Day 102, 103 and 104 2-4 July London - Kuala Lumpur - Brisbane

Writing in the future (as we won’t have Wi-Fi), we leave London this morning with Malaysian Airlines…it’s nice to live on the wild side. We took a taxi to the airport, using the tube is too difficult to use with all the stairs plus having to compete with the crowds. We essentially lose a day travelling against the time zones, so we should arrive back in Brisbane Saturday night.  This is the end of our 100 Days Campaign (this is what Napoleon’s 1815 campaign was called).  Our La Grande Tour has come to an end - thanks for following. Elizabeth and I hoped that you learnt something along the way.

One last photo, by chance we saw this WW1 vintage bus that was converted to  military use, I bet it was more comfortable to walk!

Day 101 July 2015 London

Today we went to Wellington’s Arch at Hyde Park which had a Wellington display.  The tube entrance has scenes of the battle either inscribed or painted on the walls. It was quite good and there was a large electronic table that displayed the battle.  No photos possible but they did have Wellington’s sword and his boots that he used at Waterloo on display as well as original paintings but unfortunately no photography was allowed.  It did provide a vantage point for watching the trooping of the Guard, in this case hussars. We also could see the Royal Artillery and Machine Gun Monument, the NZ War Memorials and the Australian War Memorial which opened in 2003.  Apparently about 5000 people including the Queen were there for the ANZAC Day Services.

Literally, across the road is Apsley House which was Wellington’s residence.  It was amazing, you do one thing, like defeat Napoleon, and they shower you with gifts.  One of the amazing things was that after the Battle of Vitoria in Spain (1813) Wellington had recovered paintings that the French had stolen from the Royal Spanish Collection but he was told he could keep them.  So he had an impressive array of Reuben, Velazquez, Breughel, Van Dyck and Goya paintings.  Unfortunately no photography allowed but what was interesting was that there were several portraits and statues of Napoleon.  The audio-guide was very good and his home was like a treasure house.  His decedents still live in the house.

After this we travelled to Waterloo Station for a bite to eat and catch a train to

Captions
Wellington Arch
Trooping of the Guard
The Australian War Memorial which records the names of all the places of enlistment that then spell out the names of battles or engagements.
The NZ War memorial.


Windsor to see Windsor Castle.  It was 35 degrees today and it was hot but the humidity wasn’t too bad.  Again no photography inside but we saw the doll house collection, the State Apartments and the waterloo Banquet Room.  It did have a bit of wow factor and in the separate Waterloo display they had original artwork, documents and paintings.  They had copies of Wellington’s orders at the battle on display, the original of Napoleon Crossing the Alps, the famous Congress of Vienna sketch.  They also had a red Berber style robe that was found in his Napoleon’s abandoned carriage after the battle.  I am not convinced he ever wore it.  Unfortunately when we returned there was a stoppage on the line.  The ticket girl told us that the other train company would honour the ticket which was good otherwise we would have been waiting quite a while.  We took the train one stop, then had to swap   trains but we missed the first one as it was chock a block and we couldn’t fit in.  The next train was delayed as it was very crowded and hot but we made it to Padington and then the tube to Earl’s Court, have tea and walk the 8 minutes home.

Certainly there is so much to see in London and everything is well signed including public transport and often on a lot of corners there are maps to follow.  The tube is really quite efficient with trains every few minutes. You certainly feel safe walking around but then again it doesn’t get dark until 10.00 PM.  We had no chance to see everything here but we ticked almost all the boxes, at least the important ones.  The food in the UK has been a revelation, it has been so good compared to Europe, excluding McDonald’s and Subway which is of the same quality everywhere.

Day 100 30 June 2015 London

Today we went to the Imperial War Museum.  Somewhat surprisingly it concentrates on WW1, WW2 and has an extensive gallery devoted to the Holocaust. They also have the largest collection of Victoria Crosses in the world – 160.  I had read somewhere that Australia did but that obviously is incorrect. The museum was refurbished last year.

In the WW1 gallery they had a uniform of an Australian soldier from the 1^st Battalion and a flag from the 12^th Battalion.  I did learn a few new things like that poison gas could interfere with the operation of weapons and could shrink leather gloves. They make excellent use of technology and the Holocaust gallery was extremely well done given that we have seen several exhibitions as well as Auschwitz itself.  It reminded me that Schindler had rescued Jews during WW2 at his factories in Krakow and our tour guide from the bus pointed out where the factories had been. There have been lots of school groups at this museum as well as the other big ones we have visited and their behaviour has been extremely good.  I had thought with a name like the IWM that it would have covered colonial wars as well but it was created because of WW1.  

With some museum time up our sleeve we ventured to the National History Museum, thank goodness we did not manage to get in last Saturday, it would have been chaos with kids everywhere.  Most is aimed at kids and quite well done.  The dinosaur collections were good and the Kobe earthquake simulator was write memorable. 

(Elizabeth pointed out a slight error in my post on the British museum which I have gone back to correct.  The British Museum is NOT keen to return the treasures of the Parthenon to Greece - sorry to get anyone excited about that.)

Captions

Entry to the geological Earth display.

The original neanderthal skull found.

