Britain, Britain, Britain

  London, United Kingdom
Saturday, June 17, 2006

Britain, Britain, Britain. They have good public transport (when it works), a royal family (which JP got to see) and curry houses recommended by retro rock band The Darkness. We landed late on Friday night or should we say Saturday morning. By the time we got to Stacey and Nick's house it was close to 2am. Good old Ryan Air having an airport so far out of the city, but for 1c flights who can complain. After a good night's sleep, albeit short, we woke and headed out for a day of markets. We went to a famous market called Borough markets where there were so many wonderful flavours. We made a promise that we will become better 'foodies' when we get back. We bought tuna and wonderful fresh vegies which Nick made into the most amazing Moroccan-style dinner. We ate dinner with a bottle of Veuve champagne that Stacey couldn't resist. JP said it was wasted on him and the phrase feeding a pig caviar was said in conversation!






Day 2 saw us head out into the country for JP to interview Takeover Target's owner and trainer (since this was a work trip). We caught the train to Cambridge (unfortunately did not see a lot of Cambridge) and on to Newmarket which is a town that feeds on horse racing. The stables where the horse was staying were just beautiful and the town has roads that the horses go on so they are not bothered by traffic. We were there for about 1 hour before back on the train to London. JP managed to fit in an interview, a photo with the horse and even a beer in that time!! We got back to London in time to watch the Socceroos play Brazil. We were in the pub full of other Aussies which Shaz said felt rather comforting. With pints of Fosters in our hands we saw the Aussies go down. Then it was time for kebabs and Nick showed us one of the best kebab places in London (so he thinks).
Day 3 saw JP finish his story just as Shaz woke up (perfect timing). We headed out with our trusty Lonely Planet in hand and headed towards the South Bank. Our walk started with us coming out of the underground right in front of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We stopped to take photos but it was a grey old day. Our next stop was the London Eye which we also took pics of. The walk was just lovely stopping occasionally for some lunch and coffees. We walked past Shakespeare's Globe theatre, modelled on the original which burnt down long, long ago. It's supposed to be great inside, but we decided not to pay because there were rehearsals in there and you could not talk or ask questions on your tour. Our walking tour finished at Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. Tower Bridge is just beautiful but unfortunately not very old. We finished the night off with Nick taking us on a river walk concluding with a pint or two at The Blue Anchor (which is in the movie Sliding Doors).
Shaz's Day 4 - (Ahh 1st person narrative - how nice) Since JP was rubbing shoulders with royalty at Ascot today, Stacey and I decided to get a bit of shopping in preparation for our day at Ascot. We shopped along Oxford Street buying fascinators, handbags, shoes, and jewellery (all very essential for a day of races). We rested out weary feet in Notting Hill at a really cool bar sipping on Rose and Pimms cocktails.
JP's Day 4 - Ascot has to be seen to be believed, so I won't endeavor to describe it in too much detail here. It is a stunning racecourse, made so by an almost half-a-billion-dollar face-lift. The main stand is about 300m long and is quite accurately described as part grandstand, part airport terminal. Thanks to the most empowering media pass of my short career, I was able to zoom up and down escalators the plebs and even many of toffs couldn't. For the first hour or two I just scouted the place, enjoying walking among the top-hat wearing men and the ladies in their finery drinking Pimms and too-expensive champagne. The upper-class accents of the Richard Marlybone-Crumm Esquires and the Lady Ellen Parker-Smyths were so outrageous I coudn't help smiling as I wandered about. About one o'clock the royal family made their entry to plenty of fanfare, in the literal sense. They arrived in four horse-drawn open carriages, proceeded up the main straight, under the stand and into the huge parade ring, where a marching band and thousands of spectators waited. The Queen made a short speech to open the new facilities and inside they went.

