UK August-October 2013- Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and The Worst Thing I Ever Ate!

When I was sifting through the attractions booklet that came with our London Pass, I got very excited when I saw a listing for Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Confession time...

I didn't realize that it wasn't Shakespeare's original theatre. I had no idea that the original had burned down in 1613 and the second rebuilt Globe closed in 1642. The second Globe has long been demolished.

I must now hand in my "Theatre Lover Card" and my Los Angeles County High School for the Arts diploma will be revoked.

Seriously, how could I not know this?

As I learned during my tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the new building is a faithful as possible modern recreation of the original building. Here is the really cool thing about the new theatre, it was the dream of one man.

American actor, Sam Wanamaker had a dream to recreate The Globe and he rallied people to his cause. His dream was realized when the theatre opened in 1997, unfortunately Wanamaker had died four years earlier. During the tour, the idea of Wanamaker's dream was a main theme and seems to drive the spirit of the company.

It was this spirit behind the Theatre that I found most exciting. They company doesn't limit itself to just performing the works of Shakespeare, they also perform new works and often lean towards more experimental productions. It's the type of theatre that I find to be most exciting.

The tour is perfect for theatre lovers and those interested in architecture. Our ticket included the tour of the theatre and entry to a special exhibition.

The only negative aspect of our tour was our guide. He was enthusiastic and knowledgable, but he was also very much an "actor". He said everything with a sense of flair that became grating.

Great effort was taken to use the same materials that were used used for the original Globe. This includes making bricks the same way that they were made in the 1600's and using wooden nails. The theatre got permission to have a thatched roof, but they had to use modern retardants to have it meet fire code.

A majority of the tour took place in the courtyard, but we were allowed to sit inside of the theatre for about fifteen minutes while actors were rehearsing for an upcoming production. The interior of the theatre is a great space. It's enormous with various seating options, including a standing room area called the Yard. The theatre sells the Yard tickets for five pounds a performance and often sells out all seven-hundred Yard tickets.

Shakepeare's Globe Theatre is a lovely venue. I love the spirt in which drives both how the theatre was built and how it continues to be run. I look forward to booking tickets on a future trip to London.

As we had a busy touring schedule, we decided to skip the special exhibition included in our tour ticket and instead, headed to lunch at the Swan at the Globe, located adjacent to the theatre.

The Swan at the Globe is a swanky cafe catering to patrons of the theatre. We settled down and ordered two huge Addlestone's Ciders while mulling over the menu.

I ordered a delicious rare roast beef sandwich with a horseradish spread served and with thick chips for my main.

The "Worst Thing I Ever Ate" came before my main dish. It was an appetizer that Dan ordered and enjoyed. I took the smallest nibble and just barely contained myself from puking at the table.

I'm an adventurous eater and I've tried many strange and occasionally terrible foods. However, I've have never tasted anything quite as vile as Pork Cracklins with Apple Sauce.

The worst part was the taste was so strong that I couldn't get it out of my mouth. I gargled with my cider, ate mints, had gum, ate my lunch, had another mint...and the taste still lingered all day. I think that I may have even brought it home with me from the UK.

It's haunting my taste buds!!!!

UK August-October 2013- London Gluttony Part Two

One of the big chain restaurants in London is Garfunkel's. When we were based at The Strand Palace Hotel, we had several Garfunkel's just a stone's throw away. We only ate at a Garfunkel's once during our trip, but I must report that they do a good breakfast. Dan ordered a full- English and I had eggs on toast with a side of bacon. I love the thick-cut bacon that is found in the UK.

In my St. Pauls' Cathedral post, I lamented about our lack of vacation planning. However, sometimes when you fail to plan, you leave yourself open to amazing spontaneous discoveries.

As we were wandering around the area near The Tower of London, we came across a harbor that was getting ready to host a very special event. The Race of Your Life yacht race was a few days shy of kicking off in London. The yachts were being prepped and they had a mini festival going on to promote the event.

The Race of Your Life is a real adventure. It's an eleven month race spanning thirteen countries around the world. The race is broken up into different legs and participants can do a single leg, multiple legs or the whole thing. The crazy thing is, it's open to total novices. If you want to race and have the entry fee, you can join a crew and they will teach you what you need to know. Twelve teams are competing in the race and you can follow them on the official site.

