DAY ONE, LONDON, SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Here I am back in London in my favorite little hotel, The Royal Park Hotel, near Paddington Station and at Lancaster Gate on the north side of Hyde Park

I was welcomed back by all my friends at the hotel including manager Laurent Boutonne, a charming Frenchman who runs this unique London establishment with Gallic flair. The hotel staff comes from all over the world. That is part of the fun.....meeting young people from Spain and Poland and Hungary. Everyone here is so friendly, so welcoming.

And another attraction for the Royal Park is that you can begin each day with a brisk walk across Hyde Park as you jump into the excitement of London. Here below are two images of this first afternoon back in London, all within an hour walk...YES, one hour starting at the hotel then across the park and then east into the center of the city.

First the park. Can you believe that this Constable vision is sitting right in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world? Horseback riders and runners and picnickers all enjoying this arcadian tranquility.

And then not so far away you walk into one of the busiest plazas in the world: Piccadilly Circus.

It's hard to believe that one city can offer such variety all within a one-hour walk.

What is the busiest place in London on a Saturday afternoon?
Harrod's Food Court.
I have never seen so many people from as many countries packed into such a beautiful space all seeking some of the best food in London. There are several rooms, but the main one with the main entrees offered around the huge court are serving up some of the best food I have ever eaten. Everything you can think of, and the best. The best grilled beef, the best roast chicken, the best oysters, the best salmon. All of it is prepared right there in front of you at the grill while you and your fellow hungry diners wait to be served at the counter of each establishment. Maybe thirty people sit up to each counter and are served fresh, hot, spectacular beef or salmon or whatever you want right there at the counter, while behind you in the cavernous room, mill hundreds more trying to decide what they want. That is the hardest part: deciding. When you are ready you step to the maitre'd for each kitchen and they seat you at the first empty spot on the counter and then you eat. And while you eat, you meet your neighbor who is probably from Korea or Nepal or Colombia and is just as amazed at the whole scene as you are. It is a huge feast and celebration of food and shopping and London. Above all London. Everyone is talking about the same thing: London. "I can't believe it," everyone says, "I just can't believe it." They mean the variety and the excitement and the people and the things to do and see. It seems like the greatest city in the world. That's what everyone seems to be thinking: this just has to be the greatest city in the world.

Here is a picture of the court with the fresh food for sale in the middle of the room. The grill counters are all around in the corners.

Tomorrow: Sunday at Westminster Abbey.

DAY TWO, LONDON, SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2013
Here is the beautiful church steeple of St James church that greets me through my window this morning.

WESTMINSTER ABBEY

I have been planning all along to go this morning to Westminster Abbey for their 11 AM eucharist service with choir and all the fancy trimmings. Have never been before....all my visits to London...and had never found the right time and the Sunday morning so this morning I set out across the Hyde Park with the intention of getting there in plenty of time to make sure I got in. I started out across the Park with bright sun and fresh air and all the people in the park having a wonderful morning. And as I crossed the park I realized that I might be all worn out by the time that I got to the Abbey so I started watching for a Taxi going by and not too far along he appeared. I jumped in and then belatedly asked if I could pay with euros,,,had no pounds...NO he said I can't take euros but if you want cash I can take you to a cash machine so that was fine with me. So across London we went and then in Victoria street just as we were about to enter Parliament square there was the precious cash machine. He had to stop well down the street and as I ran back I thought: what a trusting fellow. It would be so easy for me to run around the corner and leave him behind. Amazing really. But of course I wasn't going to stiff him and so out the money came just as easy as in Los Altos and back to the cab and on to the Abbey. Fortunately I was early and could ask the attendants about timing and all and they said come back early there will be a line about 10:45. So I was there at 10:45 and the line formed very quickly. And for your information, you do want to be up in the line early because the first arrivals are seated right in the choir with a closeup view of everything.

