Churchill War Rooms

On a cloudy day we went to the Churchill War Rooms. This was a bunker in Whitehall where Winston Churchill and staff planned strategy during World War 2. In some ways this place was fascinating. The bunker is recreated as it was then. I really liked the vintage items and the signage. Because of the close quarters and the audio guide, it's hard to maneuver around. Attached to the bunker is a fairly new Churchill Museum. This place was dark and hard to follow. Most of the items required a ton of reading, but with the number of visitors, this was tough to do. If we had visited at the height of Summer, it would have been so much worse. To top it off, admission was 17 pounds. Very expensive and crowded. Not sure if it was worth it for us.

I did mange a few snaps of the bunker area, however.

Entry to Staff Sleeping Quarters. The hall was not tall enough to stand erect.

Winston's Office - He also made a few radio broadcasts from here

Remington Noiseless Typewriter

Sleeping Quarters for the minister of Information

Veritys Fan

Window to the Map Room

Durbar

A small Indian restaurant tucked away off of a main artery in Bayswater made for a lovely and not-too-expensive meal one evening. Durbar features Indian cuisine from across the subcontinent. The place was established in 1956 and has garnered various awards and have been visited by a variety of celebrities throughout its existence. The best recommendation was from a couple of Brits walking out of the restaurant after a satisfying meal  - Best in Town.

We both enjoyed the meal and the quiet atmosphere. Entree choices were many and it was very hard to decide. One of the things we noticed with several Indian restaurants around London; the menu options offered beef dishes. While we both ended up ordering chicken, we thought this aspect was interesting.

Durbar Entrance

Kingfisher Beer from India

Durbar - Interior

Onion Bhajee with Mint Sauce

Chicken Makhani - Tandoori chicken breast with a spiced tomato and butter sauce

Lorient Chicken - Chicken with onions, yogurt, tomato, pepper, and coconut

Tate Britain

Tate Britain is the sister of Tate Modern. In fact, Tate Britain was the first Tate. When Tate Modern opened Tate was renamed Tate Britain. Tate Britain focuses on British artists from 1500 to today. Tate Britain is free, except for special exhibitions. We were delighted to see the wide range of offerings. Something that seemed awfully strange: most of the art - oils, pastels, you name it, were framed with glass. The glass had some incredible glare at times. So while we were free to take photos, we had to be very selective. We still have a good time exploring the variety of UK art.

St. James's Park

St. James's Park is the oldest park in London and a royal one to boot. We enjoyed seeing the  birds, especially the pelicans.

Trafalgar Square and the Crypt Cafe

Trafalgar Square is always a must-visit spot in London. Nelson's Column with all of the tourists cornering the lions. The National Gallery sporting art that one can see for free. The entertainers who delight the crowds for tips. The 4th Plinth where some general dude on a horse statue was supposed to be erected, but no one put up the money for the guy, so it was left bare. Now it's open for a contemporary sculpture that changes frequently. Another Trafalgar Square story involves the pigeons (or lack there of). Apparently, the square used to home to tens of thousands of the urban birds. The city got tired of cleaning all of the bird crap off of Lord Nelson and the lions just could not keep up with their grooming. Now the city feeds the pigeons early in the morning and engages falcons to keep the birds at bay the rest of the time. Brilliant!

Trafalgar Square - Not a pigeon in sight

Lions - Tourist-free for the moment

The National Gallery

The 4th Plinth

Man with fire-breathing tuba

Across the street from Trafalgar Square is the little church of St. Martin in the Fields (no field in sight now). In the basement of the church is the crypt which is now hosts the Cafe in the Crypt. And it still is a crypt. We ate over grave stones. Weird, eerie, and something that we had to do. The cafe is a cafeteria that offers soups, salads, hot entrees  and sandwiches.

St. Martin in the Fields

Cafe in the Crypt

Grilled Steak Sandwich

A variety of Fentiman's beverages abounded in London. I really liked the Rose  Lemonade

The fare is simple, but decent.

The Portman

The first night we arrived in London we ate at a pub called The Portman. Pubs can be hit or miss. The food can be dreadful and the atmosphere loud and claustrophobic.  This one was about a block and a half from our hotel (The Cumberland at Marble Arch). Because The Portman was away from the major arteries, I think we were the only tourists that evening. We also arrived fairly early (jet lag was settling in) and we were able to grab a seat before the locals came in to drown their sorrows after work.

The food was very tasty and the staff were very nice since we were not familiar with the routine of ordering at the bar. I would recommend it.

Entrance to The Portman

A right proper bar. Hubby enjoyed the G & T's.

Beer Battered Haddock with Chips and Proper Mushy Peas

The Portman Burger with Smoked Cheese

The Portman is located on Upper Berkeley Street in Marylebone. Upper Berkeley turned out to be a very good street, indeed. We returned twice more to dine at other restaurants along the block.

After our satisfying pub meal we returned to The Cumberland and slept for about 12 hours.

The Obligatory Buckingham Palace Photos

Of course we had to walk by Buckingham Palace, just because. And take the usual snaps. While the Queen was in residence, she did not bother to come out and greet us.

For the first week of our stay the weather constantly changed. Cloudy, light rain showers, windy, and then sun - all within the span of 10 minutes. Some of my photos reflect this ever-changing phenomenon.

We did not bother with attempting to see the changing of the guard. Too long of a wait and too crowded. I'm also short, so I probably could not see it anyway. As it turned out we happened upon another version later in the week where we could see most of the action without the crowd (more on this in a later post).

And without further adieu, here are the good, cliched, and unusual shots of Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial.

The Palace

Victory

Guarding

When the British Flag waves over Buckingham Palace the Queen is in residence

Stickers can be found at Buckingham Palace

The Queen has a view of the eye

Unicorn at the gate

Iron Crown

Different charms had been placed on various trees

Statue representing Agriculture

Edwardian Scream

Harrods is everywhere

Victoria was both Queen and Empress

Part of the gate system at Buckingham Palace. I love the art nouveau touch of this keyhole.

Worth a brief visit, but do not get too caught up in the spectacle.