Whirlwind London

Last Saturday, Marge and I ventured to Portsmouth to see the HMS Victory (Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar). We arrived a little before lunchtime and grabbed food at a small pub overlooking the water. The town feels very small and quaint (although it has its fair share of shopping centers and tourist sights), and it's easy to imagine what it must have been like over the many centuries that it's been a naval port. There are not many high-rise buildings, but there were lots of little shops and casual eateries.



After lunch, we bought tickets to the "Portsmouth Historic Dockyard." We decided to visit the Victory first to allow Marge the most time to gawk at it. The Victory was very impressive, and we were able to tour almost the entirety of the ship.



Unfortunately, flash photography was prohibited inside the ship, and all my interior photos came out a bit blurry; however, here's a photo of Marge standing on the spot where Nelson supposedly fell.



We spent about an hour and a half on the Victory and decided to catch the 3PM Harbour Tour. Pretty much, we just floated around the harbour in a large ferry and were told about the ships and sights of Portsmouth. It was fun, but the coast was very, very cold and it was even colder on the water.

Next, we toured the HMS Warrior, but by that time, it was getting close to closing time. As we were wandering about, Marge and I encountered the TARDIS! We both did a bit of a double-take (and our camera batteries were dead so we played battery roulette to find which combination of dying batteries would power my camera).



After the Dockyards closed, we wandered around Portsmouth for another hour or so before hopping the train back to London (and dinner).

------

NOTE: For right now, the Portsmouth photos are the only photos I have to post. I got a digital camera from my family but not the cable to connect it to my computer. I've been putting my memory chip into Abbey's camera (her cable doesn't work with my camera) to download photos, and Abbey just left for Dublin...

------

On Sunday, Marge and I met up with a couple friends at the Camden Market. The market is really extensive and always interesting. It was a beautiful day, and we had a takeaway lunch outside. Then, we headed over to the British Museum and wandered around there until it closed. In the evening, we joined Abbey for an Oscars party (which both Marge and I left early to go to sleep).

On Monday, I had classes from 10AM-6PM, so I gave Marge a map and let her wander around London as she pleased. She went to Greenwich for the National Maritime Museum. We wanted to do a quiz night at a local pub, but as it turns out, we needed reservations so our team instead went for milkshakes at Tinseltown.

Marge came to class (Early Modern Britain) with me on Tuesday, and afterward, we walked to Trafalgar Square to go to the National Portrait Gallery. Similarly, after class on Wednesday, we went to the Imperial War Museum, had fish & chips for lunch, and continued on to the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

Thursday was relatively low-key, as I had class from 2-4PM. Marge met up with a friend of mine for lunch, and after class, we met up with another friend at Oxford Circus. We went to the beautiful Liberty Store. After dinner, Marge, Abbey, and I went for bagels at Brick Lane (the ONLY place in London that BOILS their bagels!), but we came back relatively early because Abbey had to catch a flight to Dublin the next morning.

So, on Friday, Marge and I went to the Whitecross Street Market for lunch, then I went to class, and after, we went to the V&A. The V&A is quite an impressive museum. We were there for almost 4 hours and we saw such a minuscule fraction of the exhibits. We wandered through part of Europe, an interesting exhibit on fashion through the ages, some sculpture, jewelry, portrait miniatures, and an incredible theatre & performance exhibit. Before I left for London, Marge and I met up in New Haven for pizza, and while we were there, we went to the Yale Center for British Art, where they were having a special exhibit on Henry Walpole and Strawberry Hill. Coincidentally, this SAME exhibit opened at the V&A just that week!

In the evening, Marge and I went on a historic pub walk. The subsequent review will have its own post.