Dreamwalking in History

(10-11 Dec 2011) On the way to Lincoln

2011-12-12T02:25:00.000-08:00

On the way to Lincoln for a surprise visit to a good friend. Our first stop, the Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire.

Woburn Safari Park

The Safari park opened in 1970 by the 13th Duke of Bedford, but there had been a private collection of exotic animals there since 1804 and the 6th Duke of Bedford.

The definition of cheeky monkeys:

Lions and other carnivores:

Bears:

Lemurs:

Penguins:

Parrots:

White rhinos, elephants, Bactrian camels, antelopes etc.

Galleries of Justice, Nottingham
Next stop is Nottingham and one of its most popular attractions, the Galleries of Justice. We arrived just on time for the afternoon tour, led by the Sheriff of Nottingham himself :P.

The whole of Nottingham seems to be red. I was told later that it used to be much more red in the past.

Lincoln
A very beautiful market town in the East Midlands. It was founded by the Romans as Lindum (after the Celtic "Lindo", meaning "pool") and became a typical Roman prosperous town with baths and all. After the Romans left, it was conquered by Angles from Germany and later Danes, before William the Conqueror and his Normans arrived and built a castle in 1068. Since the bishop of Lincoln, Hugh of Wells, was one of the signatories to the Magna Carta, the castle holds one of only four surviving copies (the others in the British Library and Salisbury Cathedral). In the past, the Magna Carta was kept in Lincoln Cathedral, the tallest building in the world between 1300 and 1549, and still probably the most impressive gothic building in Britain.

Lincoln is an example of a small city benefitting greatly from its new university. Thinking of it, that's actually why we visited it this weekend.

Oh, and the food is great too! Lincolnshire sausages, game pies, cream tea ...

(14 Aug 2011) Bromley

2011-08-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

A brief trip to the London Borough of Bromley for two of its attractions.

Chislehurst Caves
22 miles of darkness, the caves have been used historically by Druids, Saxons, Romans and more recently as an ammuniton depot in WWI, shelter for the civilian population during World War II and as a stage for the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. There is a haunted pool, a Druid altar, etc. The tour is lamp-lit and lasts 45 minutes. Well worth the £5.

Before we entered the caves, we noticed a couple of very bizarre characters with robes and fake glowing eyes. We later found out that these weren't actors employed to scare us during the tour, but members of the Labyrinthe Club, which uses a separate part of the caves for live role playing games. They must be pretty atmospheric.

Downe Village
That's the lovely village in Bromley, where Down House is. I didn't find out why, but it was packed with parked cars everywhere.

Down House
That's Darwin's house, where he spent the last 40 years of his life. We saw the study where he wrote 'On the Origin of Species' and walked a bit around the gardens, where he conducted a number of his experiments. The house is maintained superbly and offers a good inside view of his life and way of thinking. There is also a replica of the cramped cabin, which he shared with two others during his HMS Beagle voyage.

(11 June 2011) Hellenic Motor Museum, Athens

2011-06-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

A brand new museum in central Athens that is well worth the visit.

1895: Hunnia Horse Drawn Carriage with Water Pump

1918: American La France

1919: Humber 10hp Two-Seater with Dickey seats

1922: Daimler TT 20hp Doctor's Coupe with Dickey seats

1926: Avion Voisin C4 Roadster, Bugatti Type 23 Brescia Modifie, Nash Open Tourer

1927: Lincoln Sport Roaster Model L151

1928: Rolls Royce 20 HP Doctor's Coupe

1930: Bugatti Type 44 Drophead Coupe

1931: Packard Straight Eight Sedanca Town Car

1934: Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux, Wolseley 9hp Tourer

1939: Rolls Royce Wraith Sports Sedan

1949: Triumph 2000 Roadster

1952: Healey Tickford 2.4 Sports Saloon

1955: Porsche 356A Coupe, Mercedes Benz 300 SL "Gullwing"

1956: Aston Martin DB 2/4 Vantage Drop-Head Coupe

1958: Mercedes Benz 190SL

1959: Chrysler Imperial Crown Convertible, AC Aceca Bristol

1960: Auto Union 1000 SP Coupe, Daimler SP250 Dart

1962: Abarth-Fiat 850TC

1963: Reliant Sabre Six Coupe

1964: Jaguar E Type Series I Fixed Head Coupe

1965: Austin Healey 3000 BJ8 MkIII, Jensen C-V8 MkII, Lotus Elan Sprint S3 Coupe

1966: Mercedes Benz 230 SL

1967: Jaguar MkII 3.8 Saloon

1969: Jensen Interceptor FF1

1971: Maserati Indy, Marcos 3litre Coupe

1973: Aston Martin V8 Series III

1974: Dino 246 GTS, Morgan 4/4 1600

Finishing with a humorous touch. The Flintstones and their Bedrock Buggy.

(8 May 2011) Hampstead Heath

2011-05-10T06:09:00.000-07:00

Preparing for this walk felt a lot like scraping a barrel. Although a pretty area, Hampstead Heath has no historical significance at all. Contrary to the legend, Queen Boudicca was not buried there, William the Conqueror had as much to do with it as with any other heath in England, and so on. With this in mind I tried to keep pointless trivia to a minimum, but this inevitably made it a boring walk. At least it was an opportunity to walk in the Heath and chat with friends.

After breakfast in Golders Hill, we go for a walk in the park. Golders Hill is a relatively new part of London that grew after the tube station was built. Upon entering the park, we come across a large group of orthodox Jewish kids playing football. Unusual sight elsewhere, but Golders Hill is at the centre of Jewish activity in the UK since the 1930s and Hitler's rise in Germany. There are many synagogues, a museum of Jewish history and the residences of prominent British Jews.

Golders Hill Park features a tiny zoo with rather outlandish animals. Alpacas, Maras, Red-legged Seriemas, Ring-tailed Lemurs, White-naped Cranes etc.

We walk through the forest towards the Spaniards Inn, but it's too early for lunch. So, time for some trivia instead:
Byron, Dickens and Shelly are said to have been regulars of the pub. However, I've heard this about so many pubs that either someone is lying or most 19th century literary figures spent their whole lives in pubs.

In 1780, a group of rioters wanting to burn down nearby Kenwood House stopped for a drink at the Spaniards Inn. When the landlord of the pub realised it, he kept the drink flowing until they got wasted and the law came to collect them.

Kenwood House is next on our way. It's the stately home that dominates the northern part of the Heath since the 17th century. In 1927, it was offered to the nation by its last owner, the Lord Iveagh of the Guinness family (of the beer fame). The name "Kenwood" is believed to indicate that the original land owner was some Norman noble from Caen (some go so far as to claim that it was William the Conqueror).

More trivia:

- The bridge is fake. Seriously!

- In the film "Notting Hill", that's where Julia Roberts is filming her period drama and Hugh Grant turns up.

Some more photos:

The house is relatively empty by the standards of a museum, but still quite interesting thanks to Lord Iveagh's art collection. My favourite from there:

In "A Woman Playing the Guitar" Vermeer looks much freer than in his better-known masterpieces. The arm is cut by the edge, the focus is closer to the wall than the girl, and the girl plays a guitar! Were modest girls even allowed to play the guitar in 1670?

Rembrandt isn't one of my favourite artists, but still seeing one of his self-portraits on the walls of a relatively forgotten estate is quite something. He is already old and looks more distant than ever.

There was also some interest in de Jongh's "Old London Bridge from the west" showing it as it was in the 17th century. There were houses and shops on the bridge, the rents of which were paying its costs. The resulting traffic was unbearable and the richer would prefer to use the gondola-like boats to cross the Thames comfortably.

Past the ponds and towards Kentish Town for lunch. On the Highgate (east) side of Hampstead Heath there are eight ponds dug in the 17th and 18th century; one for men's bathing, one for women's bathing, one for fishing, one for model boats, etc.

Lunch at "The Bull and Last", just outside the SE side of the Heath. Enough space for 12 people and decent food.

(1 May 2011) St. Albans and Shuttleworth Collection

2011-05-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today's destination was the splendid Shuttleworth Collection of vintage aircraft, near Bedford. On the way we stop at St. Albans for breakfast.

St. Albans
St Albans existed in pre-Roman times, originally named Verulam by the Ancient British Catuvellauni tribe. When the Romans invaded, Verulamium became the second largest town after Londinium. The town today takes its name from Saint Alban, who in AD 308 became the first British Christian martyr, beheaded at the orders of Emperor Diocletian for refusing to give up his faith. The Normans, Viking raids and the War of the Roses left their marks, but that's for another trip.

Today, St. Albans is considered as one of the prettiest towns near London, with notoriously high property prices.

Shuttleworth Collection
Founded in 1928 by aviator Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth, this is one of the most prestigious collections of very old aircraft. Due to the very strong winds today, we didn't see the Edwardian-era ones fly, but it was still well worth the visit.

Early attempts (Victorian era)
From left to right, Stringfellow's Monoplane 1848, Lilienthal's Normal Apparatus 1894, Pilcher Bat 1895 and Pilcher Triplane 1899.

First aircraft (Edwardian era)
All these do fly, but only during evening airshows when the wind has calmed down. Today we could only see them inside their hangars. Oh well. An excuse to go to one of their evening airshows too.
From left to right, 1909 Bleriot Type XI, 1910 Deperdussin, 1910 Bristol Boxkite, 1910 Avro Triplane IV, and 1912 Blackburn Monoplane.

If you like this era, make sure you watch "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines".

World War I
Again rather delicate aircraft that are too valuable to fly in windy conditions. Still, we had the immense pleasure to see a 1917 S.E.5A take off and fly for a couple of minutes before the pilot noticed an engine failure and decided to land quickly to avoid damaging the plane.
We also saw a Sopwith Triplane's demonstration of its rotary engine, as well as a Bristol F.2b Fighter, Sopwith Pup and Bristol M.1C.

Interwar
With World War I having proven the potential of aviation, the interwar period saw numerous new designs, some of which were quite outlandish. For example, the Mignet HM14 Flying Flea was designed by Henri Mignet specifically for the home-builder. It was very simple to build and fly, but after a great commercial start, the design proved faulty and resulted into a few fatal accidents. Mignet corrected his design, but by then it was too late and the type never recovered from the bad press.

Another very interesting exhibit is the Schneider SG38 glider in Nazi colours. After World War I, Germany was not allowed an air force, but gliders were allowed. Many of the Luftwaffe aces of World War II had been trained in these basic Schneider gliders.

The Collection's pride is the Soviet Polikarpov Po-2, which was used for training, reconnaissance, ground attack, crop-dusting, and even pshychological warfare. In 1943, it was fitted with large loudspeakers for nuisance raids, broadcasting noises throughout the night to keep the enemy awake.

The Collection also includes a De Havilland DH53 Humming Bird, Hawker Cygnet, De Havilland DH51, De Havilland DH.60 Cirrus Moth, De Havilland DH.60X Moth, Southern Martlet, Hawker Tomtit, Dessoutter I, Comper Swift, De Havilland DH.88 Comet, Hawker Hind, Gloster Gladiator, Abbot Baynes Scud II, De Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth, Blackburn B2, Avro 19 Anson, Ryan PT-22, Spartan 7W Executive, two Miles Magisters and an Avro Tutor.