The running of the King's Stand Stakes crept up on me. I was in the saddling yarn chatting with Takeover Target's track rider and then realized it was time for them to head off for the race. I got back up to the media box waaay up in the stands and a few minutes later they were off. A 1000m race doesn't take long to run (about a minute) and it was frankly a bit of a shock when TT got the nod as winner after a photo finish. Not quite sure on where the media call would be, I rushed down to the parade ring and joined a huge pack of journos swamping Joe, the cab-driving trainer. He dealt with the win in such a laid-back joking manner. It was really nice to see. After the presentation we went in for a formal press conference and in between giving answers he gulped down several glasses of champagne. I asked him about the support from Canberra and Queanbeyan and his reply "there'll be plenty of drunks back home" drew some laughs.
After Joe went in to celebrate, I wandered off to the stables to interview his son, who was stuck with the job of getting the horse packed away to return to Newmarket. After that I went to the bookie to collect my £57 prize for my £10 outlay, bashed out my quotes and then headed back to London.

Day 5 - Once again JP got his stories sent in just as Shaz woke up. We headed out early-ish to the Tower of London where we went on a guided tour hosted by a Beefeater. The Beefeater come tour guide was quite entertaining and told all the gory stories that surround the towers' history. We stood on the spot that was the royal execution area, saw the Traitors Gate and heard about all the poor souls that were hung, drawn and quartered with their heads finishing up on stakes on London Bridge. We concluded the tour in the Tower chapel where Anne Boelyn is buried in the crypt. After the tour we were left to wander the grounds. We saw the Crown Jewels including apparently, the biggest diamond in the world, the White Tower where inside was King Henry VIII suit of armour and so many different weapons from jousting sticks to very scary Spanish army clubs and swords.

After the Tower, we got the underground to Trafalgar Square. Since the weather was nice and sunny we took lots of photos. We were surprised about the lack of pigeons and disappointed that Nelson's column and bronze lions were being re-furbished. We then headed back to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament for some more pics. A visit to Westminster Abbey was planned (as we had forgotten about it on earlier visits) however that plan was changed when we saw it was a £10 entry fee. Luckily it is free to take pics from the outside. We both agreed that although Westminster Abbey was beautiful nothing can beat Notre Dame. For dinner we caught up with Greg and Renee at Chop Chop - great food, bad name.

Day 6 - We decided to head out and explore another part of the city - Soho. This quaint area has a surprising mix of cultures. One street in particular made us laugh. It was a mixture of fruit and veg markets, vintage clothes shops, Tescos and Adult shops. We had never been down such an interesting street (even though we come from Canberra). Exploring the little side streets gave us such an appetite we found a lovely Italian restaurant in an area that felt like little Italy. As we tucked into pizzas, salad and a bottle of vino, we could hear a crowd of passionate Italian football (soccer) supporters watching the game. One bar has closed off the whole street for the match. The atmosphere was fantastic as was the food! Feeling full we headed to another famous spot - Picadilly Circus. We were a bit dumfounded staring at this area. Even though we had never been there before, it had a feeling of familiarity. After taking some more pictures, Shaz wanted to see Sherlock Holmes' address 221b Baker Street. With map in hand we headed off. We found the street and began heading towards the address. We were most disappointed when, after lots of looking and walking backwards and forwards, that the scaffolding and facade of the building we were standing in front of was it! We didn't have time to be too disappointed as we were running late for the Australia v Croatia match. We met up with Ellie and some of her friends at another Aussie pub . The atmosphere was full of excitement especially when Australia tied which was all we needed to get into the finals. We found ourselves unashamedly dancing to We Come From a Land Down Under and singing at the top of our voices (we also had a few beers under our belts too).


