I saw Dippy, the large Diplodocus cast which dominates the vaulted central hall and the statue of Charles Darwin. I managed to see most of the museum’s highlights; the Cocoon, the Blue Whale model, the animated T-Rex, the giant sequoia, the Vault, and the giant sloth. I deposited my umbrella at the coat check and then lost my claim ticket while filming the animated T-Rex. I had to go back through the entire dinosaur hall to find my ticket. Fortunately I saw it on the floor. I had a sliced egg with mustard cress sandwich and a cup of coffee in the Darwin Center Café.

While on the way back to my hotel I passed the Institut français du Royaume-Uni again and took some more photos of the building. As long as I was in the area, I decided to visit another French book shop, The French Bookshop. The store staff asked me what I was looking for so I said something easy to read “facile à lire”. I bought four books;

1. Le Fantôme Mène L’Enquête par Jacques Asklund
2. Zoé calamité par Chanteal Laborde
3. Nouvelles à chute
4. Nouvelles à chute 2

When I got back to the hotel and freshened up I headed out again to the John Lewis Department Store for afternoon tea. Unfortunately I arrived a little too early at 2:30 p.m. They don’t serve afternoon tea until 3:00 p.m. so I went to their coffee shop on the floor above and had a Danish pastry, a scone with cream, and a pot of tea.

Since I still had some time to kill I decided to visit another book store, The European Bookshop on Warwick Street. It took me awhile to find the bookshop. In fact I found Carnaby Street before I found Warwick Street. At The European Bookshop I bought two more French books; Le Ping-Pong by Arthur Adamov (a rare avant-garde play) and Le Malade imaginaire by Molière. According to my receipt it was 15:28 or 3:38 by then.

When I returned to my hotel I decided to spend my last few hours in London walking in Hyde Park even though my feet were killing me. Eventually I walked clear across Hyde Park and saw the Serpentine, the Diana, Princess of Wales memorial, and the Serpentine Bar & Kitchen. I walked until I came to the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall where I took lots of photos. The Albert Memorial is a grand monument and something I had wanted to see so I was glad I made the effort.

That concluded my trip to London. It was a grand experience and I managed to accomplish all the goals I set out for this trip. I wish I could have stayed longer and seen even more of London but my feet could not take the punishment.

There are a few details about the trip home that I want to record for the sake of future travel. I had to lug my three pieces of luggage back up Edgware Road to Paddington Station in the rain without an umbrella. I had to leave my umbrella behind because it was too large to fit in any of my suitcases. Then I had to pay 19 pounds again for the Heathrow Express. At least I used a luggage cart when I got to Heathrow. I had to find the United Airlines counter where I used a self check-in machine to print my boarding passes. It cost me 44 pounds to check in my excess baggage, the Marks and Spenser luggage I bought just for the books.

Fortunately my flight to Washington Dulles Airport took off on time. The seat next to me was empty so I had plenty of space. I put my coat on the empty seat. The flight was long enough for me to see four movies; My Week with Marilyn, The Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe, Young Adult, and Chronicle. As we approached Washington Dulles Airport I was able to see the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center out the plane window. I filled out a customs form on the plane.

When we landed I had to go through customs and then collect my checked bags. Basically I collected my bags, walked through immigration, and then re-checked my bags by placing them on a conveyor belt. Collecting my baggage was sort of a pointless exercise but you have to do that when returning from an international flight. I just had time to walk through the airport to find the gate for my connecting flight to Philadelphia. I remember I had to take a train from terminal C to terminal A. Fortunately the flight to Philadelphia only took 25 minutes of actual airtime. When I arrived in Philadelphia I just had to collect my baggage. It cost me $4.00 for a baggage cart though which I only used to get to the Economy Parking bus. The bus dropped me off near my car in the Economy Parking. The Philadelphia Parking Authority charged me $88.00 for parking! It may have been cheaper to fly from our regional airport after all. Then I had to find my way out of the airport to the PA Turnpike. Unfortunately my directions weren’t very good and I had to drive around until I saw a sign for Interstate 76 which eventually led me to Interstate 476 and the PA Turnpike. I didn’t remember the number of the correct exit on 76 but fortunately the signs were clear enough when you know what exit you need.

I stopped at the Allentown Service Plaza where I refueled and used my electric razor. I also used the restroom and had a slice of pizza, a large cup of coffee, and an espresso for even more caffeine. It was the caffeine shot I really needed after that long flight. The PA Turnpike cost me $6.30, something to remember.

My London Pass allowed me to enter without further payment or a ticket. Just about the first thing I did was see the crown jewels. After walking through a series of tacky museum exhibits I entered a large room with glass display cases containing the crowns and jewel incrusted relics of the monarchy. There were not many visitors to the Tower of London that early so I got a good look at the crown jewels. After that I saw where they beheaded many famous prisoners, the prison tower with its graffiti, the Bloody Tower where the two princes were murdered, the Royal Armouries Museum, and The Fusilier Museum. It was still raining so everyone had their umbrellas out.

I’m glad I got to see the Tower of London. I might have skipped it but I read Helene Hanff’s travel diary of her dream trip to London, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, in which she expressed regret that she did not have enough time to visit the Tower of London, so I decided not to make her mistake.