World War II
Thanks to its superb short-take-off-and-landing abilities, the Lysander was used as a "spy taxi". It was dropping and picking up secret agents at night during the Nazi occupation of Europe. As with many other planes in the Shuttleworth Collection, this is the last of its type that is airworthy.

One of the most successful fighter aircraft of World War II, the Hurricane is best known for helping win the Battle of Britain. This is the carrier-based Sea Hurricane Ib. Again the only airworthy aircraft of its type in the world.

Postwar
Next, a F-86 Sabre. What a way to illustrate the amazing technological leaps from the beginning to the end of World War II! The Sabre is best known for its legendary dogfights with MiG-15s in the Korean War.

The collection also includes a De Havilland Chipmunk, Percival Provost, Ryan Navion, Antonov An-2 and Yak-52s.

Yak-52 aerobatics:

(17 Apr 2011) Richmond

2011-04-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

Excellent sunny Sunday for a long and at times gruelling walk in Richmond.

Richmond Palace
Richmond Palace was erected around 1500 by Henry VII, formerly known as the Earl of Richmond. During the civil war, Cromwell destroyed most of its important buildings and today only fragments exist, most notably the gatehouse. The open grassland outside the Palace is Richmond Green. That's where the palace's jousting competitions were held. In 1625, Charles I brought his court there to escape the plague in London and by the early 18th century the houses overlooking the green had become the homes of minor nobles. The Green was also a popular venue for cricket matches during the 18th century.

On the way to Richmond Park, we pass by the riverside pubs and cafes while still in low tide.

Next is Richmond Hill with its spectacular view.

Of course, the centrepiece of the walk was Richmond Park, the largest open space in London and three times larger than New York's Central Park.

On the way back, we stop at the White Cross pub for a quick lunch, just before the high tide kicked in. The difference before and after was dramatic:

(9 - 10 Apr 2011) E England

2011-04-11T00:23:00.000-07:00

A weekend in the East of England this time. Mainly Essex and Norfolk.

Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker
In 1952, the UK government paid a farmer £2,410 to buy his 25-acre plot in South Essex. After seven months intensive work, with contractors using different routes every time to avoid attention, they finished the R4 ROTOR secret bunker, a regional government headquarters in the case of a nuclear attack. When the cold war ended, the bunker was decommissioned and the farmer's grandson, Mike Parrish, bought the bunker from the government and a little later opened it to the public. It is his voice that visitors listen to on their information "wands", carrying which is obligatory.

I can safely say that this is one of the most atmospheric places one will ever visit. Although it is not empty, due to its design and size you may not come across any human being in the whole of the bunker. It feels as if you are in the hatch of "Lost".

As you walk down the long corridor, you hear "5 Megaton ground burst reported North London", "Severe fallout reported around Chipping Ongar", ... It all feels real.
The corridor is very long so as to make it easier to defend against intruders. Intruders, the wands make it clear, would not be Russians, but the local survivors in the aftermath of a nuclear attack, who would try to enter the bunker to get to the uncontaminated food and water reserved for Government officials.

The bunker was designed to sustain about 600 people for up to three months in the event of a nuclear war. It had air-conditioning, heating, cooling, its own water supply, generators and operating theatre. One of the rooms would be used by the Prime Minister.

In several rooms, you can watch 1950s civil defence films, for example about the effects of nuclear detonation in the cities and the British countryside. You learn that three bangs means nuclear fallout, while a single tone is "all clear". The BBC also had a tiny studio, from where it would provide information to the public in case of attack. The public would be instructed to cover their radios with aluminum foil, which would hopefully protect them from an electromagnetic blast.

The sound of typewriters and telex machines make everything feel real. Getting closer and seeing that the people operating them are manequins, makes the experience even more unsettling. It's as if an attack wiped out all the personnel and you are now walking among the dead, the cardboard coffins and name tags reinforcing the paranoia.

Exiting the hatch is as eerie as entering it, especially on a sunny day like this one.

Norwich
A two-hour drive to the north is Norwich. In the 11th century, Norwich was the second largest city in England, but today it's only 142nd, with a population of 135,000. Its principal landmark is a splendid looking Norman Castle built by William the Conqueror. Strikingly different to any non-Norman Castle, the Keep is square and has a bright creamy colour. Unfortunately it wasn't open while we were there.

Norwich has a beautiful city centre, with medieval streets, old churches, a river, and very interesting markets with several independent shops.

Colne Valley Railway, Essex
Last in the trip was an old railway centre in Essex. It's not the best of its type, but it also hosted a vintage car exhibition the same day, and it was on the route back, so no harm in visiting it.

We first had the chance to ride on the W55033 railcar built in 1960.

The highlight was probably "69023 Joem", a 0-6-0T steam locomotive, on loan from the North East Locomotive Preservation Group. It belonged to the J72 class that was first introduced in 1898, but the specific one was from the last batch built around 1950.

All in all, certainly not on par with the Didcot Railway Centre we visited last year, but it had character and a few unique bits, such as a Royal Mail carriage:

Some of the vintage vehicles:

(19 Mar 2011) West End and Holborn

2011-03-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Only a relaxed walk in the West End this time, with the meeting point being inside the crypt of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square. Today it's a coffee shop and probably the most atmospheric in the area.

The current church is the third on that spot. There was one there in the 13th century, which was rebuilt by Henry VIII three centuries later so that plague victims would stop passing from in front of his Whitehall Palace. At the time, the church was literally in the fields, between the cities of Westminster and London. The current church was built in the 18th century and promiment figures christened there include King Charles II, Francis Bacon etc. Architecturally, it is quite interesting too. In fact, after the architect published the plans with a bestselling book in America, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields influenced heavily what we now consider the iconic style of New England churches.

Trafalgar Square
Although most Londoners visit Trafalgar Square often, few know a lot about it. In my opinion, it symbolises the birth of modern Britain and it's no surprise that Hitler declared once that he would transfer Nelson's column to Berlin to mark his final victory.

Trafalgar Square is a great source of QI trivia. For example:

- The lions are made of the bronze of the French cannons captured at the Battle of Trafalgar
- Nelson's column is 56m high and Nelson's statue itself is almost 6m, although it looks much smaller from the ground. Nelson faces SW towards his fleet and flagship at Portsmouth
- One of the statues around the square is George Washington's. Washington once said that he would never set foot in London again. So, soil was brought from Virginia and that's what his statue is standing on
- From the very beginning, Trafalgar square has had fourth plinths, but due to disputes and lack of funds the fourth was never permanently occupied. It is usually occupied by controversial works of contemporary art
...

Until recently there were thousands of pigeons there, but the council has now got rid of them with the use of specially trained hawks, at a cost of about £60,000 a year.

The statue of Charles I that stands in Trafalgar square is from 1633. After Charles I was beheaded, the statue was given to a local brazier to melt down, but he hid it instead and made a fortune selling trinkets supposedly made from the statue's bronze. After the restoration of monarchy, the statue reappeared and Charles II mounted it so that his father would face the scene of his execution outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall.

National Gallery
One of the best galleries in the world, the National Gallery houses some of my favourite paintings. Picking a few of them:

Turner's impressionistic "Fighting Temeraire" showing one of the Battle of Trafalgar's old veteran ships being towed by the new technology of the steam power.

Caravaggio's "Supper at Emmaus" magnificently capturing the surprise of Jesus's disciples when he reveals himself.

Van Dyck, the image maker of Charles I, making him look the divine ruler that he wanted to be, not long before his execution.

De La Roche showing the execution of Lady Jane Grey, the 9-day queen, who was deposed in favour of Mary Tudor (nicknamed Bloody Mary for killing 300 protestants).

Joseph Wright, who depicted science in the divine way previously seen only in religious paintings.

Soho
Most authorities believe that Soho took its name from an old hunting cry, which also later became the Duke of Monmouth's battle cry during the English Civil War. Soho today is best-known for its music scene, theatres, restaurants, and of course the sex industry.
Again several QI trivia for this area:

The attic of 22 Frith Street is where television was invented by John Baird. When he finalised his invention, Baird ran downstairs, grabbed the first person he saw and took him upstairs to pose in front of the camera for what would be the first ever demonstration of a TV. Baird then visited the Daily Express to promote his invention. Terrified, the news editor said to his staff: "For God's sake, go down to reception and get rid of a lunatic who's down there. He says he's got a machine for seeing by wireless! Watch him — he may have a razor on him".

28 Dean Street is where Karl Marx lived. He was so poor that three of his children died there. His wife's uncle was Philips, the multi-millionaire founder of the Philips company. Philips refused to lend them any money because he disapproved of Marx's socialist activities. It was at that time that Marx was researching in the British Library to write Das Kapital.

The Marlboro brand of cigarettes takes its name from Soho's Great Marlborough street, where the company's factory in London was situated.

Scattered around Soho are seven sculpted noses. The legend says that if you are lucky enough to find all seven you will become infinitely wealthy. Many locals and tourists have been walking around Soho to spot them, but none has ever reported finding them all.

Next, we stopped for lunch at a Belgian pub before moving off towards Holborn.

Lincoln's Inn fields
This is where Anthony Babington was quartered in 1586, for the attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. The process was so messy that the queen ordered that his accomplices would be simply hanged.

Hunterian Museum
Certainly not for the squeamish, the museum houses more than 3,500 anatomical and pathological preparations, fossils, paintings, drawings and specimens from the collection of John Hunter and others. Exhibits include the skeleton of the 7ft 7in tall 'Irish giant' Charles Byrne, surgical instruments from the 17th century, carbolic sprays used by Lister, the tooth of a megatherium (an extinct giant sloth) donated by Darwin, Winston Churchill's dentures etc.

Sir John Soane's museum is on the opposite side of the same square.

(4 - 9 Dec 2010) Miami

2010-12-03T05:36:00.000-08:00

An unusual trip this time. United States for the first time in three years and I am only the accompanying guest. Pre-trip planning involved only quick googling for key attractions, with unsurprisingly weak results. All I know is that the Miami Heat are at 12-8; decent for an Eastern Conference team.

When you can't plan much, keep an open mind and an open eye.

Before touching down, we get a splendid view of Miami from above. Very impressive. An archipelago of scyscrapers.

Atlanta Hawks @ Miami Heat, American Airlines Arena
I've been following the NBA for twenty years, but this is the first time I'm watching its players in their natural habitat. Rushing from the airport to the hotel and straight to American Airlines Arena, reason hasn't settled in and I'm taken aback by what I thought were Cavs fans with Lebron shirts walking bravely along Heat fans towards the Arena. Lebron now plays for Miami?! Not the sort of thing the BBC would bother mentioning.

The match is unremarkable in all respects, but it serves its purpose. Plenty of opportunity to observe traditions. As we arrive outside our gate, we stop and stand still for the national anthem that has just started. I wonder about the purpose of a national anthem in a domestic game. If it is played so often, doesn't it lose a bit from its meaning?
Cheerleaders, half-court shot for a Kia, a drums show, the Heat's own DJ, a t-shirt launcher, it all feels as if the organisers try to justify the extortionate cost of the ticket with side shows.

You hear nothing racier than brief bursts of "Let's Go Heat" and the public address announcer acknowledges the better baskets of the opponents with a comically flat voice. With 82+ games a year and no opponent fans, an NBA game at the beginning of the season feels more civilised than the Ritz's tea room. A few minutes into the game and a series of amazing shots by Lebron and Dwayne remind me what it is all about; style. In the less commercialised European basketball, where winning is all that matters, players attempting such shots usually lose their job.

