Steamtown and Poconos Trip

Posted on 9/27/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

Today I went on a bus trip to Scranton and the Poconos. I went on this trip mainly for the sake of visiting Scranton which is one of the major Pennsylvania cities I’ve been planning to explore. I plan to drive to Scranton this Saturday for a more extensive visit. Currently I still have the following major cities to explore in my state; Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Reading, Allentown, and Pittsburgh.

Williamsport is in the viewing area of Scranton / Wilkes-Barre television stations which cover local news in Lycoming County. So I’m very familiar with places names in Luzerne and Wyoming Counties even though I’ve never been there. Scranton is a two drive from Williamsport but it still seems local because television lumps us together. For example, I saw the WBRE office in downtown Williamsport when I was taking photos this Sunday.

Besides local television news, Scranton is known to me as the home town of playwright and actor Jason Miller. Jason Miller is famous for his role as a priest in The Exorcist movie. Jason Miller once visited the James V. Brown library here in Williamsport where I met him. I also saw him in his one-man play Barrymore’s Ghost which he performed at our community college theater.

But now Scranton is famous due to the television comedy, The Office, because the fictional company Dunder Mifflin is supposed to have a Scranton branch. I’ve never watched that show because I’m too poor for cable television but I did buy the first season on DVD. Scranton has also been in the news lately because the city is practically bankrupt and tried to pay its police officers minimum wage.

But on this trip I did not get to see much of Scranton except for Steamtown, the national historic site which is run by the National Park Service. At Steamtown I saw a steam locomotive on the turntable. I shot some video of that which I will try to upload to YouTube. Later on I got to go for a short ride on the steam locomotive which was pretty cool. At the Steamtown bookstore I bought a book on the history of Scranton and I managed to snag a copy of the official Scranton visitor’s guide which will be useful in completing my custom travel guide for Scranton.

After Steamtown, the bus took us into the Poconos for dinner and a variety show at a lake resort. This part of the trip was like going back in time to some bygone era with the very elderly. We went to Ehrhardt’s Waterfront Resort on Lake Wallenpaupack. It was the typical sort of resort you find on a lake although I don’t really understand the attraction. There isn’t that much to do on a lake except go boating. The resort had a dock. But their main business seemed to be banquet dining and variety shows for a very old clientele. The variety show was a one-man show featuring music from way back. I couldn’t believe it but Big Band and Swing music is still popular with the elderly. When will we ever be rid of that decrepit music? I thought punk rock was the music of the elderly now. Original punk rock is pretty old. Kids today don’t know Johnny Rotten or Siouxsie Sioux.

On the bus ride to Scranton, I took careful note of the road signs along the way so I’ll know how to find my way there on Saturday. I plan to spend an entire day in Scranton to familiarize myself with the city. Scranton is not a very exciting city, but I may get a job interview there some day. I may also want to use Martz Trailways or the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.

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Susquehanna River Walk

Posted on 9/23/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

This morning I drove downtown and took lots of photos for a Williamsport travel guide I plan to create. I don’t really need a travel guide for Williamsport but I thought it might be interesting to compile one to publish as an e-book. Downtown is really deserted on a Sunday morning so I was able to take lots of photos without getting people in my shots. There was nobody around to bug me.

I also explored the Susquehanna Riverwalk because I thought it may be a good place to get some photos of downtown. The Susquehanna River Walk is a fairly new bit of urban development. It is a four-mile paved pedestrian loop on the levee along both sides of the river between the Market Street and Maynard Street bridge. Apparently this was created way back in 2009 and I’ve only just discovered it. There were probably some articles about it in the Sun Gazette but I don’t read the Sun Gazette due to their hostility towards the working poor. Basically I don’t want to read my class enemy’s propaganda against my community. Anyway, I walked practically the entire length of the Susquehanna Riverwalk. I crossed the Market Street Bridge over to South Williamsport and then I crossed the Maynard Street Bridge back to the Williamsport side of the river. I took lots of photos of the Susquehanna River, the mountains, and downtown Williamsport. It is a pretty good trail for photography.

I must say that the Susquehanna Riverwalk is too difficult to reach from downtown. On Route 180, aka the Susquehanna Beltway, you need to take the Hepburn Street exit and then cross the railroad tracks to reach the levee where there is a small parking area. That was the only way I could see to reach the Susquehanna Riverwalk. You can’t get there on foot after parking in the Basin Street stripmall. Of course, you can reach it from Market Street by crossing over the Market Street Bridge but that seems a little dangerous.

However, if you do manage to find the Susquehanna Riverwalk you will enjoy some great views of the mountains behind South Williamsport. The levee blocks the view at times on the South Williamsport side but it is still a great way to get close to those mountains. You also get a river view of Williamsport and plenty of great spots to see the Susquehanna River, especially from the bridges. On the Williamsport side of the river, you can see South Williamsport as seen from the Susquehanna Beltway but with the opportunity to take some photos of the mountain gorges and the houses nestled below the mountains.

The Susquehanna River Walk is very scenic. If Williamsport were a more prosperous metropolis there would probably be condominiums built all along the river for the view. Now that I’ve been traveling more, I’ve developed an eye for the special qualities of a tourist destination and the Susquehanna River Walk reminds me of places like the Manayunk Canal Towpath part of the Schuylkill River Trail which is lined with condominiums.

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Steel Magnolias–Theater Review

Posted on 9/23/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

Last night I saw the play Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling at the Community Theatre League. It has been a long time since I saw a play at the Community Theatre League. The last play I saw was Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill in London. I consider that to have been the best cultural experience of my life. After all, that is my very favorite play and I got to see it in London, a city I never dreamed I would visit.

Steel Magnolias was a mildly interesting play for me because I’m planning a trip to New Orleans. The play was set in the same state, Louisiana, but the city was Natchitoches in the northern part of the state. I’m interested in the state of Louisiana because it is part of the Francophone world according to my French textbooks. The Creoles and the Cajuns used to speak French but my research has already revealed that the language is dying out. I’ve recently read two plays as part of my research on New Orleans, Vieux Carré by Tennessee Williams and Toys In The Attic by Lillian Hellman. Vieux Carré is French for Old Square so I’m improving my French already by researching New Orleans. Toys In The Attic was a hard play to find. It has not been reprinted in decades, probably because it uses the forbidden N word.

The stage set for Steel Magnolias was very impressive with an elaborate recreation of a beauty salon. It reminded me of an old beauty salon in a private house where I used to get my hair cut. The actresses used fake Southern accents which probably weren’t very good but they sounded alright to me. I’ve never read this play or saw the movie version so I was not expecting anything, although it became pretty obvious early on that the diabetic character was going to die.

