London Will Never Bore You

We were privileged over the summer to live a short train ride away from central London. I still enjoy visiting that city as much as ever. There is always so much to see and do! Its bustling atmosphere and moody weather combine to lend excitement. The tube and bus system provide easy transportation, but it's fun to walk around also, seeing the sights of each new neighborhood. Here are some photos from our various day trips to London in August.

Mr. Astor's Office

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Two Temple Place is an elaborate building, inside and out. It was built by William Waldorf Astor in 1895, sparing no expense or artistic flourish. When he wasn't busy establishing the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, he had extensive business dealings in London, and this mansion served as his UK office. Now owned by a trust, it's occasionally open to the public for tours. I loved the colors in the entrance hall, and the gold-gilded weathervane portraying the Santa Maria.

We completed this day by walking across the Thames on the Millennium foot bridge, and lunching in a pretty Thai restaurant. (Robin ordered a most interesting floral tea.)

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Westminster Abbey, Paddington The Musical, & The Savoy

London was unusually hot this summer, and on a sweltering August Thursday when we had non-refundable tour and theater tickets, we set out to enjoy it as best we could. Robin's wish list included touring Westminster Abbey, which is not London's largest cathedral (that would be St. Paul's), but it is still impressive. Our tour guide (American actually!) was well-versed in the church's history, and the interior was blessedly cool. Westminster is known as the burial place of royalty through the centuries, and also of authors, poets, and composers. You may have seen a royal wedding (William & Kate) or coronation (current King Charles) take place there too.

It is very difficult to capture the scale of anything at Westminster Abbey in photos. It's all too grand!

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Thomas Cochrane, by the way, was the 19th-century naval captain who inspired the character of Captain Jack Aubrey in the "Master and Commander" series by Patrick O'Brian. We highly recommend these books, especially the audio versions read by Patrick Tull; or the movie starring Russell Crowe.

After the Abbey tour, we sought out an air-conditioned Indian restaurant for dinner, then walked to the theatre district. I'd read that the musical at London's Savoy Theatre about Paddington Bear was excellent, and they weren't kidding. The sets, costumes, and music were all fabulous. It didn't matter that it was a children's story! We really loved Paddington! Then to cap off the day (now cooler at 10 PM), we went next door to the Savoy Hotel, where I had made a reservation for drinks at its famous "American Bar." It wasn't particularly "American," but I don't think I've ever had such a lovely experience drinking a cocktail. The servers treated us like royalty, and the drinks were delicious. Pricey but worth it to be spoiled once in a while, and I look forward to the next special occasion at the Savoy.

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The drink ingredients: rum, white port, apricot, lime, roasted pineapple soda, saffron.

Borough Market, Hot Chocolate, & Shakespeare's Globe

Neither one of us had ever been to a Shakespeare play at London's famous Globe Theatre, so we decided to get tickets to a performance of "Much Ado About Nothing." As in Shakespeare's time, the venue is open-air and much of the audience stands in front of the stage, but we modern (and old) theatre-goers prefer seats! The actors were terrific and very funny.

Waiting for "Much Ado About Nothing"

The Globe is around the corner from Borough Market, one of London's famous foodie areas. It was our second time there and as before, it was too crowded to really enjoy. There are many tempting food choices, but no place to eat other than standing in a corner and doing your best! So for lunch before the play, I booked a table at one of the sit-down restaurants, the all-vegetarian Mallow. We ate there in 2024 and I thought it was still excellent.

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  Borough Market crowd

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  Borough Market sandwiches

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  Borough Market stews

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  Borough Market Cannoli

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  standing lunch

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  another make-do lunch area

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  thoughtful mini cocktail at Mallow

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  white bean hummous at Mallow

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  Mallow tortellini

It's OK to have dessert before lunch, right? Robin and I parted ways at the train station that morning so he could go check out Northeastern's London campus, while I went in search of gourmet chocolate at Dark Sugars, in the Shoreditch neighborhood. They're famous for hot chocolate topped with copious shavings which melt into your drink. It was soooo gooooood. While definitely a chocolate highlight of the summer, I have to give the top chocolate award this year to the Dark Dubai Chocolate from Läderach, which I procured at Selfridge's Department Store.