The Race of Your Life

We found the best bakery vendor at the event.

After intense deliberation, we decided on delicious almond pastries for our afternoon snack. Snacks are serious business.

Our first curry in London was a bit of a bust. We ate at Maharaja in Bayswater. it was late and we had just come from seeing a movie at the Odeon. This is a case where doing a little research would have swayed us to avoid this restaurant.

It wasn't bad, it was mediocre. Mediocre is unacceptable in a city where there are so many restaurants competing for our business. It was expensive too. A double whammy. We were the only people dining in the restaurant and the service was slow.

Unfortunately, we were starving and our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. It felt like we ordered everything on the menu - Poppadoms, Piluao Rice, Mutta Paneer, Chicken Madrass, Chicken Tika Masala, both plain and Pshwari Naan.

We had a feast of mediocre food.

There are many curry house reviews to come.

Did we find a good one?

Stay tuned.

UK August- October 2013- St. Paul's Cathedral

If I could impart one tip for visiting London, it would be to plan ahead. Dan and I decided to "Wing It", which led to a lot of wasted time and money. We had a general idea of the things we wanted to see, but didn't make an actually plan.

On the second full day of our trip, we decided to get The London Pass. If you are planning on hitting a lot of the major attractions and you're up for cramming in more than one thing in a day, then The London Pass might be your best bet.

The pass can be purchased for a single day or multiple days, with the per-day price declining with each additional day. We picked a two day pass for sixty-four pounds a person. The pass includes entry to a majority of the big tourist attractions, plus a lot more. The pass comes with a booklet explaining all of the attractions and it was a helpful guide to figuring out the best way to use our passes.

Again, I would highly advise going to The London Pass website prior to your trip and seeing what they have to offer. Plus, you can purchase the pass in advance and save time on having to buy it at an office in London. Vacation time is precious, don't waste it!

The London Pass Official Site

We purchased our pass early in the morning and headed straight to St. Paul's Cathedral. Dan had been to St. Paul's before and wanted to make sure to arrive at opening to hopefully miss the big crowds. As we were finishing up, the Cathedral was swarmed by bus loads of tourists.

St. Paul's is gorgeous and simply unlike anything that I have ever seen in America. It's absolutely massive.

The Cathedral was completed during the reign of Queen Anne and there is a statue of her in the west- front of St. Paul's.

Photography is not allowed inside the cathedral. Although I wish that I had been allowed to take pictures, I probably had a better visitors experience without worrying about my camera. I often find myself so concerned with taking pictures, that I miss out on giving myself over fully to the experience.

St. Paul's is opulent and grand. The entire building, inside and out is a work of art. There are sculptures, paintings and murals absolutely everywhere. It was overwhelming.

Below the main level of the Cathedral is the crypt. When I think of the word "crypt" the imagery that comes to mind is of a dark and foreboding place. A closed off, tight space. The crypt at St. Paul's is located adjacent to the cathedral's cafe. It's light, clean and even a bit sterile. It reminded me of where my mom is interred at Forrest Lawn Glendale, except with a lot more sculptures! Like Forrest Lawn, there are famous people buried here, including Lord Nelson and Lord Wellington.

If you are physically capable, then you must climb to the top of St. Paul's.

The climb comes in three stages and is not for anyone with limited mobility. The first climb, from the Cathedral Floor to the Whispering Gallery is the longest, but easiest. If you are moderately fit and can climb stairs, then you can make it.

The Whispering Gallery is a circular viewing area of the interior of the Cathedral. There are benches around the circle and if you whisper, people sitting on the other side of the circle can hear you. Fun with acoustics!

The second climb is from the Whispering Gallery to The Stone Gallery, an outdoor viewing area. The climb to The Stone Gallery is more intense, with narrow passageways and uneven stairs. This is not for the claustrophobic.

The third climb is up to the Golden Gallery, the highest outdoor viewing area. This is the most intense climb and is on a metal spiral ladder. If you are going to attempt any of the climbs from the Cathedral Floor, make sure to wear supportive shoes. Heels and sandals would be a terrible idea!

The views are amazing and worth the effort.