Back to our hotel and our ridiculously large suite. At the price of a little room in a Salisbury Bed & Breakfast, in Miami you get a 65 sq meter suite at the heart of the Financial District. Huh! Space is clearly not an issue here.

Next morning, pre-breakfast TV and my attention is caught by a televangelist, a well-dressed black man, speaking in an extremely condescending manner that seemed to irritate nobody but me! He was certain that his audience would have missed the key parts that he would be able to explain, and at times would (out of the blue) ask them to repeat a word for no apparent reason. "Whole", say it again ... "whole". And they would IMMEDIATELY and IN ONE VOICE repeat "whole". Americans are usually sceptical, very individual, and, contrary to Europeans, always ask their teacher "why". Not in this case.
Switch off TV. Going to the Everglades. Woohoo!

In the meantime, I notice that cars have no front number plates in Florida. I wonder about the implications of this.

Everglades
On the way, we listen to an audio guide. Some of the facts mentioned are pretty interesting. For example, in the early 1900s Australian melaleuca trees were introduced in the Everglades for landscaping and to help drain up the water of what was thought to be a river. At the time, it was not known that the Everglades is a large swamp itself. The melaleucas grow to immense forests in the everglades and eliminate all surrounding vegetation. They quickly started displacing native vegetation in a massive scale and the scientists tried to stop them by burning 100,000 of them. The fires themselves helped spread their seeds even futher and they grew into millions. The photo below shows the initial result of the latest effort of the scientists to use biological control.

Other facts were less interesting. 3rd largest natural park, 11th in ..., 7th in ... What's that fascination with rankings in the United States?

The Everglades are the subtropical wetlands of South Florida. Human habitation dates to about 15,000 years ago. Two major tribes eventually formed in and around the Everglades: the Calusa and the Tequesta. After coming into contact with the Spanish in the late 16th century, both declined. Another tribe, the Seminoles, made their living inside the extremely harsh Everglades after being forced there by the U.S. military during the 19th century Seminole Wars.

Most tourists visit the Everglades for the alligators and the airboat ride.

Brickell and Miami Beach (sort of)
Time to explore Miami in daytime. Feeling lucky, we take the bus for South Beach, but miss the area completely and end up outside a hospital in North Beach. I sensed that this would be only the beginning if we didn't rent a car (with satnav), but next day we bumped into a good friend from the past, who offered to drive us around the city. In the meantime, it becomes quite clear that it is not an exaggeration to call Miami a Latin American city. Out of the 360,000 inhabitants, 57% are of hispanic origin. Speaking Spanish here is much more useful than speaking English. In Little Havana, over 90% are Cubans. Expectedly, the food is heavily influenced by the Carribean. Plantains, large fried fish etc. Not bad.

The other striking characteristic of Miami is the spectacular rich-poor divide. 25% are below the poverty level. You constantly see the homeless walking like zombies on ruins of buildings or sleeping right outside the gated island communities of the millionaires. I am told that it was worse 10 years ago. Hard to believe.

Miami gives the impression of a deserted city. Nobody is walking on the pavement. You see nothing but cars. I am told again that it's even worse in Orlando. In Miami, a number of public transport options exist, where you can meet people outside their car, but most buses and rail carriages are already or soon-to-be derelict. A very positive surprise was the MetroMover, a monorail that wiggles around the scyscrapers and over the canals offering majestic views of the city, and is free! How unusual for an American city!

The photos below are mainly from Brickell, where we stayed. It's the financial district. Notice the beautiful impressionistic reflection on the Bank of America's scyscraper (first photo).

At one of the city's canals, we saw a warning sign for manatees. We dismissed it as some sort of a joke, but another day, at a lunch break outside Hyatt Regency's canal, we were almost thrown into the water by a group of excited tourists running towards us. A 3 meter manatee was passing right below our feet. We stood still and marvelled at this beast that we had never seen before. No time to take a photo, so this one is a random one from the web. They all look the same anyway.

South Beach and Art Deco Historic District
I'm usually not interested in buildings, but I'm a big fan of Art Deco and Miami has hundreds of Art Deco hotels and apartments erected between 1923 and 1943, most in South Beach.

Key Biscayne
Only 15 minutes from Downtown is one of the several keys (quays in British English) that form Miami's dazzling landscape. On the way I take a photo of one of the celebrity-packed islands.

Shells, bones and artifacts found on the island indicate a large Tequest community on Key Biscayne between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. In 1513, Juan Ponce de León charted Key Biscayne while seeking cities of gold in the New World. He christened it Santa Marta and claimed it for the Spanish Crown. The next European was Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who took refuge from a storm in 1565. Relations were established with the Tequesta and brief missions were established. By 1763, the last of the Tequesta had left South Florida for Cuba. A story mentions that a sailor called the Viscayno had lived on the lower east coast of Florida for a while after being shipwrecked, and a 17th-century map shows a Cayo de Biscainhos, a probable origin of Key Biscayne.

In the early 1820s several enslaved Africans and "Black Seminoles" seeking freedom from slave catchers and plantation masters, worked their way down to Cape Florida where they were offered transportation across the Gulf Stream. Some Bahamian descendants still call themselves "Black Seminoles". Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821 and the federal government built the Cape Florida lighthouse on Key Biscayne in 1825. After the lighthouse was built, Key Biscayne became less suitable as a departure point for escaping slaves.

In 1836, during the Second Seminole War, a band of Seminoles attacked the lighthouse while its keeper was away. The assistant keeper, Thompson, and his African-American assistant, Carter, made it into the lighthouse tower, although Thompson had rifle balls passed through his clothes and hat, and the Seminoles had grabbed hold of the door as he was turning the key in the lock. He exchanged rifle fire from the upper windows for the rest of the day, but after dark the Seminoles were able to approach and set fire to the door. Rifle balls had penetrated tanks in the bottom of the tower which held lamp oil, and the oil caught fire from the burning door. Having taken a keg of gunpowder, balls, and a rifle with them, they were driven out of the top of the tower by the flames.

They left the lantern at the top and lied down on the 2-foot-wide platform that ran around the outside of the lantern. Thompson's clothes were burning, and both had been wounded. Certain that he was going to die and wanting it to end quickly, Thompson threw the gunpowder keg down the inside of the tower. The keg exploded, but did not topple the tower. The fire died down soon after, and Thompson then discovered that Carter had died from his wounds and from the fire.

The next day Thompson saw the Seminoles looting and burning the other buildings at the lighthouse station. They probably thought that he was dead. After they left, Thompson remained trapped at the top of the tower. He had three rifle balls in each foot, and the stairway in the tower had been burned away. Later that day a United States Navy schooner that had heard the explosion came to the rescue.

The lighthouse was repaired and put back into commission in 1847. In 1861, Confederates sabotaged it so that it could not guide Union sailors during the blockade of Confederate Florida. It was repaired and re-lit again in 1866. Today, it's the oldest standing building in Miami.

On the way back, we find a nice spot for a night photo of Miami.

The rest of the trip involved more business than leisure, and meeting old friends who were also in Miami this week. More Latin American food and a shopping mall, where I observe sharply reduced prices compared to the UK, an abundance of shoe stores and not a single bookshop.

Vizcaya
Last day and a majestic finale with a glimpse at an American lifestyle that has vanished since. Vizcaya was built between 1914 and 1916 as the winter home of James Deering, a rich industrialist. To reach Vizcaya, you walk for about two minutes on a narrow path inside a humid subtropical forest, which is sparsely decorated with statues. Some statues look like Mayan gods, some like renaissance princes and a couple are for Ponce De Leon and Vizc... At the heart of the forest is the estate with the main building, the gardens and the dock.
Vizcaya was designed in the style of old Italian and French estates, and adapted to the subtropical climate of Miami, which makes it look as if an Italian renaissance family has been living there today. All the decorative items were bought by Deering during his trips in Europe and include masterpieces from the 16th to the 19th century, as well as a marble table from before the destruction of Pompeii and a rug made by the moors towards their last years in Spain. Organ music would be heard throughout the house, either live or using pre-recorded rolls. At the same time, Vizcaya was supermodern for its time, with central heating, two elevators, refrigerators, a central vacuuming system and an automatic electric telephone switchboard. After Deering's death in 1925, the house was inherited by his nieces, who didn't want to keep it. In 1952, Miami-Dade County bought it and opened it as a museum.
Tycoons' houses are usually extravagantly cheesy. Vizcaya on the other hand is inspiring. Everything makes sense, carries its own history and is at the same time beautiful and practical.

I am writing this on the plane back to London, but I need to get some sleep. I am going to work right after we touch down. Closing with a photo I took from the plane. I think it's Lake Okeechobee, the headwaters of the Everglades.

(27-28 Nov 2010) South England

2010-11-28T13:46:00.000-08:00

Secret weekend roadtrip this time. Poor gang had to follow me wandering in South England. I hope they all enjoyed it. They said they did.

That was a very educational trip. One could tell that many lessons were to be learnt right from the first junction, when our convoy broke apart.
Lesson no1: When in a convoy, follow the car in front and not your satnav.

Education continues with a crash course on the Tudor Dynasty:

The final victor of the War of the Roses (see previous trip to Tewkesbury) was a Lancastrian, Henry Tudor, who married the daughter of the late Yorkist king to reconcile the two factions, and founded the dynasty of the House of Tudor. His son was the charismatic Henry VIII, usually remembered for his six wives and for founding the Anglican Church in response to the Pope forbidding him from divorcing his wife. Henry VIII had a very spoilt childhood. He even had his own ‘whipping boy’ who was punished every time Henry did something wrong! Always described as vigorous and handsome, he was also very intelligent and a superb athlete, but couldn't take no for an answer. He was certain of his conviction that he needed a male heir or the fragile peace following the War of the Roses would not last. With his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, being unable to produce a male heir, he asked his Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, to secure the Pope's consent to allow him to get a divorce. Wolsey failed and Henry decided to found a new church, the Church of England that would be independent of Rome and of which he would be the head. Henry married six times. He beheaded two of his wives, divorced two, lost one and was outlived by the last one.

Lesson no2: Don't spoil your son or he will kill some of his wives

All three of his children (Edward, Mary, Elizabeth) became kings and queens. Most successful was Queen Elizabeth I. Her 44 years of reign are associated mainly with the flourishing English drama (Shakespeare and Marlowe) and with seafaring prowess (Francis Drake and the 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada; see previous walk in Southwark). Having lived and died a proud virgin, Elizabeth was the last of the Tudor line.

Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace was England's most significant palace of the Tudor age. From 1515 to 1521, the Lord Chancellor of England and soon-to-be Cardinal, Thomas Wolsey, transformed this medieval manor into a majestic palace. As the Cardinal fell from favour and died, Henry took it for himself.

Its maze is supposed to be the best-known in the world. I can't dispute that, as I wouldn't know, but I can safely say that it is one of the easiest and least remarkable mazes I've ever seen. It's still fun, of course, but don't expect something similar to the Leeds Castle one in Kent.

The first time I visited Hampton Court Palace, I loved everything about it. I remember a magnificent jousting competition, a digitally enhanced 16th century round table discussion, the King's wedding celebrations, the 16th century royal tennis court and many more. This video is from last time:

This time, all I saw was a bland, cold building with empty gardens and a generic ice rink in front of it. It's still one of the most interesting royal palaces in the world; just not as much as in the summer.

