Friday, July 15, Les & I arrived in London for a 3 day adventure that was planned, then of course canceled, in 2020. We couldn't wait to get started. We were shocked when we realized that the last time we were there was in 2000. We've always loved London, & this time we came prepared with a plan to focus on looking at London through the lens of the Thames River.

This river-focus idea came to me while I was reading a detective series about a police detective in mid-Victorian London. Starting off working for the Metropolitan Police Department, he eventually becomes the head of the Thames River Police. From that point in time, each book features a part of the river & all its neighborhoods. Woven into the books is the common thread of the poor vs the elites amid the ever-expanding Empire. The books cover Prostitution, Pornography, Over-crowding, Disease & Epidemics, Sewers & many other Societal issues contrasted with High Society's elegant way of life. It was a real eye-opener for me.

Each of the 24 books deals with a particular neighborhood, & a crime that happens in it. Although most of the settings for the different books were ones I'd never heard of, I did recognize White Chapel (Jack the Ripper) & Newgate Prison, as well as the "Old Bailey" courthouse. Most of them end in a court drama, so the series offers a peek at the English legal & punishment system as well.

Our first stop Friday night in London was, of course, on the River Thames, at the Globe Theater. It was a thrill to sit in the balcony at the Globe, to watch Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar. But alas, we missed the assassination due to our flight delay. However, we did see the second half, which deals with the mess created AFTER Ceasar's death by those who had caused it. Seemed fitting to me, since I'd been dealing with murders in the Pitt series for 24 books! See our picture album "Julius Ceasar at the Globe Theater" for a quick look at the Globe. The crowning moment was when Marc Antony bates the crowd by suggesting that Ceasar left a WILL for the people of Rome. The audience went mad for this! We all felt like we were in ancient Rome, yelling at Marc Anthony "READ THE WILL! Shakespeare had us all in his hands.

As we walked (dragging our suitcases behind us) across the river towards our hotel, we enjoyed seeing Londoners & tourists reveling in the balmy night air. We enjoyed our hotel, The Counting House, located by the Exchange, & were sorry we missed eating in its lovely pub.

Saturday morning we headed straight to the Docklands Museum, which was originally the home of the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs, familiar to me due to its frequent appearance in the Pitt series. I had no idea it was today's elegant Canary Wharf, having reborn itself into a sleek financial center, after its turbulent Victorian life as a thriving port community of all kinds of different peoples. To share our trip through 200 years, check out our photo album "Exploring The Thames River". The museum was interactive & engaging, & we took a deep dive through London's history.

As we walked (dragging our suitcases behind us) across the river towards our hotel, we enjoyed seeing Londoners & tourists reveling in the balmy night air. We enjoyed our hotel, The Counting House, located by the Exchange, & were sorry we missed eating in its lovely pub. (See The short Counting House album for pictures.)

Saturday morning we headed straight to the Docklands Museum, which was originally the home of the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs, familiar to me due to its frequent appearance in the Pitt series. I had no idea it was today's elegant Canary Wharf, having reborn itself into a sleek financial center, after its turbulent Victorian life as a thriving port community of all kinds of different peoples. To share our trip through 200 years, check out our photo album "Exploring The Thames River". The museum was interactive & engaging, & we took a deep dive through London's history.

From there we went to the Mayflower Pub, at Rotherhithe, located on the Isle of Dogs before its name changed to Canary Wharf. It's the site from which the Pilgrims left England on their journey to the New World. If you are one of the 28,000,000 Mayflower descendants in the US, you can go there to sign its register book. You might even meet some of your "cousins". I did.

We went there to meet our London Walks tour guide, whose tour was perfect for our purposes. What we didn't realize was that this is where the Thames Tunnel (learned about at Docklands) links Rotherhithe on the south side to Wapping on the north side of the Thames. Visit our Mayflower Pub album to see what a 1600s pub looks like, as well as what a 2022 "bistro pub" (The Jugged Hare, where we had dinner) looks like today.

On Sunday morning we started at London Bridge, by the Tower. This is actually the THIRD London Bridge, but it's very impressive. And after learning about all 3 London Bridges, we understand its importance to not only London, but to the Empire. Our next stop was back in Rotherhithe to see an Immersive Freda Kahlo/Diego Rivera show. See the album "London Bridge & Freda Kahlo" for pictures.

The Agatha Christie "Witness for the Prosecution" play on Sunday afternoon was another highlight. It's a murder mystery set in a courtroom (the Old Bailey), but we were watching it sitting in the middle of the Council Chamber for London County (similar in architecture to the Old Bailey). It was a perfect place to see the drama unfold, & the acting was superb. Since I'd read so much about murder trials in the Pitt series, I felt right at home.

Monday morning found us in the Churchill War Cabinet Rooms near Westminster. We found it very interactive (updated from our last visit years ago), with an engaging Churchill Museum showing his personal life as well as his political life. Walking through the War Rooms, you can feel the austerity & the tension of London under the Blitz. And yes, there's a picture album for that event as well, titled, of course, "The Churchill War Rooms".

As we left London on Monday, the heat was already rising. We knew we were about to experience the "hottest temperatures EVER" on Monday & Tuesday. What we didn't know was how the heat would create havoc with the train system. We had train reservations to York, where we were headed for a family reunion. Stay tuned for that adventure. We did get ther, almsst on time, & tt was great fun. And yes, it was very HOT!

We hope you are all enjoying summer, wherever you are & whatever you've planned. We also hope you've managed to stay cool & comfortable, & to find fun & engaging things to do.

All the best,
Elise & Les