England 2018: The Imperial War Museum

On the last full-day of my London vacation, I visited The Imperial War Museum. The Imperial War Museum was absolutely amazing and next to The Churchill War Rooms, it was the best place that I’ve visited in London.

More on that in a minute…remember how I mentioned getting lost in London? Well, my GPS continued to fail me and I had an ordeal as I tried to find The Imperial War Museum.

Luckily, London is full of these handy street maps, which is the only reason that I didn’t resort to buying a map from a tourist shop.

I estimate that I walked about two miles out of my way and really should have taken “The Tube” to the Waterloo Station, however getting lost led to some cool discoveries, such as this class British phone box- which are not so common these days.

And this old monument with a new skyscraper in the background. London is a city of modern and vintage.

Nearer to the museum, I found a school with a scary amount of barb wire! What the heck is going on here?

The Imperial War Museum is located on the outskirts of London, in a semi-residential neighborhood. When I walked back to the tube (Waterloo station) I realized that it was about a mile walk. It isn’t a long distance, if you’re in shape, but for older visitors or those who don’t wish to walk, I recommend a taxi from the tube station. The museum has a convenient taxi rink, located just outside of the main entrance.

The Imperial War Museum knows how to make a great first impression. It has an expansive lawn with old cannons and even a piece from the Berlin Wall.

As with many of the other London museums, The Imperial War Museum has free admission. However, they also would love donations. In exchange for a small donation ( I believe it was 10-15 pounds), I received a blue Imperial War Museum tote bag and a map of the museum.

When I bought my admission ticket, I asked, primarily out of curiosity, how long people typically spend at the museum. The answer was two hours.

HA!!!!!!!

The museum has five floors of exhibits. I started on the first floor, which is dedicated to WW1. I spent over four hours just on the first floor.

I actually toured half of the WW1 exhibit, when I heard an announcement regarding tickets for a guided tour. I left in the middle of WW1 and went to the information desk to inquire. The special tour was ten pounds and lasted for an hour. It was worth far more than the cost of the tickets, truly a must-do, especially since the museum is free.

For the tour, we were provided with headsets, so that we could hear our guide and he didn’t have to shout or disturb other visitors. Only eight people were in my group, which is a real shame, since this added so much to my experience at the museum. I love in-depth looks at specific things.

We were taken around the museum to about six different exhibits and given a greater understanding of their significance. One of the exhibits was a boat used in the Dunkirk evacuation and although I have not watched the film, it was explained to us that the movie, Dunkirk, had many inaccuracies. Another item, was a cage like structure that British families were given to protect themselves during bombings. The guide took the time to answer questions and we had one senior citizen in our group, who added insight from childhood memories of WW2.

After the tour, I went back to WW1 and finished the section. At this point, I was quite overloaded with information and if I had more days in my trip, I would have come back and done the other sections with a fresh mind, but I didn’t have the luxury of time.

I took a quick lunch break in the museum’s cafeteria. One of the things that the Brits really get right foodwise, is lunch. I adore British pre-made sandwiches, crisps, and cloudy lemonade. Even when I had flights that were quickly passing through Heathrow, I grabbed this combo at Boots or M&S. The museum cafeteria was a huge step-up from Boots or M&S, with regard to both quality and price. If sandwiches are not your thing, the museum offered quite a few hot lunch items as well.

After a speedy lunch break, I headed to WW2. I was conscious of time and did not go through the second floor on as leisurely a pace, as I did on the first. I had theatre tickets and I was meeting my niece in central London, so I could not stay until museum closing at six. I only had until about 5pm. I knew that time was precious and that I wouldn’t see it all, so I zeroed in on WW2 and a separate Holocaust exhibition.

Again, just as with the first floor, it would be easy to spend four plus hours on each floor. I felt overwhelmed and frustrated. One of my favorite exhibits in the WW2 section, was look into the life of an average London family, showing how the war impacted each member.

There was a section on English children who were evacuated out of the city and into the countryside. This happened to my mother-in-law, who was sent to Wales during the war. Take a look at this heartbreaking and disturbing letter that an evacuated child wrote.

Speaking of my mother-in-law, I got a kick out of the nutritional signs, especially “Doctor Carrot.” I had been staying with my mother-in-law prior to heading to London and she got a ton of carrots in her weekly farmer’s box, so I felt like I was eating or rather, being offered carrots, non-stop for nearly a week. I even had an inside joke about it with my sister-in-law, who was also offered carrots!

