I'll always have ...

Several people, after reading my last post, have questioned how I managed to get from London to Brussels and back on the same day. Seems most folks find the trip from Kew to Central London journey enough. Pity. Transportation in Greater London is a cinch to navigate, and with a bit of planning, any trip outside the city of Westminster is easily accomplished. Even when the tube is down for upgrading.

Okay, confession time. Most of the trip lacked any form of planning whatsoever. Perhaps that is why I found so much unexpected delight in it all. Take the journey to continental Europe, for example.

I had no access to the internet from my cozy room in Kew and found internet cafes few and pricey in London. Thus I had no idea what day or time trains ran from the UK to points on the other side of the Chunnel. In an effort to learn what I could about possible trips (while ensuring I didn't waste the better part of a day in the process), I set out for St Pancras Station at the ungodly hour of 6am in the hope of obtaining the necessary information. Fingers were crossed that I might be able to arrange something before the end of the week. As luck would have it, I arrived with just enough to catch a train that very morning for Brussels! And, yes, Suzanne Pleshette fans, it was a Tuesday.

While handing me the ticket, the Eurostar agent instructed me to run, not walk, to the check-in desk at the far end of the very large terminal and "demand" to be served immediately as he was phoning ahead to have the train held for me! Run I did and, after apologizing to the man ahead of me in the queue, begged to be checked in so I could catch the train. I was rushed through as that agent made another phone call to someone further along my panicked route to alert them of my hurried/harried arrival - he did this while yelling at security to hurry me through their line (several other passengers bound for other trains were whisked aside to make way for little me). I then had to clear customs. The woman summoned by the check-in agent hastened me through and then proceeded to practically drag me to the train platform one floor below. The conductor calmly checked my ticket and welcomed me on board! And few short minutes later, I found myself speeding along the track under the English Channel. All in all, it was an amazing experience.

Settling into my plush window seat, I took a few minutes to catch my breath while marveling at what I had just managed to do. The pleasure of having found the last-minute travel arrangement so agreeable to my tight schedule (I was back in my bed at Kew by about 11pm) was doubled by the fact that, when purchasing the Brussels ticket, I also secured a seat on another train the following morning.

Fortunately, the Wednesday train left about 30-45min later than the Brussels train, so I wasn't as rushed getting to the platform. Tuesday's adventure had proven a good dry run, so I easily navigated the check-in, security, customs, etc. without the need for any assistance. So, there I was in St Pancras Station once more, this time headed for a day in ...

Paris. I had been to the City of Light for a couple of days many years ago (two days with Mom & Dad back in 1979, and for one night when returning from the Spanish Riviera with Wayne in 1982), but I had yet to cross the threshold of the Musee d'Orsay.

Situated in the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum is housed in the former Orsay railway station, which was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. I spent more than four hours wandering the galleries, many times catching myself gazing as much as the splendid building as at the artworks therein. As luck would have it, there was a very interesting exhibition of works by Manet, one of the founding members of the Impressionist movement. I especially liked the way the exhibition was hung - sketches, cartoons, and variations of a given painting were grouped near the finished piece so the viewer could appreciate the process the artist went through while considering body position, perspective, and overall composition before settling on the arrangement of the final piece. Works by other Impressionist painters were on display in other parts of the museum including paintings Cezanne, Degas (some of his sculptures, too), Gauguin, and the rest. There was also a wonderful collection of decorative art pieces. I was especially drawn to the furniture (much of it Art Nouveau in style) and a tapestry by the Pre-Raphelite artist Burne-Jones. There was lots of other amazing stuff, too, but not enough room here to describe it all.

The Musee d'Orsay may have been the focus of the trip, but I managed to squeeze in some other sights around Paris. For example, I made a short trip to the base of the Eiffel Tower before heading back across the Seine en route back to the Gard du Nord for the trip home. (If you haven't guessed already, the first picture of this posting is a view from the base of the tower looking up inside the structure toward the top.)

I passed by a carousel and seriously thought of taking a ride except that the day was slipping away rapidly and there were a few more things I wanted to do before boarding the train.

Took time to play outside the Louvre - didn't bother to go in. Time was short, and I spend a great deal of time there on a previous visit.

Paris was in the throws of preparing for St Jean Baptiste Day celebrations the following day. Several stages and bleachers were being set up at various points around the city. The local fire brigade got into a celebratory mood early as they test-drove some vintage equipment before taking part in the big parade.

Also took time to admire the Alexandria Bridge and the accompanying view back toward the Musee d'Orsay. 

Feet were getting a tad weary, so I paused to enjoy a pastis at a wonderful old bar. Must say 51 is the best pastis I've sampled to date. The bar was situated at one end of an old but very well maintained shopping arcade.