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  how it starts (web photo)

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  shavings mostly melted into my cup

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  part of the store's selection

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  Dubai chocolate -- with pistachio paste

The Science Museum, Afternoon Tea, & The Royal Albert Hall

Our final day in London began with a visit to the Science Museum and a thrilling Imax movie about the T Rex. Afterwards we noticed a booth for some sort of space-themed experience, so we bought tickets and went in. Little did we know it was virtual reality -- a first for both of us! We put on the headsets and saw supernovas exploding. It was very cool. (A few days later, we visited a virtual reality escape room with our niece Mia and her fiancé Jay. That was a big winner -- really fun!!) Back in London, following up on our dinosaur theme for the afternoon, we then got the Jurassic Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel. That was fun and tasty too.

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  Science Museum exhibit

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  VR Escape Room

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  Dinosaur Egg Cocktails!

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  Afternoon Tea, Volcano style

Robin really enjoys listening to classical music at London's premier concert venue: The Royal Albert Hall. The summer "Proms" series is much-loved in England. After tea, that was our next stop. Mahler's 4th Symphony was on that evening and he named it his summer highlight! As for me, I was glad to accompany him and see not only the concert hall, but also the Albert Memorial across the street. What a blow losing Albert was to Queen Victoria.

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  Ornate Albert Memorial

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  The Royal Albert Hall

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  ABBA Experience in Stratford

The photo above is a few days later from a different type of concert that everyone said we shouldn't miss -- ABBA reconstituted as "holograms" with live music and recorded vocals. What will they think of next? We're glad we experienced this one.

Writing this in October, I'm missing London and dreaming about heading back! If you ever decide to visit that amazing city, Robin and I will be very pleased to share our recommendations. But you can't go wrong there, whatever your interests.

I'm currently in Maine, where I'm spending the month on politics, hikes on my days off, and visiting my Mom. Hey, Maine in the Fall is not bad either!

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Well Dear Readers, this concludes my travel blogging for 2026. Thank you for following our adventures, and for all your comments and messages. I will let you know of new installments if we are lucky enough to embark on future travels. Wishing you all the best for the rest of the year and beyond!

🇬🇧 🍺 💂‍♂️ 🫖 🦖

Ramblin'

Hello Dear Readers,

Although our summer in England came to an end and we've been home for three weeks, I still have a couple of posts to share with you. In this one I'll relate how easy and wonderful it is to take walks -- short, medium, long, or expedition-length -- all over the UK. We enjoyed many "rambles" this summer.

My final ramble took place the day before we began our trip back to the US, when my intention was to tire the dog so she'd be calm on the plane. I finally subscribed to the All Trails app (which gives you hiking routes anywhere) and it's been tremendously useful!

Here is a preview panel from All Trails of our walk that last day. Once you start, you follow the route using the "live" map on your phone. But it usually takes me double their estimated time!

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Three factors make walking in the UK more pleasant and accessible than in places I've lived in the US: 1.) There is more of a division between city and countryside -- less suburban sprawl. Once outside a town center, the landscape is pretty for walking. 2.) There are public rights-of-way across a lot of privately-owned land, so you can traverse most areas from one point to another, without getting barred by "private property." 3.) There is a culture which encourages the use of these walking routes, with trail signs everywhere. And if you want to walk on a long-distance path (some covering hundreds of miles) there are readily available maps and descriptions, so you can do a short segment or the whole thing.

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There are often a slew of small, literal hurdles: so-called stiles. These are barriers to keep livestock out (or in) while letting the walker pass. They come in several forms, including simply opening and closing a gate behind you, but often you have to climb over a few wooden boards. Sophie usually could squeeze under these barriers, but she preferred to follow me up and over!

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Now here are a few images from the "Mill Green & Fryerning Circular," which included St Mary the Virgin, an 11th-century church and its spooky graveyard. No, I did not dare to peek inside the broken-up sarcophagus.

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  St Mary the Virgin Church

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  broken sarcophagus

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  horses aplenty

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  blackberries everywhere

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  path through field

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  part of the walk along a quiet road

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  my phone's zoom captured the moon

In our immediate neighborhood of Doddinghurst, I admit that the walking trails weren't as nice as what we have in the woods of Carlisle, MA. However we did find some walks around the farm fields and down the side streets. Our neighbor had a gift for growing roses and I couldn't resist photographing her perfect specimens over the summer:

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The day before our departure, we had lunch at our favorite local restaurant, Smith's of Ongar. I loved their fresh seafood, tasty side dishes and excellent crème brûlée. Inexplicably this restaurant automatically provides a little bucket of ice to every table. Very strange for England, where a request for ice in your drink usually nets you one small hollow cube. And wouldn't you know, we discovered in our final week a terrific bakery called Rose's in nearby Shenfield, which had really good sandwiches and cakes. Oh well, we went three times that week, and stocked up for our long drive to Paris and the flight home from Orly Airport.

