Parklife: The Wallace Collection

Hello All!

Have you ever wondered what the inside of a regular aristocratic home looks like?  Once upon a time the aristocracy was definitely closer to royalty than to middle class people.  But, because of collections I am about to tell you about, most of the surviving members of those families are BROKE!  Status in this country is more about power and to whom you are related.  In fact, those of the aristocracy (and those in the lower classes) hate the middle class's obsession with Brand Names.  It seems backwards ... believe me, I'm just as confused by social classes here .... it is indeed backwards, and I don't pretend to understand how it all works.

The Hertford House in Manchester Square

If you can't figure out the previous paragraph, don't worry about it.  Just look ahead to one of the most amazing private collections in Britain: The Wallace Collection at the Hertford House.  Why not the Wallace House?  Well, Sir Richard Wallace inherited the collection from his father, Sir Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford.  Wallace was a bastard child, but the only one of Conway, and had practically zero contribution to the collection.  After Wallace's death, his widow donated the collection and the house to the public, on the condition that no item in the collection is ever removed (not even to go on loan).

Main Staircase across from front doors

A few fun facts about the collection: it is the largest private collection of clocks (see how many you can spot in the pictures below) and of armor!  The brochure didn't mention anything about this, but every room had at least one bronze sculpture of Hercules slaying some monster (I really liked finding these!).  There were lots of paintings, including some Rubens, Canaletto (he painted all those scenes of Venice), Rembrandt (even a self portrait), Turner, Joshua Reynolds (who I really love), van Dyck, and more.

Green Room

The house itself is very beautiful.  While the house is large, the rooms are not - there are just a lot of rooms.  I've noticed this in and around London, even in places like Buckingham and Windsor.  In the US it's definitely more fashionable to have a big house with big rooms.  Every room in Hertford was a different color, and vibrantly decorated.

The Green Room (these rooms had actual names, but my memory isn't that good) was one of my favorites mostly because green is my favorite color (in case you are ever overwhelmed with the urge to buy me things).  Ironically, I don't think this room had a Hercules sculpture, but it did have an excellent ship painting on the wall opposite an exquisite mantel clock!  This room had 6 clocks.

Green Room Fireplace and Mirror

Also, do you see the long, glass-doored book shelf under the ships?  Well, the middle shelf contains the complete Encyclopedia Britannica (circa 1800), and the lower shelf has all the supplements!  Thank goodness for digital archives!

(I apologize if the pictures aren't so clear.  The lighting in some of the rooms was dimmer in order to preserve the artwork on the walls.)

All the items in the Wallace collection were purchased on one of Conway's many trips around the world, which is why there is such an incredible variety. (Collections like this is probably why the aristocracy has no more money.  In fact, on the eve of the First World War, it was fashionable to marry American socialites because even though their money was "dirty" money (money earned instead of inherited), it could still be used to "bail out" the British aristocracy).  The widest variation, however, is most apparent in the EXTENSIVE collection of weapons and armor.  In fact, there is a whole wing of the house called "The Armory".  It has suits of amour (many of them complete suits) from all over the world, from almost every century!  There are also full-body equine armor sets!  Can you believe that?  It was really cool to see.  Weapons included swords, pistols, bayonettes, daggers, lances, those spikey balls on the end of a chain (heck if I know what that's called), throwing stars .... the list is never-ending!

These were the two complete equine war suits in the collection.

Red Room

And, no Victorian aristocratic home would be complete without a painting of Her Royal Highness, Queen Victoria .... in the Royal Red Room, no less!

If you cannot spot her, a young depiction of Victoria is on the right side of this picture.  Just below her frame are 3 Herculean sculptures!

I hope you enjoyed your peek into this aristocratic home, and thanks for reading.

Never Mellow Portobello

Contrary to what you might be thinking, there will be absolutely zero traces of fungus in this post.  So, if that's what you're expecting, then turn on the Food Network or something.

