personal experience travel – A Traveling Fool

February 6, 2026

London Adventure: A Full Day at Westminster Abbey – Part 1

I had some old pound notes that needed to be exchanged for the new, plastic notes. So I went to the nearest Nat West Bank. I found that I needed to have an account there in order to exchange the notes. The woman I spoke to led me outside and pointed out the nearest Post Office, which was where I would be able to make the exchange. There was a long line, but it moved quickly. Afterwards, I headed to Westminster Abbey.

I had booked a general admission for 10:30am along with admission to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries. They have handheld audio guides that can be used to tour the building at your own pace. The audio guide leads you around, explaining the history and significance of wherever you are. I really like not having to cluster around to try to hear commentary in a large group, especially since I always had difficulty seeing what they were talking about due to my short stature.

On this visit, after many decades of not being allowed to take photos inside of Westminster Abbey, I discovered that photography was now allowed other than up in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries. I had left my camera back at the hotel, but had my phone. I took it out and began clicking up a storm.

I started in the Nave and headed for the Quire. The stalls are where the Abbey’s choir sings during daily services. The next area was the High Altar. In front of the altar is the Cosmati Pavement. This is a marble pavement dating from 1268. Henry III was rebuilding the Abbey at the time and had the remarkable pavement installed. Back in the 1980s, which was when I first visited the Abbey, this area was covered by thick carpets to try to protect the decoration there. Now it is left uncovered, but roped off from the public. We can look at it, but not walk on it. That is totally fine with me. I prefer being able to see it.

Next to the pavement, on the right when facing the altar, is the low, marble tomb of Anne of Cleves. She was Henry VIII’s fourth wife. She managed to survive being married to him by agreeing to a divorce and lived out the rest of her long life in some very nice properties and with a very nice allowance. Smart lady.

In front of the High Altar is where the coronation ceremony takes place. The Coronation Chair faces the altar while the incoming monarch is anointed and crowned. The royal weddings also take place in this space.

The only way to get into the Shrine of Edward the Confessor is with a Verger Tour. I have done this a couple times in the past and will likely do it again the next time I am in London. But it was too much to try to pack in along with the other tours in this visit. So I skirted around the outside.

Edward the Confessor’s tomb was in the center of the shrine area. On a previous Verger Tour I had been invited to kneel in one of the niches of that shrine to pray. When I did the Medieval Monasteries Tour later on his visit, I found that kneeling in the niches was no longer allowed as apparently it was too much wear and tear for such an old shrine. Although he had died in 1066 and was buried in the Abbey at that time, the current shrine wasn’t built until 1163 at which time Edward’s body was moved into that more elaborate shrine.

Buried in tombs around Edward the Confessor are several people. The royal tombs are Edward I (whose tomb was plain as he planned to be moved to Scotland once it was conquered), Henry III, Edward I’s queen Eleanor of Castile, Henry V, Edward III’s queen Philippa of Hainault, Edward III, and Richard II (with his first wife, Anne of Bohemia). Edward the Confessor’s queen, Edith of Wessex, is buried somewhere to the right of her husband in an unmarked location in the shrine. Since I knelt in a niche on the right side of the shrine, I could have easily stepped over where she is buried.

I next entered the area of Henry VII’s Chapel (the Lady Chapel) and slipped into the area to the left of that gloriously fan vaulted late medieval chapel. There was located the tomb of Elizabeth I and her sister, Mary I. There is also a sarcophagus containing the bones said to have been of the two princes in the tower – Edward V and Richard Duke of York. Near there was also a small tomb for a young daughter, Mary, of James I.

The Lady Chapel itself was built by Henry VII from 1503 to 1516. Just in front of the altar is a tile indicating the approximate location of Edward VI. He was Henry VIII’s son. At the age of nine, he became king upon his father’s death, but only lived to age fifteen. When he died, his sister, Mary I, became queen with his other sister, Elizabeth I, following her.

Behind this altar is the tomb of Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York. They lie just below their monument, along with James I. Various other people are buried around this chapel, including George II and his wife, Caroline (plus several members of their family). George Villiers (1st Duke of Buckingham), and Anne of Denmark (wife of James I) were buried in alcoves near James I. Oliver Cromwell was also originally buried in this chapel, but was disinterred in 1661 after Charles II was invited back to the throne.

Around the chapel are banners of living members of the Order of the Bath. Stalls with coats of arms and brass plates of former knights also line the chapel on both sides.

On the other side of this main part of the chapel is where many of the Stuarts are buried. The first vault encountered is the one for Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, and her son Charles, Earl of Lennox. Margaret was the daughter of Margaret Tudor and granddaughter of Henry VII. She was the grandmother of James I.

Next comes Mary, Queen of Scots, James I’s mother. There are a few other Stuarts in her vault with her, including Lady Arabella Stuart. Arabella was the daughter of Margaret Douglas’ son, Charles, and was considered to be a contender as a successor to the childless Elizabeth I. She died in the Tower of London in 1615.

Margaret of Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, has a memorial and vault all to herself. Then there are names of the following at the far end of this space: Queen Anne (James II’s younger daughter), Prince William (Anne’s only child to survive infancy and died at age eleven), William III & his wife Mary II (joint monarchs as Mary was James II’s eldest daughter), and Charles II. All of these former kings and queens are in a vault below that area, but don’t have effigies or fancy tombs over their graves.

On my way to Poet’s Corner, I took several photos of the tombs and effigies I could see within Edward the Confessor’s Shrine from the south ambulatory.

It is said that there are more than 100 writers and poets who are either buried in Poet’s Corner or have memorials there. The first to be buried there was Geoffrey Chaucer in 1400. Although he was a poet, his burial in the Abbey was because of his position as Clerk of the King’s Works. Roughly 200 years later, poet Edmund Spenser asked to be buried near Chaucer. That was the start of having literary people plus sometimes clergymen, actors and musicians buried in that same area.

Near Poet’s Corner is the entrance to reach the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries. This involves a new tower, opened in 2018, which includes a staircase and a lift to the Galleries. An additional ticket is needed for the Galleries. Mine was only £5 extra. I felt it was well worth it and would be happy to visit the Galleries again on my next visit to the Abbey.

The Galleries are housed in a 13^th century triforium high above the Abbey floor. The views are spectacular from there of the Abbey below. Unfortunately no photography was allowed, not even of the Abbey itself as seen from above.

There were several items that I remembered from my earliest visits to the Abbey in the 1980s and 90s. These have to do with the history of the Abbey and of the Monarchy, including twenty effigies which were displayed at the funeral of the person depicted.