Well I don’t have much to say about this play so maybe it would be better to reveal what was going through my mind while watching the play. I was thinking about pursuing my old dream to become a playwright. The changes in the publishing world make it more tempting. Publishing a play would be ridiculously easy now because anyone can self-publish anything for e-readers and get it listed on Amazon. I don’t think too many plays are published as e-books so there may be a golden opportunity there. In any event, I plan to write a few short stories based on the theater.

That reminds me, there is a new theater venue in Williamsport. Plays are being staged at the Pajama Factory. Unfortunately, I missed their first play because they don’t keep their web site updated, but there will be another play next month, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. That should be pretty interesting. I did see the stage version once at Lycoming College.

On Thursday I’m going on a bus trip to Scranton and the Poconos. We are only going to Steamtown in Scranton and then to a Poconos resort for a variety show. Frankly, the bus trip does not seem to be very interesting but I’ve been thinking about exploring the Scranton / Wilkes-Barre area for a long time. Scranton has been economically depressed for decades so it is not much of a travel destination but the area has a few resources that are worth investigating. Martz Trailways offers regular bus service to New York City and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport may be a better airport to leave from than Philadelphia International Airport. The bus trip won’t give me much time in Scranton so I plan to drive there on Saturday for a lengthier visit. I’m already working on a custom travel guide to Scranton for my iPhone.

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Third Trip To Charm City

Posted on 8/19/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

Yesterday I made my third trip to Charm City, aka Baltimore Maryland. Baltimore is often overlooked by East Coast tourists but it has so much to offer that I have not exhausted its potential after three visits. On this trip my goal was to explore the neighborhoods of Little Italy and Fell’s Point.

But before going to Little Italy I visited each of the four historic ships docked at the Inner Harbor. First I visited the the USS Torsk, a WWII-era submarine. This is the third submarine I’ve been in. The other two submarines were the USS Growler at New York City’s Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and the submarine Becuna at Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum. There is one more submarine I could visit in Pittsburgh. Then I went aboard the Lightship Chesapeake which was a very short self-guided tour. I remember their exhibit on all the dogs they had as mascots. After that I went to the USS Constellation, a sloop of war that saw action in the Civil War. This was the best historic ship of the lot in my opinion. It was the oldest ship and had sails. Finally, I visited the U.S. Coast Guard cutter the USCGC Taney which is somewhat hidden behind the National Aquarium on Pier 5. It cost me $18.00 to visit all four ships and only took about an hour. I’m glad I got that out of the way so I can concentrate on other things during future trips to Baltimore.

After leaving the USCGC Taney it was a short walk east to reach Little Italy. Since Venice will be my next major vacation, I was very interested in this ethnic neighborhood. I had lunch at Amiccis. There are many fancy Italian restaurants in Little Italy with genuine Italian cuisine but I choose Amiccis because it has a reputation for being less formal. I ordered the Donna, shrimp sautéed with sweet bell peppers and fresh mushrooms in a garlic butter white wine sauce. Served over a  bed of fettuccini. I also had an alcoholic drink, some kind of grape cocktail which I don’t find listed on their web site. There was a Little League game on the television which amused me because I totally blew off the games to come here. But if it had been the last game of the Little League Baseball World Series the bus trip probably would have been canceled since nobody in Williamsport would want to miss that.

As luck would have it, there was an Italian street festival taking place that day, Feast of St. Gabriel Festival, so I paid the $1.00 donation to walk through the street festival. It was a fairly small street festival featuring various vendors in sidewalk booths and a live band. I did buy a 8×10 photo print of the Grand Canal in Venice to serve as inspiration for my dream vacation. I also found an ATM where I withdrew $60.00 because I had already spent half my money. The ATM was a bit unusual because it was a portable model set up in the street for the street festival.

After leaving the Little Italy street festival it was a long walk to reach Fell’s Point, the main goal for my trip. Fell’s Point is a quaint waterfront neighborhood of boutiques, bars, and fine restaurants. There seems to be an urban trend to convert old neighborhoods into boutique villages for the tourists. Philadelphia has its Old City district and Washington DC has its Old Town Alexandria. The first establishment I visited was Sound Garden, an independent music store which also sells DVDs. Unfortunately, digital media has ruined shopping for me because virtually every music store, book store, and video store has gone out of business. But I still like to buy something physical like a book, a DVD, or a CD. At Sound Garden I bought a DVD of the movie Angel Heart, a horror movie set in New Orleans and a jazz CD by Preservation Hall, a famous jazz performance hall in New Orleans. Unfortunately, I read the Wikipedia article on the movie Angel Heart which ruined the surprise ending. They need a spoiler alert warning on that article!

I also had some Crema gelato at Pitango Gelato which was very good. It was very expensive but high quality exactly as described on their web site. While in Fell’s Point I managed to buy a copy of the Baltimore Sun newspaper. Obtaining a copy of the local newspaper is one of the more serious aspects of my regional trips because it could be useful if I ever need to relocate to find work. After inserting four quarters into the newspaper vending machine I opened the box only to find it empty so I returned the “fuck you” by taking the display copy. At least everyone else could see it was empty then.

I still had many hours left in Baltimore before my bus left so I walked along the piers and took photos of many yachts. I really like yachts. They are like the sports cars of the sea. A yacht is a potent symbol of wealth and leisure and travel. Off in the distance I could see the famous Domino Sugar sign so I tried to take photos of yachts with the sign in the background. Unfortunately, the sign is barely visible in my photos because it was too far away. Eventually I walked clear around the Inner Harbor to visit the American Visionary Art Museum yet again. I’ve visited this museum every time I’ve been to Baltimore and they hadn’t even changed the exhibits since my last trip. But since I have a membership card it did not cost me anything to see everything again. I took my time and tried to absorb more details. My favorite artwork was sculptures made out of old vacuum tubes and a rocket ship made out of an Electrolux vacuum cleaner.

There have been enough books published about mysticism, visionaries, visionary art, and mythology to fill a bookstore. Unfortunately the Sideshow bookstore at the American Visionary Art Museum chooses not to stock any of them. But I did manage to find two books that I thought worth buying, a Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse graphic novel which is gothic enough to appeal to my tastes, and a cult cinema book on the films of Italian director Mario Monicelli which will help me to explore obscure aspects of Italian pop culture. To be fair, I did see Carl Jung’s Red Book on display at the American Visionary Art Museum which is very cool indeed.