Kensington Palace, south side

Portobello Market is located in Knotting Hill, bordering the north-west edge of Hyde Park.  You must be so tired of hearing about Hyde Park!  I really love it, though, and every time I go I find something new.  For those of you who watch Ripper Street* or Doctor Who, the Police lantern in front of the Hyde Park Police House (who had any idea that this place existed?) will look quite familiar!  Also, here is a beautiful view of the south side of Kensington Palace, framed by changing leaves.

Hyde Park Police house

Hyde Park Police blue lantern

Portobello Street is very charming because it's in a semi-residential area, and the buildings that line the street are very colorful.  Even though Portobello is an outdoor to-do like Camden and Borough Markets, it seems to specialize in antique (and more expensive) items: silver sets, painted porcelain, ornate clocks**, Victorian-era jewelry, etc.  With all those zeroes in mind, I held my purse close in those areas - I was NOT about to accidentally knock a £25,000 sculpture onto the floor!  Yes, there were items that pricey.  It was definitely fun to look, though.

Portobello Market

The popular food items on Portobello Street are crepes and specialty/gourmet/super-secret-recipe hot chocolate and coffee concoctions.  Those menus were more confusing to look at than the ones at Starbucks, which is really saying something about Portobello cafes.

Speaking of Starbucks, I ordered a Pumpkin Spice Latte the other day and it went like this (another necessary tangent, I promise!):

Sbux barista: ... and your name?
me: Adena
barista: Right .... I'm just gonna write "D", is that alright?
me: Absolutely!  That's what my professor calls me, anyway.
barista: We Brits struggle when a word has too many vowels.

To summarize, Brits are funny and both my pumpkin spice latte and my Portobello Street mocha were delicious.  Moving on.

Sheep on Portobello

The more affordable items included handmade things like scarves, dresses, hair accessories (yes, I looked hard for that big feather I want so badly for my hair), costume jewelry, etc.  By far the cutest and probably most random item: tiny handcarved and painted sheep (50 pence each (100 pence in 1 pound)).  And they were all different!  I should have picked one up.  Oh well.

I also spent a lot of time browsing booths selling first edition books.  There were Bibles, Jane Austen volumes, Shakespeare plays, C.S. Lewis works, etc.  Some of them had inscriptions from previous owners, which was pretty cool.  And, speaking of famous novelists and poets, I passed the home of George Orwell on my way to Portobello Market.  It looked pretty ordinary other than a plaque declaring its historical significance, but still significant to mention.

I saved this for last because it was so freaking cool and it took me a good 10 minutes to actually remember to take a picture (or 4 or 5).  Inside a clothing store on Portobello Street, there were shelves and shelves of old Singer sewing machines!  What's the big deal?  Well, we have an old Singer at my house (back in Pennsylvania) that I learned to sew with and we recently discovered that it was manufactured in February 1917!  Pretty cool, right?

Strangest part: This store (I can't even remember the name) was not selling sewing machines.  Only clothing.  I wish the machines were displayed with labels with year of manufacture.

Unfortunately, I didn't stay much longer than 2 hours because it was raining on and off.  On my way home I may or may not have been temporarily lost in the residential parts of Knotting Hill.  I don't usually bring a map with me (I do consult one before I go out) because I have a pretty good sense of direction, which is how I find all the really cool corners of London.  The fact that Knotting Hill has an abnormal number of dead ends definitely did not help.  I eventually made it back to Hyde Park.  On my return, I walked down Palace Ave (along the west border of Hyde Park).  This particular drive has various embassies (I definitely saw the ones for Russia and Romania) and residences of embassy/consulate officials.

And thus wraps another non-mellow portobello adventure-o!  Thanks for reading!

* Ripper Street stars Matthew Macfadyen (so it's automatically worth a watch), a police detective in Whitechapel who experienced the chaos of the Jack the Ripper murders.  The show starts 6 months after those murders.  Great writing and great acting!
** Sorry, Aunt Lori, the smallest clock they had for your mantelpiece was £350 (that almost $600)

Hue-ing Hyde and Ostentatious Oxford St

Yesterday was one of Britain's 8 sunny days and I took full advantage with a walk through the eastern side of Hyde Park, Oxford Street, and much more!