The earliest effigies were wooden, while later models were of wax. These include:

Edward III – the earliest effigy now in existence. The face is a death mask and dates from 1377.
Anne of Bohemia – a death mask of Richard II’s queen.
Catherine de Valois- a full length wooden effigy of Henry V’s queen. She is depicted wearing a red dress. One of her arms and both hands are missing.
Elizabeth of York – only the wooden head and arm of Henry VII’s queen survives.
Henry VII – this is a plaster death mask and is quite lifelike.
Mary I – her wooden head and body had been separated, but were reunited for this new display. It is said that her face is not a good likeness.
Elizabeth I – this is a wax full body effigy which was remade in 1760. The original corset and drawers from 1603 were found in 1995 and are displayed next to the effigy. She looks pretty darned formidable.
James I and his son Henry Prince of Wales – their effigies have been headless for several centuries.
Anne of Denmark – this effigy of James I’s queen was taken from a death mask.
Charles II – by the time of his death, effigies were no longer carried as part of a royal funeral. But a wax effigy was made to stand by his grave since there was no monument. The effigy is really cool and even has silk underwear. I almost expected him to look at me and say something.
Queen Anne – the only seated effigy.
Frances, Duchess of Richmond – she died in 1702 and was buried in the Richmond vault in the Henry VII Chapel. She was born in 1647 and considered to be a great beauty. But she was disfigured by smallpox in 1668. Her effigy is dressed in her coronation clothes from Queen Anne’s coronation.
Catherine, Duchess of Buckingham and her sons – she was the illegitimate daughter of James II, which made her a half sister to both Queen Mary II (of William & Mary) and Queen Anne. Her son, Robert Sheffield, Marquess of Normanby, died at the age of three and is the only effigy of a child in the collection. Her other son, Edmund, 2^nd Duke of Buckingham, is the only recumbent effigy and is still in its original case.
William III – William was the Prince of Orange and married to Mary, James II’s eldest legitimate daughter. They were invited to become joint King and Queen of Britain when James II fled to France instead of waiting around to be deposed. James was catholic, but his daughters were not.
Mary II – she and her husband William III were actually cousins (his mother was Charles I’s daughter). The coronation chair used for their joint coronation is also on display in the Galleries. She died before her husband and he ruled on his own until his death.
William Pitt, Earl of Chatham – this was William Pitt the Elder and was Prime Minister twice. His effigy is quite lifelike and is clothed in Parliamentary robes and a wig. He looks like he is about to give a speech.
Horatio, Viscount Nelson – although he was buried in St Paul’s Cathedral instead of the Abbey, his effigy was purchased by the Abbey to be shown there as a counter attraction to his tomb in St Paul’s. The effigy shows the wrong eye as blind, but was otherwise thought to be a good likeness according to his mistress Lady Hamilton. The effigy was dressed in clothes that had belonged to Lord Nelson.

After I left the galleries, I had about a half hour before my Medieval Monastery tour, so I visited the WC and then took a seat in the area where I was supposed to meet up with the rest of the group and our guide to relax a bit before the 90-minute special tour began.

Next time – A full day at Westminster Abbey – Part 2 (a small group tour focusing on when the Abbey was a Medieval Monastery)

January 8, 2026

London Adventure: Special Night Tour of the Tower of London Plus the Ceremony of the Keys

On the way back to the hotel after visiting the Benjamin Franklin House, I stopped in at a grocers and bought a few items for dinner. We were supposed to meet at 8:15pm at the Starbucks across the road from the Tower of London. At 7:45pm, I took a cab from the taxi stand outside of the Charing Cross Railway Station.

The tour actually began at 8:30pm. We had fourteen people in the group. Our guide held the rank of Yeoman Clerk, which is a notch higher than a Yeoman Warder, but below a Yeoman Gaoler or the Chief Yeoman Warder. Yeoman Warders (nicknamed “Beefeaters”) are required to have at least 22 years of service in the British Armed Services; must have reached the level of Chief Warrant Officer or equivalent; and hold a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. There are female Warders as well as male among the 35 currently serving.

Each Yeoman Warder lives at the Tower along with their family. They act as historians and guides, as well as ceremonial guards and guardians of the Tower and the Crown Jewels. They were founded as part of the Royal Bodyguard in 1485 by Henry VII.

The Tower of London is officially His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London and was founded towards the end of 1066. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was initially a resented symbol of oppression inflicted upon London by the new Norman ruling class. The castle was also a prison from 1100 (Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham) until 1952 (the Kray twins), although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence.

As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. The Tower has also served as an armory, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England.

The tour began outside of the Tower. We walked to the river where we listened to the early history of the Tower. We also watched the Tower Bridge raise itself to allow a ship to pass through.

A couple days before VE Day in May of 2025 a special installation of poppies had been completed at the Tower to remain until Armistice Day in November of that year. It was called “The Tower Remembers” and consisted of nearly 30,000 ceramic poppies to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the end of World War II.

We went to look at what later became known as Traitors Gate (built by Edward I as his water gate in the 1270s) so we could see what the poppies looked like there before we entered the Tower precincts. The current wharf did not exist then, so Saint Thomas’ Tower (just above the gate) looked out directly onto the Thames. This tower contained a large hall (for dining and entertaining) and a bedchamber.

Then we entered through the Court Gate in the Byward Tower. The Byward Tower was built by Edward I’s father, Henry III, earlier in the 1200s and reinforced in 1381 under Richard II following the Peasants Revolt. This was where Anne Boleyn had entered, first to wed Henry VIII (1533) and later to be executed (1536). The fourteen of us were the only visitors in the Tower at that point.

Once we entered, we walked along Water Lane to the other side of Traitors Gate to look at the poppies there and to hear more about that gate and where the river had originally flowed. There is a large iron ring on the wall of the gate of the Bloody Tower (just opposite of Traitors Gate). This is where boats would tie up many centuries ago. It was the original water gate entrance.

Originally called the Garden Tower, the Bloody Tower had been built in the 1220s. It was the story of the two young Princes in the Tower, in the 1400s, that lead to the change of its name. This was also the part of the Tower complex in which Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned for thirteen years during the reign of James I (1600s).

We entered the Inner Ward through the Bloody Tower gate and made our way to the Scaffold Site Memorial. The actual site of the scaffold has been determined to have been behind (north of) the White Tower and not in front of the Chapel of Saint Peter Vincula, where the memorial is located. There our guide talked about the handful of royal beheadings that took place within the Tower walls: Queens Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey, Margaret Pole (Countess of Salisbury), and Robert Devereax (Earl of Essex).

The remaining executions were mostly on Tower Hill, which is outside of the actual Tower. Although there were a few executions in more modern times (WWI and WWII) that took place within the walls of the Tower. These were firing squad executions.

Our guide then talked about a photo which another visitor took of the memorial. This photo supposedly caught the face of Anne Boleyn. He showed us where she had stood when she snapped the shot and showed us the photo. When he began to answer some questions from the group, I moved to the spot from where the photo was taken and took my own photo. It is included here and looks very much like hers did. What do you think?

From there, we walked to what is now thought to be the true location of the scaffold and chatted a while about both the White Tower and the Crown Jewels. On every other visit I have made to the Tower, I have always explored the White Tower. I believe I have only visited the Crown Jewels twice.

From here we could see the Martin Tower over in the northeastern corner of the complex. It was built during the reign of Henry III in the 1230s. It was originally known as the Jewel Tower as it was used to house the Crown Jewels and other royal treasures until the Jewel House (which was part of Westminster Palace) was built.

Over the years, the Martin Tower was used for various purposes, including as a records office, a private residence, a royal mint, and a storehouse for artillery. It was during the 16th century that the tower received its current name after a notorious prisoner named John Martin was held there.

