As summer turns to fall—the so-called “quiet season”—there’s usually a gap period between major exhibitions. In Britain, many seem to close mid-September, new ones opening later in the month. Last week, on a two-day trip to London, I made the most of what was available, and there was still an abundance. When I lived in this city, as a student (late 70‘s - early 80‘s), many of these venues, exhibits, and activities didn’t exist (or weren’t open to the public)!  Wow! Nor, did the traffic…

Here are some of the high- (and low-) lights—and recommendations—from my whistle stop tour:

DAY ONE

• Tate Modern
No feature exhibit, but great to experience the building, ambiance, and other collections.  Would have liked to have taken the bridge connecting to the other side of the Thames, or the boat to the Tate Britain.  Maybe next time!

• Garden Museum, Lambeth
Quaint, but not as remarkable as anticipated from write-ups. Likely, nicer to coincide a visit with their events and lectures. Pleasant surprise: vegetarian restaurant’s pineapple and banana cake is yummy! Also, from here, I made a little detour towards and along the Thames, noticing newer attractions like the London Eye Ferris Wheel.

• Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms
An absolute must-see!  Even for those not interested in war, the history, memorabilia and presentation are excellent. Lots to think about, marvel over, and learn from! Also, note the "green" lunch delivery service at an adjacent government building:-)

• Thames Circular Cruise
Disappointing. Supposed to be an hour, but little more than 40 minutes. And, with no commentary, it was hard to know what all the sites and details were. Would have been nice to hear some local tales and history. Too bad the driver was busy texting…and not always looking!  Maybe during off-season efforts wain?

• Big Ben
Always there. Ever powerful, from every angle.  Wonderfully restored and in its 150th anniversary year (1859 - 2009)!

• Trafalgar Square Exhibits
Anthony Gormely’s One and Other was unimpressive.  Participants are not as high off the ground as imagined, if you walk the perimeter of the square.  I arrived at a “changing of the guard.”  Travel to the North of England (Mersey River’s Crosby Beach) to see a much more remarkable work by Gormley, the Another Place Figures.

The London Design Festival’s Centrepiece Chess Board was drawing a healthy crowd.

• Noel Coward Theatre, Calendar Girls
Lovely theater and easy to buy a last-minute upper balcony ticket at the door, prior to performance, then have a seat upgrade to the stalls!  Poor attendance for what, to me, seemed to work better as a movie then a play. Jerry Hall being in the cast was a plus, but not enough to keep me from dozing off. Long day!

DAY TWO

• Natural History Museum and Darwin Centre
The new Darwin Centre is incredible. Next time, hope to make it into the Cocoon!  Just caught the end of the Butterfly Jungle exhibit. Love the architecture and design of the original historic buildings. Just seeing and being in them is a great experience in itself.  Same goes for the V and A (next paragraph, below).

• Victoria and Albert Museum, London Design Festival, Sackler Centre
A great collaboration. Two (or three) for the price of one—in fact, no price. Each were free (and easy)!  Please check the heart artifact I had the opportunity to make during a London Design Festival activity, the Shape of My Heart (close up image at the start of this post can be found on the official Heart site as well). The Sackler Centre is a wonderful addition and resource—helps bring the museum (and beyond) to life!  As an undergrad, I spent many hours in the V and A library. No Sackler Centre then!  Also managed to catch the Telling Tales exhibit!

• Saatchi Gallery
Being a Saatchi on-line Gallery artist, I was very curious to see this new beyond cyber space venue. What an accomplishment!  It’s also interesting to note the setting, close to Sloane Square:  a luxe and lovely part of town!  Then there’s the school playing field and track just in front of it, full of little people enjoying gym classes.

• Kensington Palace and Gardens… and The Last Debutantes
1958, the year focused on by the palace’s feature exhibit was a significant time for me. I was about to come into being, but not as a debutante:-)  An interesting era with a lot of attention to detail, etiquette, couture, and culture.  Precious and lacking today!  Lucky with the weather. A glorious season to be outside there:  the swans and geese were plump and abundant, preening in the glow of an autumn dusk.