Because I know that my blogger babble gets tiresome, I am going to try something new with this post.  Let me know how you like it.

This is the general route I took yesterday ... thank goodness for screenshots!

View from 1st floor, 14 Queen's Gate

NUMBER 1: 14 Queen's Gate

This is where I live, literally half a block from Hyde Park.
As you can see, it really was super sunny outside, and I will take any opportunity to wear my shades!


I was out for 3 or so hours, and therefore have lots to show you ....

Queen's Gate

Every journey through Hyde Park begins and ends through this gate: Queen's Gate!

Albert Memorial

NUMBER 2: Albert Memorial

I won't elaborate too much here (see my Discovering Hyde Park post for more details about the Albert Memorial), but thought that it would be helpful to number a landmark I've mentioned before to better situate you.

Also, I couldn't pass up this AMAZING cloud-scape behind the Albert Memorial.  You can also see the Royal Albert Hall in the background.










NUMBER 3: South side of the Serpentine

I'm going to classify the Serpentine as a lake, but it has a current, which doesn't make sense to me .... in any case, it's a popular spot for boating, feeding the birds, etc.  You can also see that the trees in Hyde Park are starting to turn beautiful shades of orange, red, and yellow for autumn!

Hue-ing Hyde Park

Bridge over Serpentine

The bridge you see here is THE road for cars through the Park.  Hyde is amazingly quiet amongst the bustling streets of London.  I've never been to Central Park in NYC, but I imagine it has a similar feel.


NUMBER 4: Head of the Serpentine

The Serpentine

It is hard to tell if this is the head or the tail of the Serpentine,  but I'll call it the head because I think the Serpentine looks a bit like a tadpole or a whale.  Around this area there were a few cafes, lots of benches to picnic or just read a book.

The Serpentine is a man-made lake/pond/whatever constructed for Queen Caroline, wife of King George II, in 1730.  Since then, it has been an iconic feature of Hyde Park and was certainly an attraction during the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Crystal Fields, Hyde Park

NUMBER 5: (Crystal Palace) Grounds

Clearly the Crystal Palace, which used to house Albert's Great Exhibition of 1851, is long gone, but I took a photograph of the area it covered on the east end of the Park.  The Palace was HUGE: 1851 feet long,  just a bit longer than 6 American football fields!  I have cleverly named this area Crystal Fields.

I know what you're thinking: man, I wish my lawn was so green!

Marble Arch

NUMBER 6: Marble Arch

To be perfectly honest, this is a complete shot in the dark.  I think Marble Arch used to be one of the grand entrances to Hyde Park, but no longer fills that capacity.  Today Ring Road loops around it, effectively cutting if off from Hyde, a common type of alteration to London (especially along Regents Street near Piccadilly Circus).

You may remember me saying that I go to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue.  Well, if you walk through the archway, cross the street, continue for a block or two, WMAS is on the right.  When it's nice outside, it's quite a pleasant walk to shul.

From here, I walked under the Arch and turned right to experience the shopping scene on Oxford Street.

NUMBER 7: Oxford Street

Oxford St from Marble Arch

Oxford Street is lined with shops, and is almost always a crowded part of town.  As you travel east along Oxford, the price tags get more and more expensive until they disappear altogether.  As they say, if you have to ask the price of an untagged item, you probably can't afford it.  That didn't stop me from looking at all the window displays!






NUMBER 8: Pedestrian Walk from Oxford to Brook Street

While London is full of busy streets lined with even busier sidewalks, there are also lots of small, quiet pedestrian routes that magically transport you to a small town in the countryside (this picture actually reminds me of my visit to Hull).  They are truly incredible.  I took this path south from Oxford to New Bond Street and Brook Street.

Pedestrian only shopping walk

The award for most outrageous storefront went to the MASSIVE Victoria's Secret on the corner of New Bond and Brook.  Instead of what you'd expect to see - the PINK display and various colorful sets of lady's undergarments - the mannequins were wearing the outfits from previous years' Victoria's Secret New York fashion shows.  I'm talking about the whole super sparkly, feathered and tasselled sha-bang.

