A flying visit and adventure to London and York, England

Hello everyone,

This was a very quick visit to London - the purpose of which was to attend a surprise stag do for Son in law to be, a girls night out for the gals, and to meet incoming family members.

it is always exciting landing in London - and especially so this time as we landed at daybreak - with the sky lightening up in the distance and the many planes landing and leaving the dark Heathrow with all lights flashing - it made us feel as if we were in a star wars movie!

A very busy week it was. We were pleased we that we booked a day trip York, by train which was very pleasant day. The 2 hour trip through green rural land under grey skies passed quickly and we arrived to a cool sometimes rainy day. Our research suggested we visit the York Minster (cathedral) which is the largest Gothic cathedral of its type in England. However you did have to pay to go to various areas which turned out to be rather expensive, so we opted to pay to negotiate the 275 narrow winding stairs to the top of the tower, which gave us an expansive view of York and its surrounds. The old city with its "Shambles" streets was pretty, quaint, and small. The area featured lots of shops, eating places and a market. Great to wander around, Unfortunately we missed the cat shop but we did not miss the Mulberry Lane Porcelain and Crystal shop. Some amazing displays by world renowned companies and artists were here. An ideal place to have a wedding registry if one was well heeled. Probably the most interesting place was the National Railway Museum which nobody told us about. it is so much more than rows of trains! One of the most interesting features was the 'working warehouse' - shelves and shelves of paraphanalia to do with trains (and boats) walls of signs, all either, being, or about to be restored. Furniture, signals, chamber pots, fabrics, photos and paintings, signal boards, significant pieces of timber and metal, model trains and boats, many items to oooh and ah about.

The other 'must visit' when visiting York, England is the JORVIK Viking Centre. As well as featuring an authentic recreated (including the smells) which one travels though gondola, the centre explores the migrations around England from the geneological point of view. This technology is still very new and confirms or refutes original beliefs about the travels and habits of the vikings and other races.

Mid September was an ideal time to visit London, I felt - the days were balmy to cold (if you are from New Zealand or that part of the world), there were not too many tourists around, so not many queues, and the leaves on the trees had not yet turned, so it was like a cool summer's week.

I did discover some 'do nots' while in London;
- don't eat baked beans with a British Big Breakfast
- don't get on the wrong bus
- dont dont dont mix jet lag with cold tablets and alcohol..................

it was awesome catching up with family members, as well as new and old friends! And to have a quick glimpse at the Victoria and Albert Musuem (must check out and book for any special exhibitions before we go, next time) and to duck into the most interesting shop at the Science Museum. Well - that 'quick' visit lasted over 2 hours.... We did enjoy seeing the steam engine in operation! The National Geographic Shop in Regent Street had some interesting displays on too. Pity they have gone into selling heaps of clothes. But the hot chocolate and coffees in their shop next door is well worth the visit.

So now we are back home and looking forward to our next adventure to Australia and to my son's wedding in a couple of weeks......

Visiting Kensington, London - a dreamer's paradise

Kensington, is a very pleasant and convenient place to stay when visiting London. In the immediate area is the Museum of Natuaral History, the Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Kensington gardens and the Underground station, all easy to walk to. There are plenty of breakfast cafes and restaurants a few pubs and a hotel or three.

But what I like best about Kensington, is the shopping. Not the fashion shops like Prada and Gucci and department stores as in other parts of London, but the shops that to make a purchase one must make an appointment.

Kensington is paradise for dreamers!

What bliss it is to gaze in the windows and view the vehicles such as Mozzerati, Ferrari and Lambourgini! The lines, the colours, the detail... sighhhhhh. And for your young ones, there is the Lambourgini pedal car, which at £299, is guaranteed to have zero emmisions...

After leaving a nose print and steamy circle on the window of each shop, it is now time for visiting the exhibition at Christies. Who needs to visit an art gallery when one can inspect the art at Christies, and entertain the thought that it could be ours to own? Ah, dreams! The movie posters and memorablia! Just the thing for movie fans and dreamers! Also on display was a stunning eclectic collection of leadlight lamps due for an upcoming auction. And then there are the furniture and rare book collections it inspect - they all could be ours to own!

