Pubs - Round Two

The Crooked Billet

Fox and Grapes

Hand in Hand

When we moved here, Kevin and I were really excited about the pubs.  I thought half our posts would be about pubs as each one was so unique and interesting.  I think it'd be safe to say that we had "pub fever" and that fever has now gone.  Pubs no longer hold the excitement they once did.  I'm not sure if it is the food which is generally the same or if it is the cost, but either way, we don't frequent them as we once thought we would.  Despite this, the pubs are a unique aspect of the English culture and have been the backdrop of a lot of wonderful memories.  I will share a few of our favorites.


Queens Head in the village of Hawkshead (the "Lake District") had the best food from the traditional fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding to scallops and cheesecake!!

Outdoor seating at Queens Head

The Swan is where Kevin and I watched the Royal Wedding (until the sounds of making sword/flower/animal balloons became too much to bear).

Corey

We have thoroughly enjoyed the pub experience with all of our guests.

Brian and MeLea

Rusty

Luke
(Happy Birthday!!!)

Our Wimbledon Experience

The All England Club
(home of The 125th Wimbledon Championships)

People traveled from all over the world including Sweden, Spain, and Australia to experience The Championship at Wimbledon.   As we are presently living here, it seemed like we should at least attempt to get tickets.  Tickets for the "show courts" can be purchased on the day if you are willing to camp overnight or, if you are not as dedicated (like us), you can arrive early in the morning and try for a ground pass which allows entry into the complex to watch the play on a big screen or purchase a "re-sold" ticket.  Now early for us has morphed a bit since our arrival (I like to call it cultural assimilation), so arrival around 7:30am seemed reasonable.  Haha, joke was on us.  We queued up in line K-9 only to find out that we were numbers 7749 and 7750.  While we were cozy in our beds, people must have been streaming into Wimbledon Park to ensure a "live" Wimbledon experience.

Thousands of people waiting with us

Standing in the Queue

The weather predicted rain in the morning and sunshine in the afternoon, so we were prepared for the day with an umbrella, raincoats, and a full rucksack (aka backpack) of food.  The 5 1/2 hours standing in line involved a lot of people watching as people were doing everything from playing games to resting and reading.  As interesting as the atmosphere was, the odds of getting in to watch any tennis matches were slim as there were at least 1500 people patiently waiting in front of us.  Thus, we "threw in the towel" and made our way home.  We found out later that the line had been held up due to the discovery of contraband (ie paint and banners speculated to be used to protest or illegally advertise).  Irregardless, Kevin and I are confident that we made the right decision to return to the comforts of our home where we could continue our picnic and watch the competition on our big screen.  Go Serena!!

Wimbledon (left flag) and Serena (right flag)

Practicing for the big day??

Mentally preparing??

Newspaper

or book?

Red Stripe (at 9:30am)

or Starbucks?

Card games were also  a popular
form of entertainment

More friends, more London, more fun

Le Pan Quotidien

Our dear friends Brian and MeLea came to town on their Tour de Europe.  Their visit was a good excuse for returning to our favorite sites and exploring new ones.  The Borough market was on the top of our list of "favorite sites" and since the food is so good, we managed to squeeze 3 meals out of that visit!  Le Pan Quotidien is one of our favorite eateries, so we made a stop there as well.  (Do you see the theme that our favorite sites actually revolve around food?!  Hmmm....)

Scotland's Secret Bunker
my dad and me

Our exploring led us into a basement and into the countryside.  The Churchill War Rooms are in the basement of Treasury building and include several rooms from which Churchill directed Britain's involvement in World War II.  The preserved rooms reminded me of a tourist trap in Scotland, "Scotland's Secret Bunker".  The bunker was promoted as "Scotland's Best Kept Secret".  Unfortunately after our visit, my family and I determined that it was best kept a secret and not worth a visit.  The War Rooms on the other hand were very interesting and included a museum filled with WWII memorabilia and a history of Winston Churchill.

Windsor Castle in the Heathrow
flight pattern!!