There was some crazy Asian tourist whom I caught taking photos of me at one point. He must have thought I was British. As I was leaving I passed a professional film crew with television cameras. They seemed to be interviewing someone using the Tower of London as a backdrop. At the White Tower Shop I bought the book The Princes In The Tower by Alison Weir (ISBN: 978-0-099-52696-4) and metal Knight with Flail statuette.

Before I left the area I got some close up photos of the Tower Bridge, the City of London’s City Hall, The Shard, and the HMS Belfast. Then I ordered fish and chips at a food stall near the ticket booths. There was no place to sit and eat so I had to eat standing up, using a stone block as a table. I felt a bit foolish and it was still raining so I had to eat under my umbrella. There was a funny little bird that hopped around me trying to steal my chips. Anyways, there I was eating fish and chips in the rain with a good view of the Tower of London. It does not get more British than that!

My next stop was St. Paul’s Cathedral. I didn’t entirely follow my Tube directions because the cathedral was visible in the distance when I exited the Monument station so I just walked to it. By that time it was raining hard so I was glad to reach the cathedral to get out of the rain. My London Pass also allowed me to enter St. Paul’s Cathedral without payment. I climbed the dome but only up to the whispering gallery because that was tiring enough for me. I also visited the crypt where I searched for the William Blake memorial. I searched every memorial twice but I could not locate his memorial. I’ve since found a photo of it online and I don’t think I saw one like that. My one disappointment with this trip was the search for William Blake because I also could not find his work at the Tate Britain.

I had a ploughman’s sandwich in a box, a large lemonade, and a Bertrams Smoothie in the cathedral’s crypt cafe. There is also a restaurant and a small gift shop down there. It is strange how they’ve turned the cathedral into a museum of English spirituality. I sat with a French family who asked to sit at my table. They chatted away in French. The only word I easily picked up on was "manger" so they were talking about eating of course.

After leaving St. Paul’s Cathedral I found the Mansion House tube station and went to the Westminster Abbey. According to my ticket I arrived there at 2:09 p.m. Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed in the abbey, but I saw an impressive collection of memorials, ancient tombs of kings and queens, and Gothic splendor. I found the Poet’s Corner where I was surprised to find a memorial tile for Henry James on the floor. I didn’t know he was commemorated at the Poet’s Corner. I also saw Ted Hughes’s memorial floor tile. I found my way to the cloisters and the small museum where I bought a booklet on the Poet’s Corner. Before I left I bought a biography of William Shakespeare at the gift shop, Shakespeare: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd (ISBN: 978-0-749-38655-9).

I’m glad I managed to visit these historic sites of London all in one day. It really made an overpowering impression of the history of England. I recommend that you take a day to see all three sites together because that makes for the best experience.

I still had some time left in the day so I may a special Tube trip to the Daunt bookshop to buy some books on Venice. I bought Venice by Jan Morris (ISBN: 0-571-16897-3) and A Brief History Of Venice by Elizabeth Horodowich (ISBN: 978-1-84529-611-7). I don’t think I want to take the Tube at 5:30 p.m. again because it was incredibly crowded with commuters rushing home after work. They were packed in like sardines on the trains and there was a huge crowd for the escalators.

That evening I had dinner at La Porte Des Indes. This is a neat restaurant which serves Indian / French fusion food. All of their courses have French names for exotic Indian dishes. I had a mango drink served in an actual coconut. It was a very fancy restaurant, not your typical Indian restaurant, and I watched the staff perform their duties at great speed like a well-oiled machine. Unfortunately, this was also a very expensive restaurant as my bill came to 58.50 pounds for one person. According to my receipt I had the following; Perles Des Indes, Zakouski, Irish Coffee, Ice Cream, Mango Coco, and Crevettes Assadh (prawns simmered in a mild coconut curry with green mangoes, tumeric, chillies and ginger).

As soon as the galleries opened I saw the Rosetta Stone. There was quite a crowd of people around it but I managed to snap a photo. Photography was allowed so everyone was taking photos constantly and I took hundreds of photos myself. There were many Egyptian statues which make excellent subjects for photos. I’ve never really been into Egypt but I know some occultists fantasize its culture so it seems vaguely mystical and I like that. Next I saw the famous Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon. Now this was a big thrill for me and one of my goals for the trip. I do have a small collection of books on the ancient Greeks and I’ve read about these marble sculptures many times. I have some really fine books on Athens. One book has incredibly high resolution black and white photos of the ruins of the Parthenon. There is always talk of returning the Elgin Marbles to Greece so I’m glad I had the chance to see them before they leave London.

One unexpected surprise at the British Museum was the awe inspiring Enlightenment Gallery, formerly known as the King’s Library. This was a true vision of a library! It is the grandest library you could possibly imagine filled with not only old leather bound books but awesome curios and art objects such as Greek vases and Egyptian sculptures. On Reddit there is a subreddit for Books where someone is always posting photos of some awesome library in the world. I’m surprised I’ve never seen this room there. The books were probably only meant as a scholarly backdrop for the display cabinets and sculptures in the room but I spent just as much time looking at the books as the cultural artifacts.