Yes, Kensington is a paradise for dreamers. But wait, there is more at Kensington - see the next blog....

New York - a Glimpse of a Glimpse...

We have been in New York for 4 days and 5 nights and that is pretty much all that I can say - a Glimpse of a Glimpse! We took 2 bus tours - one uptown and the other downtown but the traffic is so dense at times that the trips are exceedingly long! At least the tour guides are entertaining.

So we have done - the MeT Museum - loved the Afghanastan exhibition - they were part of the Silk Road route and had a blend iof intereting artefacts etc, and a huge quantity or works from the European artists. Saw 2 floors of the Guggenheim centre - but the most intersting place was the Frick Museum - a home of carefully selected items At some stage I will add more about this.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) had a most comprehensive exhibiton of art works from James Ensdor (pardon spelling but it is nearly 1am) - his satire, paintings, sketches and themes were quite something. We have done the State Empire Building the statue of liberty, visited Harlem, Soho, China town, Greenwich town, Tribeca - the list goes on... but they were all just glimpses.

Especially as when we visited these museums it had been raining and I am sure that all of New York travellers from overseas followed us!

Tonight we did a show - West Side Story - a slightly modernised version but beautifully and tastefully done.

We have been so busy that I have done very little shopping, but the shops do stay open late! But not til after 1am, I am sure....

Our glimpse of Art and Culture has just whetted our appetite for more - New York, we will certainly travel to you again!!

A glimpse of Washington

We travelled from New York to Washington by rail - comfortable,you don't have to sit for hours - well - three, and best of all, we arrive at Washington's beautiful Union Station!

When it opened in 1907, it was the largest Railway station in the world. And so beautifully constructed that it looks like an upmarket Shopping Centre.

Washington, the city area around the White House, is spacious - wide streets and footpaths. All the commercial buildings are around the same height, and mostly plain and square, with a few exceptions - mainly some older buidings. Monuments are everywhere - statues, buildings, plaques but the streets are not named after people - they are numbered!! And Washingtonian designers seemed to like pillars, - many of the government buildings feature these. More about these when I get my pics up.

Our most favoured place we visited during our brief visit was the Smithsonian Museum of Air and Space - everything you could imagine about those topics were featured - including moonstone which you could touch, rockets, and some stunning art by Alan Bean - one of the first Astronauts on the moon.

We then visited the Museum of Natural History. You may recall the "Night at the Museum" movies - you can actually spend evenings there but I do not know if the animals come alive. I kept looking over my shoulder waiting for Robin Williams to appear on his horse...

One of the most recent museums to open in Washington was the National Museum of the American Indian. Housed in a beautiful purpose built building the museum tells of the struggles and survival of the Indian peoples - very touching, forthright and forgiving. The whole place is a work of art.

Like many cities, Washington pulled down many old buildings until their history and heritage was realized. The Old Post Office, thanks to a very outspoken Lady called Nancy Hanks rallied around and saved it. Today it is a well maintained and dramatic multipurpose building, and visitors may ascend to the clock tower and have a view of the city - which is not a view to die for - but the building is worth the visit!!

So after the necessary tours around the Capitol, Lincoln and Korean Monuments the Reflecting Pool and the War Memorials it was time to travel back by rail to NewYork

Winter snapshot of Madrid, Spain

Flying is such a great way to travel! One usually has a glimpse of the land of one's destination and flying over the Spanish countryside, over the 'swirly' mountain ranges, which looked as if they had been 'combed' in white snow, we reached the different shades of brown flattish countryside around Madrid. That's interesting, I thought, no snow! A few days ago I had received an email from a Swedish relative wondering if we had encountered a blanket of snow in Madrid. From the air the city did not look as if it had suffered from any snow at all. It was not until we taxied into the airport that we noticed that there were quite a few large clumps of snow on either side of the runway.

Madrid Barajas International Airport is huge. Situated about 13 kilometers from Madrid, it is a central hub for travellers, including to South and Central America, and Cuba. In 2006 a new extension was added to the airport, doubling its capacity. The terminal we arrived in and travelled to Cuba from, was light, airy, spacious and clean, and pleasantly free of travelling crowds. It even had a few sculptures here and there - some of which are in the slideshow. Our first glimpse of Madrid while travelling in from the Madrid Barajas International Airport, was a city of low buildings, apart from 4 skyscrapers on the horizon. Apparently these buildings, all individually architecturally designed, are part of Madrid's new business centre in the north of the city. Soon they will be joined by Spain's biggest, and brand new convention centre which will be shaped like the rising sun, reflecting Madrid's growth.