• Hyde Park and Princess Diana Fountain
You can get lost here.  But on a beautiful autumn evening, and if you’ve got the time, that’s okay…  The signage isn’t evident everywhere.  To find the Diana Fountain, down by the Serpentine, far from the Diana Playground, wasn’t easy (at least for me). The Fountain, itself, I thought, was disappointing—looked to me like a series of drain outlets: some flowing well, others not.  No adornment and nothing remarkable. I could, of course, have been missing something?

Royal park dog poop bins were neat and official looking. Could do with similar around Toronto:-)

CITY TRANSPORTATION

Wondering how I got around?  Via the Oyster travel card.  Worth the investment, but please be advised to take the tube for speed, buses if you’ve got all the time in the world… The Number 10 bus (from Hyde Park to Euston) took 1 hour and 15 mins! Oxford Street is particularly slow and congested (especially at rush hour) and there are easier ways to cross it…  Missed my train!  Nice that Euston Station now has such an amazing selection of take-out eateries!  Prête à Manger won out for me. Delicious advocado wrap!

A beautiful visit, like a beautiful butterfly (from the Natural History Exhibit):  too short-lived but very memorable.

Earlier posts about London on this blog include:

• LONDON Landmarks Change (March 2, 2008)
• Green LONDON: from Pink Cabs to Green Attitude (February 27, 2008)
• Taxi, Taxi! LONDON’S Colorful Cabbies (February 25, 2008)
• Sentimental and Historical London—A Quick Guide (October 7, 2007)

We never know what’s going to strike us when traveling.  Last week, in Spain, I was aware of the following (in random order, photos provided where possible):

• Spaniards like to encourage fitness.  Along their many seaside promenades there’s exercise equipment that is both child and adult friendly—easy to use and fun.

• Spanish antiquities have led to the creation of interesting museum-settings, like for Picasso’s works, in Malaga.  An unusual and unique collection!  Just one problem, it’s not disabled-friendly.  The only way in is by foot (through a pedestrian zone). For those who need to be dropped off at the door (to access a wheelchair from there) it’s complicated!

• Grey skies make for beautiful snapshots. Have a rain jacket and woolens with you, it can get a little chilly before May.

•  James Hewitt (ex beau of Princess Di) has opened a "Polo Bar" where fruit juices cost 10 Euros… Having seen him in person there, I agree, he does look a tad like Prince Harry!

• Cabs are expensive enough, and a book is provided with rates that are supposed to be followed.  But, you still need to pay extra attention, especially as public transportation is scarce.

• Apart from the numerous apartments and villas with For Sale Signs, a trip to Puerto Banus shows many luxury yachts are on the market too!  

• Malaga’s Spanish Film Festival started April 17th and runs through April 25 (09).  A red carpet there revealed the city’s bid to be European Capital of Culture in 2016.

•  Churros are often described as spaghetti-like Mexican donuts. These treats can be found in old-town Marbella and are a fun breakfast treat, especially for children—with hot chocolate!

• Beware Air Europa (an Air France connector).  Refreshments and reliability not included, and baggage does get lost!

Thanks to a News Alert e-mail landing in my in-box at 3:57 p.m. (eastern standard time), 8:57 p.m., UK time, I found out about US Airways Flight 1549’s crash almost right away.  After clicking on the link in the e-mail, live-at-the-time MSNBC video footage appeared.

Today’s plane crash was, allegedly, due to a double bird-strike by Canada Geese. Perhaps, as a result, more attention will be given to city birds and how man and nature can often end up as unfortunate accidental obstacles for each other.

Ironically, fighting jet lag (after an overnight transatlantic flight), I was in the midst of resizing imagery of Canadian migrating birds for a future blog post. Birds are too often taken for granted, and I was planning to show a wonderful personal in-city (Toronto) sighting.  The shots that follow were taken from my bathroom window one late fall/early winter morning:

Birds collecting in the trees

Birds moving between trees

Birds close up

Birds taking off

It’s a shame there’s no audio with these photos. It was the sound the readying-to-depart birds made that alerted me, and was the most memorable.

MORE IMPORTANT NOW:  Thankfully all passengers and crew from the downed US Airways plane were rescued swiftly and efficiently, with medical experts close by almost immediately.  What an impressive operation!  A true Manhattan miracle.  Kudos to all involved, especially the pilot! A "good news" story!