Lesson no3: Don't visit Hampton Court Palace in the winter.

Beaulieu National Motor Museum, New Forest

13 years after the Norman invasion (see our earlier Battle of Hastings trip), William the Conqueror created the New Forest as a royal forest for the private hunting of deer.

Hidden at its heart is the magnificent Beaulieu Estate with its Palace House, the Gardens and the Beaulieu Abbey. While these are still all there, the biggest attractions of the Beaulieu Estate are the more recent National Motor Museum and World of Top Gear.

From their website:

Ever wondered what happened to the amphibious Toyota, the Alfa/Saab stretch limo and the Reliant Robin rocket that were drowned/ cut in half/ fired into space by Jeremy, James and Richard in the good name of Top Gear?
Since not even the dodgiest used car dealers would buy them, we’ve collected all the battered, modified and generally ruined cars from the world’s biggest car show and gathered them together in… the Top Gear Enormodrome!

Next to it is the James Bond experience with original vehicles from the films, such as the Gatling gun equipped Jaguar XKR driven by Zao as he chases Bond across the ice in "Die Another Day" (2002), and the world's first Jet Ski, designed for "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977).

and of course the National Motor Museum itself, jampacked with every kind of car, from Mr Bean's mini to Senna's McLaren and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang:

The Beaulieu Estate is also where the British secret agents were trained in World War II, but we didn't have time to visit the relevant exhibition. 4:30 and it's already pitch black!

Time to move on to Bournemouth and our hotel. Can't wait to get in the jacuzzi and the indoor pool. Riviera Hotel, Alum Chine.

Bournemouth
During the Tudor era, the mouth of the Bourne River was a hunting estate. Later it was visited only by fishermen, turf cutters and smuggler gangs. In 1812, a retired officer began developing the land for holiday letting and sea villas. 200 years later, Bournemouth is one of Britain's favourite coastal holiday destinations with a population of 163,000 and 5 million visitors per year, who come mainly for the vast sandy beaches.

Notice the colourful beach huts. They are known to have existed since the 1860s in Australia and Britain, probably as a response to the strict morality of the Victorian age. At the beginning, they were former fishermen's huts. Purpose-built ones first appeared in Bournemouth in 1908 and since then have become a British tradition. They usually contain a few chairs and are used as shelters from the sun and wind and to change clothes.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyards

Two reasons to go there. The flagship of British history, HMS Victory, and the Victorian Christmas festival.

Education continues with a crash course on the Battle of Trafalgar:

Napoleon knew that if war broke out again then the Royal Navy would blockade French ports and French trade would be crippled. So he planned to invade Britain and free the seas for French trade. He ordered the building of a fleet of invasion barges and the Grand Army was moved to Calais. Now, all he needed was to defeat the English fleet. On 21 October 1805, 27 British ships of the line led by Admiral Lord Nelson aboard HMS Victory met the 33 ships of France and Spain off Cape Trafalgar. Nelson started the battle with his immortal:

ENGLAND EXPECTS THAT EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY

The Franco-Spanish fleet lost 22 ships, while the British lost none.

The British victory spectacularly confirmed British naval supremacy and was achieved largely thanks to Nelson's departure from the prevailing naval tactical orthodoxy, which involved engaging an enemy fleet in a single line of battle parallel to the enemy to facilitate signalling and maximise fields of fire. Nelson instead divided his smaller force into two columns directed perpendicularly against the larger enemy fleet.

Nelson was mortally wounded during the battle, ensuring his place as Britain's national hero. The commander of the joint French and Spanish forces, Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve, was captured along with his flagship Bucentaure. The Spanish Admiral escaped with the remnants of the fleet, but succumbed later to his wounds.

Despite its 245 years, HMS Victory is spectacularly preserved. You can walk inside almost all of it and even step on the spot where Nelson was mortally wounded. The photos below show some of its cannon and the barrel of alcohol in which his body was preserved until Victory returned to Britain.

The end of the Napoleonic wars followed a rampant naval arms race, which culminated in the first ironclad ships. The French won this race by one year. In 1860 the British completed their first ironclad, HMS Warrior. This ship is also spectacularly preserved in the Historic Dockyards. In fact, its engine is in working order and is demonstrated to visitors.

The photos below are from HMS Warrior and the rest of the dockyards. On the day, the Victorian Christmas Festival was also held there. See if you can identify the characters from Victorian literature.

Back to London, but not before I take a photo of the most wicked boat in the dockyards. What is this? How can it be anchored right next to Victory? Did a goblin make it?

(7 Nov 2010) Docklands

2010-11-08T09:14:00.000-08:00

Our secret walks are normally not themed, but having picked the Docklands as the area to explore, the theme is inevitably maritime and a bit reminiscent of Churchill's

"Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash."

Wapping
The rendez-vous was 10:00 for breakfast at the Turk's Head, now a cafe for local families, but not long ago a pub bristling with history just like every pub around there. Take the name for example. It refers to one of the most intricate maritime knots. Used decoratively more often than practically, the knot took the name because of its resemblance to a turban.
The pub itself is said to have been the only pub licensed to sell the last quart of ale to pirates on their way from Newgate to the Execution dock where they would be hanged. In World War 2, run by its eccentric landlady, Turk's head stayed open all hours for service personnel seeking news of their loved ones. Today, it's a charity; the income from the rents of the cafe and studios above pays for local charitable activities.

One minute away, the Town of Ramsgate is a long narrow pub next to a tiny but delightfully historic alleyway known as Wapping Old Stairs. The stairs lead down to the riverside where fishermen from Ramsgate sold their catch. It was on Wapping Old Stairs, in 1688, that Judge Jeffreys (the Hanging Judge) was captured while trying to flee the country dressed as a sailor. During the War of the English Succession, when King James II left for France, Jeffreys stayed in London till the last moment, being the only high legal authority in the abandoned kingdom. When the armies of William were approaching London, Jeffreys attempted to flee the country too. He was captured outside the pub that is now known as The Town of Ramsgate. Jeffreys was disguised as a sailor, but was recognised by a surviving judicial victim and was captured. You can imagine him running furiously in the narrow alleys trying to escape the mob and ending up to the dead-end of the Wapping Old Stairs. He begged his captors for protection from the mob and was placed in custody in the Tower of London, where he died of kidney disease a little later; the disease was painful and may have contributed to his bad temper while a judge. Jeffreys's legal ability was undoubtedly high, but he was a vengeful man. He had bitter personal and professional rivalries with Sir William Williams, whom he tried to ruin.

Nowadays a most dignified area, this part of London used to be lively, bustling, and brutal. Men press-ganged into naval service and convicts destined for transportation to Australia, were held in cellars at the pub. Execution Dock is just nearby. The condemned were hanged and then chained to posts in the river, the tide rising over them three times before their bodies were removed.

One of them was Captain Kidd; either one of the most notorious pirates or the most unjustly prosecuted privateer. In 1689, at 44, he was member of a French-English pirate crew in the Caribbean. Kidd and other members of the crew mutinied and sailed to the English colony of Nevis. He became captain and helped the local governor to defend Nevis from the French. As the governor did not want to pay, he told them they could take their pay by looting the French. Various privateer actions followed until 1695 when the governor of New York asked the "trusty and well beloved Captain Kidd" to attack pirates and French ships. He gave Kidd a letter of Marque signed by King William III of England himself, which reserved 10% of the loot for the Crown. Kidd sold his ship to buy one more suitable for hunting pirates and he personally selected the crew. As they sailed down the Thames, not only they didn't salute a Navy yacht at Greenwich, but his crew turned and slapped their backsides in disdain. The Navy vessel's captain retaliated by pressing much of Kidd's crew into naval service. To make up for the lack of officers, Kidd had to pick up criminals and ex-pirates in New York. Acts of savagery were reported by escaped prisoners, who told stories of being hoisted up by the arms and drubbed with a drawn cutlass. On one occasion, crew members ransacked the trading ship, Mary and tortured several of its crew members while Kidd and the other captain conversed privately in Kidd's cabin. When Kidd found out, he was outraged and forced his men to return the stolen property. Kidd was declared a pirate very early in his voyage by a Royal Navy officer to whom he had promised "thirty men or so", but sailed away during the night to save his crew.
Fast-forward a few months... Realising that his ship was marked, he cached it in the Caribbean and continued aboard a sloop. He is alleged to have deposited some of his treasure on Gardiners Island, hoping to use knowledge of its location as a bargaining tool.
He was eventually sent to England for questioning by Parliament. The new Tory ministry tried to use Kidd as a tool to discredit the Whigs who had backed him, but Kidd refused to reveal names, naïvely confident his patrons would reward his loyalty by interceding. Finding him politically useless, the Tories sent him to stand trial for piracy and the murder of one of his sailors. He was hanged on May 23, 1701, at Execution Dock. His body was left to hang in an iron cage over the river for twenty years as a warning to would-be pirates.
His treasure was never found and even today there are treasure hunters looking for it in the Carribean, North America, Japan and Vietnam. Wikipedia mentions over 30 appearances of Captain Kidd in popular culture, from manga and poems to computer games, Sid Meier's Pirates being the most notable.

Back to our walk, as we reach the Captain Kidd pub, one of the coolest pubs in London. Too early to try the beers, but the building itself, a converted warehouse, is inspiring. Interestingly, nearby is River Thames Police, the first police force in history. It was set up in 1798 to tackle the widespread theft and looting from anchored ships.

We now head north, towards a most unusual, rather eerie place. If you haven't been to the Tobacco Dock before, a 19th century warehouse lavishly converted into a very modern shopping centre, you'll think it's nearing completion. It isn't. It has been completed for over 20 years. Everything is there. Even the necessary final quirky details to make sure that Tobacco Dock would be the new Covent Garden. Even two replica pirate ships to entertain the kids! How extravagant is that! But it all collapsed (all but the building), when the markets started falling again in the '90s and the East End appeared not to be such an up-and-coming place after all. I made the mistake to try to open one of the doors instead of trying to find an entrance further down, and that activated the lovely 1990s automated security system "You are trespassing, you are trespassing ...". That woke the guard up, who felt obliged to get us out of there immediately. He must have gone mad taking orders from a crackling 90's loudspeaker for the last 20 years. Does he feel like a Charlie's angel?

Next stop, Canary Wharf, but on the way we pass through Poplar, the poorest area in London, which is in the shadow of Canary Wharf's scyscrapers. Literally.

Canary Wharf
While Canary Wharf is the hard-beating financial heart of what's left of the British Empire, on a cold Sunday morning it's as dead as Tobacco Dock. I exaggerate, but that's what people do in Canary Wharf.

We visited it for the Docklands Museum, which I have to admit, was a very pleasant surprise. Impeccably presented and quite innovative. My favourite part was the reproduction of dock alley in the early 18th century. Dark and smelly, it feels as if you are about to be ambushed by some scar-faced criminal or the navy's press gangs. Some find it cheesy like Disneyland. Maybe. I didn't care.
The model of the medieval London Bridge is also superb, with its houses and shops, the rental of which was paying for the bridge's costs. Like Florence, if I remember correctly.

By the way, among the many security precautions in Canary Wharf, the coolest is a Royal Navy destroyer. No, it doesn't aspire to hunt das boot. It's there to shoot down missiles.