After leaving the American Visionary Art Museum I still had time to do one last bit of sightseeing before leaving Baltimore. I walked uptown and found the grave of Edgar Allan Poe. I have to admit that I’m not as interested in Edgar Allan Poe as I should be. He was a major inspiration for the French poet Charles Baudelaire and the gothic subculture adores Edgar Allan Poe. Some of his metaphysical ideas are interesting. But for some reason he just doesn’t grab me. I wanted to at least finish reading my Edgar Allan Poe biography after visiting the Edgar Allan Poe National Historical Site in Philadelphia but I don’t have any enthusiasm for that. It seems too much like a literary chore, doing one’s literary duty. The most interesting thing I found at Edgar Allan Poe’s grave was a memorial from a French literary society, a testament to how much the French love this poet associated with Charles Baudelaire.

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Montreal Vacation – Friday

Posted on 7/27/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

Today I had my final breakfast at La Brioche Lyonnaise. This time I ordered the Pain Doré, French Toast sticks with maple syrup and fresh fruit. I walked pass Place Émilie-Gamelin to take photos of Librairie Marché du Livre although I did not visit this bookstore.

Then I went to the Redpath Museum which was nearly deserted. It did not cost anything to go in and there were no staff around. The Redpath Museum is a small natural history museum on the campus of McGill University. I took my time to examine their collection of mineral rocks, seashells, dinosaur fossils, stuffed animals, and various other oddities. I felt free to take lots of photos without using my flash because the place was practically empty.

I stopped in at Paragraphe where I bought Balconville by David Fennario and Cockroach by Rawi Hage, two books on my want list. The sales girl spoke English but she must have been new because she made many mistakes and her manager wanted to see her in the breakroom or have her shadowed.

After that I found the Bell Centre although some construction prevented me from getting good photos. I also found Gare Windsor and then took more photos of Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral.

I took the metro back to Sherbrooke Station and had a cheeseburger and large Pepsi at La Belle Province on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, at the end of Prince-Arthur Street.

Once back in my room I planned another outing to visit Crescent Street and La Louisiane restaurant. I almost skipped La Louisiane because it was very far from any metro station in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighborhood.

Crescent Street wasn’t very long so I walked along both sides of the street taking photos for probably less than half an hour. Then I took the Orange Line of the metro all the way to the Vendôme Station in the direction of Côte Vertu. I walked up Avenue de Marlowe to Rue Sherbrooke and walked several blocks to find the La Louisiane restaurant. They did not open until 5:30 p.m. so I had to sit in a park for an hour. When La Louisiane finally opened I ordered a Mint Julip and BBQ shrimp plus Bananas Foster for desert. This was definitely the best meal I had in Montreal. I really liked the atmosphere too.

 

That was the last thing I did in Montreal. Seven days was perhaps too long for a visit to this city but I wanted to do an extensive exploration of this major French metropolis. I’m not sure what I would find to do on a subsequent trip but I would definitely return to Montreal on a bus trip. I did manage to return with quite a haul of French books, Quebec literature, and French newspapers to continue my language learning.

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Montreal Vacation – Thursday

Posted on 7/26/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

On Thursday I visited the Westmount neighborhood and the Olympic Stadium. First I went to Place Alexis Nihon where I bought some shoes at Zellers. I was going to buy shoes at Payless ShoeSource but they had not opened yet. Then I walked around Westmount taking photos of various landmarks; Cabot Square, Dawson College, Westmount Square, Westmount High School, Westmount Park, Westmount Conservatory, Victoria Hall, Clock Flower, City Hall, the Cenotaph, and a catholic church. Westmount Park was especially lovely and had a restroom which I used. Westmount Conservatory was like a small scale Longwood Gardens.

When I got back to Saint-Louis Square yet another television crew were pulling a prank. Some actors dressed like cops where pulling cars over and measuring the distance between the cruiser and the car. At first I thought the cops were real and being total dicks. I was drinking a root beer while watching them and had to unfurl my umbrella briefly due to a rain shower.

Then I returned to my room and put on my new shoes. I discovered the insoles were for "Dames". I went out again and ate at a La Belle Province I found on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, at the end of Prince-Arthur Street. When I  tried to cross Saint-Louis Square some film guy stopped me in French so I walked around the block. They were still filming their cop prank.

I then rode the Green Line of the metro to Pie IX to visit the Olympic Stadium. I was not planning on going to the Olympic Stadium but I had run out of things to do. I followed other tourists from the Pie XI metro station to the tourist hall which would have been hard to find on my own. I bought tickets for the Observation Deck and the Guided Tour of the Stadium. I almost didn’t get back in time from the Observation Deck for the guided tour. The tour guide spoke heavily accented English but he was charming and funny. First he showed us some scale models of the stadium, then he led us into the stadium, and finally he led us outside the stadium to see a memorial. I remember there was a group from Belgium on our tour who didn’t take the French tour for some reason.

After that I went to the Biodome and walked through various ecosystems. It was very crowded in the Biodome. I had to go to the Biodome to buy my ticket because the tourist hall did not sell them for just the Biodome.

When I returned to Saint-Louis Square yet another film crew were set up to film some a reporter, or so I assume. I ate at a Polish restaurant on Prince-Arthur Street, Mazurka, where I had undercooked pork chops (although I asked for well-done). But the Polish coffee was pretty good, similar to an Irish coffee.

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Montreal Vacation – Wednesday

Posted on 7/25/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

On Wednesday I went to the Marché Jean-Talon and explored Little Italy. Marché Jean-Talon is a farmer’s market in Montreal. I didn’t buy anything there because I couldn’t do anything with fruits and vegetables but I did take a few photos of food stalls because their signs are useful for learning French. I did have something to eat at Au Pain Doré, a bakery outside Marché Jean-Talon. I had a peach smoothie which was very thick and a baguette sandwich containing ham and cheese. In Little Italy I visited a few parks and photographed some famous establishments and the Church of the Madonna della Difesa. There was an Italian bookstore but I thought I had enough books by then and didn’t want another awkward exchange with a cashier. I did come across a Maison de la Presse Internationale where I finally found a copy of Le Journal de Montreal and a GEO magazine on Venice which is quite interesting because it provides a French perspective on Venice.