Day 7 - We had a very lazy sleep in after such an exciting night. When we were finally up and ready we took Stacey out for brunch to her favourite cafe down the road. This place is unbelievable. There are so may different cakes and pastries in the window and they were all huge! We ate far too much and headed on our way out for the day. We decided to do some shopping. Shaz thought that JP would enjoy Oxford Street shopping as much as she did. Not quite as much it turns out. Having bought nothing we decided to keep walking to the British Museum. This building is huge and the collection is over 3 million. We were recommended to do a highlights tour by Stacey and Nick since it would take days to see it all. We bought out headsets and maps and headed off. We saw some amazing things like the Parthenon Marbles, the Portland Vase, the Rosetta Stone, Eqyptian Mummies (some still wrapped and some not, including one named Ginger because you can still see his red hair), and so many ancient Greek and Roman artefacts. Our absolute highlight was the Assyrian gateway figures. Standing between the high horse gates on either side of you was quite a humbling experience. They used to stand where the entrance to a city in what is now Iraq was. The horses have 5 legs so that no matter where you stand the horses appear to be running. Unfortunately we had to finish our tour before it ended as we had dinner plans with JP's cousin Paul and his wife Courtney. We had a lovely time with them and meeting their new little one James. Dinner was great - Indian takeaway from a restaurant voted the best in London by the band The Darkness.


Day 8 - Race Day - We dressed up in our finery and with fascinators on, we headed out for a big breakfast near the London Eye before making our way to Ascot. We had a few dramas getting Shaz's ticket picked up but once she was safely in the gate (after over an hour lining up) JP headed off in search of the trainer and horse.
Shaz's race day - Once in the gate my first job was to find the others. Once found I them joined a huge queue (little did I know that this was to be the first of may on this day)to put a bet on Takeover Target. Having a good feeling about this horse I become rather enthusiastic and put £20 to win on it. My next line was for a drink. Since we were dressed up as ladies Pimms and lemonade was the order of the day. (Mum you would be proud) Just as I got back the race was starting so I then walked down and got a spot on the track just in time to see the horses run past. Takeover Target came in third! No money for me. When I got back to our spot in the marquee the others decided that they had had enough and we headed back to London. We met up with JP and lined up (again) for the train. I had quite an experience on the train. It was crowded with people and we had standing room only. That didn't stop a guy in tails and top hat who had had a few too many sitting on my feet in the little space there was and falling asleep using my legs to rest himself on. Made for an extra long trip back. Once back in London with sore feet, we found a great pub and watched the sunset over the Thames with a pint in hand. A great way to end the day.
JP's Race Day - Takeover Target finished a pretty gutsy third in the Golden Jubilee Stakes, and together Shaz and I blew 30 quid on him. Obviously compared to Tuesday it was much more relaxed afterwards, with less journos clambering over Joe and his team. The high point of the day came very unexpectedly soon after I arrived. After saying goodbye to Shaz, Stace and Nick I walked through the big stand and found myself on, for want of a better description, the royal level. I was walking along the red carpet and could see the doors to the royal box marked with the massive ERII emblem. As I walked, mildly surprised to even be allowed on this level given the number of cops and royal guards in green velvet jackets, I saw the big doors swing open and out popped none other than QE2. She started walking towards me and I began thinking 'oh dear, what does one do when one passes by Her Majesty. Does one bow, and is one permitted to fire off a few photographs in her face as she passes?' Fortunatley for all concerned one of the guards intercepted me and asked if I would kindly step inside the glass doors of a restaurant "while Her Majesty passes by". Realising this was probably more of an order than a request, I did. So, standing up to the glass doors as if I was in an elevator I watched as the Queen (wearing a snazzy green number I think) walked past me no more than 1m away as the guard reminded me "not many people get so close to Her Majesty".
Sadly we didn't make eye contact, I did but see her passing by...
Day 9 - Last Day - Our last day on London started at the Portobello Rd Markets in Notting Hill. The shops had wonderful collections of old leather rugby balls, vintage clothing, jewelry and antiques. We had a great time wandering. Lunch was Parisian style in Kensington Palace Garden (baguettes, cheese, ham). We walked around the Palace but did not go in (another £15). Our last night in London was spent in the local pub, an earthy place called The Cottage, watching the England match and drinking pints.
London was exciting and we owe a huge thank you to Nick and Stacey for allowing us to sleep in your lounge room for 9 days and for all the tips on the ins and outs of London.