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  Ice on your table at Smith's

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  Sea Bass, Dauphinoise Potatoes, Champagne!

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  Crème brûlée with blondie

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  Victoria Sponge cake from Rose's

I will fufill my promise to write a final "UK Summer 2026" blog about the wonderful variety of fun things we got to experience in London this summer (Virtual Reality! Musicals! Shopping! Shakespeare!). Meanwhile, I'm off to work and I hope you are enjoying this beautiful Fall.

🥾 🇬🇧 🫖 🍰

Second City

I've never been to any of the major English cities outside London, so was overdue for a trip to the UK's second-largest city, Manchester. In August we took the train from London's Euston Station (about a two-hour ride) and spent one night at the Hyatt House in downtown Manchester (nice free room courtesy of a Hyatt credit card benefit!). A gourmet breakfast buffet was included - what a deal.

As the summer wanes into late August, normal rainy weather has returned to England. We don't miss the super hot days, but looking back it sure was nice to enjoy so many walks and explorations rain-free. Manchester was rainy, but the weather cleared enough for us to enjoy an open-air bus tour and to walk around quite a bit.

We arrived at Manchester's Piccadilly Station and snapped a few photos before enjoying lunch at a local brewery (the Northern Monk Tap Room). Robin liked the beer. After taking a walk to the supposedly trendy Northern Quarter, we tried out the city's tram system. (Manchester has great public transport, but no subway.) In the evening we rode the elevators to the top of the Beetham Tower (4th tallest in the city) for drinks and the views at the Cloud 23 Bar. Not surprisingly, the drinks were weak but the views were superb. I love finding a high vantage point to survey the territory when visiting a new place.

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  a tribute to injured soldiers

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  colorful sidewalk art

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  historic office building (for my Canadian friends)

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  building with colorful bird

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  tram station

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  view from Cloud 23

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  another view from high up

We began our second day with a 90-minute sightseeing bus, which gave us a fantastic overview of the city. Did you know that while Manchester is 40 miles from the coast, it was England's third-busiest port city in the 19th and 20th centuries? That's because they dug a canal all the way to the Irish Sea! Opened in 1794, the Manchester Ship Canal helped build the city's commerce. But it was not the first canal built there. The earlier Bridgewater Canal (10 miles long) halved the cost of getting coal from the mines to the city's mills, and fueled the Industrial Revolution when it opened in 1761. Today, the docks area is being redeveloped, but continues as a port.

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  our open air tour bus

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  part of the canal

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  we glimpsed this famous stadium

On the bus tour we zoomed passed the People's Museum, which showcases the history of working people and the labor movement. Had I done my advance homework, this would have been a must-see for me. We didn't have time to go back, but I've added it to my list for next time. Once the bus dropped us back in the central city, we enjoyed a visit to the Art Museum, which proudly displays local artists including Laurence Stephen Lowry, whose style helped capture "Manchurian" city life in the early 20th century. Then we were on to the public library and the private Ryland Library (an incredible building in its own right, with a Harry Potter vibe and and never have I seen so many old books!). I'd happily return there as well.

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  Manchester Public Library

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  the reading room inside library

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  the color is yellow!

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  City Hall tower

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  Lowry painting of Piccadilly Gardens

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  Another Lowry Manchester scene

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  Rylands majestic interior

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  math classics

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  Rylands Library exterior

My quest to sample local fine chocolates almost ended in disappointment when I arrived at the Dormouse Chocolate shop at 2:01 PM, hardly imagining they closed at 2:00 on Thursdays. The place was all locked up, but to my surprise, the door suddenly opened. A kind proprietor invited me inside, gave me a description of their various chocolate bars, and cheerily sold me a couple. Then I was off to rejoin Robin for a late but excellent tapas-and-sangria lunch before catching our evening train back to London.

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In case you're wondering, lunch (clockwise from left) was salad with walnuts & toasted goat cheese; roasted potatoes in spicy sauce, mushroom pastry parcels with butternut puree, and chicken in a smoked paprika sauce. OH - and a huge class of red sangria.

Well dear Readers, today is August 30th and we'll be returning home to the US in a couple of days. It's hard to see such a great summer end, but no regrets for wasted days here -- there were none! I'll be back with another post sharing some of the fun times we've had visiting London these past few weeks, and then a final installment letting you know we made it home. I wish you, too, some fantastic final days of summer.

🚌 🌨️ 🖼️ 🍷