Impressions of London

October 20: It had been over twenty years since I'd previously been to London. It was familiar, comfortable but more worn, like a pair of shoes you still wear because they're comfortable even if the seams are coming apart. More crowds jostled for space on the Tube (subway) and the streets seemed more broken. But the city was still just as alive with people rushing to their destinations. And walls were still plastered with posters announcing theater shows.

More Londoners seemed to have non-UK accents from Italy, Germany, France and Eastern Europe. I suppose this is a result of the European Union, which allows its citizens to work anywhere. Young people were taking advantage of the opportunity to experience life in another country first-hand.

Welcome to the U.K.

October 20: The immigration agent was annoyed and confused as she tried to handle the growing line at Heathrow Airport in London.

"Who made this extra line? Who said you could do that?"

Those of us in line explained to her that another agent, who had disappeared, had done it. But she wasn' listening.

"All of you in the short line, go here. I'm closing this."

Much grumbling, mostly by Americans, as she closed the shorter line, allowing only the first few to continue.

I used to think the immigration lines at LAX were the worst in the world but this took the cake. Perhaps six agents were handling the ever-growing line of arrivals, while over a dozen counters remained unstaffed. And the line-handler, just seemed to wander back and forth among the throngs, occasionally disappearing.

Slowly more agents appeared at the counters. But it took us over an hour to get through immigration. The first question out of our agent's mouth was "Why are you two traveling together?"

"We're domestic partners." I answered. "He won't let me travel by myself."

This amused him and he cheerily chatted with us, before welcoming us to the U.K.

London Arrivals

October 20: The flight on October 19 was efficient, if uneventful.  They had no record of our kosher meal order, but they were able to scare one up for Anthony for both dinner and breakfast.  As usual, the kosher meals, which included Moroccan chicken, chocolate mousse and chocolate swirl croissant were tastier than the regular beef, crunch bar and plain croissant.  Customs proved slow and time-consuming with attendants shifting line paths willy-nilly and seemingly clueless as to how lines work. But eventually we got through, found the Heathrow Express and headed to central London.

Previewing Paris

Since we're not going to be in Paris proper until the beginning of next month, here's a little preview of the Eiffel Tower, courtesy of Google Maps street view. You can grab the picture with your cursor and drag it to look around, or click on the path on the street to walk around the site. Click the double-arrows in the lower-right to see a map of where you are. If you'd rather see a larger picture, click "View Larger Map" right after the pic.

View Larger Map

Faux books are better

Several books are accompanying our vacation: Rick Steves' Paris, Rick Steves' France, Webster's English-French Dictionary, Webster's French-English Dictionary, Complete Works of Shakespeare, and Moby Dick. These tomes are over 500 pages each and weigh enough to be used effectively with dumbbell exercises. But I need them all as reference or to pass the time on those long train journeys.

The Portable Library

Faux-tunately, I can take all the information with me, without the extra weight. I put all these materials into a Kindle 3, arguably the greatest faux (fake) book to date. This reader can store over 3,500 books as well as PDF files, MP3 media and other documents. Plus it's the size of a paperback and thinner than a pack of cards. (If you want to buy one, use the link on the right, so I get the commission.)

As a bonus, the device also acts as a primitive web browser. True, it only displays black-and-white and can't show movies, sounds or animations. But the charge lasts three weeks, and it works perfectly well for looking up quick travel reference like train schedules or museum opening times. I can also read and send email through it.

The Book Look

I love the appearance, weight and smell of a leather-bound book, which is as far away from the Kindle as you can get. But you can simulate the look and feel of a hardback masterpiece with a skin and a cover.

DecalGirl makes nearly 500 skins that wrap over your device, ranging from nature pictures to abstract art to simulated textures. Your model is protected by this wrapper and is now distinguished from all other Kindles. I picked Dark Burlwood, which gives my reader the look of an antique, Steampunk machine.

As for the cover, Oberon Design makes several in tooled, leather. I bought the Roof of Heaven, which is based on an old engraving. The cover features several interior pockets as well as a closing elastic band. It also adds further protection.

