Wandering Through My Past

Now doesn't that title make me sound ancient?   Depending on your age, you may think that I am old or young.  I consider myself to be, in the words of Goldilocks, "Just right!"

My first trip out of the USA was in 1979.  I went with a college group on a mission trip to Mexico. Sadly I don't have pictures.  I didn't expect to enjoy the trip, but I did.

Many years later, I took a pleasure trip to England. I had read lots of English writers as a child and had always wanted to go there.  In fact the influence of those English written books show up sometimes when I write.  Color becomes colour; favorite -favourite -etc.  The British spellings and some "odd by American standards" words seem normal to me.

So about the trip. I travelled alone, flying from Atlanta, Georgia to London's Heathrow airport.  I had instructions to buy a ticket and take the subway to the Lancaster Gate tube stop. From there I went to my hotel.   No problem at all. I loved riding the tube (subway.) Here is a Tube map.  I carried one of these in my pocket at all times to navigate London.

I did a lot of sightseeing while I was there.  I asked many "strangers" to take pictures of me. All of them obliged willingly and very politely.
Here are some of those photos.

Here I am in front of a church ????  Sadly I am not sure which one, perhaps St. Paul's Cathedral. (it is actually St. Margaret's - thanks to my readers for correcting me.)   But I do know that the tower in the background is an iconic London sight- Big Ben.

I am a voracious reader and have been since childhood.  This picture is at 84 Charing Cross Road. I loved the book that was named for the address - 84 Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff.  So of course I had to get a picture.  The truth is that I was "lost" that day.  I stumbled upon the address quite by accident.  This picture was taken by another tourist. She took my picture and I took one of her with her travelling companion.
Another joy on this trip was seeing a live musical.  There were several that interested me, but I only attended two of them.   The best was Les Miserables.

I fell in love with the music of this and bought a wonderful cast recording when I got home. I know most of the words and almost always sing along.

One other amazing place I visited was the British museum.  I was amazed that everything wasn't encased in glass or roped off.  This next picture shows the Rosetta Stone.

I also took a boat ride down the Thames and went to Greenwich.

Yes I am standing with my feet across the Prime Meridian of the world.

A friend at work has a brother who lived in England.  I left London and went into the countryside with him.  One glorious place we stopped was Corfe Castle. It is a ruined castle and is a property of the British National Trust in Dorset.

You may notice that my hair has changed in these last two pictures.   When I left the British museum that day in London.  I stopped in a little barber shop and got a haircut. A nice Cockney lady barber cut my hair.   I didn't understand half of what she said, but we had a great time listening to each others accents.

Now, if you are a British reader and I have messed up any of the "facts" in this post, feel free to let me know in the comments.

My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.