Some observations. This service at Westminster shows the very best of the British character. I cannot think of a single large central cathedral with high levels of tourism that can administer a major Sunday service as well as this was done. Not Notre Dame in Paris. Certianly not the Cathedral of Milan or Florence. I don't think even St Peter's in Rome is as well run as this one is. First. The number of attendants, welcomers, guides, ushers and finally clergy who handle the hundreds of tourist visitors is simply staggering. There were a dozen men all dressed up at the entrance just explaining and helping and controlling. Then inside the Abbey, there were welcomers along every few feet to guide everyone quietly and clearly towards the seating. Finally in the last step, when you arrive at the choir itself, beautifully dressed officials of the Abbey, men and women, welcome you with programs and meticulous care of your seating: " Are you one, two, how many? What do you need?" and on and on. Each step was well done well stated and extremely courteous. With all the talk of decline, the fact is that Englishmen are still the most courteous people on the planet. Friendly, warm, welcoming and courteous. Then the service. We all had programs with every word, every reading, every hymn, every step perfectly explained. I was struck by how serious the attendees were. This was mostly a tourist crowd, but they seemed to know what they were doing. No one left early. I was amazed. The service in that room in that location was awesome....that's the right word: awesome. You sat there and you thought of all the people, all the events, all the kings, all the marriages, all the funerals, all the baptisms. One thousand years. And it still goes on. When you sit there and hear the words of the service written 500 years ago by Thomas Cranmer, you are filled with admiration for this little island nation and all it has given to the world, to us, to America. Here below are some Sunday morning photos just taken.

DAY THREE, LONDON-HIGHCLERE, MONDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 2013
A day at Highclere. I have done all my reading and I know I need a train from Paddington to Newbury with a change of trains at Reading. Change of trains always worries me cause you always have a short amount of time and have to find the other platform- all in just a few minutes. And Reading is particularly scary cause it is a HUGE new station with futuristic overhead passages and many tracks. But I did fine. Arrived Newbury as scheduled...had to be on schedule since I had a time-date appointment all arranged on line before the trip. So now there I was outside the Newbury train station:what to do now?....and then came before my eyes my rescuer:

DIANE!!!!!!!..here she is.....my goddess....my guide...my Beatrice...in her chariot...

As I stood there at the Newbury train station not knowing what to do, there she was in her chariot: so I stopped at her cab and asked whether one could take a cab to Highclere, "Why of course guv," she said," hop in."

So off we went to the most famous castle in Berkshire...and around these parts. And as we drove to the castle through the beautiful rolling green countryside, I found out about my guide. Diane is a local girl who married an American chap and went off to live in New York (YES! New York!) for seven years. The she returned to her home country and now here she is, ready to show me the town and the country and off we want to the castle. What great fortune for me.

We talked and laughed and it was a great start to a pleasant day. She filled me in on the castle and the farms and all the thousands of acres and the neighbor Andrew LLoyd Weber. Highclere Castle had just recently hosted Elton John. Something like 20,000 people had covered the sheep grazing lands to listen to Sir Elton. Don't know where all the sheep went. They have been grazing here for 500 years: "Not the same sheep!" Diane pointed out.

The fame of Highclere due to Downton Abbey has changed these parts. Visitors stream in during the weeks that the castle opens to the public. For the rest of the year, the television shooting schedule and other events like Elton and his music close the castle to visitors. This means that for the weeks of opening times it is packed. And you HAVE to book ahead, all of which is very easy and very efficient online.

But now on with my story.

Although it was a gray day with some drizzles as you can see, It was still a great day with much fun and many photos which I will show you on my lecture night. The one thing I found most interesting was the basement. Yes the basement. Well it makes you think of Upstairs Downstairs and all that, but also it is almost totally unchanged. It is small and tight and dark, very dark, and it just feels as if you have been transported back to the days of the 19th century. You can see all those crafty servants rushing about in the dark hallways.

Very important: very fine toilets- in the stables....now converted to visitor accommodations and gift shop. Don't you love how the British always talk about the "toilets." Always strikes us as so blunt....."toilets? you mean restrooms, or accommodations, or facilities or or or, NO say the British they are toilets. And they are HERE! with big sign: TOILETS!

DAY FOUR, LONDON-WINDSOR, TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2013
Have been worrying about the visit to Windsor for days now since I discovered that I had lost my reservation receipt. Could imagine traveling all the way from California to see Windsor and then get turned away. There I would be screaming: " But I HAVE!!! to get in my lecture audience is waiting for my pictures of Windsor."