The Today Show, Monday November 17, 08:  An Anniversary Gift!

A year ago, I summited Mount Kilimanjaro (the largest free-standing mountain in the world), and I remain deeply emotional about the experience.  That the Today Show is able to share some of the sights, concerns, and feelings I have been privileged to know first-hand maked me excited, curious, and senimental.  What will viewers responses be?  How will Anne Curry and her crew make the climb with all the physical and health challenges it entails, beyond the demands of producing pre-recorded and live television segments?

Did Anne Curry and MSNBC check DocSusan’s Blog as part of their research before climbing Kilimanjaro?  DocSusan’s poetry and advice about the Kilimanjaro climbing experience gets lots of hits due to its on-the-spot reflections, recollections, and reasonings.

Please check out these popular Kilimanjaro-related blog entries:

• Kilimanjaro Imax Video (April 22, 2008)
• Lessons from KILIMANJARO (January 11, 2008)
• KILIMANJARO POETRY Continued (5): Poems 8 and 9 (of 9) (December 12, 2007)
• KILIMANJARO POETRY Continued (4): Poems 6 and 7 (of 9) (December 10, 2007)
• KILIMANJARO POETRY Continued (3): Poems 4 and 5 (of 9) (December 9, 2007)
• KILIMANJARO POETRY Continued (2): Poems 2 and 3 (of 9) (December 7, 2007)
• Climbing KILIMANJARO: A Life Changing Experience and Poetic Opportunity (Kilimanjaro Poem 1 of 9) (December 4, 2007)
• Climbing KILIMANJARO—Making it to the Top (December 2, 2007)

The Associated Press’s David Bauder reported on Anne’s (actual) climbing progress (shortly after setting out) on the weekend, in his piece, "Today" show’s Ann Curry struggling up Kilimanjaro. After seeing today’s live reporting from Anne, I wondered about timing. Was this really the optimum week for a safe, sure, and healthy summiting of the mountain?

Other "ends of the earth" explored by the Today Show Team:

• Matt Lauer:  The Blue Hole off the Coast of Belize

• Meredith Vieira:  Sydney Harbour, Australia

• Al Roker:  Iceland

Please, also, check out DocSusan’s other poetic blog entries about Tanzania (where Mount Kilimanjaro is located):

• TANZANIA Safari POETRY Continued (9): Poems 15 and 16 (of 16) (January 8, 2008)
• TANZANIA Safari POETRY Continued (8): Poem 14 (of 16) (January 5, 2008)
• TANZANIA Safari POETRY Continued (7): Poem 13 (of 16) (January 2, 2008)
• TANZANIA Safari POETRY Continued (6): Poem 11 and 12 (of 16) (December 30, 2007)
• TANZANIA Safari POETRY Continued (5): Poems 9 and 10 (of 16) (December 26, 2007)
• TANZANIA Safari POETRY Continued (4): Poems 6, 7, 8 (of 16) (December 23, 2007)
• TANZANIA Safari POETRY Continued (3): Poem 5 (of 16) (December 20, 2007)
• TANZANIA Safari POETRY Continued (2): Poems 3 and 4 (of 16) (December 17, 2007)
• TANZANIA Safari POETRY: Poems 1 and 2 (of 16) (December 14, 2007)

Poetry about other African safari experiences is included in the following blog entries:

• AFRICA Odyssey: Poetry on Safari—3 (May 10, 2007)
• AFRICA Odyssey: Poetry on Safari—2 (April 22, 2007)
• AFRICA Odyssey: Poetry on Safari—1 (February 6, 2007)

For 2$ a bag you can check in your luggage at the curb, if traveling domestically in the US.  I did this for a Chicago - Boston flight recently.  Inside the terminal, the lines were long.  But for a fee that many others seemed to be paying also, you could, essentially, queue skip.  Interesting process, the lines inside make you want to check-in outside.  But, if there were no lines inside, a revenue-generating op like this might not be possible.  Convenient?  Then there was the plane.  The first one we sat on, for about an hour, had engine problems, so another identical model was prepared a few gates down.  Another hour on, all passengers had deplaned and replaned.  Only two hours late into Boston, frequent flyers appearing unsurprised. Just a typical day with United?  No fuss and no apology messages necessary?  At least that’s what I perceived as someone who isn’t terribly familiar with US domestic aviation practices.