I wandered around the galleries for quite some time but eventually I had enough and left. Before I left I bought a Rosetta Stone paperweight and a magna book featuring the British Museum which I thought was cute, Professor Munakata’s British Museum Adventure by Hoshino Yukinobu (ISBN: 978-0714124650).

My next stop was the Sir John Soane’s Museum. Unfortunately , the facade was covered in scaffolding but the museum was open. Security was tight at this museum because the visitors have to come in close proximity to the collection. This is a quaint museum, basically a cramped house filled with the personal collection of the neo-classical architect Sir John Soane. It is sort of like a haunted house of classical art. A lot of the objects in the house were shielded by those glass panels that museums seem to like to preserve something from the hordes of visitors but this really ruined the effect. I saw William Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress and some paintings of Venice by Canaletto. I’ve been taking special notice of anything relating to Venice on this trip because frankly I got tired of the planning for my London trip and started on the planning for Venice.

After leaving Sir John Soane’s Museum I returned to my room at the Parkwood because I was burdened with my purchases and I didn’t want them to get wet. Also, the next item on my schedule was a shopping expedition to Foyles bookshop on Charing Cross Road and I wanted to be empty-handed for that.

I had considerable trouble finding the Folyes bookshop but eventually I found some familiar streets in Soho and decided to eat at Café Boheme before buying books. I ordered Toulouse sausages and frites with a Liqueur Coffee. The waiter was the only person in London to ask about my nationality because I had trouble understanding anything he said with his French accent. While I was waiting for my food I consulted my notes on my iTouch and realized that I was close to Foyles.

At Foyles I hit the jackpot in French language books so I bought five, although I made sure they were small books. I bought Arthur Rimbaud’s Illuminations. I have dozens of this title in various editions in my Rimbaud collection but this one seems to have some commentary. I also found Racine’s Phèdre which I bought because I’m interested in exploring French theater. Le Petite Nicolas voyage a book I actually may be able to read eventually. Since it is a children’s book about travel it should be of some interest to me also. Then, just to make sure the sales clerk would know that I’m studying French I bought Say It Right In French and Palgrave Foundations French 1. Eventually I bought an extra piece of luggage at Marks & Spencer just for all the books I bought. According to the sales receipt, I bought a Hydra Cabin on 04/24/2012 Tuesday at 17:46. Oh yes, I remember now. I bought this just before heading out for the Apollo Theater to see that play.

After buying the books I think I spent a few hours exploring Soho without returning to my hotel. Or did I go to the hotel to drop off the books and then returned to Soho? No, I think I only returned to the hotel after leaving Sir John Soane’s Museum. Anyway, I didn’t do much in Soho except take photos of various establishments I recognized from my research. This probably wasn’t a good use of time since London will not be a city I’ll get to visit often. I did see Soho Square and was amused to find the Palace Theatre advertising the musical “Singing In The Rain”. It rained every day during my trip and nobody was singing in the rain.

Tate Britain was having a special exhibit on Picasso In Britain so I bought a ticket for that exhibition. I saw several famous Picassos and a few other masterpieces by British artists inspired by Picasso like Francis Bacon, Duncan Grant, Wyndham Lewis, and Henry Moore. I saw The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse and a few other Pre-Raphaelite paintings which I really liked. I also saw John Singer Sargent’s Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose which I had added to my notes on this artist associated with Venice. Unfortunately, I could not find the William Blake artwork this museum is supposed to have in its collection. I did see many J.M.W. Turner paintings including several of his famous paintings of Venice.

I had a very tasty meal in the museum’s self service cafeteria. I prefer this kind of museum restaurant because it is less formal and does not take as much time to get through eating. I had a sausage sandwich with avocado, a little ice-cream, and a fruit drink.

After going through the museum without finding anything by William Blake, I bought a ticket for the Tate To Tate Boat. This is an excellent way to squeeze a Thames boat trip into your Tate museums visit. Unfortunately I must have lost my umbrella on the boat because I eventually realized I didn’t have it later.

Instead of going directly to the Tate Modern, I went to the Globe Theater. This was fortunate because I was able to catch their very last tour of the day. If I had gone to the Tate Modern first as planned, I would have missed the tour of the Globe Theater. Actually, I was vaguely aware that there might not be a tour due to their Shakespeare performances featuring international theater companies. My excessive trip planning really paid off.

I have read every play by Shakespeare back in high school and I love the theater so this was a big thrill for me. After a brief lecture, the tour guide led us into the theater. There were some stage preparations going on but not an actual rehearsal so we were allowed to take a few photos and the tour guide amused us by taking frequent dramatic pauses as the sound check would blast something to drown her out.

After that fairly brief tour I went through their Shakespeare exhibit which I found to be too much like a museum and not sufficiently theatrical. They did have some stage costumes and stage props on display.

The Tate Modern was having the first major survey of Damien Hirst’s work so naturally I had to see that. I have to admit that I’d never heard of Damien Hirst until Ogier mentioned him on Vloggerheads. I did see his shark in a display case, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and I saw it again here in London. I also saw his cow encased in vitrine and cut in half. But most shocking of all was an actual severed cow’s head in a glass box filled with large flies. Now that was really morbid and kind of gross. However, some of his other work was actually very beautiful like a giant stained glass window made out of butterflies. One room of the exhibit had actual butterflies flying around and one landed in a woman’s hair. His monumental gold cabinet filled with manufactured diamonds was simply stunning. But best of all I got to see his famous work,  For the Love of God, a human skull recreated in platinum and adorned with 8,601 diamonds. You had to get into a special line to see this skull and go through security to see it in a black box. They treated it like the crown jewels.