Right, enough with Canary Wharf. Let's move on to Greenwich... from underground, below the river Thames. If you are claustrophobic, have trouble breathing without fresh air supply and think that the water dripping from the ceiling is a sign that the tunnel will collapse and you'll drown, DON'T ENTER and take the docklands railway. But I am an insensitive bastard. I absolutely loved it. Not as much the poor sods following me.

Most people visit Greenwich to queue up for a picture in front of the Prime Meridian with one foot on the western and the other on the eastern hemisphere, presumably to place it next to the hold-the-tower-of-Pisa photo in the album of their cliché life. I visit Greenwich for the Queen's House; in my opinion, the most inspiring little gallery of maritime art. If it doesn't make you feel anything, then don't bother getting in the National Maritime Museum either, as the maritime theme isn't for you. If it is though, make sure you have a good four hours.

Queen's House
One of my favourite paintings in the Queen's House is "The Sinking of Scharnhorst"

On Christmas Day 1943, Admiral Doenitz signals Scharnhorst: "The enemy is attempting to aggravate the difficulties of our eastern land forces in their heroic struggle by sending an important convoy of provisions and arms to the Russians. We must help". The Scharnhorst sets sail, unaware that she is being lured into a Royal Navy trap with two convoys providing the bait. When the British ships opens fire, Scharnhorst is taken by surprise and a shell from HMS Norfolk destroys her radar. Now alone and blind, facing a total of 13 Allied warships, she tries to escape with her superior speed, but one of her boiler rooms takes a direct hit, slowing her dramatically. She signals: "To the Fuhrer. We shall fight to the last shell". On board HMS Duke of York, Admiral Fraser ceases firing and orders his combined forces to attack with torpedoes. In the meantime, Scharnorst hits the destroyer HMS Saumarez and 11 British seamen get killed. The British fire a total of 55 torpedoes against Scharnhorst and 11 find their target. The commander of Scharnhorst broadcasts to his crew: "I shake you all by the hand for the last time". Of a crew of 1,968 men only 36 will survive.

National Maritime Museum
The museum is probably the best of its kind globally. I'll only focus on my favourite exhibits.

Ship models usually depict a historic ship. A few models go beyond that and become history themselves. Bellona was launched in 1760 but this model is from 1770. Notice the layer of copper below the waterline of the hull and the fitted handles. This is the model used to demonstrate copper sheathing to King George III. The King was convinced that this is the way to beat the French and ordered 50 (I think) warships to receive this upgrade immediately. Coppering prevented shipworm and weed and barnacles growing on the hull, which seriously affected sailing ability. With healthier hulls, British ships could operate away from dockyards for longer periods, sail faster and turn faster than their enemies. THAT's what we call disruptive technology.

Out of the explorers of the early 20th century, my favourite is one of the least successful. Ernest Shackleton and his men set sail in 1914 to reach the South Pole. On 19 January 1915, his ship became locked in the ice of the Weddell Sea and over the next nine months it was gradually crushed, finally sinking in October. It proved impossible for his 28 men to drag their boats and stores across the frozen sea so Shackleton camped on the ice and drifted with it. When the ice began to break up as it drifted north into warmer waters, the men launched the three boats and in extremely dangerous conditions managed to reach Elephant Island. This rocky island was still very far from inhabited land. They were cold and exhausted. They knew they would not be found and that their supplies of food would not last long. There were seals and penguins to kill for food and fuel but not many and they eventually had to rely on collecting shellfish. Shackleton decided to leave most of the party behind, while he set out in a tiny boat to reach South Georgia, the nearest inhabited island, 800 miles away. He knew that he would find help there, at the Norwegian whaling stations on the north side. He refused to pack supplies for more than four weeks, knowing that if they did not reach South Georgia within that time, the boat and its crew would be lost. In one of the most unlikely and heroic journeys in history, Shackleton reached the whaling station of Stromness, quickly organised the rescue mission and returned, eventually saving all his crew.

I could go on for ever, but I'd better spend the time planning the next secret walk.

In the meantime, some more photos from the museum:

(18 - 19 Sep 2010) SE England

2010-10-09T10:40:00.001-07:00

A weekend getaway in South East England, mainly Kent with a little bit of East Sussex.

Battle, East Sussex
1066. The perfect PIN for a Englishman. In October 14, 1066 William the Bastard (Duke William II of Normandy) defeated the English army of King Harold II and conquered England. He was then renamed William I of England or as we now know him, William the Conqueror. Probably the most splendid account of this part of history is the Bayeux Tapestry.

Sadly that's in Bayeux, which we foolishly forgot to visit it last time we were in Normandy. In England, at the area suitably called Battle, near Hastings, you can walk the whole of the battlefield with pretty good audio commentary and also visit the Abbey.

William the Conqueror himself ordered the construction of the abbey where the Battle of Hastings had taken place, with the high altar of the church on the spot where King Harold fell in the battle. William died before it was completed. The church was finished in about 1094 and consecrated during the reign of his son William Rufus. William the Conqueror had ruled that it was to be exempted from all episcopal jurisdiction, which put it on the level of Canterbury for a while. It was remodelled in the late 13th century but virtually destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII.

Dungeness old lighthouse
I don’t know why people get excited about lighthouses but I am definitely one of them! I loooove lighthouses. And the one in Dungeness comes with extras. You can go all the way up, see the mechanisms, learn about procedures and admire the view.

Nearby, you can also see the newer lighthouse. It’s a shame you can't visit the new one but do people get inside lighthouses anymore? As far as I know, there are no lighthouse keepers anymore. No more grumpy rugged men spending their lives inside lighhouses, responsible for saving ships from smashing into rocks and for recognising Soviet ships during the Cold War by profiles hanging on the wall! Inside the lighthouse, there are also maps of the thousands of shipwrecks all around the UK. They make you feel the immense importance that lighthouses have always had in the history of a naval nation.

We went there for the lighthouse, but next time it will be for the beach. The beach is vast and absolutely magnificent. I could walk there for hours. I had never seen this part of England before and the area reminded me of movies and books about the sea, uninhabited islands and adventure. To clarify, this is not about swimming and playing beach games. This is better than that.

Driving to Dungeness is quite fun, but by obediently following our TomTom SatNav we almost ended up inside EDF's Nuclear Power Station. There is a quirkier way to get to Dungeness though and without the threat of being followed by men in black suits. A miniature (but big enough for passengers to board) train that gets you there from Appledore (Kent) or Rye (Sussex).

Dover Castle
After a while in Britain you get to realise that every castle is different and has its own unique flavour. Dover Castle is unique in that it seamlessly combines the middle ages with the 18th and the 20th century.
After the Romans invaded, the site contained two Roman lighthouses. It later became the site of Saxon and early Norman hill forts, until 1160, when Henry II began the great stone castle we can still see today. A symbol of power and authority guarding the gateway to England, it was also a palace designed for royal ceremony, where Henry could impress distinguished visitors. One of the most fun castles in the UK.

Historians, designers, artists and craftspeople have all worked to present it as it might have appeared when newly completed in 1184, and ready to receive an important visitor, Count Philip of Flanders. When you step inside you feel like Count Philip of Flanders yourself, as if everything has been prepared for you. Also, one of the most unusual features is the extremely deep well that supplies with water the top floors of the castle.

At the same time, world war 2 aficionados can indulge in the underground headquarters where the Dunkirk evacuation was planned. Just like the rest of the castle, these are also impeccably presented.

Not far from these tunnels, you can visit the Admiralty Lookout. The ground floor included the Fire Commanders office that controlled the defensive guns of the coast, and the observation room, equipped with a Depression Position Finder to locate ships and stereoscopic binoculars to identify them.

Dover Castle is one of those very few touristic attractions for which one, two or three hours just isn't enough. For example, we didn't have time for the Roman lighthouse or the Medieval tunnels that were adapted by engineers during the Napoleonic war in preparation for French invasion.

We left Dover around six, when the Castle closed, and headed towards Ramsgate to spend the night. For people living in the British countryside, these coal factories are commonplace, but not for me.

Ramsgate

A beautiful coastal town. Unfortunately it seems that the local authorities do not have the means to keep the cultural attractions running and have given up. We wanted to see the naval museum located in a beautiful building at the port, but it has been closed for over a year. Nevertheless the town is worth the visit and I would recommend having breakfast at one of the restaurants facing the marina. We stayed at the Spencer Court hotel. Not great. Not that it matters for one night though.

Next, Margate and its hidden gem.

Margate Shell Grotto
Margate is so close to Ramsgate, you may not realise you change towns when you drive between the two. We visited Margate for what is probably the hidden gem - highlight of this trip. The Shell Grotto. We arrived at what looks like a normal gift shop with an obvious preference to sea shells. But when you step inside, you notice a small display room explaining the theories behind the Shell Grotto, and then the underground entrance. Follow the steps and you find yourself in the most spectacular place. Something like an ancient pagan crypt, decorated solely with sea shells; 4.6 million of them. It is considered to be some kind of temple, but nobody really knows when and who build it or what it was really used for. It was discovered in 1835 by some kids whose father was renting the house and garden above. When the father found out where his kids were hiding every afternoon, he kept it a secret and managed to buy it off the owners. He then revealed the Shell Grotto to the public and opened it as an attraction to paying customers in 1837.

Many spooky and intriguing things about it, but my favourite is a picture displayed at the shop, of a séance performed inside the Grotto about 100 years ago, with the text reading: "Do you know any of these ladies?".

From its official website:

Was the Grotto a rich man’s folly?

A popular theory with some, who cite the popularity of follies and shell structures in the 1700s. There are lots of them dotted around the country, largely in the grounds of stately homes, and this is certainly a convenient theory but one that is flawed because:
• The land the Grotto lies under was farmland and has certainly never formed part of a large estate. So why would a rich man’s fancy be built under someone else’s pastureland?
• Follies were built as a statement: look at how much money I have, look at how cultured I am, look at me! In general, they weren’t secret, hidden away places. And they weren’t built under a farmer’s field.
• Crucially, if the Grotto had been built in the 1700s how could all knowledge of it have disappeared by the time of its discovery in 1835? The building of the Grotto would have been a mammoth task: the excavation of the passageways, transporting 4.6 million shells to the site, sorting those shells and enlisting enough labour to create the mosaic. How to do all this on rising open ground, next to a busy track without anyone noticing? Every townsperson would have had to be in on the secret and not breathed a word about it.

Having decided that we won't solve the mystery, it's time to go. Last, Chatham, where a surprise awaits.

Chatham Historic Dockyards
On arrival at the Dockyards, we started hearing very loud 1940s music and also noticed an unusually large crowd at the entrance. We had stepped into a 1940s reenactment festival. Mock air raids, reenactment of the return of the soldiers from Dunkirk, transporting the wounded, running the old fire station, 1940s music and dancing shows etc.

In terms of ships, you can explore three ships of very different eras.

HMS Gannet is a Doterel-class screw sloop built on the River Medway in 1878, designed to patrol the oceans and protect British interests and trade. It was powered by both sail and steam. In reality, it isn't that impressive, because they have removed its guts and it feels like a ship-shaped room instead of a proper ship. Until 1883, the Gannet spent much time shadowing the events of the War of the Pacific. She then became an anti-slaver in the Mediterranean. In 1903, she finished her operational career by becoming a training ship in the Thames. Hardly the sort of stuff that impresses tourists. A few months ago, we visited the 16th century replica Golden Hind in Southwark, which oozes adventure in the high seas. We were foolish to expect anything similar from the HMS Gannet, which was a bit unfair considering that HMS Gannet was the real deal and not a replica.