I didn't buy anything at the arcade. Instead, I made my way to the Gallery Lafayette where I purchased a lovely traditional beret and a few goodies for the folks back home. Across from the store was a vestige of an earlier era - the metro sign designed by Guillard, a French contemporary of Horta. No, Momzy, I didn't ask to take "the model" in this photo home as a souvenir.

A quick metro ride took me back to the Gare du Nord and the Eurostar to London. I was tucked into my bed in Kew before the clock struck midnight.

Yes, I paid full fare for all this last-minute travel (both airfare to London, and each train trip to the continent), but it was well worth it. Besides, I had saved a packet on accommodation costs thanks to my wee room in Kew, so I felt I could afford to splurge a bit when it came to adding to the overall experience.

It was a Tuesday, so I must be in ...

Yup, spent a day in Belgium. And it was, indeed, a Tuesday.

Took the Eurostar over from London. Trip was only a couple of hours through lovely countryside. My destination for the day was Brussels, and I wasted little time in getting acquainted with the local flavour - no, not Brussels sprouts. Must say few lunches can compete with moules-frites!

Also sampled Belgian waffles (more like a hand-held dessert pastry than a breakfast item) and, of course, chocolate which is far superior to anything produced by Cadbury, Hershey, or other "candy bar" manufacturers. Also found some shops selling interesting bits of world-renowned Belgian lace. Took in a few of the regular tourists sights such as the main square (much of which was under renovation) ...

... but did not feel the need to spend any time looking at a certain statue of a little boy peeing, even if it is "the" symbol of the city.

The main reason I traveled to Brussels was to see the work of Victor Horta, one of the architects credited with founding the Art Nouveau movement. The Brussels Central railway station was designed by him as were several other large structures, including a former store (Magasins Waucquez) that now houses the Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art. Here's a detail of the handrail for the main staircase - with a bust of Tintin located nearby.

Horta is best known, however, for his residential work. No doubt many of you, dear readers, have seen photos of his famous sweeping staircases but might not know him by name. The famous town homes continue to be private residences, so I couldn't go into any of them other than Horta's own house which now serves as a museum of his work. Sadly, I couldn't take any photos inside, but this exterior shot might give some idea of the beautiful interiors.

Horta's house and studio, now the Horta Museum

Above: Hotel Tassel, one of four Horta buildings designated UNESCO world heritage sites

Within easy walking distance are several other town homes designed by Horta and other designers of the same period. I didn't have time to see all of them as I had to rush back to the train for my return trip to London. Here are some buildings by one of Horta's contemporaries - Art Nouveau style very evident on these exteriors. 

Above: Architect Paul Hankar's own home

Below: Maison Ciamberlani by Paul Hankar

To find out more about Victor Horta's amazing work, check out this link:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1005/

More Trip Pix

Time to finish the round-up of my trip photos and memories. I'll start with some of the other stuff I did in London:

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the highlights of my trip was getting together with Barbara and Alistair. Barbara was my boss when I worked at the Canadian Library Association in Ottawa. Hadn't seen each other in 20 years, but she is as fun as ever. Alistair is also a dear, despite the demonic look "red eye" is giving him in this photo I took while visiting their lovely home in Woolrich.

Stopped off in Greenwich en route to their place. Got slightly stressed at one point because depending on where I stood on "the line" I was either early or late for dinner! Of course, my gracious hosts said I was right on time.

Other things I did:
Enjoyed several flavours of Turkish delight thanks to the sweets counter at Fortnum and Mason.

Attended First Night at the Proms at Royal Albert Hall. Shared a box seat with two women who play French horn in the national police orchestra - they were most entertaining, especially when Claire's cell phone slid off the railing and landed in her glass of beer. Great seats, right over the string section. The look on my face in this photo says it all (can't believe I'm sitting in a box seat at Royal Albert Hall!).

Met up with Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.

Did a bit of shopping. In some cases, such as the Liberty store, the buildings were as interesting as the goods on offer.

I had been to the British Museum and National Gallery on previous trips to London, so didn't spend a lot of time there. However, there was a very interesting work of art outside of the National Gallery. Made entirely of plants, it was something of a show-stopper. Folks couldn't help feeling the plants to confirm that they were real. One woman had her photo taken as if she was lying in a field. Great place to people-watch.