The floor dedicated to The Holocaust was an emotional experience. I’m relieved to report that I was surrounded by respectful and reverent visitors, who quietly viewed the exhibits and refrained from taking photographs. The exhibit is filled with personal items from prisoners, such as a doll that was created from camp uniforms. There are so many horrific personal stories and even stories that show humanity in the darkest of places. One of the main parts of the exhibit is a forty-foot scale model of Auschwitz- Birkenau. If you only have a few hours to tour The Imperial War Museum, you should head to this exhibit first. It’s too important to be missed.

I ended my day with a quick trip to the gift shop and a look at the exhibits in the lobby. Airplanes are suspended from the ceiling and the bottom floor has some large scale exhibits, such an old horse drawn cannon cart and a car that was recently bombed by terrorists. The car is a startling reminder that although the museum deals primarily with wars of the past, the threat is always looming. The world remains an unstable place.

The next time I have a few free-days in London, I will definitely head back to The Imperial War Museum. This is one of the best history museums that I have ever visited and must-see for history buffs. It’s an important place to take children and your visit should not be rushed.

One last, non-related item…as I headed to Trafalgar Square to meet my niece, I bumped into a statue that was on my must-see list. It is called A Conversation with Oscar Wilde 1854-1900 and was one of the literary monuments that I was hoping to visit. I thought it was fitting to have discovered it while on my way to the theatre!

England 2018: Tate Modern and Picasso 1932 Exhibition

By the time I finished visiting The Old Operating Theatre and Herb Garret, it was late afternoon and I was ready for a refreshment. Near The Clink Prison Museum, I had spotted a cute cafe called Bill’s. I walked back through Borough Market to Bill’s, passing some delightful murals.

I also saw The Globe Theatre, which Dan and I toured many years ago. The current Globe is a recreation of William Shakespeare’s famous Globe Theatre and its mission is to perform both Shakespeare’s works and modern playwrights. I have not seen a play here, but it is on my must-do list. The complex also houses The Swan restaurant, which is where I tried “The Worst Thing I Ever Ate.” Clink on this link to read about my experience at The Globe.

As an adventurous eater, I feel that the Erma Bombeck quote really sums up my attitude towards food, but it was also hilarious that the quote was on a board advertising a restaurant where I experienced one of my biggest food fails!

A huge food success, was my decadent chocolate bomb with caramel sauce and summery cocktail at Bill’s. I cannot recommend Bill’s enough, for atmosphere, friendly service, and great food. I look forward to returning on my next trip to London.

I have to confess that the other reason that I took a break, is that my feet were swollen from all of the walking. It is amazing how many miles I walked in London. I also did it in a pair of strappy gladiator sandals, which was probably not the best choice for arch support, but they did keep my feet cool in the summer heat.

The Tate Modern museum is just down the road from Bill’s. I took a leisurely walk and snapped a few shots of London. London is one of my favorite cities in the world and I hope that one day, we will have the opportunity to live there..

The Tate Modern had long been on my London bucket list. I love art museums, especially modern art and the Tate Modern is one of the most prestigious art institutions in the world.

The Tate Modern is expansive with throughly modern architecture.

The museum, like many in London, has free admission. London isn’t a cheap city, but they do make many of the cultural and historical attractions free, which is awesome. I grew-up in Los Angeles, where we have one day a month of free admission to museums, not every day!

I was overwhelmed by the space. It’s vast. It seemed like there was more open space than art. I used the guide map, but I felt lost.

I ended up paying a nominal fee to tour the special exhibition: Picasso 1932.

I prefer touring a single exhibit, rather than an entire museum. I find that taking a deep-dive into one artist or a specific collection, provides a richer experience. Plus, for all of my love of art, I can only handle about 3-4 hours, before I start to glaze over and lose my focus.

I wasn’t initially planning on viewing the Picasso 1932 exhibition, but the size of the Tate Modern was overwhelming, and I am a fan of Picasso. 1932 was a year of intense productivity and creativity for Picasso. He was in his early 50’s and had just opened his first large scale show in Paris. He was famous and successful, but he had started to feel trapped. Picasso was also influenced by the troubles of the world, including The Great Depression and the looming threat of Hitler’s power. Picasso 1932 was a fascinating look into this specific time in Picasso’s career.