It was most pleasant to stroll around Madrid's City Centre, enjoying the large silvery fountains and feeling of light airy space. The temperature was a cool but dry 6 degrees and we were able to shed more layers of winter clothng. The city is around 100 years old, so the buildings are not too tall, plain with decorative features near the tops (sorry don't know the style) and the footpaths and boulevards wide. Madrid citizens are great walkers, and indeed the later in the day it became, the bigger the crowds grew in the shopping streets. However the wide boulevards in the middle of other wide streets were not too crowded as to make walking a mission, as it was not quite warm enough to sit outside in the cafes.

Yes, I know we said that we had had enough of museums!!! But we could not resist a peek at the Titanic exhibition which, even though most of us know the story inside out, was well worth the visit. As a result I and Daughter-in-Law each now own a necklace featuring a piece of coal off the Titanic!! And yes, we had a look through the Royal Palace, with it's luxurious velvet hangings and drapes, and inspected the huge and most impressive Armoury. Not only that, we just had to visit the Museo Nacionale de Prado. We spent about 3 hours in this world renowned National Museum, which, in its programme, had noted all the 'must see' art works and sculptures in its huge collection, which was very useful. Works by Spaniards Goya, Greco, Rembrandt, Rubens and Gainsborough have been beautifully restored and displayed in large spaces. Ideal for viewing, especially as it was winter and not the tourist season so we could see everything at our leisure. When we left the Museo Nacional late in the day we noticed a very long queue of people outside the entrance. We found out that the museum offers free entry on Sundays at 5pm and one weeknight free of charge, to residents who are unable to pay the entrance fee.

But the most interesting and eyecatching exhibition was an outdoor public event, the Cow Parade! They have done quite a bit of travelling since their visit to Auckland, New Zealand, a couple of years ago. These fibreglass, lifesized cows travel the world and are painted by artists in the various locations. At the end of each exhibition the cows are auctioned off for charity. After their Madrid sojourn they will be on display in Hong Kong.

Now, after 6 weeks of travelling to Europe in winter I am hankering for some sunshine and warmth. Thank goodness we are travelling to Cuba tonight......

Our winter Adventure in Rome

Today was the day we booked to see the Sistine Chapel in Rome. I will find out the website, but there is one on which you book the time and date.

This morning we took the local bus to the meeting point, outside where a tour organiser checked our tickets - there were about 20 of us, and took us over to the main entrance.

There I had a bit of a surprise. Instead of a chapel, which I had assumed that was all we would see, we were at the Vatican Museum, or series of Museums. Our guide checked us in, gave us maps, made a couple of brief explanations, then told us that we were on our own!

So off we went. Along corridors, into rooms, and more corridors, long hallways, rooms within rooms within rooms. The Vatican has museums of everything!! Museums of art, sculpture, modern religious arts, mosaics, animal statues, maps.....

The Vatican has recently turned 500 years old. According to wikipedia, there are 54 galleries, or salsas, and the visitor route through the museum takes one through almost every one. Naturally the Sistine Chapel is at the very end, so we saw many other famous and beautiful items, including many paintings and frescos by Raphael. has a detailed writeup of all the famous items here. After our visit, which took a leisurely two hours we went around to St. Peter's Square and Basilica. We spent a little time wandering in the peaceful square and inside the basillica, in which there is a lot to see - and well worth it - we spent a considerable time in the cathedral when we were here several years ago.

The best thing about our visit to Rome this time, was that being winter, there were not many people about. So we saw everything in the museum and churches at our leisure. Just imagine trying to see everything while shuffling along in a huge queue!! No thanks....

We spent the rest of the day strolling and bussing around Rome, enjoying a the Pantheon and the beautiful Trevi fountains. Again, we could do so at our leisure, without pushing through crowds and joining queues.