The second ship is HMS Cavalier, a world war 2 C-class destroyer. It is of course a privilege to walk inside it and on its deck and I have no doubt that the chaps at Chatham do their best to preserve it, but it doesn't really compare to say the HMS Belfast or the Averof, where you are free to go to almost every part of the ship and even deep down the lower decks.

The third one though was really worth the visit. It is the Cold War submarine HMS Ocelot; the last one to ever be built in the Chatham dockyards (1962, I think). By the way, the dockyard had started building submarines when modern ships got too big to fit into the Medway river. The tour in the submarine does not last much, just 10-15 minutes, but it truly is incredible; reminiscent of "Das Boot". If you ever get there, try to move inside by properly grasping the handle and jumping into the next room! The guide will show you how to do it. Taking photos is prohibited, but I couldn't resist.

In the same area there is also a museum of maritime models and paintings, a steam train used for carrying stuff, an old double decker bus, a fire brigade station and a police museum with very interesting crime exhibits.

(4 Sep 2010) Southwark, Embankment, Holborn, King's Cross

2010-09-06T03:16:00.000-07:00

A large walking party this time. We visited many places to make sure that everyone would find a few interesting new places they weren't aware of. In hindsight, that was a bad idea; perhaps a bit too many quite interesting things for a supposedly relaxed Saturday.

The rendez-vous was 10:15 inside the World War I trenches of the Imperial War Museum ...

Imperial War Museum
... but this proved impossible, because apart from the superb visual reproduction of the trenches they have even emulated the smell too!

After everyone arrived, we took a quick look at some of the exhibits, such as the midget submarine with the external torpedo and T.E. Lawrence's motorcycle, and headed north.

Leake Street
First stop, Leake Street. In May 2008, Banksy and several other notable street artists, organised the Cans Festival, an urban art festival in the abandoned tunnel of Leake Street. Today, it is the only place in London where graffiti is tolerated. Most of the original artwork has disappeared under low-quality graffiti signatures of Banksy-wannabes, but some good examples have survived.

Cleopatra's Needle
It has little to do with Cleopatra, but it got the name from the Victorian equivalent of marketing people, who wanted to attract more attention by associating it with her. In fact, it was built much earlier, in Tuthmose III's reign to commemorate his continued rule as a pharaoh. Later inscriptions were added by Ramesses II to commemorate his victories.

The four plaques mounted around the base:
THIS OBELISK QUARRIED AT SYENE WAS ERECTED AT ON (HELIOPOLIS) BY THE PHARAOH THOTHMES III IN ABOUT 1500 B.C. LATERAL INSCRIPTIONS WERE ADDED NEARLY TWO CENTURIES LATER BY RAMESES THE GREAT REMOVED DURING THE GREEK DYNASTY TO ALEXANDRIA THE ROYAL CITY OF CLEOPATRA IT WAS THERE ERECTED IN THE 18th YEAR OF AUGUSTUS CAESAR B.C. 12

THIS OBELISK PROSTRATE FOR CENTURIES WAS PRESENTED TO THE BRITISH NATION A.D. 1819 BY MAHOMMED ALI VICEROY OF EGYPT A WORTHY MEMORIAL OF OUR DISTINGUISHED COUNTRYMEN NELSON AND ABERCROMBY

THROUGH THE PATRIOTIC ZEAL OF ERASMUS WILSON F.R.S. WAS BROUGHT FROM ALEXANDRIA ENCASED IN AN IRON CYLINDER IT WAS ABANDONED DURING A STORM IN THE BAY OF BISCAY RECOVERED AND ERECTED ON THIS SPOT BY JOHN DIXON C.E. IN THE 42nd YEAR OF THE REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA 1879

WILLIAM ASKIN - MICHAEL BURNS JAMES GARDINER - WILLIAM DONALD JOSEPH BENTON - WILLIAM PATAN PERISHED IN A BOLD ATTEMPT TO SUCCOUR THE CREW OF THE OBELISK SHIP CLEOPATRA DURING THE STORM OCTOBER 14th 1877

Another QI (quite interesting) fact: It is said that on erection of the obelisk in 1878, a time capsule was concealed in the front part of the pedestal, containing:
photographs of the 12 most beautiful English women of the time, a box of cigars, several tobacco pipes, a babies bottle, some children's toys, a shilling razor, British coins, a portrait of Queen Victoria, copies of the bible in several languages, a map of London, newspapers, etc.

The plan was to visit the London Roman Bath next, but since access was locked for some unknown reason, we moved on to Fleet Street.

Strand / Fleet Street
Fleet Street began as the road from the commercial City of London to the political hub at Westminster. In fact, the length of Fleet Street marks the expansion of the City in the 14th century. To the south lies an area of legal buildings known as the Temple, formerly the property of the Knights Templar, which at includes two of the four Inns of Court: the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple. There are many lawyers' offices in the vicinity. Nearby, on Strand, are the Royal Courts of Justice (photo). Ludgate Circus Publishing started in Fleet Street around 1500 when Wynkyn de Worde set up a printing shop near Shoe Lane, while at around the same time Richard Pynson set up as publisher and printer next to St Dunstan's church. More printers and publishers followed, mainly related to the legal trade. In March 1702, London's first daily newspaper, The Daily Courant, was published in Fleet Street from premises above the White Hart Inn. Today, Fleet Street is associated more with the law than printing, since almost all of the newspapers moved to Wapping and Canary Wharf.

Fleet Street is also famous for the barber Sweeney Todd, traditionally said to have lived and worked in Fleet Street. An early example of a serial killer, he appears in various English language works starting in the mid-19th century. Neither the popular press, the Old Bailey trial records, the trade directories of the City nor the lists of the Barbers Company of the City mention any such person or any such case. So, it is probably nothing more than a literary product.

St Bride's
One of the 51 churches that Christopher Wren built in the City after the Great Fire of 1666. The church has always been associated with famous Fleet Street journalists and other famous figures, such as Milton and Pepys. Interestingly, it is said that a local baker, William Rich, modelled his daughter's wedding cake on the church's spire. Other bakers followed suit and the tradition lives on.
In 1764 the spire was struck by lightning, which reduced its height by 8 feet. Benjamin Franklin was asked to advise King George III on the installation of lightning rods. Franklin suggested installing conductors with pointed ends, but the King wanted blunt ones. The King got his way, of course and the British press published propaganda praising the King "as good blunt honest George" contrary to Franklin, the "sharp-witted colonist".

London Silver Vaults
The Chancery Lane Safe Deposit opened in 1876, renting vaults to London's wealthy elite to safeguard their household silver, jewellery and personal documents. The business remained the same for several years, but with the original clients gradually replaced by silver dealers who required secure premises for their stock. This need was made more pressing by the outbreak of the Second World War. The building above the vaults was struck directly with a bomb during the war and was destroyed, but this did not damage the vaults at all. Knowledge of the Vaults began to spread and visitors from overseas started coming for quality silver at competitive prices. The rapid expansion of this business led to many more dealers renting a vault within the now world renowned London Silver Vaults and it has been in its present format since 1953. All shops have been owned by the same families for over 50 years.

Walking towards King's Cross we take a break at the Brunswick Centre. Surprisingly for its modernist architecture, this complex achieved Grade II status in 2000. Then, on the way to King's Cross we come across live puppet theatre on Judd Street.

British Library
This is the largest library in the world. We visited it for the Sir John Ritblat Gallery, which exhibits some extremely importable items, such as the Codex Sinaiticus, one of the four surviving Magna Cartas, Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures Under Ground", working manuscripts by Bach and Mozart, and even handwritten lyric sheets of The Beatles.

Wellcome Collection
The Wellcome Trust was founded by Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome (1853–1936), an enthusiastic traveller, who amassed a huge collection of books, paintings and objects related to medicine. Not being very familiar with the medical world, this is one of the most unusual collections of exhibits I have ever seen; from tattooed skin taken from executed criminals to videos showing operations, and Darwin's stick.

An unusual place to finish the walk. Like everything medical, it is not for the overly squeamish and not everyone likes its eccentric character. However, what everyone agreed on is that it has one of the best museum coffee shops, and this makes it a decent place to relax after a long walk.

(31 July 2010) Battersea, Chelsea, Victoria, Pimlico

2010-07-31T12:27:00.001-07:00

Latest secret walk:

Blessed with unexpectedly kind weather, we started off with breakfast in Battersea Square; reminiscent of local squares in small Greek towns.

Nearest attraction is St. Mary's Church. Completely unknown to most Londoners, but Turner used to walk there from his Cheyne Walk home and draw sketches of the Thames from the church's vestry window. The tall chair he used to sit on is still there in the church. Also, William Blake was married there. A bit more trivial knowledge: burried in its crypt is Benedict Arnold, the American General who defected to the British during the American Revolutionary War. While in command of the fort at West Point, New York, he plotted to surrender it to the British. Unsuccessfully. I imagine that the British consider him a hero and the Americans a traitor, but I don't really know.

Next, we follow Turner back home from St. Mary's over the bridge to Cheyne Walk.

Cheyne Walk
Turner used to live in 118-119. Next to him, Pankhurst in 120. Brunel in 98, Jagger in 48, Maxwell in 41, Sloane in 19-26, Rosetti in 16, David LLoyd George in 10, George Eliott in 4 and Keith Richards in 3. George Best and Laurence Olivier were also somewhere there. Before these, Chelsea was a rather unpopular place, but long before them it was the residence of Sir Thomas More and later one of King Henry VIII's. Henry is said to have married his third wife Jane Seymour in Chelsea Old Church, soon after the execution of Anne Boleyn. The south chapel was built by Sir Thomas More in 1528 for his own private worship. His latin inscription asks that he be buried next to his wife. More is one of my favourite historical figures. I highly recommend the "A Man for All Seasons" (1966, 8.1/10 on IMDB) if you want to learn More about him without opening a book. It's a lesson in dignity.

National Army Museum

One of my favourite museums in London. It's ironic how civilised a museum about war can be. It has to do with the fact that it's in the heart of Chelsea and that unlike the Imperial War Museum no tourist knows about it.

Royal Hospital Chelsea
Probably the most impressive of all retirement homes, it's the home of about 310 pensioners, all war veterans. It carries the name Hospital in its original meaning (a place where hospitality is provided). I'm not sure what's more impressive; the history of the Royal Hospital, the personal stories of its occupants or the complex of buildings itself. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, commissioned by King Charles II. My favourite bit from the Royal Hospital is the inscription on the statue that welcomes the visitors: "If I forget thee do not forget me". Last time we were there, one of the pensioners told us that the table in the dining hall is where they placed Wellington's body for seven days when he died. The specific pensioner was a world war 2 veteran. His regiment fought in several places, but he was wounded just before it was transfered to Greece.

Saatchi Gallery

What can I say!!

Westminster Cathedral

Despite its location in one of the busiest areas of London, its impressive size and striking Eastern Orthodox architecture, Westminster Cathedral is unknown to tourists and many Londoners. Ignore the misleading architectural style. It's a Catholic church; in fact it's the mother church of the Roman Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster.

