Clapham canals Cannizzaro Barbicon Museum Soho Brixton Abby road
In London we stayed with my friend Justin, who is from South Africa. I met him in Moscow in 1990. It is really nice staying with people, not just because it is cheaper, but also because it is easier to get a feel for the place. His roommates were very interesting and friendly, London Bridge it was nice chatting over dinner. The Hostel in Seattle gave us each a one week, 6 zone London Travelcard as a going away present, which allowed us free access to the Tube and the busses. It was GREAT!! I really like taking the Tube, it is quick and easy, but the city busses (the double decker ones!) offer a great way to see parts of the city you might otherwise miss... so we rode them quite a bit as well. It is fascinating reading the advertising in the Underground. Very different than in the US -- more intelligent, more hip, more sexual. And there were about 10 different places that sell travel insurance!
The first day when we arrived from Bonn we stashed out stuph at his house and went to Brick Lane for Indian food. We were able to see some far flung places and were also able to get from Justin's house near Clapham High Street (High street means Main Street... so Highway means Main road!) to central London and places like Brick Lane and Soho where we spent a lot of time. We walked the Regent's Canal, went Crossing Abby Road Abby Road Sign to Cannizaro Park, had Indian food at Brick Lane, went to the Brixton Market, took a photo crossing Abby Road, visited Lords Cricket Ground (one day too late to see a game -- DAMN!) walked the Roman wall and wandered many neighborhoods.
London is a fun, vibrant, EXPENSIVE, happening city. It doesn't seem to realize that it is no longer the largest city in the world (it's now number 16) but that means that it FEELS important! The many newspapers have huge screaming headlines every day, and all of it is a way of trying to assert London as the center of the world. I could spend a lot of time there... but it IS expensive and it was was time to move on.
So we went on a day trip to Cambridge with Justin, wandered the market and the Backs (meadows behind the colleges) and we punted our own boat up and mrk. punts cheri & mrk. down the river Cam. Punting is HARD. It looks so easy, but pushing on the bottom and trying to make the boat go forward (and not sideways or backwards) while trying to keep your feet on the boat is challanging. I was impressed that i did not fall in. . Also, keeping a hold of the pole is a challenge! (At one point we had to rescue a pole for someone who had lost theirs!) It was lots of fun.
We had planned on renting a car and taking a 3 or four day trip around Cornwall, land of Arthur, and perhaps Hastings, Canterbury & Rye ... but time did not allow. Another time we will do that (hopefully on a bicycle!)....
that's cool you went to the cannizaro house. i received (from joe's packet of stuff, much stuff) a pamphlet that cannizaro house produced regarding the history of the house (built c. 1700) , including much info. on the duke and duchess of cannizzaro who lived there in the early to mid 1800s. they were quite the hilarious pair. he an impoverished sicilian of high birth: francesco platamone conte di sant'antonio. she a wealthy, uneducated englishwoman who loved music and was sort of silly but entertaining. he couldn't put up with her though, took a mistress in milan, she followed him there and caused a scene, took up with some lowly strings player from the milan orchestra and moved back to the house. despite everything, when she died she left him her fortune. how's the trip going? i'm in italy. more later e "mrk. Mark Canizaro" wrote: > While in London last month i went to Cannizaro Road, Cannizaro > House and Cannizaro Park. The House is a VERY ritzy hotel > popular with the wealty tennis crowd. The Park is a GORGOUS > very large gardens around the house. This is all in the bourough > of Wimbledon, ajacent to Wimbledon common, at the extreme > Southwset of London. Nice view of central London. It seems a > Baron Cannizaro from sicily lived there for a short time at one > point. I took photos, including one of the historical sign with > the information. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > PRESENT PHYSICAL LOCATION: Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Univ, Bonn > _________________________________________________________________ > mrk. mrk@kempf.com KC7IEU > (Mark Canizaro) www.kempf.com/~mrk Seattle WA > Please do not put my email address in bulk or forwarded mail.