In the centuries that followed, the Martin Tower continued to play an important role in the history of the Tower of London. During the reign of King Charles II in the 17th century, the tower was used as a prison for high-ranking prisoners, including the Duke of Monmouth, who was executed on Tower Hill in 1685.

At one point, torture devices were displayed in the Martin Tower. I remember seeing a replica of the rack there on one of my earlier visits. The current display of torture devices is now housed in the lower part of the Wakefield Tower.

Our guide pointed out where his own lodgings were located. They were in the building that used to be the Old Hospital Block. Originally built in 1718 as two houses to accommodate Ordinance Clerks, the houses were combined to create a hospital for the Tower garrison. During World War II a bomb destroyed the house on the left in the photo included here. It was rebuilt after the war. More recently both houses were reconfigured into flats for some of the more senior Yeoman Warders.

Heading back towards Traitors Gate, we passed the Lanthorn Tower. This tower was built as part of Henry III’s queen’s lodgings, but was gutted by fire in 1774. The present building is 19th century. Inside, a selection of real 13th-century objects illustrate the lifestyle of Henry III’s and Edward I’s courts. Edward I’s son Edward II (1307-27) stayed in this east side part of the castle when in residence at the Tower. The Lanthorn Tower was eventually adapted into the king’s chambers.

We passed by the area that had once been the Innermost Ward. But the Great Hall, which had formed a large portion of the Innermost Ward, and the rest of that part of the complex is long gone. The entrance to the White Tower is on the south side of that tower. That would have been within the Innermost Ward. We walked along what would have still been part of the Inner Ward to go through the Henry III water gate and back out to Water Lane in the Outer Ward.

To get back to Traitors Gate, where we were going to hang out to watch the Ceremony of the Keys, we headed along Water Lane towards the appropriately spooky looking Wakefield Tower. Oddly enough, it was the only photo I took with my mobile phone that was a bit fuzzy.

The Wakefield Tower was built by Henry III as royal lodgings between 1220 and 1240 and originally sat at the river’s edge. Henry was able to arrive by boat and enter his rooms from his private stairs.

The principal room was likely a private audience chamber. It now contains a replica throne and canopy, based on 13th-century examples. This features the Plantagenet lion – the symbol of the royal family.

The small chapel is associated with Henry VI who died in 1471 while a prisoner in the Tower during the Wars of the Roses. One side said he died of melancholy upon hearing his son had been killed in battle. His supporters said he was stabbed to death while praying there. Either way, with his death upstairs and the current display of torture devices downstairs, I would say the place has a right to its ghostly atmosphere.

We apparently had a little more time before about 40 other visitors and several other Yeoman Warders and a detail of guards would be joining us to witness or participate in the Ceremony of the Keys. So we were taken a bit further down the Water Lane to see where the Royal Mint was once housed. It was back near the Byward Tower on the appropriately named Mint Street. Then we walked back to Traitor’s Gate to take up the choice spots, just across from the gate of the Bloody Tower, before the others arrived.

Every night, for about 700 years or so, the Yeoman Warders have performed a gate-closing ritual known as the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. The ceremony begins at 9:52pm, when the Chief Yeoman Warder, dressed in red, appears from the Byward Tower, down by the river, and makes his way along Water Lane carrying a candle lantern in one hand and the King’s Keys in the other.

At Traitors Gate, he is joined by an armed guard of four men (which included our guide) and, together, they take a tour of the precincts, locking each of the gates that lead from the Tower. All guards and sentries on duty salute the King’s Keys as they pass.

The Escort to the Keys locks the Outer Gate and they walk back to lock the oak gates of the Middle and Byward Towers. They then return along Water Lane towards the Wakefield Tower where, in the deep shadows of the Bloody Tower archway, a sentry waits and watches.

As they pass through the Bloody Tower, they are challenged by the sentry there on duty who shouts “Halt. Who comes there?” “The keys”, comes the reply. “Whose keys?” “King Charles’ keys.” “Pass, King Charles’ keys. All’s well.”.

The Escort to the Keys proceeds through the Bloody Tower archway and up towards the broadwalk steps where the main Guard is drawn up. The Chief Yeoman Warder and escort halt at the foot of the steps and the officer in charge gives the command to the Guard and escort to present arms.

The Chief Yeoman Warder moves two paces forward, raises his Tudor bonnet high in the air and calls “God preserve King Charles.” The guard answers, “Amen”, exactly as the clock chimes 10pm and The Duty Drummer sounds The Last Post on his bugle.

The Chief Yeoman Warder takes the keys back to the King’s House and the Guard is dismissed.

The rest of the onlookers were escorted to another side gate in the complex and we were taken back to the Court Gate in the Byward Tower and left that way. Our Yeoman Clerk guide now had the lantern and keys with him so our little group could see them close up and even have our pictures taken with him and them. I enjoy the photo I have included here because he seems to be looking a bit askance at me like he might be concerned that I can’t be trusted and could possibly try to take the keys from him and run amok in the Tower.

Next time – A full day at Westminster Abbey

December 29, 2025

London Adventure: A Late Start & The Benjamin Franklin House

Since I didn’t get to sleep until about 5am, I didn’t get up until 1pm. Too late for the included breakfast. So went back to the café where I had lunch the day before for a brunch. Had Eggs Benedict, but with smoked salmon in place of the usual ham. Absolutely delicious.

Afterwards stopped off at the Ben Franklin House and found that I had missed the start of the current tour and the next (and last for the day) would be at 4:15pm. So went back to the hotel for a bit. The Ben Franklin House was on Craven Street, which was right next to the café and in between the café and my hotel.

Back at the hotel, I discovered that the legitimate Simply Red Facebook page (the one with over two million members) had published a photo from the OVO Arena Wembley concert with me in it and another from the O2 Arena marquee that I was credited as having taken.

The Benjamin Franklin House (at 36 Craven Street, just off the Strand and close to Trafalgar Square) was built about 1730 and is the last standing former residence of Ben Franklin. He lived and worked there from 1757 to 1774. When he left, he returned to Philadelphia to help with the Declaration of Independence and other issues having to do with the American Revolution. The house was restored and opened to the public in 2006.

During the excavation and restoration, the remains of ten people were discovered to have been buried in the basement. An episode of “Secrets of the Dead” on PBS was dedicated to this discovery. The skeletal remains were found to be about 200 years old, which meant that they would have been buried there while Franklin was in residence. It was also discovered that Franklin’s friend, William Hewson, was the person responsible for the bones. He lived in the house for two years. As an early anatomist, he worked in secret due to legal issues at that time related to dissecting certain cadavers (about half of them appear to have been children).

When I returned to the house, I was running a bit late, so the fellow who let me in had me join the tour and then pay him later. There were only four of us on the tour. The person who led the tour portrayed Polly Stevenson Hewson, daughter of Franklin’s landlady and wife of the fellow who was dissecting cadavers in the basement. She became a “second daughter” to Ben Franklin during his time there.

Parts of the house were still original, such as floorboards, ceilings and staircases. After the tour, when I went to pay for it, I told the guy that my Reynolds ancestors in Boston had owned the house where Ben Franklin had been born on Milk Street back in 1706. His father, Josiah had a total of seventeen children from two wives. Ben was number fifteen and was the tenth and last boy. He was baptized at the Old South Meeting House, which was across the street.