Dartmouth House, Charles St

NUMBER 9: Dartmouth House, Charles Street

On account of the sun beginning to set around 4:15pm (yeah, we're pretty far north here), I turned westward, around Berkeley Square (built by some guy named Lord Berkeley in the 17th or 18th century), to head home.  This area is a pretty ritzy part of town.  How do I know?  It couldn't have been the Rolls Royce-Bugatti and Bentley car dealerships all in a row.  That was an awesome line of stores to walk past, but also sad because, as I say about all expensive cars stuck in traffic (or, in this case, behind glass): so many ponies and nowhere to go!



That was quite the tangent: my apologies.  Pictured is a really cool building I saw on Charles Street.  The Dartmouth House was probably originally a private residence, but it looks like it's a hotel now.  I'm not sure.


NUMBER 10: Hue-ing Ivy on Curzon St

Curzon St

I have nothing interesting to say about this house other than I liked how the ivy is changing color.  Also, you don't see much ivy on buildings here -- I suspect it's a British we-must-have-everything-just-so thing.
















NUMBER 11: Hyde Park Rose Garden

On the return trek through Hyde Park, I skirted the southern border of the park, parallel to Carriage Drive (legible on the map), and found myself in a rose garden!  Unfortunately this is the tail-end of rose season, so there were only a few to see, but there was definitely a sweet-smelling residue in the air.

Archer Fountain, Hyde Rose Garden

Trellised Walkway, Hyde Rose Garden

Thanks for walking with me!

Adventures with Architecture: Somerset House

Hello All!

First and foremost, I just found this out maybe 30 seconds ago: series 3 of BBC's Sherlock (aka the BEST show you'll ever watch .... ever) will be aired in the US beginning January 19th!!  You're welcome.

Now for the afterthought of the post.  Mondays this half of the semester are my architecture class and field trip days, so you can expect lots of cool looking buildings in future posts.

A few centuries ago, the River Thames used to be much wider than it is today, which is why many of the older buildings near the Thames have wide entrances - they were originally designed to receive visitors arriving by boat.  It was even wide enough to comfortably hold the whole of the Royal Navy.  Now, the Thames is much narrower and roads now exist along its edges, in front of the aforementioned buildings.  On Monday we visited the Somerset House, London's first general office building for the various departments of the government, which means some parts of Somerset are much different than others.  Because many different kinds of people were going to occupy the space, the architect of the Somerset House designed almost a small city.  Each department occupied a vertical section of the building.  It is a beautiful space!

Somerset House, square floating staircase

Here is one of the many staircases in Somerset House.  This particular one is quite advanced for its time and definitely follows the form-fits-function rule.  This is called a floating staircase because its counter supports extend into the walls.  You may notice that the railings closer to the bottom are quite plain, and get fancier as it ascends.  This is very Downton Abbey-esque: evidence of upstairs/downstairs class divisions.  The railings have the fancier designs beginning at the ground floor level.

Oh, and because this absolutely matters .... we call the iron things that prevent you from falling over the edge of the stairs "railings," but here they call them "balustrades" because "railings" are what enclose yards and parks.  To summarize (British to American), railings are fences, and balustrades are railings.

Somerset House, circular floating staircase

This staircase is also floating, but is WAY cooler than the previous one, and is by far the greatest design in the entire Somerset House!  Not only does it spiral up a rounded space, but it also sweeps through the middle of the space (pictured) and splits at the bottom.  Also, its angle of ascension is not the same all the way up (steeper in some parts than others), but it maintains such an elegant design that it's actually hard to tell without a second look.

The woman in the red pants (or trousers) is my professor ... I know, she looks like one of us.  She's actually really cool and knows a lot about the evolution of London's architecture!

The other landmark of the Somerset House is its courtyard.  The architect specifically noted that there should never be any trees planted in that space because they would obstruct the effect of the courtyard.  Scroll down to see what he meant:

Interior North-Facing side of Somerset House

I will try my best to orient you in this courtyard, but first of all, how awesome is this fountain?!  The jets of water change heights every so often.  On warmer days I'm sure people run through this all the time.