I had lunch at the Tate Modern, a cheeseburger with chips and some kind of sweet drink but it took a long time to be served. It really cut into my museum time which is why I prefer self serve cafeterias. After lunch I saw the other special exhibition I paid for, an exhibit of the work of Aligheiero Boetti. I had never heard of this artist. He was an Italian conceptual artist, considered to be a member of the art movement Arte Povera. I’ll have to check out modern Italian art when I get heavily into learning Italian. After all, Italy is one of the more important European countries and it would require several trips to do it justice.

Unfortunately, I had to cut short my visit to the Tate Modern without seeing everything because I didn’t want to be late for the play I was going to see that evening. As I was walking across the Millennium Bridge some girl holding her homework assignment quizzed me as to why the opening of the bridge was delayed. I told her it was because the bridge was swaying. Yes, I did my homework for this trip! I took lots of photos of St Paul’s Cathedral of course, because that is one of the major symbols of London. I did have to consult my notes on my iTouch to find the St Paul’s Cathedral Tube Station.

The highlight of my trip was seeing Eugene O’Neill’s Long Days Journey Into Night at the Apollo Theatre. I have read every one of Eugene O’Neill’s plays and built up a small collection of books on O’Neill back when I had ambitions to be a playwright. In all this time I have never seen one of his plays performed on stage. I have seen two or three film versions of this particular play starring Jason Robards and Jack Lemmon. Eugene O’Neill interests me because he had a "touch of the poet", the title of one of his plays, and he frequently struggled to express his mysticism. Eugene O’Neill did not believe he was enough of a poet to describe his mystic vision of union with the universe and I can relate to that. One of the books I have equates O’Neill’s mysticism with Buddhism. Unfortunately, I never got around to reading that book so maybe I’ll do that when I get home.

The actors in the play spoke with American accents, not British accents, although the actor playing Edmund sounded like he was speaking with a slight Irish brogue. The stage set was very elaborate and detailed. It looked as good as the film sets. They also used stage fog for the fog mentioned in the play which impressed me. The Apollo Theatre itself is rather grand and made an impressive setting for this cultural event.

I had never imagined that one day I would see Eugene O’Neill’s Long Days Journey Into Night in London! This will probably be the single greatest cultural event of my life. Seriously, I cannot think of anything that could top this unless it involved me personally. And to think that I planned this trip for a year without realizing the date would permit me to see this play. I really lucked out! Oh, and let’s not forget that I also visited Shakespeare’s Globe Theater on this day. Shakespeare is an important aspect of Eugene O’Neill’s play because his actor father expresses remorse that he missed his chance to become one of the greatest American Shakespearean actors in American history. This was a red letter day.

After that I walked down the Mall to the Admiralty Arch and then walked across Westminster Bridge to the London Eye. It was really thrilling to be so close to Parliament and Big Ben, the iconic symbols of the UK. Before boarding the London Eye you have to go through the 4D experience. Being sprayed in the face with some light mist came as a surprise.

The London Eye was really awesome. I saw London’s newest skyscraper, The Shard, and got an aerial view of the Houses of Parliament. At the London Eye gift shop, I bought a London Guardsman Bear at 10:24 a.m. according to the receipt.

After returning to my hotel room, I set out again for South Kensington. The first thing I did was go shopping for French books at Librairie La Page. The proprietress greeted me in French but I answered in English since my French is terrible. I need to figure out how to work on my pronunciation since my study methods only improve reading comprehension. I asked if she had any travel guides and she said yes, but in French. She was probably puzzled by me. I bought a few French travel guides on Venice because everything I’ve read about Venice has been from an American perspective. I’ve read about Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, Peggy Guggenheim, Ezra Pound, and every other American who spent more than a month in Venice. Of course, Venice may not care for the French. Wasn’t it Napoleon who ended the Republic during his conquest of Europe?

According to the receipt dated 23/04/2012 à 13:02, I bought a copy of the French newspaper Le Figaro, Venise: Guide évasion en ville published by Hachette Tourisme (ISBN: 978-2-01-244650-2), Venise GeoGuide (ISBN: 978-2-74-242684-3), and Lonely Planet Québec (ISBN: 978-2-81610-706-7).

After that I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum where I spent four hours. That museum is huge and there is a lot to see. I paid extra for their special exhibit on modern British Design 1948-2012. I wasn’t terribly impressed by this exhibit but I did see some punk clothing and they played David Bowie’s "Ashes To Ashes" as background music. It really amused me to hear that song in the Victoria and Albert Museum. At the V&A Museum shop I bought the book London’s Theatres at exactly 16:28 according to the receipt. This book particularly caught my eye because the back cover shows the Apollo Theatre advertising the play “All My Sons” starring David Suchet, the same actor in the play I was to see.

My schedule may be too intense because my feet are already aching and my back sometimes troubles me. You should definitely travel before you get too old because it is physically demanding.