This did not take all day so I visited Old Montreal. I had a large Orange Julius to slake my thirst on Place Jacques-Cartier. I paid $5.00 to enter the Notre-Dame Basilica but it was worth it to get some photos of this major tourist attraction. I had lunch at Five Guys. Five Guys is a fast food chain based in the United States which has expanded into Canada. All of their signs were bilingual so it was Five Guys in French! I ordered a cheeseburger with everything on it which was a huge gooey mess so I had to use the men’s room to clean up.

I continued to wander around Old Montreal until I found Victoria Square where I photographed the famous Paris metro entrance. I also found the Palais des congrès de Montréal and got some photos of its multicolored windows. I found a segment of the Berlin Wall in the Centre de Commerce mondial de Montréal. And I also managed to locate Centaur Theatre after consulting my custom travel guide and its maps. Just before I found the theater, I was stopped by a crazy woman who spoke very posh English. She told me a story about finding a body in a dumpster and begged some money off me. I encountered quite a few beggars in Montreal but to be fair I also had one last encounter with a beggar at the Philadelphia International Airport right where the bus picks you up for the Economy Parking Lot.

Eventually I walked all the way to Place Viger. It was at this point that I decided to buy new shoes and insoles because my feet were killing me. I only got two blisters on the whole trip which I blame on my sneakers which began to get worn down and out of shape.

On the way back to my hotel room I saw the Octave Crémazie statue in Saint-Louis Square with an Anonymous mask on it so I took a picture of it. I went back out to the nearest Jean Coutu to buy shoe insoles and walked pass the Théâtre de Quat’Sous. I also came across a cool mural which I photographed. Then I returned to Complexe Desjardins looking to buy some shoes but they were closed. I bought two DVDs on Sainte Catherine Street to make up for my disappointment.

That evening I had supper at Les Deux Gamins on Prince Arthur Street. I ordered escargot and a glass of Chardonnay. Service was extremely slow. A musician was playing a guitar in front of the restaurant and passed around his hat for tips.

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Montreal Vacation – Tuesday

Posted on 7/24/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

First I went to the Complexe Desjardins where I found the Renaud-Bray bookstore on Level 2. Complexe Desjardins is an interesting part of the underground city. It reminds me of the City of Domes in Logan’s Run because it has a large wall clock. At Renaud-Bray I bought three books; the elusive L’avalée des avalés by Réjean Ducharme, Enfirouapé by Yves Beauchemin, and a book on Robert Lepage. I managed to conduct this transaction entirely in French since I only had to say "Bonjour" and "Merci". I consider L’avalée des avalés by Réjean Ducharme to be an elusive novel because I ordered it twice on Amazon and received L’hiver de force by Réjean Ducharme both times. Maybe Amazon has the wrong ISBN for this book.

There is an Archambault store between the Metro and Complexe Desjardins but it was closed. It was hard to find an ATM in the Complexe Desjardins. I tried one at the Place des Arts which did not work. Eventually had to return to the metro to find one.

They were still filming that TV series when I crossed Saint-Louis Square to place my purchase in my room. Later I determined that it was for the TV series Destinées. As I was walking past the film crew, I saw a sign warning you that you give permission to have your image used if you cross the park. Just at that moment I heard them announce, "Un deux trois action!" So I may appear walking in the background of a scene!

I then returned to Place des Arts to take some more photos and to visit the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. At the Museum of Contemporary Art I saw an exhibit on abstraction and an exhibit entitled Zoo. I saw a short film by Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg, A World of Glass, which was bizarre and disturbing. There was also a tree from which were hanging the corpses of various animals painted black; a cat, several rats, a dog, and some birds. I also saw a whole collection of black metal insects on the floor of a gallery. They looked like metal sculpture ants. I didn’t spend much time at this museum because it was rather small. I had a cheeseburger and a Pepsi at La Belle Province on the corner of Boulevard Saint-Laurent and Rue Sainte-Catherine Est. I ate at this fast food place three times because it was very convenient and not too much bother to get a bite there in a hurry.

I can tell by my photos that I returned to my hotel room before heading out again. I then visited the Musée des Beaux-Arts. I took lots of photos of a really neat sculpture installed in front of a church. I remember seeing this angel sculpture online while doing research for my trip. It is David Altmejd’s The Eye.

 

Nobody was around to give me a ticket so I left my umbrella at the coat check. Eventually I found the Beyond Pop Art: Tom Wesselmann exhibit where I was able to get a ticket. I had my Montreal Museum card so it did not cost me anything. Tom Wesselmann’s work really impressed me because he went on to create art in various styles using various materials after his famous pop art work. I especially liked the retro kitchen sculptures. I liked this exhibit so much that I bought an expensive souvenir book, Pictures On The Wall Of Your Heart: Tom Wesselmann Und Die Pop Art. You can tell by the title that this is a German book so the cashier asked me if I realized that. I should have replied, Ja, das ist sehr gut.

I saw the galleries devoted to Napoleon and to the First Empire. I saw Napoleon’s famous chapeau and a large bust of Napoleon in a window bay which sorely tempted me to take a photo. I only snuck one photo of an amusing sculpture of skinny chimps choking a fat chimp. This was Tony Matelli’s "Old Enemy, New Victim".

I ate at the self-serve cafeteria. I like museum cafeterias but it was still awkward to deal with the staff since there were no silverware left out. I have my receipt so I know I had; chocolate milk, a sandwich (bagel with smoked salmon), a fruit juice, and a panna cotta (yet another Italian dessert I’ll have to learn about). I plan to study Italian cuisine carefully before my trip to Italy.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is like several museums in one. Besides modern art and classical art, they also have decorative art, design art, and archaeology exhibits. I went through an underground passage to the other building, the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion, where I saw Egyptian artifacts, decorative and design art, African artifacts, Greco-Roman artifacts, Pre-Columbian Art, etc. I spent several hours at this museum and only left at 4:30 p.m. when I realized they closed at 5:00 p.m. I had to rush to collect my umbrella from the coat check.

That evening I saw Jim Breuer at Theatre Sainte Catherine. His show was about attending Heavy Metal concerts as a middle aged man. He also talked about his family. He has three daughters. He said he took his family to Europe and claimed to be a Canadian because they hate Americans. This got big laughs. This show was part of the Just For Laughs festival which was going on in Montreal at the time. I didn’t particularly plan on seeing a comedy show but it was the best English language event I could find taking place during my visit. I sat a few rows back from the stage so I was fairly close to Jim Breuer. It is always a thrill to be near a celebrity. I picked up a program guide to the Just For Laughs festival which is like a paperback book packed with a wealth of interesting material on local culture and obscure artists.