The North side of the courtyard: If you walk through the building, under the dome, you will find yourself on a balcony overlooking a busy road (The Strand) and the Thames.  Two floors beneath that that balcony is where boats would have arrived.

Interior South-Facing Entrance of Somerset House

The South side of the courtyard: If you walk straight through those two arches, you will be on street/ground level and at the Main Entrance of the Somerset House.  If you look down the street to the left, you will be able to spot Horatio Nelson on top of his obelisk at Trafalgar Square, and if you look in the opposite direction, you will have a clear view of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral (it's those protected views I mentioned WAY back in September).

While Somerset House is still the home of many government departments and agencies, others have moved elsewhere, which has left space for temporary and permanent galleries.

Our last stop was the British Museum.  Unfortunately, you will have to wait to hear about what you can see there because (a) we only went in to see the Elgin Marbles (originally affixed to the Parthenon in Athens) and (b) I am saving the museum for when my family meets me here in December.  But, I can tell you that the British Museum houses the famous Rosetta Stone, and the Museum's inner Reading Room is where Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital.

The British Museum

My professor volunteered my camera for this class photo in front of the British Museum, an excellent example of neo-classical architecture.

Vintage Mini

I've been waiting FOREVER to see one of these vintage Minis because they are so small and look like toy cars!  You should see how they zip around this city!  This one was the first I saw parked.

That's all for now!  Thanks for reading!

Mustache Man and Famous Cleaning Supplies

Hey Everyone!

This bit of information was too good not to share ASAP, so I am taking a much-needed study/research break to tell you all about it!

This morning I ran to the market to pick up milk, cheese, cereal, and the essential companion to all things academic .... chocolate.  Clearly, I couldn't start my day without these items (perhaps the cheese).  I go crazy if I do anything without breakfast.  Biologically speaking, calcium is extremely important for muscle contraction, and potassium is used by every cell in the body for basic functioning.  Thus, at the very least, you should be eating a banana (as those Chiquita stickers say: yum yum potassi-yum!) and drinking a glass of milk at the start of your day.

On my trek to acquire these coveted groceries, I passed a man, most definitely a chauffeur by the look of his emerald and black uniform and cap, wiping down his Mercedes sedan with a rag in one hand an a spray bottle in the other.  Why did this warrant a space on this blog?  Well, from a block away I could see that the liquid inside the spray bottle was a brilliant shade of electric blue .... which can only mean one thing .... say it with me .... JUST PUT SOME WINDEX ON IT!  Yes, Readers, MyBigFatGreekWedding officially exists on the streets of South Kensington!  Unfortunately it would have been super strange if I had stopped to photograph the phenomenal sight ... but you get the point.

And, while we're on the subject of picture-worthy things, on my way back from Camden Town (see my previous post for Camden Market details) I spotted THE GREATEST mustache I've ever seen.  Of course, Friedrich Nietzsche had the mustache of all time, but this guy had the best one I've ever seen in person.  I was so close to asking him if I could take a picture of him, and I really should have because I'm sure someone has asked him before.  But, it was so ingrained in my memory that I went home and did a quick sketch so I could give you some idea.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Mustache Man

This rough (very rough) rendering of Mustache Man definitely doesn't do the mustache, so perfectly groomed and waxed on the ends, justice, but I couldn't leave you with words alone.

The best thing, though, was that this guy acted like it was completely normal - nothing else about him was over-the-top, which is a big deal because it's pretty common to see well-dressed people on the Tube who are constantly fussing over their hair, clothing, make-up, etc.

Moral of the story: Don't be afraid to have your own style (just be careful not to get too unique that it scares people away), and be bold enough to strike up a conversation with that person sitting next to you on the bus or the train - you may find that you've just met the most interesting person around!

Sending my love from London!  Thanks for reading!

Creative Carrots and Crazy Camden

Hello Everyone!

In the spirit of that wow-it's-finally-Fall feeling, I give you this post about a kitchen triumph and an outdoor London excursion.