Windsor Castle was a 40 minute train ride from the western suburbs of London into the English countryside and is considered to be the queen's residence.  She reportedly spends most weekends there.  Her flag was flying, so we knew she was somewhere on the grounds, but unfortunately she did not make an appearance during out visit.  A tour of the castle guides a visitor by Queen Mary's dollhouse as well as through the State rooms and St. George's Chapel.  The dollhouse was not ever intended to be a house for dolls but rather a house of miniatures.  Queen Mary loved miniatures, so her niece thought of the dollhouse as a gift.  Several artists contributed by providing miniature oil paintings.  A miniature set crown jewels could also be seen in the house that was complete with electricity and indoor plumbing.  The State rooms were decorated with the finest fabric wall paper, silver furniture, and Rembrandt paintings.  The rooms were also filled with swords, rifles, and shields.  I was very impressed with the collection!!!  St. George's Chapel was the burial for 10 kings and 7 queens including King George VI (from the King's Speech) and Queen Elizabeth I (the "Queen Mother").  It was also the wedding location for Prince Charles and Camilla.  

Believe it or not, I had to have a root canal (yes, dental work in the UK!!), so Brian and MeLea were on their own one day.  They took full advantage going to the Tower of London and British Museum.  In the evening, Kevin and I met them for dinner and then took in the beauty of the city from the London Eye.















We loved having Brian and MeLea in town to remind us of how blessed our lives are to be filled with people that are so fun to be with and love us so much.

Strangers Unite

I'm not sure what it is about humans that draws us to one another through commonality.  While in the Sistine Chapel, I saw 2 people wearing KU paraphernalia.  I wanted to bellow, "Rock Chalk", but it just didn't seem appropriate.  Later while grabbing gelato, my eye caught a brown and gold hat decorated with a cowboy.  The words, "Go Pokes" were out of my mouth in a split second.  The couple was from outside of Casper, Wyoming and they seemed as excited to see me as I was to see them.  We were complete strangers and yet the common connection made us immediate friends.  I am happy to say that I'm not the only one in this world that experiences this phenomena.  While we were in Rome, Palermo, one of the Italian "futbal" (aka soccer) teams, was playing in the Italian cup for the first time in 40 years.  The game was in Rome and the energy was tangible.  I couldn't help but smile as I thought of the 2008 National Championship game that KU won with Mario's magic shot.  I watched the game in Allen Fieldhouse with approximately 1500 of my closest strangers and friends.  The atmosphere was electric maybe something like the Spanish Steps on May 30, 2011 (see video below).

ROME - 2000+ years of history

Colosseum

Pantheon

St. Peter's Basilica

The Colosseum, Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Vatican Museums (including the Sistine Chapel) were our primary stops in Rome.  Each stop reminded me of the reality that human nature has remained the same for thousands of years.

Floor of the Colosseum with tunnels and ramps where animals
and fighters were held.

The Colosseum is a stadium built in the mid-1st century as a place for 55,000-73,000 spectators to be entertained by the violent fighting of gladiators, wild animals, slaves, and "volunteers".  At the peak of the games, a death would occur every 4 minutes.  The sandy floor of the Colosseum was raked to cover the blood while perfume was sprayed to cover the smell of death in the air.  I was shocked by the desire to be entertained by such destruction, and quickly reminded that we continue to enjoy similar entertainment (ie UFC).

The Pantheon, "pan" meaning many and "theo" meaning god, was built in the 2nd century as a place of worship for the 10 main gods of the Roman Empire and was consecrated in the 7th century as a Catholic church.  This stop was a reminder that humans acknowledge and pursue hope, joy, and life outside of this present, visible world.

Bronze canopy
St. Peter's Basilica

Marble sculpture
Vatican Museum

St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel were also reminders of the human acknowledgment and pursuit of the transcendent.  It was also an incredible display of the creativity, skill, and craftsmanship of man.  From the vast array of marble sculptures, tapestries, and paintings to the Sistine Chapel, I stood in awe.  There is an element of beauty that is brought to this world by the presence of humans.

Alabaster window in St. Peter's