London, England Lots of lovely experiences came my way this month.
I revisited some familiar favorite sites. I saw some wonderful things that were quite new to me. I decided that the Northern Line is much more convenient than I ever realized. Though I did have an accident that involved a trip to the emergency room of a nearby (very impressive) major hospital, it was not caused by stepping into the street and failing to look in the correct direction – a rookie tourist mistake.
East Sussex, England Charleston Farm was the country home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant and is an example of their decorative style, representing more than sixty years of artistic work.
Southeast AsiaDon has finally made it to China, but has more to share about his recent travels:
Ho Chi Minh City. Better known by its French name Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City is still referred to as Saigon by both natives and visitors. Everyone seems to agree it’s easier to say.
London, England Not content with visiting his city home and museum, I got another dose of Sir John Soane by visiting his house in the country, Pitzhanger Manor.
London, England Can you successfuly combine a once-favoured medieval palace and then royal Tudor residence with a striking art deco mansion? Eltham Palace proves it can be done, providing one has sufficient resources.
Southeast AsiaDon has been able to extract some time from his tour to give us an update on his current adventures.
After Hanoi, there was an overnight cruise on a junk boat through the other-worldly landscape of Halong Bay. Peppered with hundreds of islands, the earth seems to rise suddenly from the water. Dramatic, but I’m not sure I needed an overnight experience, except to witness the sunset on the landscape and I guess the sunrise – which I missed because I slept through it. There were about as many tourist boats as there were islands, but they kept their distance from one another.
On our return to Hanoi, we were plunged into more tours (and temples) before boarding an overnight train to Hue. The 14-hour overnight train ride tested everyone’s patience since it was the second night in a row that we didn’t have access to our luggage (we were only allowed an overnight bag) as well as no access to a shower. The ladies were grateful at least that there was an option to squat toilets on the train. But everyone had to share four-person sleeping/berth compartments. It was unpleasant, but everyone made the best of it.
It was especially hard, since on arrival in the morning, we were immediately expected to tour more temples and other historic sites. The most important one was the Imperial Palace of this once-capital of Vietnam (before the French arrived). It is a vast complex that was heavily damaged during the “American War,” but is now being slowly restored.
After Hue, it was on to Hoi An. This is a former trading center town that now centers on being a beach town. The old section of the town, called the Ancient City, is where all the merchants of various nationalities clustered next to the river that carried their goods in and out throughout Southeast Asia and beyond.
Now, it’s repurposed as a tourist center with lots of “boutique” hotels, restaurants, tailor shops and T-shirt shops in the renovated shops. The most interesting part was looking at the architecture of the various buildings to see the influences of the original builders. Chinese over there; some Portugese here; British in another location; Japanese somewhere else — all within a maze of twisting and turning narrow streets. The rest of the town is a classic beach town. You could be fooled into thinking you’d been plopped down in any spot in the Carribean. The same drinks, same lounge chairs and umbrellas, same hawkers selling shell jewelry and other trinkets . . . Well, you get the idea.
London, England Every collector collects differently. At John Soane’s house, things seemed to be placed where there happened to be a bit of space.
Not so at the Wallace Collection, which I visited today. It is a national museum housing masterpieces of painting, sculpture, furniture, arms and armour, and porcelain.
London, England I usually work a visit to Covent Garden into my London plans. It’s consistently entertaining and full of things that sparkle and catch the eye.
I always start by seeing what’s new at the Transport Museum. Several years ago they started merchandising the patterns from old tube seat fabrics, which were distinguished by underground line. There were multitudes of pillows, sofas, tote bags and socks. I did invest in a collection of the socks, which wore quite nicely.
Southeast AsiaDon is currently in Singapore, but had some time to catch us up on his travels:
My last missive had some issues with matching my remarks with the appropriate photos. It doesn’t matter. You get the idea. Plus, my photos are scanty. I find it difficult to juggle photo-taking with trying to pay attention to the guide. They say that travel is not creative. You only need to be attentive. So, attentive I am. Being attentive to me means not being quick on the trigger with a camera. Plus, it seems I can never get a decent photo without being part of someone else’s selfie. I wish I could collect a penny for every selfie taken.
London, England And where would you find that? If your search involved art, then you would head to Tate Britain, the home of British art from 1500 to today, which is housed in a traditional building with classics like Turner and Millais.