This evening I had dinner at the Spaghetti House near my hotel. The Spaghetti House is a genuine Italian restaurant where all the staff speaks Italian and the food is all Italian. We have a lot of Italian restaurants in the United States, half of the restaurants in Williamsport are Italian, but very few offer genuine cuisine. It’s mostly pizza. I actually chose this restaurant because there is a movie based on an incident that took place in a Spaghetti House in the 1980s. You can watch the entire movie on YouTube in Italian.

Tomorrow’s schedule includes both Tate Museums, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater tour, and the "Long Days Journey Into Night" play. My feet will be killing me.

Since this was my first trip departing directly from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) it is worthwhile to commit a few details to memory in this blog. I didn’t have any problems finding the Economy Parking lot where I parked at K15 after taking a ticket. I had to carry my luggage all the way to Terminal F where I easily found the United check-in counters. I was way early so I had to wait until around 4:00 a.m. when they opened the counters to serve passengers for 6:00 a.m. flights. So for future reference, don’t plan to show up at the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) before 4:00 a.m. I neglected to print out my flight details but fortunately I could find the United Airlines record locator code BCWMYV in my iTouch notes. You need to enter that code into the touch screen computer to print your boarding passes. After that you can check in your bag. I’m describing the entire process of boarding a flight because I don’t remember it from my previous trips. Checking in a bag involves placing it on a scale, but they don’t open the bag to check it contents right there. They print a tag for the bag and give you a baggage claim receipt.

After that you proceed to the gates which requires going through security first. Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is still just using metal detectors. You need to take your laptop out of your carry on bag and remove your shoes. I did not have to remove my belt. I brought my used DELL Latitude D610 but it proved to be too heavy. It weighs almost six pounds (6 lbs) and really made my carry on bag heavy and ungainly. I will have to do research on a lighter netbook. Most of the airport restaurants and shops were just opening so I proceeded directly to my gate. Unfortunately they immediately put the plane on an one hour delay for maintenance. This did not trouble me because I could still catch my connecting flight in Washington DC. I went to the nearby Dunkin Donuts in Terminal D and bought a Big N’ Toasted breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. After waiting for over an hour they delayed the flight again until it became clear that I could not catch my connecting flight. There were no United personnel at the counter so I had to leave the gates area and go back downstairs which meant going back through security. At the counter they offered me a later flight to London after the plane would finally make it to Washington Dulles but I noticed that they were going to replace the plane so I didn’t want to try my luck with that. They also offered a connecting flight to  Chicago where I could catch an international flight to London so I accepted that. After going through security again I had just enough time to catch my flight to Chicago.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport isn’t in my travel notes because I never expected to be so far west. I’ll have to add many more airports to my notes because you never know where you could end up due to a rescheduled flight. Not that you can prepare for an airport anyway, because they are too sprawling to find you way around. I saw a bit of the Chicago skyline though the airplane window as we landed. I saw a long line of skyscrapers like Manhattan but we were pretty far from the city. At the Chicago O’Hare International Airport I took a photo of a dinosaur skeleton because other people were doing that. I had hours to wait for the flight to London’s Heathrow Airport so I used my electric razor in the restroom to get rid of twelve o’clock shadow. Then I had a cheese burger, French fries, and orange juice at Billy Goat at precisely 10:35 a.m. I should note that Chicago is in a different time zone so I had to set back my watch back an hour to ensure I didn’t miss my flight. I read part of a novel on my Kindle and bought Internet access through Boingo Wireless to send my hotel an update email on my expected arrival time.

After a layover of several hours the United flight to London finally departed. I watched a few movies on the tiny seat-back video during the long flight. I saw The Iron Lady, a biographical film based on the life of Margaret Thatcher, which was appropriate and part of Hugo. The video wasn’t play on demand in economy. We were served lunch, a snack, a soft drink, and a breakfast roll so I certainly did not starve. As we finally approached London around 5:00 a.m. I could see lots of lights outside the plane window but no familiar landmarks.

So, what can I remember of Heathrow Airport (LHR)? I may very well find myself in Heathrow again as a stopping off point on some other European trip. There was the usual long walk though airport corridors. Before I reached immigration control, I used the restroom again to sneak an electric shave. The  immigration checkpoint requires you to fill out an immigration card. This is necessary even if you are a tourist. That little detail wasn’t mentioned in any of my travel guides. Heathrow Airport has been in the news lately because they make European Union residents wait in long lines for arrivals. Fortunately this problem does not exist for non European Union arrivals and it was too early for long lines. After collecting my one checked bag, I tried to find the exit to public transportation. I had planned on taking a taxi but it was very early in the morning and I did not see any taxis. So I decided to take the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station which I knew would take me close to my hotel. Getting to the Heathrow Express train involved taking an elevator down to the trains. You cannot use an Oyster Card or a Travel Card for the Heathrow Express so I had to buy a special ticket which was £19.00! That was pretty expensive but I suppose it was cheaper than a taxi.