I ended this long day of sight-seeing by the early evening and headed back to my hotel to rest my weary feet. No matter how exhausted, I can’t imagine a city vacation being anything less than an epic cramming of museums and historical landmarks. My in-laws used to call this the “American Style” of vacationing and I accept that 100%. This American is going to see it all!

England 2018: Eating Europe Food Tour (Part One)

I’m here to sing the praises of a tour company called Eating Europe Tours. In 2015, I took their Jordaan Food Tour in Amsterdam (click here for that blog post.) It was the best thing that I did on my Amsterdam holiday. The magic of Eating Europe Tours is how they seamlessly blend food and culture with the history of the neighborhoods. Instead of trying to encapsulate an entire country or city, they focus on a region of the city and take a four hour deep dive into a local neighborhood.

Since my last experience with the company, they have expanded, changing their name to Eating Europe Tours, rather than their previous Eating Amsterdam or Eating London. As my husband was busy working, I purchased a single ticket for the morning East End London tour. I also was a solo traveler on the Amsterdam tour and although I was the only person on the tour traveling alone, I easily made friends in the group. My London guide, Emily, was fantastic at making everyone feel included and I know that she took a little extra care to make sure that I was comfortable. It was appreciated.

The tour started at the Old Spitalfields Market, a covered outdoor mall with trendy restaurants and shops.

I am perpetually on-time or early, something that was ingrained into me by my punctual mom. However, I misjudged the distance from my hotel and got lost, sending me into an absolute panic and causing me to arrive about fifteen minutes late. I called the tour office and asked them for help, also asking them to convey to Emily that I would figure out how to catch up with the group. Luckily, they had not traveled far and I had not missed our first stop. I was sheepish though and out of breath as I joined the others. Emily couldn’t have been nicer about it. I was mortified.

Our first stop was St. John Bread and Wine for their famous bacon sandwich.

St. John Bread and Wine is multiple award-winning, including a coveted Michelin Star. The restaurant focuses on “tail to snout” eating, creating dishes that utilize the whole animal.

The sandwich was not oversold. It was a decadent blend of salt and fat, with bread that was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It was complete with a hearty slice of thick, quintessentially British, bacon. I love British bacon.

The trick I learned from my food tour in Amsterdam, was not to eat too much. The samples are more than samples, they are mini-meals and it is easy to fill-up. Instead of wolfing down the samples, I savored every bite and often did not finish the entire sample. I wanted to make sure that I had room to enjoy everything.

The second stop was a family owned business called The English Restaurant, where we sampled a British classic, Bread and Butter Pudding.

Bread and Butter pudding was originally a dessert (or as the British call dessert=pudding) for the working class, often made of stale bread.

I got suck-up points for being the only person in the group who had eaten this before. My mother-in-law actually made it for me the previous week! I’m not quite sure what makes it different from “Bread Pudding",” which my American aunt used to make.

The English Restaurant is a picture perfect English pub, something ripped straight out of a Hugh Grant rom-com. Our group was the only one inside, so we had plenty of opportunity to take pictures. A few people even bought pints. It was ten am.

The tours are as much about history and art, as they are about food. As we walked through the streets of the East End, Emily pointed out landmarks, explaining how the neighborhood has changed over the decades.

Our third stop was for cheese samples at The House of Androuet. This cute shop is run by a pair of brothers, who explained several samples of English cheeses. On a previous vacation in England, we actually visited the place where cheddar cheese comes from: The Cheddar Gorge.

The samples were getting increasingly substantial, as we hit our mid-way point: Poppie’s Fish and Chips. Poppies is a chain-restaurant that has been around since the 50’s and it has a retro vibe. The owner, Poppie, can often be found greeting customers. We were served a sample of the fish and chips with a side of mushy peas. Poppies has the best fish and chips that I have ever eaten. My husband, who is English and very familiar with London, had never been and based on this experience, I talked it up, so he tried it on his most recent business trip. He approved and this is high-praise from a connoisseur of the dish.

I’m going to stop here and keep you in suspense for the second half of my Eating Europe Tours: London East End food review! Mouth-watering pictures coming up. Don’t read unless you have a full belly!