing to open my eyes blocked out the light from six or seven televisions.
Nothing could block out the aroma, though, of the man across the aisle,
Settling down for his nap, and squirting Purell sanitizer onto his hands. Twice.
I assume he generally dreams of eating and must be prepared.

Cruising the Gulf of Finland

The first post in a long time, I know, and not the start of a new series. It is 11:00 PM here, and about 3:00 in the afternoon at home, as I cruise in the Gulf of Finland and approach Russia. We land in St. Petersburg tomorrow morning for two long days of sightseeing. The regular posting on Rick Beato Photo will begin late this month, after I have returned home and sorted some of the most phenomenal photos I have ever taken. No major stats, just one point: in Stockholm the other day, I shot over 800 images. This adventure through the capitals of Europe is truly amazing.

Look for the first post around the 26th or the 27th. I hope to show you some of the wonders of the northern European world. Meanwhile this photo of the spires atop Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in incredible Tallinn, Estonia, will have to represent the photo collection I am working on. Just one of the hundreds of wonderful sights I have seen already -- the night before I land in Russia!

Leaving Boston; Headed to Europe

Nice timing -- my 150th post, just as I shut down my computers to fly to London and begin the longest and largest travel adventure in my 62 1/2 years. Posts will come when I find access to WiFi or when I break down and buy some Internet aboard the Eurodam next Friday.

Meanwhile, one more pair of photos from the recent Boston trip. We had the fun of watching Carolyn play tee ball and perform in a season-ending gymnastics show (the sidelong glance was what made the photo for me!) and we had the chance to hold our newest angel, Bobby, before heading home. Nice to know that Boston is less than two hours away -- once we have boarding passes and clear airline security.

Special Guest Photographer

For the first time since I began this blog, I am pleased to host the work of a special guest photographer. Out for a Saturday evening dinner and a pleasant walk along a marina, I was able to collect several interesting images of boats, buildings, sky, sunset. But none of mine are as wonderful to me as the pair we see here.

At six years old, it is no surprise that my granddaughter Carolyn would be able to snap a photo or two. And since her mother has been a professional photographer, we could assume that some talent is part of her heritage. But I think most six-year olds would find an average Nikon DSLR equipped with a 28-300 mm zoom lens to be pretty heavy to hold and shoot. Not for Carolyn!

The first shot, a shot of her dad with the skyline in the distance, was shot while I stood with her and reminded her how to handle the camera. Once she was able to capture that first image, I went to stand with my son. The result? One of my favorite images of me! With a little bit of levels adjustment to account for the fading light, and a touch of straightening, I think she did an excellent job.

Thanks for being my first guest photographer, Carolyn Beato.

Silhouette Collage

One more souvenir of the recent Boston trip is actually also a pre-souvenir of the game in August which Bobby will attend at Wrigley Field. It will be his first Cub game at the age of three months.

Last winter Bobby's sister Carolyn and his cousins Gianna and Joey got silhouette collage pictures from me, so here is Bobby's. The base image, of course, is the Wrigley Field scoreboard, and the multi-crossing pattern is that of the well-manicured outfield grass at Wrigley.

Looking forward to our game, Bobby!

Alphabet Bobby

On March 12, this blog introduced my first project in Alphabet Art, with the name of a grandchild spelled in letters collected from signs, storefronts, and anywhere else a particular letter caught my eye. At that time, my fourth grandchild was on the way. Previous posts have mentioned my first visit with my son's son, and now the Alphabet Art set is complete.

Well, at least it is up to date!

Boston Sights

Our visit to Boston centered around the suburb of Quincy, just south of Boston proper, so no Old North Church or Cheers photos will be seen. But on our first day, we walked around Hough's Neck, the home of our son and daughter-in-law and of two grandchildren, and we saw several pictorial sights.

The world in the puddle is pretty, but my favorite is the old-fashioned hopscotch board, which would have been a good image without the child. But this one is lots better than that!

Boston Memories

Well, July opens with me having a few days to share some of the photos I brought home from our recent trip to Boston. As the major event for us was meeting our youngest grandchild, my favorite photo from trip has been posted on this site for a while. Just scroll down and see the new photo of Grandma & Poppa's Hall of Fame has been changed to reflect the new member.

I have a chance to add a few more images, starting with a photo of Carolyn and one of Bobby, both taken on the day we arrived. We had a chance to take several images, but how could pass up the baseball uniform of Bobby or the vibrant smile of Carolyn?

Next post will have more images from the Boston trip during the rest of this week. On Saturday we head out on the adventure of a lifetime from our standpoint, flying to London to begin by adding eight new countries to our travel collection. Clearly, the blog will carry a nice collection of images from all eight countries, but I am not at all certain of how much Internet access I will have. No promises, then, about any postings until July 23.

But don't be too surprised if I find a WiFi or buy some Internet minutes along with way and get a couple of sneak previews in.