We Now Pause For A Medical Update

In town all this week for tests and to start the new drug trial (Lapatinib + Fritanib). Got the results from last week's CT scan, bone scan, and echocardiogram. Echo was good. I continue to house a heart that functions as it should. CT scan shows no discernible change in the size or number of lesions in my lungs. The spleen is also unchanged, and there is no sign of cancer spread to any other organs (vital or otherwise). As for the bone scan, it shows some sclerosis on the pelvic bone near base of the spine (ie scaring from a past trauma, not necessarily related to the cancer or its treatment). This has shown up on every bone scan since 2007 (when I had my first), so no telling how long its been there. Scan also confirmed a compression fracture of the T10 vertebrae (likely the result of moving furniture a couple of months back) which would explain the ongoing tenderness in both my lower back and the lower rib cage area. A stress fracture has been detected in my right foot, the result of walking "too much" while overseas. There is also some evidence of a minor owie of a similar sort on my left foot, though its nature is less obvious. Same goes for the area around my left knee. The latter is likely arthritis.

Except for the odd occasion when I turn my foot on an angle, or try to walk more than a block or two, my right foot is more uncomfortable than really sore. Friend Verline lent me an air cast, and I get much relief from that when the foot is a bother. In generally, I'm trying to keep off it to aid in the healing. In fact, I'm giving both legs as much rest as I can to better facilitate their repair. As for my back, not much can be done about that. A compressed vertebrae is not reversible, so I will have to refrain from lifting much of anything and continue using better lumbar support when I sit.

On an up note: I can honestly say that life really cracks me up!

Of Music and Morris

Being a Sunday, I felt the need to attend church. The day before, Alistair had kindly checked the musical line-up at Westminster Abbey for me and I settled on the Matins service as the one to take in. I arrived about 45min early as I expected there to be a sizable crowd - however, most Londoners seemed to have a prior engagement with a 10K run around central London that snarled traffic even more than the parked tube and rail service.

Again luck was with me. More so when I started chatting to an Italian fellow who arrived just ahead of me. He informed me that we could sit in the choir stalls next to the choir! What a treat, especially since this was the last day the resident choir would be singing prior to their holiday break! I landed in one of the lovely old oak stalls, front row on the north side (cantoris) mere feet away from the organ pipes and an arm's length from one of the young boys who had a brief solo. Thankfully nobody (ie me) sang except the choir. Couldn't take photos inside the church (it was a religious service, after all) and was hustled out once Matins ended so that folks arriving for the next service could be seated. Did, however, manage a quick peek around. Since I had been to the abbey on my two prior trips to London, I didn't feel too cheated by lack of tourist time. However, in future I will take friend Don's advice and ask to be permitted to use the "necessarium" (the Trafalgar tour guide's word for toilet) which will allow plenty of time to view the various windows and statues of Westminster both coming and going from the convenience. For this trip, I opted to take some time in the surrounding cloisters, themselves rather intriguing sights.

It only took a minute to glance around the area surrounding Westminster Abbey. Most of the notable buildings were under wraps, being primped and preened for the world's arrival when London hosts the Olympics next year. I did, however, manage this shot of Big Ben with the London Eye in the background. Didn't bother taking time out to ride the Eye - too much to do! And I had trotted around much of Westminster on earlier visits so gave it a miss this day. Would have been difficult in any case due to the barricades for the 10K run and the construction scaffolding/barricades beyond that.

Another of my "bucket list" must-do sights was William Morris's famed Red House in Bexelyheath in south east London. With the tube and rail lines were down, so I was forced to take buses across London so really had to hoof it after leaving the abbey. The lack of tube/rail service provided a wonderful way to take in the scenery, and also a way to observe the common Londoner on their home turf. There certainly appears to be something of a class thing when it comes to buses - the more affluent take the tube, the less-so take the bus. Whether this is true or not, I can state that I have rarely encountered so many ill-behaved children in my life! Screaming, whining, foul back talk to their harangged mothers, it was all a bit much. Especially as I had no transport alternative. That said, the elderly passengers were both delightful and entertaining especially when they learned I was from Canada.

En route to Bexelyheath, I passed through Blackheath, one-time address of both my good friend Donna and  CBC radio heart-throb Jian Ghomeshi (although they weren't there at the same time). Blackheath is a lovely place with a wide heath surrounded by quaint little shop-lined streets all in close proximity to the Thames. The drive through the town was a welcome distraction given the 2-1/2hr trip that would normally have taken 1/2hr if the rail service had been operating. The cloud broke through the silver lining, however, when I reached Bexelyheath only to find no buses went anywhere near my destination. Another couple on the same bus was also heading to the Red House, so we agreed to share a cab. After waiting 45min for a cab that didn't appear, I set off to one of the local shops to call a car from another company. It arrived in under five minutes! Note to self: do not use the cab call phone outside the rail station at Bexelyheath.

The Red House was well worth the trouble it took to get there.