At this point I should mention the real goal of this trip. The purpose of this trip was to gather French language materials and to explore Montreal so I would better understand culture references to Quebec while learning French. I tried to visit various neighborhoods rather than minor museums so I would have some experience of these neighborhoods which I will find mentioned in Quebec literature and film.

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Montreal Vacation – Monday

Posted on 7/23/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

My plans are still messed up so today I did everything I had scheduled for Wednesday, which was exploring the Outremont and Mile End neighborhoods. To get to Outremont, I took the Orange Line in the direction of Montmorency to Jean-Talon Station. Then I took the Blue Line in the direction of Snowdon to Outremont Station. I found a newsstand in the metro where I bought a copy of the English language newspaper, The Montreal Gazette. The cashier seemed particularly unwilling to speak any English. This outing required navigating around various residential areas so I spent a lot of time previewing the route on Google Street View.

Before I set out for those neighborhoods, I visited La Brioche Lyonnaise again for breakfast. I had yogurt filled with fruit and granola and a cafe au lait. That morning, I found a film crew setting up a location shoot at the Saint-Louis Square. I managed to sneak a few photos of that.

First I walked along Avenue Bernard even though I was not planning on visiting any of the establishments on that street. I walked past the Theatre Outremont so I crossed the street to take some photos of the theater. Eventually I managed to find St. Viateur Bagel although I walked right past it at first. I bought a sesame bagel and walked to a nearby bench to eat it. Montreal is famous for its bagels so I fulfilled one of the essential tourist recommendations. I was planning on going into the nearby S.W. Welch Bookseller but a sign indicated they would not open until Noon and it was only 10:00 a.m. So I went and found Wilensky’s where I ordered the famous Special: a grilled salami and bologna sandwich with mustard on a kaiser roll, pressed flat from the grill. The restaurant was immortalized in Mordecai Richler’s novel, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. Scenes in the film version of the book were shot in the restaurant. I ordered a DVD of that movie when I got back to my hotel.

I wanted to wait around the area for S.W. Welch Bookseller to open since it was too much trouble to find the place. I wandered around several streets trying to find the Laurier metro station. It was very hot out and I was in the sun most of the time baking. Eventually S.W. Welch Bookseller opened and I bought two books; These Festive Nights by Marie-Claire Blais and Paolo Paoli by Arthur Adamov. Arthur Adamov is a French absurdist playwright whose work is extremely hard to find so I considered that quite a find. Fortunately, this was an English bookstore so I had no trouble communicating with the owner.

After an endless search for the metro station in the hot sun I finally made my way back to the hotel. I was sweating so much that I was afraid of soiling my books with sweat.

The film crew was still working at Saint-Louis Square. They seemed to be in the process of lighting a scene. I went to the dépanneur I found on Prince-Arthur Street and bought a can of soda to slake my thirst.

I had trouble finding something to do for the rest of the day so I went on a mission to find Theatre Saint Catherine which I would need to locate tomorrow night. I walked down to Sainte Catherine Street but later found it would have been quicker to use the metro to go to the Berri-UQAM station. After finding the theater I walked further along Sainte Catherine Street until I reached Place des Arts. I took a lot of photos along the way. I found a La Belle Province fast food place where I had a hot dog and a coke.

There were some thunderstorms in the evening so I stayed in my room all evening.

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Montreal Vacation – Sunday

Posted on 7/22/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

Since I accomplished a few things on Saturday evening, my Sunday schedule was thrown off. The next thing I had scheduled was a visit to Librairie Michel Fortin but they didn’t open until 11:00 a.m. so I went to La Brioche Lyonnaise first for breakfast. My bed and breakfast only gave me coffee, orange juice, and a croissant so I needed more to eat. La Brioche Lyonnaise interested me because Lyon will be the next French city that I will research. I already have many travel guides to Lyon and I’ve done some preliminary research.

To get to the La Brioche Lyonnaise, I took the Orange Line in the direction of Côte-Vertu to Berri-UQAM Station. It was only one metro stop away. They open at 8:00 a.m. so I can go there directly after having the continental breakfast. I ordered La Lyonnaise which consisted of a large cup of coffee, some flat bread, and a pastry of some kind.

After breakfast I headed out to Philips Square where I took photos of various landmarks while waiting for La Baie d’Hudson to open, also known as the Hudson Bay Company. When this famous department store opened, I took the escalators up to the fifth floor and bought an extra piece of luggage for all the books I would be buying. Fortunately there was a sale on luggage and I bought a small one for less than $100.00. I had to go to the ground floor to find a cashier. There was another awkward episode involving trying to get a bag large enough for the luggage. Eventually I told them to forget it. I immediately returned to the bed and breakfast with my empty piece of luggage. With that taken care of I went straight back to Phillips Square and stopped in at Indigo which also opened at 10:00 a.m. There I had yet another awkward moment when a sales lady asked me something in French. I froze and didn’t say anything at all until she repeated herself in English. Oh the shame of it all! I’ve been studying French all year and still can’t manage to speak one word of it. Oh well, part of the purpose of this trip was to get me to make more effort.

At Indigo I bought a copy of Yves Beauchemin’s novel Le matou, which I’ve read in English as The Alley Cat. I’ve also seen the film version on DVD. I also bought a French book on Italian grammar, a guide to conjugating French verbs, and New Orleans … Like A Local. I’ve become interested in New Orleans and Louisiana because it is part of the Francophone world. The cashier spoke English and remarked on how ambitious I was based on my purchase. C’est vrai!

After that Librairie Michel Fortin was finally open so I visited that bookstore. Librairie Michel Fortin specializes in language learning books and it is located very close to Saint-Louis Square so it was pretty convenient. I really went wild at this bookstore and spent more than $100.00 on a peculiar selection of books; a Cajun French Dictionary, a Kit De Conversation Neerlandais (a French book on Dutch), a book on Italian verbs and essential grammar, and another book on Italian for foreigners Italiano Per Stranieri. Oh, and a book of the play Les Muses Orphelines by Michel Marc Bouchard. The exchange with the cashier was quite awkward, perhaps because I did say "Bonjour" when I entered which sent the wrong language signal.