Please check out some of the other entries on this blog about airports and airline travel:

• BMI (British Midland):  First Impressions, September 6, 2008
 
• Airport News Stands: Jennifer Aniston, “Straggler Single”: Uncommon Attention, Common Problems. (Poetry about Dating and Related Blog Entry Links Included), August 22, 2008

• Traveler’s Poem: From Airport to Destination, May 18, 2008

Fed up with Air Transat’s/Thomas Cooke’s Toronto-Manchester (UK) service (described in a previous blog entry, Charter Flights, May 26, 08), I’ve been fortunate to be able to try a different Manchester-bound routing.  Happening to be in Chicago last month, I flew BMI from there to Manchester, direct (and back).  The results were positive:  a more comfortable plane, friendlier crew, better baggage allowance and food, a nice variety of free magazines, personal entertainment systems in each seat, and less fuss at booking and check-in, also 20-minute early arrivals (both ways) with speedy baggage delivery.

The only disappointment was Chicago O’Hare’s International Terminal, where there are limited nutrition options once you go through security. (Bring your own food!)  Toronto’s renovated Pearson can definitely set an example here (if you are up for paying the price).  BMI doesn’t have a Toronto service, unfortunately. 

Interesting to note:  BMI crew stay at the Holiday Inn, Chicago Mart Plaza—another favorite of mine!

Sometimes, a charter is the only way to go, like it or not. Flying during the Christmas rush (unless we have a choice not to) might not be a good idea, as this poem tells…  

The Charter Flight

Screaming, screaming kids
Anxious chatter
Little air
Heavy care

Or, under stress
Easier to expect less.

In case you’re wondering which airline this poem was written on, it was Air Transat.

At the end of December (07), I was on a another transatlantic flight.  I’d just visited a family member who was sick and ended up sitting next to someone who was returning from her mother’s funeral. Personal experience with funeral trips, as well as long-distance illness concerns, compelled me to pull out my notebook and record these poetic reflections.

Planes

Planes are for vacations
celebrations

Planes are for all kinds of reasons
Of life, reveal the many seasons.

In 2007, I seemed to take a number of plane flights back to back.  Flying Toronto - Munich, in November, I put pen to paper, and wrote this poem.  It’s always interesting to have a little notebook in bag when traveling, all kinds of interesting reflections to record…

 

Virgin trains are infamous among Brits for their delays and diversions.  I can now confirm this from personal experience.  My Liverpool - London train, last week, got diverted to Coventry, clipping the time I got to spend in London.  That’s the bad news!  Then, though I’d booked a regular ticket for the return to Liverpool, I somehow ended up in a First Class carriage (not that there was anything wrong with Second Class—every seat has its own electrical outlet).  That’s the good news!

What a treat first class was—or would have been, had I known in advance, and not slipped into Marks and Spencer to buy refreshments. (M and S has become so user-friendly, with mini-stores at train and gas stations, throughout Britain, you know you can pick up a decent snack from them almost anywhere anytime.) 

First Class Virgin passengers are served unlimited meals and drinks (including wine and alcohol), and are offered an array of complimentary reading materials and other resources.  The tableware and accessories aren’t paper or plastic, the seats comfortable, and crew very friendly.  The journey back passed so fast, I wasn’t ready to get off the train!  There’s also First Class Lounges at key stations.  Had I known…! 

In the little red book placed on every table on the train, there’s a note on the front page, with an e-mail address. If you’ve been "particularly impressed" with the service received by staff on the train, they want to know at feelgood@virgintrains.co.uk.  

I think about my Amtrak experiences on the Boston - New York route, when living in Boston.  Performance, or lack of it (as well as train station food and other compensations) don’t compare!