As an unexpected bonus, I arrived on a day when the surrounding garden played host to an Arts & Crafts fair. The queue to tour the house was long, so I fortified myself with a cream tea and a poke around the garden and various sales stalls and displays. One step inside the door and I remembered why a visit to the house was on my "bucket list". Here is one of the stained-glass windows by Edward Burne-Jones:

I believe William Morris did these windows himself:

This stunning embroidery was by Jane Morris, William's wife.

Although there are few pieces of original furniture, many of the other original stained glass windows and some of the wall paintings remain. The house is also kitted out with lots of Morris-designed fabric and wallpaper, some of which are modern productions. This view of the main stairway shows the lovely wood, original (I think) light fixtures, and wallpaper (also original, I believe).

One of the most intriguing features of the house is a pair of French doors on which several occupants and guests of the house etched their names. If you look closely, you can see the signature of William and Jane's daughter, May Morris.

 It was very difficult to get many other decent photos of the building, inside or out, due to the crowds of visitors also craning their necks to see all they could as well as the numbers attending the Arts & Crafts fair on the grounds. But I enjoyed myself just the same. Had delightful chats with several people who were architecture history students (one from Berlin), Morris fans (a jolly little Englishman pointed out May Morris's signature on the window), artists and artisans showing their wares at the fair, and just plain folk like me enjoying it all. The weather was slightly overcast, so the say wasn't too hot or too bright. The gardens were lovely. All in all a very fun day.

So Much to See in London Town

My apologies for rattling on about Kew, but it was one of my "bucket list" sights - and worth every minute of the visit. I did a lot of other things will I was hanging about Greater London.

One goal was meeting up with my dear friend Barbara (my former director at the Canadian Library Association) and her husband Alistair. They live in Woolwich, just outside of Greenwich. Somehow between my packed itinerary and their hectic schedule (they were trying to finish up work before heading to Italy for a tour - Alistair is in a choir that was making the rounds there) we managed to get together for two nice visits. The first was at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Despite several tube and rail lines being down due to general maintenance and upgrades for the upcoming Olympics (2012), I managed to arrive two hours early for our rendezvous. Took the opportunity to check out the Brompton Oratory next door as well as Harrod's which was just down the street. This was my first visit to both. Not sure what impressed me more at Harrod's, the food halls or the decor. Here's a shot of one section of the food halls and another of the Egyptian escalator.

It was my first visit to the museum, and I would go back again in a heartbeat as there is so much to see. The line to buy tickets to the special exhibits was horrendously long, so we opted to take in some of the permanent exhibits instead (which were free of charge by the way). I did go back another day to see the ticketed exhibits, but sadly the Yohji Yamamoto show had ended and the queue for Cult of Beauty was no less shortened. But I digress. Barbara, Alistair and I took time to admire the Dale Chihuly chandelier in the lobby before heading to the glass gallery. Amazing stuff. I was especially taken with the railing to and around the mezzanine. Modern pieces by Chihuly, Morris, and the like were exhibited in the entry area of the gallery while historical glass, some from ancient Rome and earlier, were arranged in cases and floor-to-ceiling shelves in the back of the wing as well as the mezzanine. Heaven help anyone who might be standing there during an earthquake! We also took time to view the architecture gallery which housed a number of very interesting maquettes (architectural scale models). Alistair told me a lot of interesting things about how the museum came to be as well as some trivia about some of the more notable pieces in the collection. When I returned on another day, I made sure to take in the British watercolours. Barbara had written all the info panels for that gallery, and they were excellent informative texts I must say.

Our brains heavy with new knowledge and eye candy, we took a break at a pub before walking around Knightsbridge and Chelsea before catching a double-decker bus (yes, we rode upstairs) to Charing Cross where Barbara and Alistair caught the train home. Along the way we passed through many a tony neighbourhood. I especially liked this doorknocker.

And this former Michelin building.

We also stopped in at a Vodaphone shop so that I could have time on the cell phone I had borrowed from Barbara and Alistair. Forgot to have roaming activated on mine before I left, so was unable to make either local or long-distance calls. Heck, I couldn't even get the alarm to work as my Canadian device didn't know what time zone it was in! Bless you B&A!

After parting company at Charing Cross rail station, I made my way to Covent Garden where most of the shops were closed. Even so, there were plenty of opportunities both in and around the area to enjoy live music - from traditional Celtic bands to classical ensembles, rock and street percussionists banging on garbage cans, it was all here and all very enjoyable. The pubs were so crowded, there were as many if not more people on the sidewalks as in the establishments. Far too crowded for my comfort. I contented myself by window shopping along the rare and antiquarian bookstores that line Cecil Court near Leicester Square.As it was getting dark, I headed back to my cozy room in Kew and an early bed.

Thus ends day two of my travels.