Robert Reynolds (my 10^th great grandfather) and his wife, Mary, arrived in Boston in 1630 on one of the Winthrop ships. They settled in the part of Boston that borders Milk Street to the north and Washington to the west. They are buried in the King’s Chapel Burying Ground. The land they owned included a stretch along Milk Street that included the house in which Benjamin Franklin was born. Robert’s grandson, Nathaniel owned the property at the time when he was born. Nathaniel’s son, John eventually moved to Marblehead, MA. This was where my American Revolution ship’s captain 6^th great grandfather, Nathaniel Reynolds, was born.

His son-in-law, Elisha Freeman, was also a ship’s captain and my 5^th great grandfather. My paternal grandmother’s maiden name was Freeman. The first of the Freeman family to arrive in what eventually became the U.S. did so in 1630. His name was Samuel Freeman (another 10^th great grandfather). He arrived in Salem.

The guy at the Benjamin Franklin House showed me the front door, which was original to the house and said that I could photograph it. He also let me hold the chain in my hand. Franklin would have held that same chain every night when he locked up the house.

Next time – The Tower of London at Night and the Ceremony of the Keys

December 22, 2025

London Adventure: Final Simply Red London Concert at OVO Arena Wembley

After eating the salad I had purchased on the way back to my hotel, I dressed for the concert. This time I wore a red sequined, cold shoulder top. This was the actual date of the release of Simply Red’s first album, Picture Book, back in 1985. I was also going to be sitting front row center. I was honoring that special date by dressing up and using the color red.

I took a cab from the Railway Station to the arena and went to the VIP entrance. I received my VIP Front Row Experience carry bag with a VIP lanyard, a drinks coaster, a poster, a program, a journal with a pen, and a Bluetooth speaker. As I was being taken to my seat, I encountered a woman who was wearing a red sequined jacket. She was at the end of the middle section in the first row.

Shortly after I sat down, I met Carine from Belgium. She was just a couple seats over to my left. She and the couple seated between us were lovely people and ready to have a great time. I was pretty much directly in front of the pieces of paper that Mick had taped to the floor. One was a set list. The other contained some prompts for what he wanted to say in between songs.

Carine had noticed Sarah Brown, one of the band’s former backup singers (from 1995 to 2008) going to her seat to our right and up at the side of stage. She pointed her out to me. I was very glad that she had a few days later when someone in the fan group saw that same woman walking down the stairs to head backstage during a video of “Something Got Me Started” (the first of the three encore songs) and was certain that she was someone else entirely. But I was able to say that I was there and saw Sarah myself.

During Soul II Soul’s set (which was much more fun up close) we found that the security at the arena was putting their priority on the people who were walking back and forth in front of us to get more drinks. Once the Simply Red set began and several of us stood up and moved forward to the barricade so we could clearly see the band without anyone getting in our way, we were told to sit down. That was when a few of us got a bit rebellious.

We had gotten the most expensive seats in the place with the idea that nobody could get in front of us and ruin our view of the stage. Carine and I both thought it was ridiculous and we weren’t going to take it sitting down. A woman on the other side of me was worried they might throw us out if we didn’t remain seated, but I said that the more of us that stood the better. There would be too many of us to threaten. So, since I knew that “Money’s Too Tight (to Mention)” would be the next song, I said something to Carine and to the women on my other side. As soon as the first notes were played, we were on our feet. Carine and I motioned to everyone around us to stand and they did. Most of us stayed on our feet for pretty much the rest of the show. I only sat down a couple of times when my back complained loudly.

At one point, when Mick was explaining how the song “Enough”, which was co-written with Joe Sample, came about, a man could be heard talking quite loudly far down to my right (which would have been stage left to the band). Mick stopped talking and looked in the man’s direction. The man quieted down for a moment until Mick began to speak again. This time Mick walked over to where the man was sitting and looked directly at him. Since the guy didn’t seem to get the message, Mick bent over and pointed at him, telling him to shut up. He followed that up by returning to where he had been standing before he was so rudely interrupted and apologizing to the audience, explaining that he needed to be able to concentrate on what he was saying. He then continued his story and sang the song.

The next day, the press and some social media said that he had gone on a “shocking rant”. They were blowing it entirely out of proportion. Nothing shocking. No rant. Just a performer telling a disrespectful member of the audience to “shut it”, so he could continue the show.

The remainder of the concert went along with no further interference from noisy or drunk audience members or security threatening to remove anyone from the front row. The band put in another stellar performance throughout and received an ovation from a standing and cheering crowd at the end of the final song of the main set – “Fairground”. Then another at the end of the final song of the encore – “Holding Back the Years”. And Mick did this entire show while dealing with an eye infection.

After the show, some more people came up to me and asked if I was Trisha. There were also people stopping me to comment on my sparkling red sequins.

The Simply Red Facebook page (with two million followers) published five photos a couple days later. The second photo showed Mick singing onstage near where I was standing. I could also be seen. Photo number five was of the marquee at the O2 Arena and I was credited as the photographer. Both photos really tickled me. I will share both of these photos in my next post.

The day after the concert someone else in the audience posted a video on YouTube of the band performing “You Make Me Feel Brand New”. Mick was standing for the entire song near where I can clearly be seen standing and singing along directly in what was his sight line. The fella filming it kept me in the frame most of the time. Then the couple to my left, between me and Carine, stood up. It was harder to see me then, but my ponytail was still frequently visible. I have included a screenshot that I took from that video here.

Next time – A late start and the Ben Franklin House

December 9, 2025

London Adventure: A Change of Hotels, Touring the Houses of Parliament & A Massive Protest

Although I had a late night, I needed to get up, have breakfast and check out of the hotel. The restaurant was the most crowded I had yet seen, but I had the whole process down plus I was seated near the food. I made my way through the buffet and got back to my room relatively easily (though it took a while to get my tea).

Since I am a member of the Intercontinental Hotels Group Rewards program, I was able to check out at a different desk which only had one person ahead of me. Arrangements had been made ahead of time for my transport into central London to my second hotel. I was tickled to see that the car was ready and waiting for me. So far, so good.

An enormous protest was going on in central London with regards to the situation in Gaza. Whitehall was completely blocked off from all traffic and Trafalgar Square was also blocked. I could hear the crowds in the square as we neared the hotel, which was the Clermont Charing Cross on the Strand. This street was about to be blocked off too, so we made it to the hotel just in time.

The room was not yet ready (it was only 11:30am), so I checked my luggage, gave them my cell phone number so they could text me when it was ready, and headed out to explore a bit. Although I have stayed at this hotel several times before, I had never explored the train station to which it was attached.

The Charing Cross railway station first opened in 1864 with the hotel opening the following year. One of the hotel’s guests back in the day, was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame. He set the meeting between Holmes and his soon to be new client at Baskerville Hall at the hotel restaurant.

My first venture to this hotel was during the Gulf War in 1991. I had traveled to the UK with my mom and we were staying at another hotel nearby. The Gulf War had begun while we were on the flight over to London and ended while we were in York a few weeks later. My entire memory of that blessedly short war is from the British viewpoint.