Some big lizards (or are they birds?)!!!

Day 99 29 June 2015 London

Today we visited the British Museum.  Absolutely amazing a highlight of the trip.  Their collections of Egyptian, Assyrian and Greek artefacts makes going to Egypt or to Greece redundant, it all seems to be here.  We didn’t know how long we would stay but we stayed until closing time (5.20PM).  We also had a lovely healthy lunch and not so healthy afternoon tea with scones and double clotted cream (a bit like my arteries) – it was lovely.

We saw the Rosetta Stone, the Standard of Ur, The Portland Vase (apparently it’s important, I hadn’t heard of it before).  They had a replica of the Rosetta Stone that you could touch.  And of course the Elgin Marbles and anything else from the Parthenon that wasn’t nailed down.  Of what is left of the friezes, 60% is in the British Museum and 40% in the new Acropolis Museum in Athens.  We gather that the Brits are NOT in hurry to repatriate them back to Greece.  It was hard work to try to see everything but it was worth it.

Parts of the extensive Egyptian and Assyrian collection including recreated city doors.

Helmet from the Sutton Hoo Anglo-Celtic find in Englsnd.

Jewelry and harp from Mesopotamia.

Special presentation of cartoons on Napoleon.   

The Rosetta Stone that allowed Egyptian hieroglyphics to be translated and the Standard of Ur which is a box, go figure but an important one.

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Day 98 28 June 2015 London

We went to the Tower of London today and the queues were long but moving but at least by having a London Pass we didn’t have to queue for a ticket.  We tried a Yeoman or Beefeater tour but we couldn’t hear what he was saying at the second stop so we made our own way which was pity as he was very entertaining.  We then queued for the Crown Jewels.  These were quite spectacular but no photographs were possible. They used to have a zoo in the Tower so they were sculptures and a display.  It also functioned as the mint and had an armoury.  On display was a French Eagle of the 82nd Ligne (Line) Regiment captured by the Fusileers during the Napoleonic Wars. 

The photos don't do it justice check it out on Wikipedia.

We spent a surprisingly 4½ hours there so next it was off to the Tower Bridge which was quite interesting and gave some views over the city. The glass panels in the upper walkways allows you to look down on the road below.  

View from the bridge, HMS Belfast now an exhibit.

The London Shard

AV presentation showing the building of the bridge.

The engine room.

View beneath our feet.

With a bit of museum time available we went to see Churchill’s War Rooms. It was quite interesting and The Churchill Museum used technology extensively.  Outside the museum there is a 2002 monument to the British citizens killed in Bali. We then walked along James’s Park to photograph squirrels and the Guards Monument.  We photographed various monuments but not No 10 Downing Street as it is walled off.  A quick tube trip home and we had chicken meals at one of the local Italian restaurants. It was a big day as we were on our feet the whole time.

Below a partial image of the Bali Monument and the possums of London - a squirel - looks delicious.

Day 97 27 June 2015 London

We went off to see the Natural History and the Albert and Victoria Museums this morning.  These are only a 10-15 minute walk from our hotel. We started at the V&A Museum and it was quite an eclectic collection.  They had what is called a cartoon of Leonardo Da Vinci of Virgin and Child. A cartoon is a preliminary sketch of a painting.  They had wonderful examples of Islamic and Mughal art including an extraordinary carpet.

Some of the treasures at the V&A.

Above Nelson's Column and the end of the Gay Pride Rally.  The best conversation was between two lesbians where one was having a go at the other because she had been in three fights and she wasn't there to help

The Natural History Museum had very long queues that weren’t really moving.  Instead we caught the tube into Westminster and landed in the middle of a Gap Pride demonstration although we what it actually was later. It was so crowded it was ridiculous.  We visited the National Gallery which was interesting to a point but the National Portrait Gallery was much better.  Unfortunately no photography was allowed.  We did see one of van Gogh’s Sunflowers and works by Da Vinci, Monet, Rembrandts and Picasso.  

Day 96 26 June 2015 London

Today we left and walked to Buckingham Palace for a photo opportunity, then we went to The Royal mews (The Queens Royal Stables).  It was here we saw the royal carriages which were at times spectacular!

We then went to the Queen's Gallery where there was a garden theme to the art display.

After a milkshake, we could have any flavour we wanted so long it was Oreo flavour, we went to Westminster Abbey which was in parts quite impressive, there would have people buried there more than you can poke a stick at, including the Unknown Soldier and the Coronation chair and the tomb of various kings and significant people in great Britain.  We did a phot opportunity from Westminster Bridge where we could see The London Eye, Big Ben and Parliament House.  We walked to the Guards Museum but it closed at 4.00PM so we braved the Underground or Tube for the first time.  I was impressed, it was well signposted and the trains themselves are well equipped with maps and digital displays.

Tonight we caught up with Narelle and Bill and it was great, a lovely meal and conversation, we chatted a lot about our trip and their trip to France, Italy and Austria.  We met at Harrods and went to an English pub but I don’t know remember the name something likes “Bunch of Grapes”, “Grapes of Wrath”, “Sour Grapes” or something like that.  They are off to France tomorrow.and they should have a fabulous time.