Second Day in London, England

Saturday morning, May 2nd, after a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we headed off to Greenwich where the famous, Victorian trading ship, Cutty Sark, is berthed, and the Fan Museum is located. 

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is located in the south-east area of London, and like most of England, it's charming and quaint. Greenwich is especially known for its maritime history, and is a World Heritage Site, with the Cutty Sark being a major attraction.  The town center [below] is to one side of the tube station, and the Cutty Sark to the other.

I'm not a nautical person, but since the Cutty Sark is the last tea clipper surviving into the twenty-first century, I wanted to see her during my visit to England. The clipper accumulated more sea miles than any of her contemporaries, and was finer, faster, and more famous than any of them. She was threatened by fire in 2007 but fortunately was saved.  I remember my hubby assembling a model of Cutty Sark when we were dating, long before I was into tea and knew the ship's significance to it.

The Cutty Sark was built for one purpose - to bring tea back from China to London quickly. She was launched in November, 1869, and left London bound for Shanghai in February 1870.  The round trip took 110 days.  By the late 1870's steamships began replacing sailing ships as carriers of tea cargo, and the Cutty Sark was forced to carry a variety of other cargoes such as coal, wool, beer, and whatever else she could find to transport. The clipper sailed 25 voyages in 25 years under the British flag.  Scottish owner, John Willis, sold the clipper in 1895 to a Portuguese owner. After numerous owners, a retired British sea captain purchased and restored the vessel to a clipper ship appearance. Upon his untimely death, his wife presented the ship to the Incorporated Thames Nautical College in 1938. 

Frank Carr, the Director of the National Maritime Museum, became a more recent savior of the Cutty Sark in the 1950's with the help of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh when the ship was brought to Greenwich.  She was opened to the public by HM Queen Elizabeth II in June, 1957, and then closed in 2006 for restoration.  Upon completion she was re-opened in 2012. 

Cutty Sark's name comes from a Robert Burns' poem, Tam O'Shanter, published in 1791, and the ship's figurehead, is Nannie, the beautiful witch. 

The poem's story goes like this: Tam got drunk and was riding his horse, Maggie, home one night. Approaching a church, he was surprised to see the lights on, and urged Maggie forward for a closer look.  Through the window he saw the altar had been desecrated and the building was full of warlocks and witches dancing to a tune played on the bagpipes by the devil himself. The witches were all old hags, except for one - Nannie, a young beauty, cavorting in a 'cutty sark' - a short shift. Tam was overwhelmed by the sight of Nannie in her revealing outfit and cried out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark!"

Lori and I bought tickets to go on the self-guided tour, with guides positioned about the ship to answer questions and provide information.

In the cargo area, interesting information is written on old wooden tea chests that transported the tea.  I've included just a sampling in the pictures below.

   [A Cutty Sark Guide]

In the lower hold area [the main cargo space of the ship], they showed an interesting short video on the screen below.  I wrote down a few tidbits to share with you:

• It was the fastest ship in the world with a speed of 20 m.p.h.
• 10,000 chests of tea were loaded from China worth more than £18.5 million in today's money - enough for two hundred million cups of tea!
• The ship had a crew of 26 - some as young as 14 years old.
• The ship gave a total of 52 years of service, sailing 957,995 nautical miles - equaling 2 1/2 times to the moon and back!

~ Topside on the Cutty Sark ~

~ The crew's bunks ~

Lori and me with the River Thames in the background.

After touring the ship, we went underneath it where the Even Keel Cafe is located. We prayed it was securely suspended!  ;-)

We didn't have the Afternoon Tea because it had to be pre-booked, but it would have been a bargain at £19.95 per person, which included entry to the Cutty Sark.  I ordered a cream tea [tea and dessert] and Lori ordered coffee and dessert.  

Lori ordered a slice of Banana/Chocolate bread, and I ordered Victoria Sponge Cake.  Both were good.  My tea was a Breakfast blend.

A tea display in the Cafe.

~ Drawers of assorted teas ~

Then it was upstairs to the gift shop.  My purchases are pictured below - a tin of Cutty Sark loose-leaf tea blended by Twinings...

~ And a souvenir Cutty Sark book ~

While I didn't purchase them, I thought these tins of tea in the Old Royal Naval College gift shop were cute.

~ I purchased a tea towel there. ~

Lori and I took pictures next to an iconic British telephone booth that cell phones have made obsolete. The booth below didn't have a telephone inside it. They're probably primarily for tourists like us!  ;-)

The mailbox, however, is currently in use.

From the Cutty Sark, we headed the opposite direction to the Fan Museum on Croom's Hill - tomorrow's post.

First Day in London, England

After months of planning, the day of our departure finally arrived - April 30, 2015!

We left home early to stop for dinner before arriving at Detroit Metro Airport [DTW] for the 8 hour flight to London's Heathrow airport.  After checking our luggage, and going through security, we made our way to boarding gate A40.  I breathed a huge sigh of relief when my luggage weighed in at 44 lbs. - 6 lbs. less than the allotted weight, but not much room for purchases to bring home! Not to worry, however, because there was a large, empty nylon duffel bag in my suitcase solely for purchases. I used it as my carry-on bag on the return flight home.

With boarding pass and passport in hand we anxiously awaited boarding the large Boeing 767 shortly after 9:30 p.m.  What fun awaited us in London, and it was wonderful to be able to share it all with my daughter, Lori.