A few days into our time in London during that trip, we went to high tea at the Charing Cross hotel (it had just become the Clermont shortly before I stayed there in 2023 and had been the Amba Charing Cross when I had last been there in 2017). Although I had done cream teas before, this was my first full blown high tea and it was mighty elegant.

Charing Cross has been considered to be the center of London and the point from which all distances from London are measured. Historically the name came from a hamlet called Charing, which means “riverbend” along with the Eleanor cross that had once been there. The original cross was erected in 1294. It was the largest and most ornate of the crosses built by King Edward I in honor of his deceased wife, Eleanor. The crosses were constructed from Lincoln to Westminster along the route of Eleanor’s funeral procession at each location where the procession rested. The cross that currently stands just outside of the hotel and railway station is a reconstruction built in 1884 to replace the one destroyed by Cromwell and his troops in 1647.

The Charing Cross Railway station has some places to eat, a grocers, a chemist, and some other shops inside. There is also a taxi stand right outside which is quite handy for grabbing a cab fairly quickly (depending upon how long the line might be). I planned to get one there that night to get to the OVO Arena Wembley for my third night of concerts.

I decided it would be a good idea to have some lunch before my tour at Parliament began, especially since I would need to walk from the hotel to Parliament. So I headed out to see what looked like a good place for lunch nearby. It didn’t take long to discover the Café Concerto. The menu looked varied and the prices reasonable for London these days. I went in and ordered a BLT with some strawberry lemonade. While there, I received a text from the hotel that my room was ready. Great timing!

I got back to the hotel and checked into my now upgraded room. It was a Deluxe King which was larger and had a sofa as well as an armchair. Best of all, it included a free mini bar that was stocked daily. I collected my cases and headed up and over to the room. It was in the Buckingham Wing, which was on the other side of the road via a little enclosed bridge over the road (Villiers Street).

That part of London had once been the location of property owned by the Villiers family, which were the Dukes of Buckingham. It was sort of confusing that I needed to take the lift from the ground floor to the first floor in the main part of the hotel, then, once I crossed over the little bridge, the floor on the other side was the third floor. I needed to take another lift there down to the second floor to get to my room. The hallway floors were a tad creaky in the Buckingham Wing. I had the feeling that the building was older than the main part of the hotel. I happen to like the charm of older buildings, so I was quite pleased. Plus it was pretty quiet. Good for sleeping.

On my way too and from the Palace of Westminster (as the Houses of Parliament are called), I had to navigate my way through some pretty large crowds. But I made it to the Cromwell Green Visitor Entrance in plenty of time. We were supposed to be there 20 minutes ahead of the tour to go through security. I boosted myself up onto a relatively low barricade normally used to keep vehicles from trying to crash through and sat with a lovely British couple while we waited to get in. After getting through security and gathering inside of Westminster Hall, we were a small group of fourteen people.

It is thought that King Cnute had a palace on the land where Parliament now stands during his reign from 1016 to 1035. Edward the Confessor built a palace on that location at the same time he built the first version of Westminster Abbey (roughly 1045 to 1050).

The Palace of Westminster was originally built as a royal palace in the eleventh century. A fire destroyed the royal apartments in 1512, after which the king, Henry VIII, moved to the Palace of Whitehall, which he took from Cardinal Wolsey.

Parliament had begun meeting at Westminster in the 13^th century and continued to do so. A much larger fire destroyed the majority of the palace in 1834. Only the 12^th century Westminster Hall was saved and included as part of the building that now stands.

During World War II, the palace was hit by bombs repeatedly — fourteen different times in all. The worst air raid killed three people and destroyed the House of Commons Chamber. Both that room and Westminster Hall had been set on fire and, since they knew they couldn’t save them both, Westminster Hall was where they put their efforts.

There are three main towers in the palace: the Victoria Tower, which has the Sovereign’s Entrance, which the Monarch uses whenever they come to the palace; the Elizabeth Tower, which is where the enormous bell, Big Ben, resides; and the Central Tower, which stands over the Central Lobby.

The building was planned around the Central Lobby, which is the meeting point for all of the corridors leading to the over 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases, and three miles of passageways, which are spread over four floors. We began our tour in Westminster Hall.

At the time it was built, Westminster Hall was the largest hall in Europe. The hammerbeam roof was built for King Richard II in 1393 and is the largest medieval roof of its kind in England. Westminster Hall has been the site of many trials and lying-in-states over the centuries. The most recent lying-in-state was Queen Elizabeth II.

The hall was where William Wallace (who actually was never called “Braveheart”; that was Robert the Bruce’s nickname) was tried for treason in 1305. It was also where Sir Thomas More was condemned to death back in 1535, mostly because he wouldn’t recognize Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church. Guy Fawkes and his fellow Gunpowder plotters were tried for attempting to blow up Parliament in 1606. King Charles I, in 1649, was the only reigning monarch ever tried and condemned to death in Britain.

Westminster Hall and St Stephen’s Hall were the only places where we were allowed to take photos. St Stephen’s Hall stands on the site of the royal Chapel of St Stephen’s, which was destroyed in the fire of 1834 and where the House of Commons met until that time.

We weren’t able to visit the King’s Robing Room in the Royal Apartments, but we were able to see the Royal Gallery, the Norman Porch, and the Prince’s Chambers. The Lords Chamber, the Peer’s Lobby (an antechamber where matters can be discussed and messages delivered), the Peer’s Corridor, as well as a few smaller areas within the precincts of the House of Lords (using the main color red) were next. After that, we went across to the precincts of the House of Commons (mainly green) via the Central Lobby and the Common’s Corridor to visit the Member’s Lobby and the Commons Chamber. We could see the dents on the door where the representative of the Monarch (Black Rod) bangs with their staff on the door at the State Opening of Parliament each year when asking the MPs to attend in the House of Lords to hear the Monarch’s speech.

After roughly 90 minutes, we went back through St Stephen’s Hall and Westminster Hall to leave the building. Then it was a matter of weaving in and out of all of the protestors on my way back to my hotel. I stopped in at the grocers in Charing Cross Railway Station for something to eat for dinner on the way.

Next time – the Simply Red Concert at the OVO Arena Wembley

December 2, 2025

London Adventure: The Second Simply Red Concert at London’s O2 Arena

Breakfast had many more people than the day before. I figured it was a combination of my getting up later and the strong likelihood that several of my fellow breakfasters had also attended the concert the night before. This time I had a table facing the window, but it wasn’t right next to the window. No problem. Just wanted to get some good food and start my day.

The tickets for the concerts were all electronic. I had the ticket for the first night at the O2 on my phone (in the O2 Arena app) before I left home. My ticket for the OVO Arena Wembley concert was also already on my phone, in the OVO Arena app. But my ticket for the second night at the O2 was not on my phone. I had followed up with the ticket vendor while still at home, but had gotten nowhere.

Once I arrived in London, I chatted with a fellow at the O2. He told me to arrive at the box office when it opened at 5:30pm on the day of the concert and they would get it straightened out. I had a friend who had an issue with one of her tickets for an earlier concert and had gotten her situation taken care of in a similar manner. So I had planned the day to be ready for the concert and walk over to the box office at 5pm.