That pretty much took care of everything I had scheduled for Sunday so I had to move on to Monday’s schedule. I decided to visit the Parc du Mont Royal. I entered the park at the Peel Street entrance after a long uphill climb on Peel Street. There I found countless stairs I also had to climb to reach the overlook. I had to rest on every landing because it was hot and exhausting to climb all those steps. But it was worth it because the Kondiaronk Belvedere provides an impressive view of the skyscrapers in downtown Montreal. I bought a popsicle from a vendor there because I needed to cool off and slake my thirst. That made my fingers sticky but I found a drinking fountain where I washed off the syrup. I took a lot of photos of the Montreal skyline but the plaza was crowded with tourists. Later I climbed a more gently sloping trail to the Mount Royal Cross which is an icon of the city. I stayed at the Kondiaronk Belvedere for several hours until the sun had set in order to get some photos of the skyscrapers caught in the last rays of the sun. I also got some photos of the city just as the lights started to some on. Fortunately, there were some vending machines in the chalet so I was able to buy some soft drinks and snacks. By the time I left you could barely see the steps on the stairs down the mountain. I really left at the last possible moment.

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Montreal Vacation – Saturday

Posted on 7/21/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

I shall begin to describe my Montreal vacation by describing the flight since these details are worth documenting for future trips. I left home at 4:00 a.m. in order to be at the Philadelphia International Airport for my 10:15 a.m. flight. It takes four hours for me to drive to Philadelphia so I got there around 8:00 a.m. I did stop at the Hickory Run Travel Plaza on the way for some coffee because I was getting too tired to drive. I had a little trouble getting to the Economy Parking Lot. I took the shuttle bus to the F terminal but I really should have gotten off at the D terminal where United Airlines has its check-in counters. I only had to go through security at the Philadelphia airport. My flight left on time but it was keep waiting on the runway for about 15 minutes before taking off. When we got to Washington Dulles International Airport I only had 20 minutes to catch my flight to Montreal.

Both of these flights were on small commuter planes and not jumbo jets. The flight to Washington only took 30 minutes while the flight to Montreal took around an hour and a half. So I got to Montreal in time to do plenty of things on Saturday afternoon. At the Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport it should be noted that you go through immigration first, being asked more questions than usual, then you pick up your luggage, and then you hand in your customs declaration card. There was some confusion with the luggage since the board showed my flight at the oversized baggage carousel where only some luggage appeared.

I followed the signs to the taxis at the central exit and took a taxi to my bed and breakfast. That cost $40.00. Fortunately, I already had some Canadian cash on me.

After checking it at my charming bed and breakfast, I walked around the block to find Saint-Louis Square and the Sherbrooke metro station behind the Institut de Tourisme et d’Hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ). I withdrew some more cash from an ATM and bought another L’occasionnelle card. That was when I had my first awkward moment. I tried to use the card like a London Travel Card which inserts into a slot to be read and pops out at the top of the turnstile. In fact, you are supposed to wave this card over a scanner just like an Oyster Card.

My first metro trip was on the Orange Line in the direction of Montmorency to the Jean-Talon Station where I transferred to the Blue Line in the direction of Snowden to Côte-des-Neiges. From there I found my way to the flagship store of Renaud-Bray. This bookstore was my first destination because I am a frequent customer of their online store. You can order most French books from Renaud-Bray although the shipping is expensive. I didn’t find the obscure Québécois novels I was looking for, but I did buy; a book on French verb conjugation “Larousse Conjugaison”, a "Petit guide de parler québécois”, a travel guide for Bruxelles, and a French travel guide for Nouvelle-Orleans. There was another awkward moment with the cashier since I did not understand the number she spoke. I really need to spend more time on learning the numbers in a foreign language!

After that I headed out for supper at La Banquise which is enormously popular for its poutine. I had considerable trouble finding this restaurant and had to consult my custom travel guide several times. This restaurant gets very crowded. I ordered the classic poutine in the small size which I was able to finish. I only had water to drink because the server did not ask if I wanted anything to drink or anything else. It was quite a struggle to squeeze pass the people crammed in the front door. Maybe I should have left by another door.

After wandering around many streets searching the metro station I did find a Jean Coutu pharmacy where I bought some soap and antiperspirant because I forgot to bring mine. I had another awkward exchange with the cashier but at least I understood her when she asked if I wanted a bag.

I don’t think I did anything else Saturday evening but that struck two things off of Sunday’s schedule. I was extremely tired when I returned to the bed and breakfast. I feel asleep with the lights on and my laptop doing a Flickr upload.

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Longwood Gardens Bus Trip

Posted on 7/15/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

Yesterday I went on a bus trip to a hidden gem in the Philadelphia area, Longwood Gardens.  This was my second trip with Sherry Ault Tours, an independent travel agent. I’m keeping an eye out for bus trips. It may even be worthwhile to expand my range since Martz Tours in Wilkes-Barre had a trip to Quebec which would have been more convenient than my trip next week.

Longwood Gardens is like the Versailles of Pennsylvania. It does not have the palace of a Versailles but it has the palace grounds of a Versailles with gardens fit for a European palace. In fact, the gardens of Longwood Gardens were inspired by many famous European gardens including Versailles. I learned that in my tour of the Peirce-du Pont House. By the way, I actually saw the gardens of Versailles on my trip to Paris several years ago.

I’ve read about Longwood Gardens in my travel guides to Philadelphia which include attractions in the Brandywine area. But Longwood Gardens is far west of Philadelphia so you can’t squeeze it in on a trip to that city. It would have to be an all-day side trip. I’m glad I was not driving to Longwood Gardens because it does seem a little hard to find. I took some notes on landmarks I saw on the way.

The only thing that marred my trip was problems with my digital camera. Any photo I take which includes the sky is turning out with serious washout. Fortunately, this did not ruin too many photos but I have to buy a new digital camera since this seems to be a common problem with the CCD-chip or lens. Its cheaper to replace a camera than to try to have it fixed. I will upgrade to 12 mega-pixels. Hopefully this will also solve the annoying problem I have with my digital camera losing its date settings.

Longwood Gardens was really magical. They even have fairy lights in the woods, a fiber-optic light display. I especially liked the Italian Garden although it was not working and I found it empty. Italy will be my next European destination so I appreciate a little inspiration. The massive conservatory was also very impressive. I liked the palm tree house most of all because it was very tropical. The Topiary Garden was also pretty cool.

But my favorite place was the meadow. A meadow may not seem like much but this meadow struck me as being highly unusual. It was a vast hillside meadow with a barn visible way off in the distance. In that respect it was a very typical Pennsylvania landscape and reminded me of some hiking trips in my youth. But what I found most unusual about this meadow was that it was filled with waist-high weeds and wildflowers. The meadow was jam packed with wildflowers and weeds in a way that seemed a little unnatural. I found the following description of the meadow on the Longwood Gardens web site.