Then it was off to stroll along the Tiber River. Oh look - are they flowers on the riverside trees? In the middle of winter? Oh, no, its not flowers, it is hundreds of plastic bags and rubbish - all caught in the trees during the recent flooding. And its a good thing we decided not to to do a riverboat tour - the Wharf is all smashed to bits!!

Never mind, I might check out the shops instead - are the winter sales still on??

Winter Holiday in Florence and more about Museums.

Gosh, I am so please that we decided to spend some of our Italain Winter Holiday in Florenza!

Here is was a little warmer than during our stays at Milano and Venice and it was very pleasant exploring the streets. Even though the skies were clear and the sun was shining, I have to say, I felt a little claustrophobic. I suspect it was because the sun was low, being winter, and it did not reach the streets. Also there are not many open spaces in the city centre. But we did note that a large area, near to the railway station was being refurbished.

There is not much traffic in Florenza - some of the streets are for walking only, while others seemed to be for servcive vehicles only. In fact when we viewed the city from the top of the Duomo belltower,which was over 400 steps to get there, it was apparent that the limited traffic zone extended for quite a large area. So it was ideal for exloring the city on foot, and to admire the old, but very neat and tidy variety of buildings. It was interesting to note that on some of the older buildings, all of which seemed to be in perfectly restored condition, had areas of the outer walls exposed so we could view the construction methods.

More by accident than by design, we ended up spending a lot ot time in museums during our stay in Florence,

We had made a reservation to view the Galleria at the Uffuzi Palace, and it took all morning to view the beautiful artworks on display. Most had been restored, as had a good part of the building.There was an interesting Exhibtion by Giovanni Francesco (Guecino) - 1591 - 1666, of his sketches and watercolours in brown wash.

Artwork in the Gallerail had been collected since the 17th century by the Medusa family, and feature was a special Medusa exhitibition was the famous Medusa Head with the snakes emerging from it.

We also visited the Museo d'ell Opera di Santa Maria del Torre, then a museum dedicated to the history of the Duomo. It has been in existance since 1891.

Even though the first stone was laid in 1296, the facade was not finished until the early 1900's due to various political reasons over the years. Many architects submitted designs for the facade, all of which were on display. There were also many statues and artifacts all of which were in the Duomo at some time or other.

Michangelo and Brunelleschi were two of the many famous artists who worked on the Duomo during its 700 years of construction.

We visited the Accadamea where the statue of 'David' resides, along with his 4 unfinished slaves. The Accadamea had much of the art collected during thte Medusa Dynasty, including a musical instrument collection and the worlds oldest violin. The exhibition was great until we entered a large hall chocker full of replicas of statues, including hundreds of busts lining the very high walls! A bit of overkill, we felt, as we quickly wandered through and on to other things.

Before I move away from talking about exhibtitions and museums, I have to repeat that there were few few people and tour groups around, so we could see everything at our leisure, in particular, the statue of David, around which everyone would spend hours gazing at. Winter is such a great time to do the 'indoors' of European Cities - museums are warm and comfortable.

As in all the other cities we visited during this winter holiday, the winter sales were on and lots of people were shopping. But that is another story.....

Winter Holiday in Venice - the best time to go in our opinion

We awoke on our first morning in Venice to tiny snow flakes falling into the garden courtyard outside our hotel window.

Another white holiday! And in Venicia! Wow!!

But no, the day was not cold enough, and the streets and steps had been well coated with rock salt to prevent ice forming.

On this our third trip to Venice, we walked everywhere, rather than hopping on and off the Grande Canale Ferries. There I found another reason for holidaying in Europe in winter - there were very few people there! We could wander down all the narrow streets withouth pushing past people coming the other way. We could do all the window shopping we wanted, without looking over people's heads if we could. We discovered many restaurants and cafes, and did not have to queue.