When I returned to my room after breakfast, I decided to try the O2 app one more time. The ticket was there. Could the problem have been that the app couldn’t handle more than one night at a time? Or maybe couldn’t deal with two different ticket vendors at the same time? At home, I often have several different tickets for different venues or different nights at the same venue on my phone without any problems. Whatever the issue had been, it was solved and I didn’t need to hang out at the box office later in the day. I took a screenshot of the ticket as backup.

I had originally planned to visit the main part of Greenwich for the day. But changed my plans when I was going to have to deal with the missing ticket. Now that my plans changed again, I chose to stay close to home. I spent some time exploring the upper level of the O2 complex, which mostly had shops, and didn’t buy a thing. This time I circled the entire complex, instead of going halfway and coming back. Then, after a light lunch, I went to the swimming pool and then sat in the thermal pool again.

This time the thermal pool was empty when I arrived. The previous day, a guy was already there. He had all of the jets shooting full blast and both waterfalls going. He was sitting under one of the waterfalls like it was his own personal shower. I hadn’t wanted to get so thoroughly pummeled (with my very fair skin, I bruise somewhat easily). Plus I didn’t want to get soaked by the waterfalls (since the water coming down on the fellow was spraying out quite far from him). So I had kept to the periphery. This time the setting for the jets was much more reasonable and the waterfalls weren’t running. So I settled in on a more centrally located seat where I was more likely to stay put and relaxed thoroughly. Others eventually joined me in the thermal pool and we had some enjoyable conversations.

After having some dinner and getting dressed up for the show, I went to the hotel bar and had a Lemon Drop Martini. Then I sauntered over to the entrance to the arena with my ticket ready to be scanned from my phone.

This time my seat was on the other side of the arena, a bit farther back from the stage and blessedly not so high up. To my left was a group of people, both male and female, all in their mid to late thirties. They were wondering what songs were and weren’t going to be played and when they might hear “Fairground”. Since I had the set list fully memorized by this time, I was able to answer their questions. They were mildly snockered and having a great time partying.

To my right was a very nice family from Belgium. The mother was about early fifties and had brought her son and daughter for them to see Simply Red live for the first time. Mom was a long-time fan who had indoctrinated her kids on the band’s music from pretty much the womb.

The seats directly in front of me were empty until after Soul II Soul finished their set. Then their occupants arrived, carrying several drinks (beer, wine, and cocktails) and already quite intoxicated. They were quite loud and rowdy and continued to be so even after Simply Red took the stage. If anyone dared to say anything to them, they responded quite belligerently, peppered with numerous expletives. I am usually very much of a live and let live kind of a person as long as no harm is being done to anyone. But my mild-mannered Belgian friend and I were whispering to one another about what we thought we could get away with doing to them without being arrested.

The guy left again and returned with four large beers in his large hands. Not too long after that, he threw up all over himself and the woman to his right. The woman he was with was to his left. Simply Red was not yet that far into their set and suddenly four people were leaving the concert. I was thankful they had been in front of me and not behind or next to me. It took a while before the cleaning crew came to take care of the mess. But it was likely that it wasn’t the only mess they had to clean up that night. The venue made it clear both nights that the drinkers were the priority to them, not the people who actually wanted to experience the show.

Because I knew the set list so well, I had planned out what to photograph and, more importantly, what to capture with video clips. Some of the action going on around me precluded some of my plans, but I still managed to get some good stuff. Since I would be front row center the following night, I didn’t want to spend all of my time looking at them through my phone when I was right there face to face.

Once again, they were incredible. Some acts I have seen live have been carried away by their own egos and sleep-walked their way through their set. This band never does that. They always go all out to put on an amazing, entertaining show. At the very beginning of the set, a video is played of Mick forty years ago saying, “I want to be a great singer. I want to be the best.” He isn’t talking about being the most famous or the richest. He truly means that he wants to sing very, very well. He worked at it really hard to make it happen.

For the encore, one of the fellas to my left had switched places with the girl who had been right next to me. At the end of the concert, he gave me a big hug and wanted to kiss me. Honestly I could have been this guy’s mama. But he was jovially three sheets to the wind and high on Simply Red’s unbelievable showmanship. He said it was the best concert he had ever seen in his life and planted one on me.

I followed the Belgian family out from the seats and we walked together for a little bit. They needed to get back to the main entrance while I was going out to the hotel from the bottom of the stairs we walked down from that level.

Back in my room, I got ready for bed and packed up to leave the hotel the next morning after breakfast. Then I posted the photos and video clips I took and called it a night.

Next time – transferring to a central London hotel and making my way through crowds of protesters to tour Parliament.

The arena filling up just before the Simply Red set

November 26, 2025

London Adventure: The First Simply Red Concert at London’s O2 Arena

For the very good buffet breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, I had a table by the windows in the corner. It overlooked the Thames and gave me a very pleasant view of the skyscrapers in London’s Financial District across the river. I could also watch the variety of boats and ships that went by.

I couldn’t settle in too much, however, as I had scheduled a one hour, full-body Swedish massage at the hotel’s spa. I figured that, with three nights of concerts in a row, I would be glad to have had it.

Although I had assigned seats for all three, Simply Red concerts are just not the sort of shows where the audience sits quietly in their seats. Instead the audience gets up on their feet, dances, sings along during the choruses, applauds enthusiastically, and cheers throughout.

The band is unique. The styles of music include soul, jazz, blues, funk, rock, ballads, and the occasional reggae piece. They not only sound different from other bands, but their songs are different from each other too.

The band is very tight and every member of it is both versatile and quite talented on the instrument (or instruments) they play. On drums, Roman Roth; bass, Orefo Orakwue; guitar, Kenji Suzuki; keyboards, Gary Sanctuary; trumpet, flugelhorn and percussion is Kevin Robinson; saxophones, EWI, and additional keyboards is Ian Kirkham. The guitar, saxophone, trumpet, and keyboard solos are all spellbinding. The lead singer, Mick Hucknall, has an exquisitely unique singing voice, which just seems to become richer and more powerful as he ages (25 when he started and 65 now).

With the tour being for the 40^th anniversary of the release of their first album, Picture Book, it was chock full of hits and fan favorites from over the years. Mick also talked to the audience (which he usually does at least some anyway), explaining the origins of some of the songs or telling stories related to them. This added an extra depth to their nearly two hour set.

Back to the massage. It was delightful and energized me. Afterwards I went for a walk outside. It was a lovely day. I explored the area around the O2 Arena, taking photos of the hotel, arena, and the river.

One of the photos that I took of the marquee at the main entrance to the arena ended up being posted on Simply Red’s Facebook page a few days later, credited to me. That was really cool. It was accompanied by four other photos, one of which was from the third concert and showed Mick onstage. I could clearly be seen in the audience watching him. I will share that photo in a later post.

Picked up some Chinese food for lunch. Then later in the afternoon, I took my masseuse’s advice and went to sit in the large thermal pool in the hotel next to the swimming pool. My legs kept trying to float up. If I tried to lean back, my entire body would rise and I would start to float away. I decided the problem was my lack of height. Others seemed to be staying in place, but they were all taller than me. So I sat on a ledge with my legs hanging down in order to not float off. Then I had a light dinner and got ready for the show.