From Paddington Station I had to drag my luggage along Praed Street until I reached Edgware Road. From there it was a long walk to the Marble Arch landmark from where it was easy to find the Parkwood Hotel. My room was very narrow with a tiny bathroom and small shower but I found it perfectly adequate. I had WiFi Internet, a small flat panel TV, and a hairdryer. I think I slept for two or three hours and then went downstairs to check in and enjoy my first Full English Breakfast. Breakfast consisted of four slices of toast and a plate of Canadian Bacon, one sausage, scrambled eggs, baked beans, and a slice of tomato. I later asked them not to give me baked beans or the tomato because these are unusual items for an American breakfast.

Although I was dead tired from jetlag, I proceeded to follow my grueling schedule. First I took the Tube to Piccadilly Circus. I had my Oyster Card so it was easy to get through the turnstile, although you do have to be quick about it. The Marble Arch Station was the Tube station I used most often. After going through the turnstile you usually head towards the escalators, making sure to stand on the right, and then you walk down several tunnels to the platform for your line which goes in the right direction. So on my first trip I took the Central Line going East. Fortunately, I never took the wrong train on my frequent Tube journeys. Once I arrived at Piccadilly Circus I walked up Shaftesbury Avenue to find the Apollo Theatre because I wanted a few photos of their advertising for the play I was going to see on Tuesday.

There was one aspect of Piccadilly Circus I was not expecting, The Four Bronze Horses of Helios by sculptor Rudy Weller. This was not in my notes but it would have been useful in identifying the streets. I walked from Piccadilly Circus to Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square was far larger than it appears in photos and it looked a bit emptier. I can see how it could accommodate large crowds. I saw the digital clock counting down the days until the 2012 Olympics and I saw Nelson’s Column which is huge. After taking lots of photos I wandered into the National Gallery where I spent a few hours looking at works of art. They had a special exhibit on Titian which was particularly interesting to me because my next trip to Europe will be Venice. At the National Gallery shop I bought the book Titian: the Last Days by Mark Hudson (ISBN: 978-1-4088-0132-1) and a National Gallery CD of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

When I left the National Gallery I walked towards Big Ben which was visible in the distance.  I walked pass No 10 Downing Street which was fenced off and guarded, and saw some Queen’s Guards mounted on horses outside the Horse Guards building. I also saw the Centotaph and the National Monument to the Women of World War II. When I reached Parliament I was unable to go any further because the London Marathon was taking place. I did manage to see a few runners though.

I spent the rest of the day in the National Portrait Gallery. They are running a special exhibit on the paintings of Lucian Freud so I got to see that using my London Pass. That was a significant cultural event so the galleries were packed. I do have an art book on Lucian Freud so I recognized a lot of the paintings. They had many of his nudes, self-portraits, and his most famous portraits. The only painting I did not see was his portrait of the Queen. I had lunch at the 3rd Floor Restaurant although I had to eat at the bar because I did not have a reservation. I ordered a glass of prosecco, the Italian white wine popular in Venice and plaice, a flat fish. I did not like the plaice which had a lot of fish bones in it. I don’t know how you are supposed to even eat it. I eventually just scraped some flesh off the top of the bones. When I left the National Portrait Gallery it was raining so I had to buy an umbrella in the gift shop.

When I got back to the hotel I spent the rest of the evening on the Internet and went to bed early to recover from jetlag.

This bus trip included a cruise on the Potomac River. The cruise ship was the Nina’s Dandy operated by the company Potomac Party Cruises. The dock was in Alexandria Virginia so I got to see some of this historic city on the west bank of the Potomac River, south of Washington DC. The historic center, known as Old Town, was quite impressive with fancy boutiques, restaurants, antique shops, art galleries, and picturesque townhouses which were resplendent with spring foliage. There was even a photo shot in progress when we arrived although it looked like a couple having wedding photos taken. I saw the Alexandria Torpedo Factory but we did not go inside. Alexandria’s Old Town is definitely an attractive tourist destination but it seems a bit difficult to get to if you are based in Washington DC. I saw an Alexandria water taxi which may be a good way to get there.

Washington DC does not have any skyscrapers. So you see lots of office parks with large office buildings all around the city. Alexandria Virginia had many office parks and apartment buildings or condominiums. I also saw many office parks on the drive down as we approached Washington DC, including a large IBM campus.

As soon as the bus arrived at the dock we were allowed to board the cruise ship where they immediately served us coffee, then a salad, and finally the main meal shortly after we left the dock. While we waited, I was able to watch many commercial airplanes making their landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Planes were landing approximately every 15 minutes so I saw a lot of planes that day. I also saw many planes taking off. In 1982 one of those planes from that airport crashed into the 14th Street Bridge, killing almost everyone on board and several people in cars on the bridge. I don’t remember ever hearing anything about this fatal crash but it was a long time ago.

The cruise ship was just barely able to pass under the 14th Street Bridge due to the water level and we could not go far past that because the tide was still coming in and we would not have been able to return under the bridge. So we did not get a good look at the Lincoln Memorial from the Potomac River or see the Kennedy Center. Instead the cruise ship headed up the Anacostia River where I saw several sights I had not researched; the National War College, the Nationals Park stadium, and the U.S.S. Barry destroyer at the Washington Navy Yard.