Because Fall is all about root vegetables, squashes, and mashed potatoes, here is a picture of a delicious concoction I produced with carrots, parsnips, brown sugar, cinnamon, eggs, and some other ingredients!  The recipe I was loosely following deemed it a souffle, but whatever came out of my oven certainly did not fit that description.  I blame the fact that Boston University has not bothered to properly stock our kitchens with proper cooking supplies.  Since I didn't have access to an electric mixer, the eggs were not filled with nearly enough air, nor did my mashed carrots and parsnips have any type of smooth texture that they were supposed to have.  Nevertheless, I will have you know that it was heavenly and my friends thought so, too.

As you can see half of it was gone before I could even take a picture of my culinary masterpiece!  To tell you the truth, the biggest challenge in our kitchen (besides the lack of cooking utensils) is figuring out how the ovens work.  First of all, they are in Celsius, so you better know you're temperature conversions before you start.  Secondly, the settings (bake, broil, etc.) are not written in words .... no, that would be too user friendly!  They are these obscure pictures that make you pray that your chicken doesn't magically come out rawer than it was when you put it in.  For this reason, most people prefer to use the stove tops or the microwave (which are also a whole other can of worms).

I guess this is good practice for our upcoming Thanksgiv-ukkah feast at the end of November.  Yes, ladies and gents, Hanukkah starts on freakin' Turkey Day this year!  Haha .... and you thought Christmas was premature when you start hearing those catchy jingles the day after Halloween!  In any case, everyone on my floor is very excited to have a banquet of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, latkes and jelly donuts.

Exterior of the Camden Market

Speaking of good food, my trip to Camden Town had plenty of it!  Camden Town (yes, everything in America really is named after places on this side of the pond) has lots of outdoor markets, shops, and places to eat.  It's known as a very hipster part of town, and I guess the multiple tattoo parlors attract the edgier individuals, but there are all kinds of people there.  (And when I say "all," I really mean it!  It felt like being on the Tube during Sardine-Travel-Hour .... just outside.  It was pretty crowded.)  We ran into French people, Germans, Swedes, Spanish, and even some Israelis!

Fun fact about the Markets of London:  Camden Market, just like Borough Market, Oxford Street, Holborn Market, etc., was once a specialty market for the consumers of London.  When London underwent a huge expansion in urban life (as a result ofg the industrial revoltuion and urbanization), Markets were set up around the edges of the city, each one with a particular good.  You went to one for meats and fish, another for textile goods, and another for flowers, etc.  Today, there are remnants of each market's specialty, but for the most part they are spaces for specialty items and homecooked recipes.

Look at the size of these donuts!

The shops in Camden town were selling everything imaginable: leather goods, clothing, accessories, art, jewelry, food, etc.  One vendor had donuts the size of your face!

Good thing we didn't buy one because it would have taken all six of us to finish one.  I don't know if you can tell, but behind the man in the picture is a booth with oranges hanging from it - the man there was selling the freshest and most delicious orange juice I've ever had.  We sampled homemade fudges, curries, fondues, and fresh fruits.  I capped my visit to Camden Market with an extremely smooth and rich cup of hot chocolate ... yum!

Camden Town canal

Some of my favorite non-food items included clocks made from flattened liquor bottles, pocket watches, leather wallets and purses (because who can say no to leather) hand-bound leather journals, hand-made shoes with excellent designs,* and masks and hats with pretty sequins and feathers.**  However, the most interesting vendor was actually an American artist, from Small Town, Illinois, who made twisted versions of took our favorite fictional characters - fairytale characters, comic book superheroes, etc.  Some of the images he had were really messed up (e.g. zombie Winnie the Pooh), and while I acknowledge the creativity, I would never buy one of them to hang on my wall.  Regardless, he also had some really cool scenes of London, many of which were photographs cleverly manipulated with Photoshop (e.g. a tidal wave crashing over Tower Bridge).

Old cameras and typewriters!

Part of what made Camden Town so charming was its water canals!  I imagine Venice has a similar look.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and I will do my best to blog again soon.  It all depends on how rapidly my research on British abolition and emancipation progresses.