I had decided that, since it was such a special anniversary, I would dress up each night. For the first night, I chose a purple sequined camisole with a purple and blue sequined shrug jacket.

The entrance from the hotel was pretty much on the other side of the arena from the main entrance, which I needed to go in. The complex was full of people and they were not all going to the concert. As it was, the arena could hold 20,000 and was sold out. So loads and loads of people milling around.

My seat for the first night was close to the stage, but really high up above it. It was the best seat I could get in the scramble to get any ticket I could after my friend had died. I am not a fan of heights, but I had talked myself into being okay with it on the way. Fortunately, when I went up the steps to enter the arena itself, I didn’t need to climb any further from there or go down any steps either. I just stepped over a bit to my right and sat down. Whew!

Not long after I arrived, another woman walked up to me and asked if I was Trisha. I said I was and she introduced herself to me. That was great. A new friend. I later had several people say that they saw me — some from across the arena. It seemed that my outfit could be seen from space.

I figured I would likely stay in my seat most of the time, unless the people in front of me stood and I would need to stand in order to see the stage. Didn’t realize that the people around me would be going in and out for the entire concert to get more drinks or to run to the WC. So I ended up standing for much of the show even at that dizzying height in what I would call nosebleed territory. The drunker several of those people got, I began to pray that nobody would be so drunk as to take a header over the railing just a few rows ahead of me.

The concert itself was absolutely fantastic – both Simply Red and their supporting act, Soul II Soul (biggest hit being “Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)”) played their hearts out. Afterwards I took the elevator down instead of the never-ending succession of escalators. Then I walked back to the hotel. I ended up staying up a bit late to post the photos I had taken on three Facebook pages (my own, the one I had been helping with for the past couple years, and another dedicated to the band to which I often contribute). Exhausted, but happy, I slept well once I was under the covers of my comfy bed.

Next time – The day and night of the second of the three Simply Red concerts

November 15, 2025

London Adventure: Arrival

The British soul band, Simply Red, features quite prominently in the first days of this particular trip. So a little back history is in order.

On the 11^th of October in 1985, their first album, Picture Book, was released. This included the songs “Come to My Aid”, “Sad Old Red”, “Heaven” (the Talking Heads song), “Jericho”, “Money’s Too Tight (to Mention)”, “Holding Back the Years” (which hit #1 in the US), and the title song. The album launched the band into sudden fame – especially in the UK, Europe, and South America. Forty years later, still going strong, they embarked on an international tour. I was going to all three London concerts.

I had initially become aware of Simply Red through my local record shop. The fella from whom I purchased most of my music recommended them based upon what he knew about my musical tastes. In the summer of 1986, the band performed at the First Avenue Club. As good as I thought the album was, they were even better live.

I didn’t have the opportunity to see them again until the summer of 1992 at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. A friend of mine had rented a flat in London and invited me over for a few weeks. She had a flyer regarding the Jazz Festival which indicated that Simply Red would be playing during the time I would be in London. So we hopped on the plane to Geneva.

After a few changes in personnel, the band was even better in person than before. And their very dynamic and charismatic lead singer, Mick Hucknall, was incredible. He started off the set with a Cole Porter song sung a cappella. It was perfection. I was even more completely hooked than before.

But, after a few years, life happened and our connection was lost. Two years ago, the connection restored, I was helping with a group associated with the band and was already set to attend a couple of the upcoming 40^th anniversary shows. So, on the 7^th of October 2025, I boarded a plane and began my London adventure.

Originally I was supposed to attend the two shows at the O2 Arena with a friend who said she had arranged for us to be the guests of one of the band members. But, several months after the tickets went on sale, she suddenly died. I then found out that she had not yet made any arrangements. So I found myself scrambling to get whatever tickets I could.

In the meantime, a third London concert was announced for the OVO Arena Wembley. I signed up for the pre-sale, got up at 3:30am my time to be ready at 10am London time (4am for me) to try to get myself the Front Row Experience. Success! Front row center even! I had already planned to make it a longer trip than just the concerts and had several activities in mind for the rest of my time in London.

I had managed to snag a Delta One air ticket, so my adventure began after I checked in at the Delta One desk, dropping my larger case off there. My ticket got me into the Delta Sky lounge. My flight wasn’t leaving until 11pm, so I wouldn’t be getting the onboard dinner until after midnight or so. In the lounge, I could get a light meal to tide me over until then for free. I could also hang out in the relatively quiet lounge until nearer to the time to board. The ladies room in the lounge alone was worth it. Quite posh.

I received a glass of sparkling wine upon boarding. Then, with dinner, I selected a lovely, white, Argentinian wine to go with the crab cakes I had ordered. They were served with soup, a salad, some smoked salmon, a roll, some risotto, and green beans. I decided I could get used to this.

Shortly after dinner, I figured it was time for bed. The seat could lie down, which I felt would definitely help me to actually sleep (which I normally don’t on a flight). It was, however, rather turbulent here and there, so I would just be drifting off when I would start to bounce around a bit (although I did have my shoulder strap seat belt on).

We were served breakfast at about 10am London time and landed at about 1pm. Going through passport control is much quicker now that all I need to do is to have the passport read by the computer. But I do miss collecting the stamps in the passport.

A car and driver were picking me up and taking me to the Intercontinental O2 Hotel. I knew that it would take a couple of hours to get there, especially since we went through central London, instead of on the ring road, but it took more like two and a half hours.

After checking in and getting myself settled in the room, I headed out the back door of the hotel to the special hotel entrance for the O2 Arena complex. I wanted to get acclimated with the place and find some food as it was now approaching 5pm.

I saw a Kentucky Fried Chicken right away, but it was closed for a private function. I usually like to eat the food of the country I am in instead of American fast food. But I was hungry and was willing to take whatever I could get that looked reasonable and was open. I ended up at the Five Guys burger place. It was a lot of food and I couldn’t eat it all, but I didn’t need to eat again for the rest of the day.

Back at the room, I got everything ready for the following day, set my alarm, and went to bed at around 10pm. I had an appointment for a massage for the next morning.

Next time – The day and night of the first of the three Simply Red concerts

July 27, 2025

April in Paris: A Walking Tour of the Marais

This was my final day in Paris. When I was there as part of the Grand France River Cruise with Avalon Waterways in 2021, I had scheduled a walking tour of the Marais. But I had miscalculated how strong my back would be just three months after having a little surgery for some melanoma next to my spine, so ended up canceling that time.

I don’t know what it is about the Marais, but trip after trip to Paris, it has either rained when I wanted to check that area out or my back wasn’t up to it. This time, it was chilly and raining on and off. The walking tour was entirely outdoors. The idea was that we would get an orientation tour and could then explore further on our own.

Our meeting point was at the southern end of the Pompidou Centre across from the Dali mural. The Pompidou Centre had opened in 1977 as a multicultural complex to house several different forms of art in one location. It was named after Georges Pompidou, who had been the President of France from 1969 to 1974. The centre is closing in September of 2025 until 2030 to complete a major renovation.

From the Pompidou Centre, we walked to the Hôtel Soubise. It was originally built as a mansion (hôtel particulier) for the Prince and Princess Soubise in the 1700s. The site upon which it was built had once been a semi-fortified 14^th century property of the Templar Knights. It has a baroque exterior and a rococo interior. It currently houses the Musée des Archives Nationales.