Best of all, St Marc's Square was not chocker full of people and pidgeons! We could stand in the middle of the square and gaze around us. We had decided to visit the Cathedral, as last time we came to St Mark's Square, in the summer, there was a huge queue of tourists to get in, so we visited the Doges Palace next door, instead. Today, there were no queues at all, so we could wander in and gaze at the Byzantuim style decor and art, at our leisure. Upstairs we went out onto the narrow balcony, which gave us an unobstucted view of of St Marcs Square, without pushing past people to take pictures. You may recall in a recent blog about the 4 horses at the National Geographic Shop and Museum not far from Piccadilly Circus in London, which were made of driftwood and modelled on the very same horse on this balcony. Today, replica horses are of this balcony the originalss, made of bronze, have been restored and are now inside. Also inside accompanying the broze horses, is an excellent exhibition of the history of the cathedral, its contsruction and resoration, art, articfacts, and tapestries.I am positive that this exhibition was not here when we first visited, around eight years ago. What is most interesting, and we found this also in other exhibitions about restorations, whether they be art or buildings, is the technology involved and the methods of the restorations, from the 'facelifts' to the preservation and restoration of the underneath materials which we do not see.

No, we did not visit Harry's Bar this time or go up the Tower, from which one gets an awesome view of of Venice and its surrounds, but we did meander through the markets and shops at the Rialto Bridge, as well as through the many squares and narrow alleyways admiring all the beautiful, but old appartment buildings, hotels and palaces. Of course it is hard to ignore the shabbiness of some,and the pealing off of plaster of others. But Venice is not crunhbling down into the sea. One only has to look beside many the shabby doors to find modern security keyboards for owners to get to their apartments. Like many cities, in Venice buidling facades cannot be changed, but behind the facades, if the real estate advertisements are true, apartments do seem to have all the mod cons.

We noticed several changes in Venezia since our first visit, 8 years ago. Because the damage sustained in the 1976, or round that time, high tides and flooding, Venice, along with Florence, sustained much damage and lost many art works and treasures. As a result various localworld wide groups, including "Save Venice" fundraised and restored many buildings in Venice. I recall one group which selected 10 Churches to restore, and visitors were encouraged to visit all ten and, of course, donate to the resotrations. I did not see and reference to the project this time so am not sure if the programme has been completed or not. But the clock tower, with its two men striking the bell on the top, has been finished. And a new bridge, located to the right of the railway station has appeared. This means that people coming to Venice by car, or bus across the causeway, do not have to walk miles to reach certain parts of the city. And what I always liked, when walking out of the station at Venice, was gazing across the canal at this run down church building. Today it is covered with neting for restoration, and topped with a huge advertisement for a fashion company!! One hopes that the company is paying a signifant amount to place such an eyesore for visitors wanting to feast their eyes on 'old Venizia.'

Winter definately is the best time to visit Venice. Certainly it is cold. I understand it can be foggy at times. But it is warm between the buildings and in the shops. There are still some hardy Gondoliers about, if one wants a cold romantic ride around the canals. It is also the best place from which to take photos from the water.

But we did wonder - what is the winter night life like in Venice? We discovered that the Restaurant promoting live Jazz Music every night means every night from March to November. Then, quite by chance we found out. One evening, which happened to be a Friday, we thought we would wander to the Rialto Bridge Area to relax inside (too cold outside by the canal) for dinner. We heard modern music, and turned towards it. There in this square, was a lot of people, in coats, hats and scarves, all standing up outside in the cold, all drinking and talking. The source the music was from one of several bars. Consisting of a counter, stock and no seating, these bars all served drinks to clients who stood outside. We found a bar which had seating inside, and squeezed in, sat down, and watched the activities. Outside, all the people seemed to come and go really quickly. We wondered why as we sat in the warm, enjoying our campary and soda's. Later when we left the bar, we found out why. Outside the temperature was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.....*

* nautical saying - google it to find out what it means....



We found

The best thing about visiting Museums in Winter part one

You may have noticed that we have been writing a lot about shopping in winter, which s a great thing to do as the winter sales are on, and also that they are warm, as are the streets outside, as compared to open spaces. But we have been visiting museums as well! Not only because they are warm, but is it seems to be what one does when visiting the northern part of the world from New Zealand.

After our St Petersburg visit, we did feel a little museumed out,but upon reflection, each museum had its own uniqueness, and even though one may not be interested in museums as such, they are certainly well worth a visit when passing by.

For example, walking to the St Petersburg War Memorial on a snowy blizzardy day gave us a vivid dramatic experience on what it was like for Russian soldiers during the wars.