* I wish I snapped a picture or two of these shoes because words cannot adequately describe how amazing they were.  Sometimes words escape me when I'm confronted with fabulous shoes!

** They even had those HUGE feathers that ladies used to put in their hair when going to a ball!  I actually asked the clerk if I could just have a feather, he looked confused, and I didn't really get a response .... my hunt for one thus continues ....

Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel Murders

Halloween is officially two short weeks away, and what better way to get into the spooky spirit than a evening tour of Whitechapel?!  What happened in Whitechapel?  Well, buckle up because this blog begins and ends with a bang...

As if this post wasn't exciting enough (and it's barely started!), my journey to Whitechapel was borderline disastrous:  I arrived early at the Tube station to have time to put more money on my Oyster Card (the equivalent of a CharlieCard for those of you from Boston, or just a metro card for everyone else).  The machine that normally takes 30 seconds to load more money took forever, after eating my £20 banknote!  That's $30!  There was no way I was going anywhere before sorting that out.  By the time I actually got onto the Tube, I had 20 minutes to make a 30 minute journey during the tail end of rush hour.  We experienced further delays and made it to Whitechapel 10 minutes after the official start of the tour.  The 3 or 4 of we tardy travellers inconspicuously joined another tour group, and eventually ran into the other members of our program.

So, who was Jack the Ripper?  That is the question, isn't it!  Jack the Ripper was the name given to the serial killer active in Whitechapel, London, from August to November 1888.  During this time, the murderer killed five women.  All of them were prostitutes between the ages of 35 and 45, except for the last one, Mary Kelly, who was only 24.

If you are squeamish, then skip down to the next paragraph.  Jack the Ripper's modus operandi was to slice the throat in a V pattern from back to front, slicing through the carotid and jugular.  After that he proceeded to open up the entire body cavity and removed various organs.  The degree of brutality varied from victim to victim.  The most gruesome attack was the last victim: all her organs were removed and strewn all over the room.  One police officer described the scene as a perverted Christmas display.  In every instance, however, there was always one organ missing from the scene: a souvenir.

Long story short, the tales of Jack the Ripper are so captivating because the person was never caught and his/her identity still remains a mystery 125 years later.  The police, of course, had a list of suspects, but it was about 100 names long.  I personally don't think Jack the Ripper was a woman - prostitutes would be less likely to invite them back for a rendezvous.  In all likelihood he had some kind of medical expertise/background because the nature of his slices and removal of organs was quite meticulous.  Also, since the undisputed tendency of serial killers is to keep going until they are caught, it is fair to assume that Jack the Ripper was either a foreigner, or was committed to an insane asylum.  Some even theorize that the killer was connected to the Royal Family: there is a story that one of Queen Victoria's grandsons secretly married a poor "working" girl from East London (i.e. Whitechapel area), and in order to mute the possibility, the Royal Family's physician (without Victoria's knowledge) was instructed to silence the possible "secret wives."  He was an unlikely suspect, but it makes for a good story.

If you are curious for more, just check out Jack the Ripper's Wikipedia page ... it's actually pretty decent.

At the end of our tour, the guide wanted to tell us one more thing to conclude the tale:  he looked around, and started spelling RIPPER slowly on his fingers ... when he got to R, he lunged forward ... and I, being the wimp that I am*, screamed quite loudly.  It took me a few seconds to become consciously aware of the sound that came out of my mouth!  I was thoroughly embarrassed but laughed so hard, as my parasympathetic nervous system strained to lower my heart rate.

Thanks for reading and ta for now!


* I concede that I am afraid of the dark, but am not squeamish in the least (which was helpful when our guide passed around pictures of the Ripper victims) - family and close friends know this well, especially my Aunt Lori!

Stomping Ground Sites, Soho, and Piccadilly

This post was made possible by another beautifully crisp day in London.

My goal here is to show you the route I take to and from my study haven at The London Library, and the surrounding areas.  The London Library is located in St James's Square, which is around the corner from Trafalgar Square, The National Gallery, Chinatown, and Piccadilly Circus (all places in an area called Soho).