On the way to the last leg of the walk, past the cricket pavilion of Vincent Square and towards Pimlico and Vauxhall Bridge. A very quiet part of the city. Completely different to nearby Victoria.

Vauxhall Bridge

It's remarkable how many are not aware of what in my opinion is the most majestic building in London.

Less remarkable is that very few are aware of the miniature St. Paul's on the side of Vauxhall Bridge. You can claim that it's the smallest Cathedral in London :P. Oh well...

Tate Britain

That's effectively the National Gallery of British Art (Tate was the founder). It includes several of Turner's works, but we were too tired for one more museum and we left it for another day. It's not limited to paintings. Especially the upside-down Harrier was perfect for Pisa-like photos.

Last, we took the boat that connects Tate Britain with Tate Modern for a gentle walk in South Bank.

South Bank
One of the favourite walking areas of Londoners, but that's for another day. For the time being some photos only:

(10 - 11 July 2010) WSW England

2010-07-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

Wonderful weekend. This time, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. In short: aircraft, codebreaking, shopping, idyllic villages, historic towns and a medieval battle.

RAF Museum, London
Just a short stroll inside one of the museum's halls. An opportunity to calibrate the cameras and take a breath before heading north towards Milton Keynes.

Bletchley Park
"The Geese that laid the golden eggs but never cackled". That's how Churchill described Bletchley Park and its codebreakers, the best-kept wartime secret that was revealed in 1974 in a book called "The Ultra Secret". Its author had worked in Bletchley Park during World War II and wrote the book based on memory.

It is often said that without the cracking of the codes used by the Axis forces, the war would have lasted an estimated two more years, which would mean another 20 million lives lost. I don't know if I'd agree or not, mainly because I don't know whether the Allies would have won all those critical late-war battles without the intelligence superiority that Bletchley Park offered. Perhaps the massive US war production machine, the Soviet armies and a hypothetical atomic bomb on Germany instead of Japan would have been enough. In any case, the codebreakers in Bletchley Park provided the Allies with the most important of all weapons in the history of warfare: the ability to read the enemy's plans.

Take an example from the 1941 Battle of Cape Matapan. As British ships were escorting troop convoys to Greece, intelligence was received reporting the sailing of a mighty Italian battle fleet (one battleship, six heavy and two light cruisers plus destroyers) to attack the convoys. The British gathered a large fleet, ambushed and destroyed the Italian fleet. This was made possible by the decryption of intercepted signals in Bletchley Park, but it was concealed from the enemy by ensuring there was a plausible reason for the Allies to have detected the Italian fleet. In this case, the British sent a carefully directed reconnaissance plane, so that the Italians would think that it was the plane that spotted them.

Apart from a vital World War 2 weapon, and probably equally significantly, Bletchley Park was the birthplace of the computer. Colossus, the world's first programmable, digital, electronic computer was invented and built at Bletchley Park to speed up the reading of encrypted German messages.

A key figure in Bletchley Park was Alan Turing, possibly the most important figure in the history of Computer Science. Turing read Mathematics in Cambridge, where his monumental work started with a dissertation on the central limit theorem. A bit later he published his paper "On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem", which eventually led to the Turing Machine. He obtained a PhD from Princeton in 1938 and then returned to Cambridge. Together with several other brilliant minds from Cambridge and other universities, he was recruited to work in Hut 8 of Bletchley Park when the war started. In his own words, Turing decided to tackle the particularly difficult problem of cracking the German naval Enigma machine "because no one else was doing anything about it and I could have it to myself". The Enigma system was cracked and the Allies gained an immense intelligence advantage over the Axis.

In 1945, Turing was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his wartime services, but his work had to remain secret for many years, as Bletchley Park was a state secret. Turing was homosexual and when the authorities found out about it in 1952, he was charged with Gross Indecency and was chemically castrated. Due to his conviction he lost his security clearance and could not any more work for the government. Two years later, he committed suicide by eating an apple that contained a cyanide capsule, recreating his favourite scene from "Snow White".

Today, the Turing award is the most prestigious award that a computer scientist can receive. It is the Computer Science equivalent of the Nobel prize.

In order to survive financially, Bletchley Park offers its space for corporate meetings, weddings and other events, and even hosts other private museums. As a result, it has become a rather curious museum mixing codebreaking exhibits with dollhouses, model ships, stamps etc.

You need to take the guided tour to get a better idea of what is what, but even the tour is quite eccentric. In any case, it was nice walking inside the buildings where Turing and his colleagues were working.

After heavy education, a light shopping break had to follow.

Bicester Village Outlet Centre
That's a complex of over 120 designer stores, which was built to look like a traditional English village. One can easily find 80% off designer clothes bargains there. If I were the shopping kind, I'd probably love it, but I'm not. Not that it's bad. It's certainly better than your usual city centre shopping mall. Not a single generalist bookshop though! Even Westfield has a Foyles.

Next, one of the most beautiful places in Europe; the Cotswolds. Oxfordshire is beautiful, but nothing compares to the Cotswolds. You realise this as soon as you get out of the A40 and start heading north towards the villages under the cover of the trees. Bliss.

Bourton-on-the-Water
"Venice of the Cotswolds", presumably because of the stream and the footbridges. I see no point in this nickname, as Bourton-on-the-Water is so overwhelmingly picturesque that it doesn't need tourists lured with Vegas-like tricks. The village looks tiny, but it has 4,000 inhabitants. In fact, technically it should be considered a town.

We arrived quite late and didn't have the chance to visit the museums and other attractions (Birdland, motoring museum, Model Railway, Dragonfly Maze, roman road, etc.). I need to go again soon, especially for the 1:9 model of the village. It was built by local craftsmen in the 1930s and since it is so large, it includes itself (model within a model :o). It's not like the Cotswolds look bad in the winter ;).

Gloucester
The plan was to stay in Tewkesbury, but since we couldn't find rooms there, we went for Gloucester. Not that it's a boring town. Quite the opposite. It looks quite nice, with its fair share of medieval buildings, pedestrian roads and open-air fares and festivals, but at the time we had the chance to explore it (Sunday early morning) there was nobody in the streets. People started popping out of their houses around 10:30. Tea rooms would open at 11:00, but we had to go.

Final stop, Tewkesbury, or Tjuksbree as the locals pronounce it.

Tewkesbury
The town is supposed to have been founded by a hermit in the 7th century. Today it is remembered mainly for the 1471 battle at the "Bloody Meadow", where Edward IV's Yorkist forces defeated the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses. It all started because Henry VI was considered insane and the country lacked a strong leader. Edward of York, the most able leader left, was declared King in 1461. He locked Henry in the tower of London and his wife Margaret of Anjou fled to France with their son, also called Edward. When the young Edward reached 18, Margaret decided to return to England and re-claim the throne for him. She landed at Weymouth on April 14, 1471, and set off for Wales, where her ally, Jasper Tudor, awaited with re-enforcements. On the way to Wales, she met the enemy army just outside Tewkesbury.

The reenactment of the Battle of Tewkesbury is the world's largest of its kind. It attracts thousands of re-enactors and visitors. While the main attraction is the actual battle, this is only between 3 and 4 pm. Until then, you have plenty to do (and buy) in the medieval camps next to the battlefield. Only slightly disappointing bit was the archery competition. Not as interesting as we were hoping for. We didn't even find out who won. No commentating and very few of the re-enactors/competitors were interested in providing a show for the spectators.

The battle itself, however, was like a football match. A bit boring at times but would get quite exciting when a side would charge or when a duel between champions would take place. Especially the finale with the duel between the two Edwards was captivating.

(3 July 2010) Southwark and Holborn

2010-07-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

Nothing fancy this time. Just making good use of a sunny Saturday by walking from Southwark to Holborn.

Borough Market
The Market itself claims to have existed since pre-Roman times and most probably did, but the earliest dependable sources mentioning it are from 1276. The market has focused historically on fruits and vegetables, but has recently become a fashionable centre for fine food, with some of the most famous traders opening stalls there. As expected, it has appeared in a number of films, such as "Harry Potter", "Bridget Jones", "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", etc.

Golden Hinde
That's one of the coolest attractions in London. In 1577, Queen Elizabeth I gave Francis Drake a letter of marque which allowed him to act as a privateer attacking Spanish ships along the Pacific coast of the Americas. After an initial setback, he set sail on Dec. 13 aboard Pelican with four other ships and 164 men. Off the coast of Africa, he captured a Portuguese merchant ship, whose captain had considerable experience navigating in South American waters.
At some point during its voyage, an officer attempted a mutiny, for which he was executed. As seamen are extremely superstitious, they decided to rename the ship, so that the ghost of the officer would not be able to haunt it. They chose "Golden Hinde".

Drake's voyage helped to give a more accurate picture of the true geography of the world. He discovered that Tierra del Fuego, the land seen to the south of the Magellan Strait, was not part of a southern continent as had been believed previously, but an archipelago. This meant that it should be possible to sail ships around the bottom of South America, south of Tierra. This was the Cape Horn route, eventually discovered in 1616. As Drake sailed further up the coast, he plundered Spanish ports in Chile and Peru and captured treasure ships. His biggest prize was the Cacafuego. On the way he landed in what is now California, naming it Nova Albion
(New England) and claiming it for the Queen. He then continued across the Pacific to the East Indies. Drake returned from his voyage around the world with the little Golden Hinde packed full of spices and plundered Spanish silver, which at the time was more valuable than gold. On 26 September, Golden Hinde sailed into Plymouth with Drake and 59 remaining crew aboard, along with a rich cargo of spices and captured Spanish treasures. The Queen's half-share of the plunder surpassed the rest of the crown's income for that entire year.
Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth aboard Golden Hinde on 4 April 1581; the actual act being performed by a French diplomat, Monsieur de Marchaumont, who was negotiating for Elizabeth to marry the King of France's brother. By getting the French diplomat involved in the knighting, Elizabeth was gaining the implicit political support of the French for Drake's privateer actions against the Spanish.

Quite remarkably, the modern replica of Golden Hinde has actually sailed longer distance than the original one and under similar conditions. When at sea, it is crewed by a Master, Mate, Cook and 10 to 12 deckhands, while in Drake's time there were 60-80 crew. An obvious difference with the original is that it has a wheel, which wouldn't be common at the time. The original had a pole attached to the rudder.

The guided tour aboard the Golden Hinde is delightful and really cheap (£7).
Learning about the way the guns operated was superb, but I was impressed the most by the origin of the knot as unit of speed. Until the 19th century, speed at sea was measured using a wooden panel, weighted on one edge to float upright, attached by line to a reel. It was cast over the stern of the moving vessel and the line allowed to pay out. Knots placed at a distance of 47 feet 3 inches passed through a sailor's fingers, while another sailor used a 28 second sandglass to time the operation. The knot count would be the speed of the vessel. The speed of Golden Hinde was 8 knots.

Next on our itinerary was the Temple Church, but it was closed to the public because it hosted a wedding. Oh well, nevermind. Straight to Holborn for Sir John Soane's Museum and maybe a beer at Princess Louise.

Sir John Soane's Museum
Being one myself, I've always had a soft spot for collectors, and Sir John Soane is one of the greatest I am aware of. One of the most successful architects of his time, he was rich enough to buy the Sarcophagus of Seti I (1290 BC) that the British Museum had found too expensive. Soane designed his house in Holborn to live in, but also as a setting for his antiquities and his works of art. After the death of his wife in 1815, he lived there alone, constantly adding to his collections. Disappointed by the conduct of his two sons, he managed to have an Act of Parliament passed, establishing that after his death his house would become a museum that would be free of charge and "as nearly as possible in the state in which he shall leave it". 173 years later this still holds true.