Once the site of a planted field and pasture, this area was created to add a new dimension to the horticultural display of Longwood Gardens. The meadow represents the first stage in the natural succession process: the progressive replacement of one plant community by another, from field to forest. To maintain the meadow, Longwood mows or burns it once a year in late winter to prevent tree and shrub growth. The native wildflowers found there have either been planted by Longwood horticulturists or independently established from seed dispersed by wind or animals. Persistent invasive weeds such as Japanese honeysuckle and Canada thistle are controlled mechanically and by applying selective herbicide sprays. In late summer and early fall, the meadow is particularly attractive and alive with moths, butterflies and birds. Visitors can explore the meadow by following the mowed path

So the meadow is indeed a field of wildflowers which has been artificially created and maintained to prevent certain types of plants from growing there. This accounts for the haunting nature of the meadow.  It represents an exaggeration of something familiar, at least to Pennsylvania residents familiar with the native wildflowers, and therefore has the same qualities as dream imagery. I wonder if the meadow is as haunting to non PA residents? To them it may appear charming but probably does not trigger deep associations.

I took lots of photos of the tall weeds in the foreground with the farm houses in the background. Luckily these photos turned out well and are as visually striking as I had hoped.

We were at Longwood Gardens for a long time in order to see the Fountain and Light show at 9:15 p.m. The bus did not leave until 10:30 p.m. and I did not get home until 3:30 a.m. But it was worth because I had plenty of time to explore the gardens. I even saw an exotic music performance at the Open Air Theatre, the Indian Bhangra & Brass Funk Concert by Red Baraat. I see they performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival which is interesting because I’m going to Montreal next week so of course I know about their Jazz Festival.

I should be able to visit Longwood Gardens some time in the future since it is a popular attraction and frequent tour bus destination. But for now I need to focus on my big trip to Montreal next week. After that I really need to improve my finances because all this travel is expensive. I won’t be able to go to Italy next year if I don’t earn a lot of extra income.

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Williamsport Is Going Hotel Crazy

Posted on 6/2/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

Last night I watched an amusing film on DVD, La Florida. I’m planning another major trip this summer to Montreal so I’ve been looking for movies made in Quebec. La Florida was a real find! I loved this movie! It concerns a family from Montreal who get sick of the Canadian winter and move to Florida to start their own business by renovating a shabby motel.

La-Florida

La Florida: Movies & TV

ASIN: B002HZ7GZ8

I’ve lived next to a motel all my life so motels definitely seem like a part of the American landscape to me. It was amusing to watch a film about the Québécois invading the American motel business and bringing French to Florida.

This summer, I’ve noticed that my neighborhood has gone hotel crazy in a big way. The Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracturing industry has created a housing shortage in Williamsport and tripled rents. One result of this is an explosion of real estate speculators rushing to build hotels and motels all over the place. For example, the motel I live next to is currently under construction to add a second floor. It is really going to change the look of my street.

But that is not all. I’ve noticed a considerable amount of other construction going on in the area. On the mountain behind Weis, it looks like somebody expanded a house into a luxury lodge. I can’t quite tell what the building looks like but it is quite noticeable up there on the mountain. It must have a nice view. It does look too large to be a private residence.

And recently I’ve learned that the Kast Hotel, which used to be a restaurant in Newberry, not far from where I work, has gone back to being a real hotel with 19 rooms available. I saw their advertisement in a local weekly. 

Personally I think Williamsport needs a skyscraper to accommodate its growth. Williamsport could be the Dubai of Pennsylvania!

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Second Trip To Charm City

Posted on 5/27/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

My second trip to Baltimore Maryland went extremely well and advanced my exploration of the city. I’ve been looking forward to a return trip to Baltimore but I did not do much additional research because I still had plenty of things to see in the Inner Harbor area. Fortunately it was a bright sunny day so I got better photos than on my last trip which was overcast. The Inner Harbor stank to high heaven. It smelled like raw sewage. You could hardly stand to walk along the harbor. But it did not keep away the crowds. This was the first day of the long Memorial Day weekend so the Inner Harbor was packed with tourists.

I did not go to the National Aquarium or see the dolphin show because I did that on my last trip. I headed straight for the Baltimore World Trade Center and paid $5.00 for the elevator to the top observation deck called the "Top of the World". There I enjoyed stunning views of the downtown skyscrapers which face the harbor and the Inner Harbor. I took lots of photos. They also had a Baltimore gift shop and a few exhibits about 9/11 but I only picked up a few tourist pamphlets.

After that I headed to my favorite museum, the American Visionary Art Museum. Before the trip, I became a member of the museum and received my membership card in the mail. This entitled me to free entry. All the floors were open so I spent a lot more time at the museum on this trip and saw more artwork. Their current exhibit is All Things Round. I saw some great paintings by Stephanie Lucas and Paul Lancaster but I cannot find any information about these artists online. They don’t even have Wikipedia articles. After viewing all the artwork I had lunch at the museum’s restaurant, Mr. Rain’s Fun House. I ordered the Fun House Burger with sauteed onions and some kind of salad as a side dish. While eating I stared out the window at a condominium complex. I could see the Legg Mason Tower in the background and that is when I realized that these are the condominiums I saw from the water taxi on my last trip. There are quite a few high rise condominiums surrounding the Baltimore Inner Harbor. It makes me wonder where the wealth comes from since Baltimore has a reputation for being an impoverished city. I suspect they are commuters from Washington DC so this is big money from the federal government on display.

After lunch I went to the museum’s bookstore where I bought a book on Japanese pop culture entitled Tokyo Clash. Let’s consider why this book was on sale at the American Visionary Art Museum since it does not cover outsider art. I recently came across an useful word, exotica, objects considered strange or interesting because out of the ordinary, esp. because they originated in a distant foreign country. Japanese pop culture is a fine example of exotica and that explains why the bookstore stocked it. It also explains why I’ve become so interested in travel and what I hope to find. For example, I’m currently researching my trip to Montreal and I’m especially excited whenever I discover anything obscure and bizarre in their culture. Recently I ordered a DVD of the film Léolo, a movie about a 12-year-old dreamer with a hilarious life-preserving ability to recreate the world according to his imagination.

I also went into the James Rouse Visionary Center which I missed on my previous visit because it is located in a separate building. This building houses their kinetic art and large vehicles used in their Kinetic Sculpture Race. I saw giant pink poodle sculptures mounted on bicycles and a car covered in small glass bottles.

