The part I was most fascinated with was the Dungeon ... The Chamber of Horrors . You went down some

I never thought I'd see this sight at all, much less it being my first memorable view of the city I'd so long wanted to visit. The flight there was exhausting because I find it difficult to sleep on public travel, but none of that mattered the first time I looked below when our plane banked as it was landing. economic car rentals new york city I remember having to catch my breath at my first sight of the Tower Bridge and the rest of the glistening city of London below. It was such a thrill!
When we did land, I was picked up at the airport by one of those little but tall black London cabs. I remember practically standing up as I stepped in for my first ride in one. At that point, I started realizing just how tired I was. I was taken to my charming 'olde world' hotel, where people were having tea and scones in the lobby when I arrived. And the elevators were those really cool ornate metal ones you see in the movies.
My room wasn't quite ready yet, so I went next door to a department store called Bourne Hollingsworth. There, I went to the ladies' room that had a little couch covered with a puffy and comfy looking chintz fabric. I was seated only a few seconds when I fell sound asleep. An unusual start to such a memorable trip!
Once my room was ready back at the hotel, I slept until nightfall, and then went outside and walked around for awhile. economic car rentals new york city The doorman of this charming hotel decided I needed a father to watch after me, so there began our daily battle of my going out at odd hours and my watchful 'dad' fussing and worrying over me. Please don't ever tell me the British people are stuffy.
I would be out at 7:30 a.m. with the fish mongers and the flower girls: And yes, they really have them there. It was like a scene from My Fair Lady. Somehow, I found myself in an area of town where there were a lot of Cockneys . I made the mistake of asking for directions. I'm not sure what language that was, but it sure didn't sound like English. It was as strange and difficult as understanding a full-blown Cajun back in the States in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
I soaked in every square inch of that city I could in the time I had to spend there. I would jump on the underground and just go. And get off at whatever stop looked interesting. It's obvious that In my youth, I didn't have a fear or care in the world.
Before my trip, I literally studied that town. The culture, the money (it was hay-pennys and pounds economic car rentals new york city back then), the food, and all the amazing things to do there. It was over-whelming, just the amount of history that was in every square inch there.
But I made some pretty good plans for such an inexperienced traveler, because I had a backup for every place I wanted to see. That came in handy when museums economic car rentals new york city were closed economic car rentals new york city on odd days and so many places unexpectedly closed down for a couple of hours in the middle of the day. It was so calm and slow-paced. I loved it although it was quite a culture shock for a girl born and raised in Dallas, Texas with very little real history and a pace as fast as a Looney Toons cartoon!
I had saved for this trip for a very long time, and had planned to go with a friend, and at the last minute, she wasn't able to go. It was a great disappointment, but I was so enchanted by the country, I made the decision to go alone -- for a month. economic car rentals new york city At that time, it was through to be pretty gutsy for a young girl my age to go on a trip alone to another country, so it left me with quite a feeling of accomplishment.
I still look on my memories there very fondly and am so glad I went ahead and took the leap of faith. I've never regretted a moment even though I had to delay and miss out on a few other things happening in my life at the time back in the states.
One of the first places I went was to Regent's Park, a beautifully landscaped and lush place in the heart of London. I had learned that Paul McCartney lived nearby on Cavendish Avenue. economic car rentals new york city So I went there to check out his beautiful three-story home where he lived with his girlfriend at the time, Jane Asher. She was an actress of both film and of a London reperatory economic car rentals new york city theatre company, The Bristol Old Vic.
Paul also also kept and lived in this house throughout economic car rentals new york city the rest of the lifetime of his American wife, Linda Eastman, whose untimely death from cancer took away the love of his life and his best friend economic car rentals new york city all at once. They were never apart throughout economic car rentals new york city their entire marriage, which is pretty impressive by anyone's standards.
Looking through the front gate, I got a good look at his house and also saw Martha , his English Sheepdog. I would have loved to be able to pet her! Then I jumped economic car rentals new york city up and grabbed a few leaves off his tree for my scrapbook before leaving to visit the Regent's Park Zoo, where I saw the pandas they had there at the time.