When I couldn’t get a flight to Laguardia (NYC) from Toronto, I thought I’d try neighboring Newark.  Not the best idea…  

On the way there we sat on the runway for an indefinite amount of time, told there were "no flights going to Newark."  The Newark native next to me complained bitterly, "Newark just can’t handle the traffic, even on a sunny weekday afternoon!  This always happens…"

On my return to from Newark, when I went to check in, the ticket agent said there was no booking for me, though I had a booking reference and print out with the flight number recorded.  He thought my credit card number would be the key to figuring out why.  It didn’t help.  Human error, which he couldn’t admit to, was the real problem.

At 5 a.m., you’d think the line for security would be short.  But, with only one post open, it wasn’t.  Then, a supervisor yelled "back up, back up," and we were supposed to know what that meant—go back to the beginning and start lining up again, because they’ve opened a second post—one with a fresh line-up, and I was at the end of that too.  Finally, I made it to the front of the line, and, for some reason, the airline had selected me for a "special search."

The searcher greeted me, "I’ve got a lot of stuff on my mind, so hope you’re not going to give me a hard time!"  "Of course not," I replied as I stand there lamenting why so much energy is being wasted on me when they could put more it into moving the line through and look for more suspicious types.  Their biggest concern was why I might have two cell phones.  "Because one’s American and one’s Canadian," I said.  That didn’t seem to satisfy.  "It makes things easier—saves on roaming charges," I added.  Next, every item from shoes, to Ipod, to computer, to jacket, to makeup bag, and more, was rubbed with a bomb detector cloth, inserted and recycled from a giant machine that beeped responses.  Finally, I was released, and asked what was wrong.  "I’m tired," I said, even though getting up at 4:00am wasn’t what was bothering me.

Then, on to the gate.  Though I’m not coffee dependent, I really needed one.  One little Starbucks cart was in operation, with another long line.  I missed the cart on my first loopround because its lights were dimmed.  Didn’t the two young girls working there want to be seen, or had they forgotten to flip the switch?  I joined the line and the lights went on.  $4.67 for a luke warm soya latte, then a little time to sit down and breath—look for somewhere to plug in my computer.  No plugs, of course.  Newark airport is so old and grimy, I’m not sure why I would have expected such a modern business-travel necessity.  

Finally, on take-off,  I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Newark and its surrounds.  A clear spring morning revealed a vista of giant storage containers and loading docks, refineries, chimneys, and trucks— in every direction.  Then, there was the occasional dash of pink—a cherry blossom bringing life to a small parkette—a semblance of humanity and nature in what otherwise could easily be viewed as "New York City’s basement."

Landing at Toronto’s Pearson Airport provided a stark contrast to the Newark experience.  Its spanking new terminal one, which still has some teething pains offers a lot of exercise as well as conveniences.

p.s. Caution:  if you do click the link to the Pearson Airport Website, don’t fall for the free gift ads put out by shopperssavingcenter.net and shoppingspreesonus.net, which claim to flash by once an hour by. They’ll coax you into buying other products and giving personal information away.  Then you’ll be bombarded with other sollicitations, by phone as well as e-mail (all generating more frustration).

p.p.s. When doing research for this blog piece, I chanced on the educational site enchanted learning.com.  Their New Jersey page is interesting, as were their user instructions and tone.  The official New Jersey website is a worth a look too.

Step onto a crosswalk in Brookline (a Boston suburb) and you take your life in your hands.  One day, it was a number 66 Harvard Avenue bus.  Racing to the next stop, the driver wasn’t looking at the road ahead.  Living in Boston for nearly four years, I learned how pedestrians can expect to be ignored.  Had I not paused and stepped back, my dogs and self wouldn’t be around to tell the tale!

Drivers of private cars, we know, break the rules of the road frequently.  In Boston, everyone does (including those who drive for a living—in buses, cabs, police cars, delivery vans, and more).  There’s even a book on the subject, The Boston Driver’s Handbook:  Wild in the Streets—The Almost Big Dig Edition. 

Boston boasts the largest number of Ph.D.s per capita, but it’s less proud of its shockingly high percentage of dangerous and discourteous drivers.  Their routines are infamous:

1.  Give a "no-look look," making believe you haven’t seen other drivers or pedestrians.

2.  Speed up to go through lights that have just turned red.

3.  Never let anyone change lanes who’s indicated well in advance that they’d like to do so.

4.  Turn right at a red light when the sign next to it says "no right turn on red."

5.  When parking, don’t worry about denting others’ bumpers or scraping their doors. Spaces can be tight!

6.  Sound your horn frequently, especially if you want to run the "within-the-speed-limit driver" who’s infront of you off the road.