The Grandeur of Catherine the Greats Summer Palace, situated just ourside St Petersburg, which displayed the golden and now completed replica of the Amber Room, the opulent decor and table settings, wall hangings and other items, even though the gardens were snow covered, showed us the luxuries of the royalty. And the Pushkin Palace next door was a more down to earth, homely contrast of how royalty used to live.

The Hermitage, with its 2 million plus exhibits had many interesting displays.We saw only a few of the most significant, thanks to our guide. Catherine the great, thanks to her art advisors collected a huge number of arts from all over Europe and further afield. There was room after room of original artworks by many famous artists over the centuries including several halls of works by the french impressionalists. The Crouching Boy Sculputure by Michaalango is beautiful. Treausures, artefacts, tapestries.... all housed in a beautiful building in which each room is being restored to its original condition. Going outside into the bleak snowy square where the infamous Bloody Sunday incident happened all those years ago, it is hard to imagine that only a few weeks ago, a concert was performed by Elton John!!

A notable contrast to the European Art at L'Hermitage was the Museum of Russian Art. Here we saw many works which were more 'down to earth' than those of teh European Artists. The most interesting exhibition there was one of the 'Old believers' - Artists that kept alive styles of art of 'traditional Christianity,' a movement which for many years was kept underground. Artists seldom signed their work. The artworks and other treasures on display here, seemed to me, to represent the 'real' Russia. As in other palaces, all the rooms were being restored to thier original luxurious condition.

Not far away was the Church of Spilled Blood. It was decided by, I am not sure whom now, that a memorial be erected on the spot where a king was slain. This huge St Petersburg monument was constructed at the beginning og the 20th century, to be used once a year. In the 1930's becuase of the politics of the time it was shut down and used as a warerhouse. Recently after 15 years of refurbishment back to its stunning original condition The Church of Spilled Blood was opened to the public and today is on the must see list for visitors to St Petersberg.

Winter is definately the best time to visit museums in Russia

On to the Museums of London. We found out, in the Time Magazine, about the Bhuzantine Exhibition at the Royal Academy, and booked in. Very worthwhile - representing all facets of art from everywhere even on loan from museums we had previously visited. It was interesting to note that there was not contraversial subject displayed - I suppose this is meant to be a family exhibition - whereas I would suspect that some people might be shocked at seeing certain subject matter at other European and St Petersburg Museums.

No, we did not, but should have, visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, as well as the Charles Darwin London Commerative one, and maybe, or maybe not, Madam Toussards, but we did not. Our main purpose in London was to spend time with family and friends.

Oh, and the best reason for visiting museums in winter?? Part 2 to come....

Travelling to St Petersburg - best time to holiday in Russia

I know you all thought we were mad to visit St Petersburg in the winter. And maybe, after reading this, you may still think so. However, I still recommend travelling to St Petersberg at this time, especially when there is snow about.

Sure, when you visit the Summer Palace of Katherine and other museums in winter you won't see the beautiful marble statues outside, because they will be covered up by wooden casings, to protect them from the cold. But there are plenty of photos of them about. And you won't see the gardens and parks either because they will be blanketet with pristine white snow, and trees will be black, and outlined with white. The fountains will not be going either. There will be no blue skies or much colour outside, apart from various shades of grey, white, light brown or black, which gives everything a dramatic, winter look. And colours of the beautiful old buildings will feature in pale pastels in the winter palette.


But there will be no queueing for 2 hours outside anywhere, no shuffling along in huge crowds and no noisy tour groups. Instead you will be able to gaze at all the beautiful areas inside the palace and other St Petersburg museums and palaces at your leisure,with no interruptions. You will be scrutinised by security guards in every room, disguised as short square bodied, middle aged women, plainly dressed, except for the ones at the Hermitage Museum and Russian Art Galleries. They are better áttired, as apparently these are the places where one can 'catch' a man. Inside all the buildings it is very warm, perhaps a bit too warm for those of us who are not used to the extremes of freezing outdoors and hot indoors.

I strongly believe that the cathedrals, museums and palaces in St Peters burg are best visited in winter. The beautiful buildings are warm and stunning inside. Outside the colours are dramatic and the magic rather surreal. In addition the snow, cold and dramatic colours gives you a better sense of Russia, and the tumultuous journeys its people have been through until today.