Brilliant Day in London

Yes, I've started to use the adjective brilliant for just about everything!

Actually, it was a gorgeous day in London.  The sun was shining all day and the temperature was about 75 degrees.  Unlike the last few days since Lynne left, I decided not to be a couch potato and take two guided tours.

The first was Shakespeare and Dickens London.  People who know me well know I am sort of a pathetic fan girl of Shakespeare, so I was anxious to see any connections to my hero.  I am less of a fan of Dickens, whose books I find to be impossibly dense.  Perhaps if I had gotten a chapter a week, like people did in Dickens' day, it would have been easier to digest his books.  As might be expected, there were many more connections on the tour with Dickens than Shakespeare since he lived in the 19th century, not the 16th/17th.

Our guide was Andy, described in the brochure as a jolly, handsome and exceptionally gifted young actor.  He was all of those things......

We started at St. Paul's Cross, right beside St. Paul's cathedral.

This picture gives you an idea of what a perfect day it was.

The highlights for me were the Guildhall, a very old building with a modern facade (1953) added after the hall was damaged in the blitz during World War II.

There was some sort of event happening at the Guildhall, involving the Lord Mayor of London and a lot of bagpipes.

The other highlight was a monument to John Hemminge and Henry Cordell, friends of Shakespeare and fellow actors, who produced the first folio of the Bard's plays after his death.

Without that first folio, 18 of Shakespeare's plays, including Macbeth and As You Like It, would have been lost to history--so well done them, as they say here.

We walked by a very large portion of the Roman London Wall, circa 200AD.

We also walked by the place where in the 1300's, William Wallace, the Scottish hero (as in Braveheart), was tortured and executed.  There were flowers and Scottish flags nearby--and lots of people, which is why there is no picture.  The Scots appear to have very long memories.

After the first walk I was hungry and thought to myself I could really use a McDonald's hamburger.  But I got on the subway to one of the prettiest and most unspoiled section of London-- Hampstead.  But there, very near the underground station, was a  Mickey D's.  A kind of Ye Olde Mickey D's--very discreet.  Apparently that was the only way the town council would allow it to enter Hampstead.

Anyway, Richard was our guide in the afternoon.  That's Hampstead High Street behind him, to give you an idea of what the place is like.  We went from beautiful street to gorgeous lane.

This one is the house of Robert Louis Stevenson.  While he lived here, he contracted tuberculosis and moved to Monterey, California, where he built an exact replica of this house.  He died at age 35 (I think) in Samoa, where he lived in an exact replica of this house. So I guess he really missed Hampstead.

Down the street is the Admiral's House, built to look like a ship by a batty old admiral who would walk the top "deck" shouting out naval orders.  He is said to be the model of a character in Mary Poppins.

There were so many houses that were lovely here--I would love to live there or here.....

This is Jack Straw's Castle, said to be one of Dickens favorite restaurants--now luxury flats.

Hampstead is the location of an 800 acre area of undeveloped land--wilderness really--called Hampstead Heath.

With an absolutely stunning view of London below. The houses we see in the picture in the foreground are a legacy of the homes that were built on the land before it became a protected area.  There are a few streets and maybe 50 homes now in the Heath, reached only by a very small road.

What a spectacular place that would be to live.  The little village overlooks a lovely lake as well.

Lots of famous people live or have lived in Hampstead, including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton who lived in this house in the 60's.

When I go back, I want to have a drink in this place.

Just a lovely place to visit on a beautiful day.