The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square

On this particular day, I took Bus 9 to Trafalgar Square so I could finally visit my intimate friends, Picasso, Turner, Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, and others at The National Gallery.  While I really enjoyed my visit to the Gallery, it was very crowded.  It is also quite vast, and I don't think you can realistically see the whole place in just one visit.  Also, I like to see art in a quiet atmosphere, which is why the National Portrait Gallery (just behind the National Gallery) is a much nicer experience, just like my visit to the Ferens Gallery in Hull.  It was very exciting, though, to see the physical renderings of the paintings that I've seen a million times in textbooks and online.  A piece that I really loved was a self portrait of the French painter Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun.  The painting feels well balanced, her expression is so relaxed, and I love love LOVE her hat, especially the feather!

After a few hours at the Gallery, I wandered around the theater district, an iconic part of Soho.  I apologize for not taking any pictures while I was there - I will have to do so next time because the alleys in that area are very Diagon Alley-esque: twisty and narrow walkways, lined with stores with colorful display windows.  These alleys snake between the various theaters and playhouses.

Chinatown sits right next to the theater district and, if the hundreds of Chinese lanterns aren't indication enough, you'll know you're there when suddenly no one around you speaks English.  Most of that area is pedestrian only, which is nice because you don't have to be as attentive as you might normally have to be in a country that drives on the wrong side of the road (though I'm pretty used to it by now).

My next stop was St James's Church, a small church just a block away from St James Square, a place I pass most days on my way to The London Library.  St James was built by London's Christopher Wren, architect of numerous buildings in London and Britain, including St Paul's Cathedral, and sustained major damages during the Blitz of 1941 - a familiar story in Britain.  The plaque on the church's door says that the organ and the decorative marble arch under the stained glass windows are the only original pieces left today; most everything else was destroyed by bomb blasts.  While the church as since been restored, parts of the outside walls are still charred black. 

 

These next pictures are of The London Library.  I hope you take a good look at them because I spend a lot of my time here and it has a special place in my heart.  From the outside it looks like a small place, but number 14, St James's Square is quite the labyrinth!  If you cannot tell, it's the narrow building on the right, wedged in the corner.  It kind of reminds me of number 12 Grimmauld Place in the Harry Potter books.  It looks like only 3 floors, but the Library actually has eight (free coffee for members in the members lounge (so elite, I know) on floor six)!  And, it is SO SO quiet inside, especially among the million or so books.

Also, many of the sections of the Library have grated walkways in order to leave as much space as possible for stacks of books - don't need to worry about how much space there is between floors. In this picture I think I am on the 4th or 5th floor, looking down.  And, in case it wasn't obvious, heels are a no-no in the Library, unless you want to fall through the floor.

Instead of taking the bus home, I walked back to Kensington so I could take more pictures of the sites - 2 miles of walking just for you all!

For those of you who watch the popular BBC show Sherlock, you will recognize these pictures of Piccadilly Circus from the opening sequence.

There are 5 streets that branch off from Piccadilly Circus, each leading to a different part of London.  This area is always populated because Soho is a major center of London's nightlife crowd.  And unlike Boston, which shuts down at 12:30 on Saturday nights, London clubs and bars are still going strong at 2 and 3am.  In fact, there are some places in London where you will see young people stumbling out of bars when you are on your way to Sunday brunch ... I kid you not!

From Piccadilly Circus I travelled down Piccadilly Road, home to the London Hard Rock Cafe and the Royal Academy.  Piccadilly stretches between the Circus and Hyde Park Corner.

The last major spot on the way home is Hyde Park Corner.  Literally on the Southeast corner of Hyde Park, lies a group of monuments which connects Hyde Park to the Buckingham Palace grounds.  These include, but are not limited to, numerous WWI and WWII memorials, and the Wellington Arch (because this town adores all things Victoria, Horatio Nelson, and Arthur Duke of Wellington).

I hope you enjoyed a tour of my stomping grounds!  Tomorrow I am back in class, but fear not, my elective is architecture of London, so there will definitely be more awesome pictures to look forward to!

Memorial to the Airmen of WWII

Wellington Arch