A prearranged driver was waiting at Heathrow airport to take us to The Boltons Hotel [a Best Western] in Knightsbridge, which would be our 'home' for the next 12 days. 

It wasn't check-in time when we arrived, so we left our luggage at the hotel, and headed to the tube station bound for Selfridge Department Store where we would enjoy our first Afternoon Tea in London.

I didn't go through a travel agent, and planned my own itinerary.  At the time I didn't think of it as a 'tea trip', but it ended up being that because tea was a part of every day.

Earl's Court, the tube station, was about two blocks from our hotel.  My dear friend, Ruth, who lives in Michigan, but is from England, wrote out which tubes to take to every destination on our itinerary. What a huge help!  We purchased our Oyster Cards at the station, which allowed us to ride the tube, and eagerly  began our day's adventure.

Listing of tube stops [below] inside the underground station. Lori's, sense of direction is much better than mine, so I gave her Ruth's detailed instructions, and tagged along beside her. Amazing how roles reverse with time! ;-)

Familiar words at the tube station from my 2007 visit to England.  The gap is the space from the edge of the platform, to the door of the tube.  Sometimes the gap is minimal and other times it's rather large.  Falling into the gap would not be a good thing!  ;-)

We got off the tube at Bond Street, and walked to Selfridges at the corner of Oxford and Baker Streets.  London was bustling with people that Friday afternoon, and we took several photos en route to Selfridges.

Below is the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain and Statue of Eros at Piccadilly Circus [circle]. Piccadilly Circus is a road hub connecting several streets, and it is also a high profile public area [often used for protests].  It is said to be London's equivalent of NYC's Time Square.

Finally we arrived at Selfridge & Co.  I watch the PBS series Mr. Selfridge, and I also have a fascination for old, established department stores, so Selfridge was high on my priority list.

The high-end, flagship department store is huge.  It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1909 and is the second largest store in the UK after Harrods. Selfridges' life story is fascinating and tragic.  He was born in Wisconsin, but lived for a time in both Jackson and Grand Rapids MI. At age 18 he was hired at Marshall Field's in Chicago, and remained there for the next 25 years, working his way up to a junior partner.  It was Selfridge who was responsible for Marshall Field's opening its first tea room in 1890, and his London store had a tea room and several restaurants as well.

Unfortunately, Selfridge had numerous liaisons [including the Dolly Sisters who supposedly spent £5 million of his fortune], and a gambling problem.  In 1939 he was ousted from the store he founded, and died destitute in 1947.  

Today's Selfridge store has 16 different eateries, but it's the art deco inspired Dolly's café where Afternoon Tea is served.  Located on the lower ground level, it's named after the glamorous, identical Dolly twins who entranced Harry Selfridge!

The Dolly Sisters [their professional name] are pictured below.  They were Hungarian born, and their parents emigrated to the US when they were 12 years old.  As talented dancers and performers they soon became a Vaudeville hit.  Their producer's wife thought they were just like two cute little dolls, and called them "Dollies", and the name stuck.  Their reputation for dating wealthy men earned them the nickname "The Million Dollar Dollies."  In the end, their story is as sad as Harry Selfridges, but we focused on more tranquil and pleasant thoughts as we enjoyed our Afternoon Tea.  ;-)

I had Darjeeling tea, and Lori had a cappuccino. 

[Lori opposide the three tiered tea tray]

Hummus on a Crostini garnished with a roasted Red Pepper, and Salmon in a hard roll.

Cream Cheese and Chives on White Bread; Turkey on Tomato Bread; Smoked Salmon on Cracked Wheat Bread; and Egg Salad and Water Cress on White Bread.

~ Scones with jam and real clotted cream! ~

~ Two pastries - a raspberry filled, and a caramel filled by Belle Époque ~

Directly across from Dolly's [inside Selfridge's] was Mariage Frères.  I'm glad I got at least one photo before I was told it wasn't allowed due to copyright laws.  Seriously??

I purchased some Marco Polo loose-leaf tea, and took a photo of it after I returned to the hotel room! 

When we left Selfridge's, we returned to our hotel for the night.  

~ Photos of our room #106 ~   

No hotel room in England would be complete without a tea station!

End of day #1.  I'll break future posts up into sections so they won't be as long as this one.

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Today I'm joining Antiques and Teacups for Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Bernideen's Tea Time Blog for Friends Sharing Tea
Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea Time Tuesday

Meeting a Blogging Friend

One of the joys of blogging are the friendships that are made.  Fellow blogger, Nancy, from Two Cottages and Tea, and I have enjoyed an Internet friendship for awhile, and we finally got to meet shortly before I left for England.

Nancy contacted me saying she and her husband, Neil, would be passing through on their way to Florida, and she wondered if we could meet at a tea room or restaurant. I happily extended an invitation for them to have lunch at our house.  It was so nice meeting them, and sharing friendship around our table. Our time was limited due to their travel schedule, but they confirmed what I've always said - you meet the nicest people over tea!

I made shepherd's pie and set the table with pink/red Johnson Brother's transferware, but didn't take any photos of the tablescape.

Congratulations to Neil and Nancy who celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary while vacationing in Florida.  Best wishes for many more happy years together!

~ A lovely friendship keepsake from Nancy ~