7.  Never keep the speed limit, unless you know there’s a speed trap.

8.  When squeezing by, don’t worry about scratching someone else’s car (or knocking their side-mirrors).  What’s not yours doesn’t matter!

9.  Multi-task!  Drink a coffee, have a cigarette, put your makeup on, chat on the phone, eat a donut—all at the same time, while driving.  You can do it!

10.  If you see someone else waiting to reverse into a parking space, cut in behind them and grab it.  When there aren’t that many spaces around, a little selfishness helps.

When I first moved to Boston, I didn’t understand why there were so many cars with gashed corners and sides, left unrepaired.  Very soon, I was aware numerous accidents happen daily.

For the most part, Boston drivers are aggressive, not defensive.  And the longer I lived in their city, the more easily I understood why.  The pace of life is very fast.  To beat the competition, or to show that you have it in you to do so, there’s no time for pleasantries, especially with strangers.  It’s about getting from A to B, and not worrying too much about who and what’s along, or in, the way.

The more time you’re in Boston the more likely you are to assume Bostonians’ ways, particularly when driving.  It’s a matter of survival!  However, when you do leave town, it’s important to readjust. You realize you might not be cut off trying to get where you want to go, and can give others the right of way.  In more relaxed cities, (like Toronto?), drivers still seem to be a little more mindful of others.

I’ve made more than a dozen solo car trips between Boston and Toronto over the last few months, with audiobooks for companionship.  Some recordings require too much concentration and aren’t road trip-friendly. I won’t tell you about those!  Here are some that I do recommend—listed in alphabetical order (by author), with links to authors and publishers:

• Allen, David.  Ready for Anything:  Productivity Principles for Work and Life.  Approx 3 hours, 3 compact discs, read by the author, abridged, Simon and Schuster’s Audioworks.

• Craig, Edward.  Philosophy:  A Very Short Introduction.  3.5 hours, 3 compact discs, read by Maurice West, abridged, Naxos Audio.

• Degeneres, Ellen.  The Funny Thing Is.  Approx 3.75 hours, 4 compact discs, read by the author, unabridged, Simon and Schuster’s Audioworks.

• Dowd, Maureen.  Are Men Necessary?  When Sexes Collide.  Approx 8.5 hours, 7 compact discs, read by the author, unabridged, Penguin Audio.

• Ehrenrich, Barbara. Bait and Switch:  The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream.  7 hours, 6 compact discs, read by Anne Twomey, unabridged, Audio Renaissance.

• Kushner, Harold S. Overcoming Life’s Disappointments.  4 hours, 4 compact discs, read by Arthur Morey, unabridged, Random House.

• Levitt, Steven D. and Dubner, Stephen J.  Freakonomics.  A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. 7 hours, 6 compact discs, read by Stephen Dubner, unabridged, HarperAudio.

• Lynch, Peter and Rothchild, John.  Learn to Earn:  A Beginner’s Guide to the Basics of Investing and Business. 1.5 hours, 2 compact discs, read by Peter Lynch, abridged, Simon and Schuster Audio.

• Mayes, Francis. A Year in the World.  6 hours, 5 compact discs, read by the author, abridged, Random House Audio.

• Singer, Peter. and Mason, Jim.  The Way We Eat:  Why Our Food Choices Matter. 12.5 hours, 10 compact discs, ready by Rick Adamson, unabridged, HighBridge Audio.

• Stewart, Martha. The Martha Rules:  10 Essentials for Achieving Success as You Start, Build, or Manage a Business.  Approx 6 hours, 5 compact discs, read by the author, unabridged, Random House Audio.

• Truss, Lynne.  Talk to the Hand#?*!  The Utter Bloody Rudenss of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door. 3 hours, 2 compact discs, read by the author, unabridged, Penguin Audio.

For more information on audiobooks, you might like to visit: www.audible.com, www.audioeditions.com, wwwbooksontape.com, www.recordedbooks.com, www.simply audiobooks.com.