Now, when I use my Kindle 3, it feels very much like opening up a treasured antiquarian work. The cover also adds a level of security. From a distance, it looks like I'm reading a fancy notebook, instead of looking through an electronic device that's easy to steal.

Parlez-vous français?

Do you speak French?

In 1874, some renegade artists named Degas, Money, Renoir and Caillebot organized the first exhibit of what would eventually be known as Impressionist art. That year was also the last time Anthony and I studied French in college.

We make it a habit to learn the language of any country we visit. And the best way of doing that is through Pimsleur. The company breaks its lessons into 30-minute segments that you play while commuting. You listen while you're driving or performing other tasks. Each lesson building on the previous one and teaches you words syllable by syllable. Because you learn consistently and gradually, you eventually end up speaking the language, almost without any effort.

We've used the CDs to study not only French, but also Japanese and Italian, two languages we had never studied before. And we felt comfortable using those languages in those countries.

No, you won't be discussing Sarkosy's latest dalliances in French, even after you go through all three 30-lesson levels.  But you will be able to make hotel reservations, ask for directions, ask about art, buy souvenirs, shop at markets and find out about local cuisine. You can find out more about the Pimsleur method at their website. Or click the Amazon info on the right banner for pricing info.

Themes

I don't particularly enjoy wandering aimlessly through a foreign country, lost in the "If it's Monday, it must be Marseilles" syndrome. It's a better use of time and money to have one or more themes for a vacation, to help decide what sights to visit and what to ignore.

Three themes will guide our vacation: art, World War II and food.

Art

One of Anthony's favorite painting styles is Impressionism. However, because this was considered too radical at the time, the Louvre in Paris, arguable the world's greatest art museum, has no Impressionist works. Fortunately, the Orsay, Orangerie and the Marmottan in Paris are chock full of Monets and Manets. (The picture above is Monet's at the Orsay.) The National Gallery and the Tate in London also have good examples. The Grand Palais in Paris is having the "first major exhibition in France of Claude Monet's work in over 30 years" and we have tickets.

As for me, I like Venetian 17th-Century views as in the above example by my favorite artist, Canaletto. The National Gallery in London is having the best assemblage of this painting type since 1967, which is primarily why we're going to London.

World War II

For a UK view of World War II, we're visiting the Churchill War Rooms in London, where the British government hunkered down during that period. But our main journey through the war comes from Bayeux in Normandy, France, where the Battlebus is going to take us on a two-day tour of the era, complete with visits to French, American and German cemeteries; St. Mere Eglise, whose church tower figured prominently in the film "The Longest Day;"  and the invasion beaches, where all those poor souls lost their lives loosening the country from the grip of the Nazis.

We're also spending a day at the Caen Memorial Museum, also in Normandy, one of the best museums anywhere. It concentrates on World War II, of course, but has exhibits on all types of conflict including The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the 9/11 attacks of 2001.

Food

 I'm nearly at my weight-loss goal of an extra ten pounds, just so I have enough room with all those rich French foods. But my gluttony may be fighting a losing battle against typically small portions and high prices. Consider that a lunch burger costs about $15 and a can of Diet Coke that's two-thirds the American size costs about $5, and you'll see what I mean. Because or the high prices, nearly half of our budget is set aside strictly for food.

London will prove to be a surprising change from my last trip there decades ago. The food was so bad that I actually lost weight after two weeks there. Fortunately, the city has since become a food capital of Europe, with cuisines from around the world. I'm especially looking forward to all the Arabic edibles, one of my favorites, imported by immigrants from across the Mediterranean.

Others

The entire trip is not going to be thematically based. Like every other tourist, we'll be gawking at the Eiffel Tower, observing the meat-eating crows at the Tower of London, and marveling at the intricate sculptures at Notre Dame. As for Segrie, France, the only reason we're stopping at that farming community in the middle of nowhere is to visit Anthony's old French teacher, who's celebrating his 78th birthday. The last time they saw each other was in Penang, Malaysia, nearly ten years ago. Even then I didn't think the old professor was going to live another ten years. There must be something in French food that makes you last forever.