On the return trip I saw the U.S.S. Sequoia Presidential Yacht which was docked near the Nina’s Dandy dock and the Cherry Blossom paddle wheel boat. There was one office building along the Potomac River that caught my eye because it had my last name on it, the Robbins-Gioia headquarters in Alexandria Virginia. This corporation seems to provide project management consultation for the government since they hire professionals with security clearance. They offer technology services and seek Microsoft Certified Professionals skilled in Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Project Server. Well at least their name is cool!

After the Nina’s Dandy returned to its dock, we boarded our bus and went to the Washington Monument where the bus driver circled the National Mall for almost an hour trying to find a parking spot. This began to piss me off but eventually he parked in front of the Smithsonian Institution Building which was right next to where I wanted to go, the Hirshorn Museum, so that worked out well for me. Washington DC is packed with tourists and their tour buses. This is a bit surprising because you only ever hear about the politics and don’t consider the city a major tourist destination but I guess Washington DC is popular with tourists. That makes me feel better about making frequent trips to the city. I saw some tourists on Segways which seems rather futuristic to me. Not too many things strike me as being futuristic after four decades but Segways are very common now. They were unimaginable in the 1980s.

The Hirshorn Museum was my major goal for this trip. This museum specializes in modern art. The building itself is quite futuristic looking and worth a visit for its own sake. Its collection of artwork is not very extensive or impressive though. I only spent an hour there. I did see some paintings of Francis Bacon and William de Kooning, two of my favorite painters, and a few paintings by Edward Hopper. Also, the view of the National Mall from the lounge on the top floor was pretty cool. I bought the Official Guide To The Smithsonian at the bookshop. Technically, the Hirshorn Museum is part of the Smithsonian. Then I crossed the street to the Sculpture Garden which looks lovely in the Spring. There I saw Auguste Rodin’s “Monument to Balzac” yet again. I’ve seen copies of this sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and on the Boulevard du Montparnasse in Paris. 

After leaving the sculpture garden I walked to the United States Capitol, the meeting place of the United States Congress. Along the way I found the National Mall all dug up because they are replacing its soil, according to a sign. It really ruins the view. On my last trip to Washington DC I found the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial was drained and looked like a construction site so this just adds to the impression of  Washington DC as one huge construction site. Even the Capitol Building had some scaffolding so I didn’t get any ideal photos of it. However, I did like the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial which was very grand and impressive. This memorial features an equestrian statue of General Grant flanked by two Civil War sculptures. The bronze sculptures have stained their marble bases green.

That concluded my third trip to Washington DC. On the way back, we stopped for diner at the Mountaingate Family Restaurant in Thurmont Maryland for a buffet diner. I only mention this because I saw another Susquehanna Trailways bus there so it seems to be a poplar stop for this bus company. On my next trip to Washington DC in just two weeks I think I will visit National Air and Space Museum. That is certainly a  major museum that should not be missed.

I am still adding pages to my personal French notes which I do not share with the public because it contains a lot of copyrighted material. In my notes on major verbs, I do not conjugate the verb in all the tenses. I only do the present tense, the past tense, and the future tense. But I do include all the sample sentences I can find from various sources. I think the sample sentences are proving to be the most helpful in improving my French because it exposes me to many other words in addition to the verb I am studying. I have also built up my prepositions, adverbs, and adjectives which really improves my reading ability.

Since my Poconos trip for the summer has been canceled, I have decided to go to Montreal instead. I already have time off from work approved. Montreal is a major francophone city. I should be able to find lots of French language materials there and I’ll experience a culture which is described in many of my French textbooks. It should also prove to be really inspiring which is very important. You really need to keep your enthusiasm level up to continue the tedious chore of learning a language.

As the bus approached Philadelphia somebody must have noticed that Schuylkill Expressway was all backed up because the bus continued along Interstate 476 which runs west of Philadelphia. This was very interesting to me because we drove pass the Philadelphia International Airport. I’ll have to drive to this airport for my dream vacation to London. I have already booked my flight. I could not book a direct flight from Philadelphia to London. The plane will first go to Toronto Canada. Any ways, I saw the long term parking lot but the road signs looked very confusing so I’ll have to do some research on how to get to the right parking lot. The bus also drove past the sport complexes, Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and Wells Fargo Center. I was glad that I got to see them. Then we drove over a long blue bridge which was not in my travel notes. This must have been the Girard Point Bridge which carries Interstate 95 across the Schuylkill River near the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

When we arrived in downtown Philadelphia I saw many industrial buildings being converted into apartment blocks just north of the Vine Street Expressway, just to the east of Broad Street. I’m not sure if that is a recent development because I’ve never noticed that area before. The flower show was held in the Pennsylvania Convention Center, a huge building that spans several blocks. We were dropped off on Arch Street right across from a brick building that was built in 1888, near the Center for Architecture.