I’m pleased that I saw more of the American Visionary Art Museum on this trip. I’m not sure how seriously I should take this museum. The entire “outsider art” concept is condescending and the museum’s approach often seems frivolous and campy to me. I should have become obsessed with the museum but unfortunately it does not correspond closely enough to my concept of visionary art to inspire me. The most important quality of visionary art is that it should be profound. This is something the surreal frequently lacks. Surreal art is rarely as profound as a dream. There are actually two types of dreams; grotesque dreams and profound dreams. Profound dreams are hyper-significant and will haunt you even after waking up. They are a rare glimpse of how the soul secretly sees the world. Visionary art should also be art that shows you the world from the soul’s eyes in its secret way. Another essential quality of visionary art is that it should be haunting; eerily beautiful and hauntingly beautiful. I’m not sure if the American Visionary Art Museum realizes just how powerful and grand a vision can be.

I did visit another shrine to high camp that day, the Geppi’s Entertainment Museum. This is great museum of American pop culture with an impressive collection of rare comic books. They have trashy film posters, vintage toys, and everything a geek could desire. I would highly recommend this museum to tourists from other countries who may be fascinated with American pop culture. And for American pop culture addicts this is the ultimate museum. Personally I’ve never been that into comic books but I like all the comic book inspired films that Hollywood is making a fortune on right now. For example, The Avengers broke box office records this summer and I saw some Avengers comic books yesterday at this museum. Geppi’s Entertainment Museum isn’t quite in the Inner Harbor area, you have to walk west towards the Baltimore Orioles Stadium to find it. Along the way I saw a MTA commuter rail train.

Some people would say Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is one huge tourist trap. The Maryland Science Center certainly makes it seem so. It cost me $16.95 to visit this museum and all they had were interactive science exhibits for kids. I was not impressed. They did have some Baltimore blue crabs in fish aquariums. You can tell how lame it was if that was the highlight of the museum. To be fair, they also have dinosaur fossils, complete dinosaur skeletons, and a huge model of a meat eating dinosaur attacking a plant eating dinosaur. I also learned about the spacecraft that NASA has sent to Pluto which should arrive there in 2015.

For the rest of the day, I didn’t do much of anything except explore the various shopping malls in the area. I went to Barnes & Noble where I bought two DVDs; Mon Oncle Antoine (an important Québécoise film), and Pink Flamingos by John Waters. Baltimore is the home town of John Waters and many of his films are set in the city. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ve ever seen a John Waters film except for Hairspray. That reminds me that I forgot to mention a huge sculpture of Divine which I saw in the James Rouse Visionary Center.

I also bought three more travel guides to Montréal. I don’t really need any more travel guides for that city because my research is very comprehensive by now but the books did have some nice photos.

I bought a rubber blue crab toy at the Best of Baltimore store in the Harbourplace Mall. It was pretty expensive for what it is, $12.99. But I’ve always liked crabs. They are sort of cute with their pinchers but also a little creepy. Baltimore loves their blue crabs and uses them extensively as their mascot and iconic sea creature. But mostly Baltimore likes to eat blue crabs with Old Bay Seasoning. I can buy shrimp at the local grocery store with Old Bay Seasoning. Food prices have gone up so much that shrimp are just as expensive as anything else.

I think I’m just about done exploring Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The only other attraction I’ve yet to see are the historic ships. I should do some more research on the Fell’s Point neighborhood which is a quaint historic area full of boutiques and restaurants. Fell’s Point is easily reached from the Inner Harbor so that would be the next place for me to explore.

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Last Day In London

Posted on 4/30/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

For my last day in London I only had two trips planned, a visit to the Natural History Museum and afternoon tea at the John Lewis Department Store. I went back to the South Kensington neighborhood for the Natural History Museum. I arrived early and had to wait outside the gates for a half hour but at least I was first in line. By the time they opened the gate there was a very long line. I was eager to get inside because it was raining. While I waited I saw some very modern tour buses including some Wettels German buses. I was able to read their slogan “Reisen mit Stil” (Travel With Style). I also took a photo of the Lycee Français Charles de Gaulle across the street, further proof that South Kensington is home to many French expats.

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.

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London Trip – Day Five

Posted on 4/30/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

Thursday was a day for visiting the historical landmarks of England. On this day, I went to the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the Westminster Abbey. The Tower of London opened at 9:00 a.m. but I arrived a little early. I had to wait behind the shuttered ticket booths to escape the rain. From the Tower of London, you can see the Tower Bridge and London’s new skyscraper, The Shard, so I took some photos of that while I waited. The Shard is also visible within the Tower of London and makes a nice contrast to its historic Norman towers.

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).

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London Trip – Day Four

Posted on 4/29/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

On Wednesday, April 25th, I began my day with a trip to the British Museum. This was a day of especially heavy rain so I was glad to spend a lot of time in a museum. I arrived shortly before the museum opened so I had time to get something to eat from the cafeteria before the galleries opened. I had a fancy sandwich (Egg mayo cress) sliced in half and sold in a box. These seem to be available everywhere. I even bought a few in Sainbury’s. The English seem to have lots of gourmet ready-to-eat meals. The United States should steal that idea because I’m tired of our frozen dinners. What else did I have? Oh yes, a gooey triple chocolate muffin and a can of Red Bull to wake me up.

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.

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Long Day’s Journey To London

Posted on 4/29/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

My third day in London was devoted to Tate museums and theater. First, I took the Tube to the Pimlico Tube Station which is close to the Tate Britain museum. I used Google Street View to preview the walk from the station exit to the museum before making my trip. The British Secret Intelligence Service building was visible across the Thames so I took a few photos of that. You can see that building in one of the Bond films.

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.

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London Trip – Day Two

Posted on 4/29/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

I worked out a detailed itinerary before my trip and today I followed my schedule. First I took the Tube to the Green Park station and walked to Buckingham Palace. I think they had the Victoria Memorial blocked off but I did not notice this right away and walked around it taking photos from every angle. I got lots of good shots because nobody was sitting around it. But I think I shouldn’t have been there.

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.

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London Trip – Day One

Posted on 4/29/2012 by Robert S. Robbins

I began my trip by driving down to Philadelphia International Airport instead of departing from our regional airport, Williamsport Regional Airport (IPT), because it makes it harder for the airline to reschedule a flight when you factor in a regional airport. I was originally scheduled to fly to Toronto and catch an international flight to London from there but United changed that to Washington DC’s Dulles Airport. So I added information on that airport to my Washington DC notes.

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.

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