This is the home Paul lived in with his first serious economic car rentals new york city girlfriend, Jane Asher, and her parents. He was in the early days of his phenomenal fame, and yet, he lived in an attic room here! It was at 57 Wimpole Street, and I went to see it during one of my many walks around London.. It's in the most charming neighborhood you can imagine with little black iron ornamental gates around the fronts of each of the tall little town houses.
She was with Paul throughout the height of his fame, but was famous in her own right, and was the sister to Peter Asher of the British group Peter and Gordon, who were top rock artists around the time of Beatlemania.
Jane came to America not long after the time of my trip with the Old Vic to perform in Shakespere's Romeo and Juliet economic car rentals new york city along with Measure for Measure and I went to see her with my mom. I remember how striking she was. Her hair, especially with the style of costumes she wore for the shows, looked like spun gold glowing in the stage lights. I got her autograph, but never got any of the Beatles'.
I love these types of books. I have a book of the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina that is similar and it's an eye-opener and extremely impressive at how things could have been so efficient so very long ago.
After walking around Regent's Park for a while, I went to visit Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. I remember thinking, This won't take long .... how much time can you spend looking at a bunch of wax dummies? Wrong. I could have stayed all day from dawn to dusk and still not been satisfied.
There are figures of the Royals, movie stars, political figures, notarious criminals and war criminals (like Hitler). Also cleverly woven into the effect by the extremely gifted arisans at Madame Tussauds were beautiful room settings and elegant clothing. Most of the figures were so expertly done and true-to-life, you had to touch them to make sure they weren't economic car rentals new york city real.
As I was strolling around soaking it all in, suddenly Hitler was looking in my eyes. They had him out like he was mingling with the crowd, and it sent chills down my spine looking back into his cold, dark eyes. They captured the evil, and I was hooked.
The part I was most fascinated with was the Dungeon ... The Chamber of Horrors . You went down some creepy looking stairs with stained grey brick walls and candles flickering, casting an eerie glow on everything. There were stuffed rats and horrible murder and execution scenes everywhere. I'm a horror movie buff, so this all grabbed my attention fast. Much of the 'bloody history' of England was included from the times of be-headings by guilitines and axes to more 'modern' day scenes like Jack the Ripper. economic car rentals new york city I probably wouldn't have lived through the night had I been trapped in there after hours. It was honestly THAT scary and realistic.
The first was on a boat tour down the Thames river to Greenwich where I saw the Greenwich Meantime Museum and the beautiful clipper ship, THE CUTTY SARK. Sadly, I learned the ship burned around 2007, and has since been refurbished, but it was still a devastating event for anyone economic car rentals new york city who loves Great Britain and its history.
I felt so honored to be able to board and investigate this amazing relic of British history. There were captain's logs, all sorts of interesting equipment such as eating untensils, brass lanterns, and most interesting of all .... lots of figureheads that were made of carved wood and painted. They are shown in my picture gallery along with pictures of the Cutty Sark itself.
I met a couple of young British economic car rentals new york city guys here, and we sat on a grassy hill and talked for an hour or so. I adore English guys because they are so polite. They took off their coats and spread them on the grass for me to sit on as we talked. Interestingly, they were both named Sean and were in a band together. economic car rentals new york city They played at a London club, and actually wrote a song about me later called Green-Eyed Girl . Before I left London, they called me in my room to bid me farewell, and to get my contact info so we could stay in touch. We corresponded for quite a few years before I got marri4ed economic car rentals new york city and we finally lost touch.
On the way back, the 'captain' of our little economic car rentals new york city river boat and I started talking, and he said he had some friends who owned a pub in London and he'd like to take me there. I didn't have to think twice about that it sounded like so much fun, so we went there after we docked back in London. economic car rentals new york city Every time he went to get an ale for me, he had another guy sit with me. Again, those impressive manners! I loved it. I met his friends and we had a great time exchanging stories about our lives and our countries.
Thank you, Susan. It definitely was that, and I'm honored that you liked it. I'm actually not finished, so I hope you'll come back later when it's complete. Was a little quick on the trigger on the Publish button being a new baby squid and all.