Next door was the Hôtel Rohan. This was also built in the 1700s as a home for the son of the Princess Soubise. It is now part of the National Archives.

A short, wet walk from there was the Musée Picasso. I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of modern art in general, but I do like Picasso’s blue period very much.

The main thing about Picasso that intrigues me, however, is that a husband of one of my mother’s first cousins, Raoul Aglion, used to know him. During World War II, Raoul was an attaché to General Charles de Gaulle and after the war, he went into the French diplomatic service. Eventually, he was located in Los Angeles at the French consulate there. This was when he met our cousin.

I knew Raoul in the final years of his life. He had an accent much like Charles Boyer and was a very kind, charming and fascinating man. Since I have always been fond of history, I was completely enthralled by the stories he told of his life. A treasured book in my collection is one that he wrote called Roosevelt & de Gaulle: Allies in Conflict, A Personal Memoir. He doesn’t talk about Picasso or the Disney brothers in there. But he kept me quite entertained with stories about them in my younger years. He also owned several Rodin sketches that always intrigued me when I would visit their home in Beverly Hills.

The Musée Cognac Jay is an 18^th century mansion which contains art and furnishings from the 18^th century. It is definitely like stepping back in time and walking around in someone’s home. I plan to go back there for a thorough visit in the future.

Another place in which I definitely want to spend some quality time during a later visit to Paris is the Musée Carnavalet, which is the museum of the history of Paris. It too is in a former mansion. This one dates to the 16^th century. The items contained in the museum date from prehistory to the present day. They include archaeological finds as well as art and historic pieces.

In the Place de Vosges, which is the oldest planned square in Paris, dating to the 17^th century, is the Maison de Victor Hugo. He lived there from 1832 to 1848. His most famous works are the novels The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.

After taking a look at the exterior of the Hôtel de Sully, which is the headquarters of the National Monuments, we ended the tour shortly before we would have reached the Hôtel de Ville. This is the City Hall of Paris. It had just started raining again, so I grabbed a taxi and headed back to my hotel. At that point, I wasn’t sure I would be venturing out again and wanted to just have a nice, quiet lunch in the hotel.

I had made friends with the bartender in the hotel’s restaurant. It was quiet at lunchtime, so she was able to chat with me, while keeping an eye out for other customers. She was from Moldova, which was where a cousin of mine’s wife was also from. She impressively speaks, Romanian, Russian, French, and English fluently.

I had a Tartelette Chevre Tomate. This was a small, puff pastry tart with goat cheese and tomato. With that I also had an order of escargots and final glass of the lovely Champagne, Chambord, and citron concoction that she made with a dash of mint.

After my lovely, leisurely lunch, I noticed it was getting nicer outside and I perked up enough to venture to one final destination. This was to the church of Saint-Germain l‘Auxerrois. The current building is a medieval church directly across from the Louvre Palace. It was originally built in the 13^th century and modified in the 15^th and 16^th centuries. From 1608 to 1806, it was the parish church for inhabitants of the Louvre. During the reconstruction of Notre Dame, the cathedral’s regular services were held at Saint-Germain l‘Auxerrois.

The original church on the site was built in the 5^th century. This was replaced in about 560 with a larger church. That church was destroyed by the Normans in 886 and then rebuilt. By the 13^th century, it was considered to be too small and was rebuilt into the current church. During the Wars of Religion, its bell was rung on the night of 23 August 1572 to signal the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre. This was when thousands of Huguenots, visiting Paris for a wedding, were murdered by a mob.

I found it to be a very pleasant church to visit, with vestiges of its entire history. Some of my Parisian ancestors just might have spent some time there. It was the right age and location. I also found a statue of Saint Denis, the fellow who was beheaded on Montmartre and then walked around carrying his head until he finally dropped dead at the location where the Cathedral of Saint Denis now exists (and where most of the French royalty has been buried).

I sauntered back to the hotel and got myself ready for a very early departure the next morning. Whenever I leave Paris, I always have a tinge of sadness. But I always know that I will be back again.

July 18, 2025

April in Paris: Glorious Sainte Chapelle

I had a very leisurely tour of the Conciergerie during which I sat and contemplated my surroundings in the chapel and revisited much of it while retracing my way back to the entrance. The exit was right next to it. I then had time for an equally leisurely lunch.

I walked just one block to a café called L’Annexe situated just across the street from the Palais de Justice. Their food was quite good and the staff very friendly. The fellow who waited on me told me that people tended to line up at the entrance of Sainte Chapelle about an hour before their scheduled time. So I did just that. They ended up being about a half hour off on their timings and so, although my ticket was for 2:30pm, I didn’t get in until 3pm.

I have visited a lot of basilicas, cathedrals, churches, and chapels in my travels. Many of them have been quite beautiful. Sainte Chapelle is truly one of the most stunningly gorgeous I have ever seen. It is very much like being inside of a jewel box. It is one of the last remaining parts of the royal palace (along with the Conciergerie) and was built in the middle of the 13^th century by King Louis IX (the future Saint Louis) to house the most precious relics of the purported Crown of Thorns and a fragment of what he believed was the True Cross.

Back in medieval times, great value was being attributed to such relics. The owner of these items held considerable prestige. After spending two years in negotiations with the Emperor of Byzantium, Louis managed to get his hands on the Crown of Thorns. A couple years later, he acquired roughly 22 additional relics, including the piece of the cross. He then decided to build a building special enough to house these treasures.

The building consists of two chapels. The upper chapel connected directly to the king’s apartments and was reserved for the king, his family and guests. The lower chapel served the palace staff. The lower chapel is quite lovely itself. But the upper chapel is breathtaking.

Fortunately, after standing in line for an hour and a half, walking around the lower chapel, and climbing the steep turnpike stairs to get to the upper chapel, there were a few chairs along the edges of the room. When I managed to get one, I leaned back and took the photo included here looking straight up at the ceiling.

The first time I had seen Sainte Chapelle, I was completely overwhelmed. This time, I knew what I was about to encounter. However, it had been completely and carefully cleaned a few years ago, so the effect of those incredible windows was even more amazing than I remembered.

The gallery of relics was restored during the 19^th century after having been destroyed during the French Revolution. The reliquaries and the shrine were melted down and most of the relics disappeared. The Crown of Thorns, however, managed to survive and became housed in the treasury of Notre Dame in 1806.

After taking my time in the upper chapel and venturing out onto the balcony, I returned to the lower chapel and roamed around in there before heading out. They had several stalls selling keepsakes, which I also perused. I didn’t see anything I couldn’t live without, so I left with just the photos I had taken.

I returned to the Café L’Annexe to have some hot chocolate and some chocolate mousse before starting the walk back to the hotel. On my way, I stopped in at a Merci Jerome! boulangerie/patisserie/café on just the other side of the Seine after crossing the Pont au Change and purchased some takeaway items for dinner. That way I could just go straight to my room and stay there. I still had about a glass and a half worth of a nice, light Reisling in my little fridge. It went quite well with my dinner.

Next time – A Walking Tour of the Marais