Well I need not have worried. Shirlee, my new best friend at Windsor, traced me down on her computer. And all was well for a spectacular day. Just incredible. Has been gray and rainy on and off. Then all of a sudden as we pulled into the cute little station for Windsor, the clouds parted, the sun came out and it was a bright beautiful September day. Well you will see in the pictures.

I had no idea where to go, but when we all piled off of the train I just followed some young guys who were really moving fast as if they knew where they were going. And they did.

The castle now has a very modern clean, well-run visitor reception building with latest technology and security.

The thing that I noticed immediately upon arrival, as I listened in on all the conversations of the people waiting in line, or on their way in, is that the whole center of all the attention, all the excitement about Windsor and Buckingham and Westminster Abbey is Queen Elizabeth II. It's all about her. People want to see the buildings, sure, and see the historic relics etc. but again and again I could see that the reason that these people from all over the world come here is that at the center of this kind of a cult, is a real woman who has been a Queen for more than 50 years, and embodies something that is more than 1,000 years old. There is nothing else like it in the world.

Koreans, Philipinos, Ghanians, Greeks, Poles, you name it they are all here and they all want to see her and her world, her rooms and her stables and her castles. There she is up on the wall of the reception center and listen to the people: they all know about her (and they know a LOT!) and they all want to know more. As we all walked through the state rooms people knew an incredible amount of detail of her and her life. I was astounded.

I brought home lots of great photos but let me share this one. It is inside of St George's Chapel. I went in while the Changing of the Guard took place outside and attracted all the other people so that I was there almost totally alone. It is magnificent...as you can see.

One thing to remember about Windsor. The town of Windsor has an exceptional Railroad Station complex. It has been expanded and modernized and now is a very charming small shopping complex with a large number of very attractive restaurants and stores. Therefore it is easy to have your visit to the castle in the morning, and then when you are tired and hungry, you return to the station center and choose among all the alternatives to have lunch. And at the same time you can check on the times of your returning trains in the knowledge that you are just a minute from the RR tracks. It presents a very enjoyable lunch. And one important item: restrooms. Here below are four photos of the Windsor station center, one from over here at the castle looking over to the the redbrick station complex, and another walking inside of the light and airy center with charming little restaurants all along the sides. You can see that there is everything you want to eat. I particularly love the last one.

One can only surmise that the owner doesn't really know what the French Connection was. Or does she? Seems hard to imagine that the owner of a sweet little dress shop in Windsor would want to evoke the memory of one of the most notorious mofiosi cocaine opeartions of all time as the found memory of her little dress shop.

DAY FIVE, LONDON-DOVER, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
Up at 6 this morning, lots to do and ready to travel south to Dover, visit the castle and come back. You leave form St Pancras station which is in the upper east corner of the city. The station has been totally transformed to serve as the London anchor for the Eurostar connection through the chunnel and thus it is a very fancy operation. So now St Pancras is St Pancras International. Very fancy with incredible shops and cafes and French pastries and everything....it is spectacular.

The Dover train is part of the super fast network that has been created so London-Dover is just over an hour...traveling very fast with few stops. Once arrived in Dover I knew to use a taxi up to the top of the hill for the castle. The walk back is fine, but up the hill is a tough long slog so you need to save your energy.

Dover Castle is one of the most complex, fascinating historical monuments in all of Britain. It is way more than one of the greatest medieval castles. It is that for sure. But it is also part of every war, every military crisis: 1066, Armada, War of Spanish Succession, Napoleon, WW I and WWII. Again and again, continental enemies have contemplated an invasion and if one came it would be towards Dover, the narrowest point on the channel.

It is also a magnificent natural bulwark and the best observation point on the east coast. The hill upon which the castle sits looms up hundreds of feet above the water. Here is a great aerial shot of the castle taken by Dutch photographer Lievens Smits in 2011. You can't see the water, but you can see the town which stretches right down to the beach and harbor. The harbor is still a very active port.

The whole day was extraordinary. There is the medieval history and the magnificent Great Tower which you see above in the center. But there is also all of the remaining tunnels from both WWI and WWII. Whole installations all buried deep into tunnels that you can visit with excellent guides. The complex is 80 acres
Here is a photo of the wall with the Great Tower built by Henry II in the distance.