I did not find the flower show to be all that spectacular. After taking lots of photos for approximately an hour, I left and walked along Arch Street to National Constitution Center. I’ve seen the National Constitution Center on every trip to Philadelphia but this was my first visit to the place because nobody recommends it. I knew it was open on Sundays because my custom travel guide on my iPod Touch has this information. It was really useful on this trip because I didn’t do any prior planning. The National Constitution Center was holding a special Bruce Springsteen Exhibition which I probably should have seen. However, I just paid for general admission and did the “We the People” multimedia show with an inspiring live actor and 360-degree movie screen. Although I’ve seen photos of the National Constitution Center exhibit space, I still found the actual layout completely unexpected. For example, after the multimedia show in a circular auditorium which narrows to a small stage, you exit at the top of the seating areas to enter the circle of exhibits. The most interesting exhibit was a large model of the Capital Building in Washington DC which I may visit some day. You are only allowed to take photos in the Signers Hall. I signed their constitution. Before I left I visited the bookstore where I had trouble finding anything I wanted to buy. But eventually I settled for a Philadelphia bookmark and a book on Center City Philadelphia published by Arcadia Publishing.

By then it was well past time for lunch so I decided to visit one of the famous restaurants I had not eaten at on any earlier trip. Philadelphia is a major foodie city with many fine restaurants. I decided to try Jon’s Bar and Grille on South Street, associated with one of Three Stooges, Larry Fine. Fortunately it was open so I ordered a Three Stooges burger and a Pepsi. Just across the street is the dive bar Mako’s Retired Surfers Bar & Grill which appeared to be for sale. After consulting my iPhone travel guide, I saw that Queen Village bookstore Head House Books was nearby and should be open so I went there and bought a book on the architecture of Venice.

I felt really pleased to have accomplished so much on this trip. I finally got to see the National Constitution Center, ate at a famous South Street restaurant, and visited another book store. After that I walked all over Philadelphia taking more photos for my custom travel guide. I took photos of the SEPTA Market–Frankford Line subway station entrances, the new Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts paintbrush public sculpture, the Joseph Fox Bookshop entrance, and many other landmarks and public sculptures. I was mainly trying to get photos of establishments for which I could not find any decent photos online like the Laff House Comedy Club.

First, I am now adding hundreds of pages to my notes on individual words. So far I have created detailed notes on 78 adjectives, 37 adverbs, 24 prepositions, and 173 verbs. It is unnecessary to take notes on nouns since the same nouns occur over and over again in the sample sentences I collect, although I do have a few vocabulary lists. Each page in my notes includes as many sample sentences as I can find from several sources and an image which illustrates the word used in a film poster or book cover. I like to search for just the right image because it helps me to remember the word and I discover new French cultural products that way. This is a tedious exercise but it is probably improving my French more than anything.

Second, I have bought many children’s books that are designed to be easy to read. Many language learners fancy themselves as sophisticated intellectuals so they immediately try to read the greatest works of literature in their target language. This is a big mistake because literature represents the most sophisticated use of a language and a beginner is not ready for that. There are actually many books that are designed to be easy to read. These books are intended to encourage young children to learn how to read, but a language learner can use them too. My favorite sources of French books are J’aime lire and Facile à Lire. I’ve read five of the Facile à Lire books so far, levels 1 and 2.

Third, I have started to do research on trips to French cities like Montreal, Lyon, and Paris. I usually compile my own custom travel guides for my major trips. This requires a lot of detailed research. I find it rather inspiring and I learn a lot about the geography and resources available in a city in the process. Planning a trip is a great way to learn more about a culture, assuming you really do your homework. Recently I’ve been doing some armchair exploration of Lyon. Lyon is a large city in France which seems to be virtually unknown to the English speaking world. There is only one guidebook for Lyon available in English, the Thomas Cook Pocket Guide. However, there are many French travel guides for this city so I have ordered a few from Amazon.fr. They will be entirely in French but I should be able to read them a bit.

The fourth thing I’ve done is buy several French textbooks from Amazon.fr. This should really help me to explore French culture. I bought five textbooks. It was very expensive due to the shipping costs but fortunately the French don’t try to gouge their students by charging them hundreds of dollars for a required textbook. Most French textbooks are reasonably priced.

It is difficult to choose a French textbook so I will described the ones I bought. A geography textbook proved to be an interesting purchase. I’m not quite sure what this course is supposed to teach as part of the French education. It seems to combine geography with social studies, urban planning, and world affairs. The book features a lot of maps and charts. Geography would be a rather curious subject in American high schools.

I liked the textbooks on literature more than the geography textbook. I was surprised by how much I already know about French literature. These books are way beyond my reading level but they feature lots of photos and illustrations including famous artwork. I tried to find textbooks on contemporary literature rather than medieval literature so I only bought volume 2 of the Bordas textbooks.

My favorite of all the textbooks is a Français textbook which would be similar to our English textbooks, featuring literature rather than actual language instruction. This textbook was especially interesting for its sections on French theater and drama. I have forgotten all about French drama. I really should search for some contemporary French drama in print because plays are short and easy to read.

I also bought two textbooks on history. These proved to be textbooks on World History and only showed some bias towards French history. You would be disappointed if you bought these textbooks expecting a detailed account of French history. I liked the book on 20th Century history better than the other book. This book includes material on contemporary events like the World Trade Center attack.

The other history textbook provides an overview of European History with an emphasis on general trends.

I would recommend a Français textbook and maybe a book on French drama. As an IT professional, I suppose I should search for a computer science textbook in French. I bet there are more interesting used textbooks but it is difficult to buy them on the French version of eBay. Most sellers won’t want to ship overseas. However, the French version of AbeBooks often has reasonable shipping rates.