Soane was also a Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy and used his house to educate and inspire "Amateurs and Students in Painting, Architecture and Sculpture". All rooms and corridors in the house are packed with exhibits of all kinds. Quoting the museum's guide, everything is arranged in a way that draws the eye to the beauty of the form and the variety of carved ornament. The image on the right shows the study as painted by Joseph Gandy in 1822. It looks almost identical today.

As I understand painting more than architecture and sculpture, my favourite items from his home were the Canaletto, Hogarth and Turner paintings. Hogarth's "An Election Entertainment" shows two candidates (on the two sides of the table) trying to gain voters' support, but a man is trying to burn the wig of the one and a pair of drunks abuse the other. The Mayor has collapsed after consuming too many oysters, the election agent is struck by a brick thrown by the Tories outside, and a Quaker is carefully examining an I.O.U. bribe. At the foot of the wounded man lies a banner reading 'Give us our Eleven Days' referring to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752 when it had been necessary to skip from 3 to 14 September. Many voters actually thought that they had been robbed of eleven days of their lives.

Soane died in 1837 and was buried in the tomb he designed for his wife and himself in the churchyard of St. Pancras Old Church. This tomb provided the inspiration for the design of the red telephone booths.

(26 - 27 June 2010) SSW England

2010-06-27T10:27:00.001-07:00

The South South West of England is one of the most beautiful areas of Europe, but this wasn't the reason for this trip. It was to see operational 19th century steam locomotives and world war II tanks.

Didcot Railway Centre
June 26-27 is probably the best time of the year for this museum, because that's when they have three locomotives in operation at the same time:
Pannier tank 0-6-0 locomotive. The type was first introduced in 1898 by Great Western Railway, but the specific one, '3738', is from 1937. It was allocated to Old Oak Common depot in London and after a working life of around half a million miles it was sent for scrapping in 1965. However, it was bought by two members of the Great Western Society and it was restored in 1976.

0-4-0 ST, named 'Trojan'. A tiny 22-ton locomotive that was built in 1897 in Bristol.
Broad gauge 2-2-2 'Firefly'.This is a replica built in 2005, but the original Firefly class was introduced in 1840.

A video of these three locomotives in action from yesterday:

More photos:

Salisbury
Before moving on to Bovington we stayed at the beautiful medieval city of Salisbury.

The Cathedral's collection includes the best preserved of the four surviving original Magna Cartas from 1215. Despite its excellent condition, I still found it impossible to read. It was so heavily abbreviated for space saving that I didn't even realise it was in Latin.

The last photo shows a mummified hand that you can see in the "Haunch of Venison" restaurant. It is thought that there are two wandering spirits in the restaurant; the Grey Lady, who is searching for her child, and the Demented Whist Player who lost his hand, severed in a card game due to cheating. Haunted or not, the food was excellent.

We spent the night at Sarum Heights, a lovely Bed & Breakfast with spectacular views. It was right next to the Old Sarum.

The Old Sarum
This is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, containing evidence of human habitation from around 3000 BC. Old Sarum sits on a hill about two miles north of Salisbury. The Romans held the site as a fort, strategically placed near the convergence of five roads, and marked it on roadmaps by the name of SORVIODVNVM. Later, it was considered one of the important towns of both the West Kingdom of the Saxons and of the Normans. It was not unusual for national councils to be held there. A motte and bailey castle was built shortly after the Norman conquest, and the town was renamed to Sarisburia. In 1086, William the Conqueror convened the prelates, nobles, sheriffs and knights of his dominions at Old Sarum to pay him homage. A little later, a cathedral and bishop's palace were built on the hill. The first cathedral was burned down when it was struck by lightning only five days after it was concecrated. A new cathedral was completed in 1190. French medieval poet Peter of Blois described it as "barren, dry, and solitary, exposed to the rage of the wind; and the church (stands) as a captive on the hill where it was built, like the ark of God shut up in the profane house of Baal."

Relations between the clerics of the cathedral and the castle guard were punctuated with outbreaks of petulance and occasional violence. The churchmen became so exasperated that in 1219 they decided to build a new cathedral to the south. A settlement grew up around the new cathedral, and it is this settlement that is the modern city of Salisbury. As Salisbury grew larger, Old Sarum's castle fell into disuse. By the 17th century, Old Sarum had been abandoned and had no resident voters at all (most of the population had moved to nearby Salisbury), yet it retained its two members in the House of Commons. This made it the most notorious of the "rotten boroughs". In 1831, Old Sarum had eleven voters, all landowners who lived elsewhere. The Reform Act 1832 completely disfranchised Old Sarum. Interestingly, a 18th century Prime Minister of Great Britain, William Pitt the Elder, had first entered the Parliament as member for Old Sarum, and this example was used by the Tories who were defending the rotten boroughs. The logic was that rotten boroughs provided stability and were a means for promising young politicians to enter parliament.

Today you can see the remains of the cathedral and the castle, as well as a replica bridge. The hill is ideal for an evening walk. Although the word is overused, I can't find a better one than "enchanting". Not many tourists and it offers a spectacular view of the region.

Some photos:

Next, Bovington through the lovely countrysides of Wiltshire and Dorset.

Bovington Tank Museum
You know that this will be a special day out when on your way to the museum you are warned about tanks crossing the road.

Throughout the day there are a number of events taking place, from parachuting to rifle shooting, but the centrepiece of TankFest is the demonstration of rare and historic vehicles in the Kuwait Arena. The arena was given this name as a recognition of a £1.5m donation from the Kuwaiti government, which in turn was in recognition of the role played by the Royal Armoured Corps in liberating the country in the 1991 Gulf War.

Some of the World War II vehicles of the show (Valentine, Panzer III, Kettenkrad, Stuart, Su-100, T-34/85):

A Marmon-Herrington MkIV given to the Greek government after World War II:

More photos of World War II vehicles:

A number of post-war vehicles were also displayed (Centurion, Scorpion, Leopard, Patton, Cougar, Trojan, IVECO LMV, Scimitar, Bulldog, Viking BvS10, Warrior, Chieftain, Challenger I):

And the Challenger II:

(4 - 7 June 2010) Normandy

2010-06-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

On the 6th of June 1944, 95,000 American, 60,000 British and 20,000 Canadian troops landed on the beaches of Normandy under devastating German fire. It was the beginning of the liberation of Europe from Nazi rule.

Legendary war photographer Robert Capa participated with the second assault wave on Omaha Beach and took 106 pictures of the first moments of the landing. However, a fifteen-year-old lab assistant at Life Magazine in London made a mistake in the darkroom; he set the dryer too high and melted the emulsion in the negatives. Only 11 pictures survived, the one below among them.

Every year, hundreds of thousands, mostly descendants of D-Day veterans, flood the key locations in Normandy where the future of Europe was decided. For many, especially Americans, it's the trip of a lifetime that they usually plan years ahead. For us, living in London, it's just two short train trips combined with the good fortune of having wonderful friends in Rouen who guide us in Normandy.

Paris
Since the fastest way to travel to Rouen is via Paris, a brief tour there doesn't hurt. Paris is very easy to move from place to place, both on foot and using the metro.

Umberto Eco's fans used to flock Musée des Arts et Métiers to see Foucault's Pendulum. That was until a month ago, when it was irreparably damaged. The pendulum's cable snapped and its sphere crashed to the marble floor of the museum. So, now the best you can do is visit the Pantheon to see a more recent Foucault Pendulum. Notice the lack of "'s". Foucault's experiment in 1851 involved releasing the pendulum and watching the Earth rotate under its oscillation frame. It brought closure for Galileo and led the Church to accept the rotation of the Earth once and for all. More significantly than being the host of the pendulum, the Pantheon contains the remains of distinguished French citizens, including Voltaire, the Curies, Hugo, etc.

Next, Notre Dame, construction of which started in 1163 and finished in 1345. This now seems unbelievable, but at the time was almost normal. It was operational for most of this time, of course; just not complete.

No naval history buff arrives in Paris without visiting one of the oldest maritime museums in the world, la Musée National de la Marine. That day, it hosted a classical music concert in one of its rooms, which made it an extraordinary experience. Walking among priceless exhibits like Napoleon's own Imperial Barge while listening to live music written around his time. Sublime.
More photos from the museum: A model of the aircraft carrier Bearn, a 16-inch shell from Battleship Richelieu or Jean Bart and a 19th century Whitehead torpedo.

For army history buffs, there is also the Musée de l'Armée, part of the splendid Les Invalides. In 1670, Louis the 14th decided to build a military hospital in Paris, to take care of disabled war veterans ("les invalides").
Today, the complex contains museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for disabled war veterans. Les Invalides is a masterpiece of French classical architecture. You will find there the tomb of Napoleon and other famous figures of French military history (e.g. Marshal Foch).

In terms of 20th century history, the Musée de l'Armée is not as impressive as it could be. I liked the rare FT-17 tank, but apart from this not much that you can't see elsewhere. Especially the World War II section could be much larger and much more informative.

Some more photos from Paris, including the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur at Montmartre and a local market:

Rouen
Next is the beautiful city of Rouen. In the Middle Ages, Rouen was one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the world. Originally founded by the Gauls, Rouen was later controlled by the Romans (remains of Roman structures can still be seen) and the Normans. In 912, Rouen became the capital of the Duchy of Normandy and residence of the dukes, until William the Conqueror established his castle at Caen. Even today, Caen and Rouen are still competing for the honour of being the capital of Normandy. At the moment it's Rouen.

When I visited Rouen's Cathedral, I was surprised to find a tomb with the inscription: "HIC COR CONDITVM EST RICARDI ANGLORVM REGIS QVI COR LEONIS DICTVS OBIIT AN M C XC IX". The tomb contains the heart of Richard the Lionheart of England. He was after all the Duke of Normandy for quite a while.

In 1204, Philip II Augustus of France entered Rouen and annexed Normandy to the French Kingdom. Thanks to the river Seine, which connected Rouen to Paris, and the development of new industries, the city became more prosperous than ever before. During the Hundred Years' War, Rouen surrendered to Henry V of England, who returned Normandy to the Plantagenet dynasty.

In 1431, Jean d' Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, where most inhabitants supported the duke of Burgundy, Jean d' Arc's king enemy. She was only 19. In the 1920s, she was canonised and in the 1970s a very modern L’église sainte Jeanne d’Arc was built for her on the place where she was executed. It's one of the most modern-looking Catholic churchs you will ever see.

On the same square, you will find our friend's restaurant, Les Maraichers. Make sure you taste the fries and if you are feeling brave, the veal head with Ravigote sauce. Les Maraichers is the third from the left. Belonging to the same family, the first from the left is La Couronne. That's the oldest restaurant in France (open since 1345). Sophia Lauren, John Wayne, Guderian and Rommel have all dined there.

Rouen is one of the few places in the world where a cheap and cheerful 50 euro hotel offers that kind of view from your bed. That's the Palais de Justice as seen from the window of Le Bristol, where we stayed.

During the German occupation, the German Navy had its headquarters located in a chateau on what is now L' École Supérieure de Commerce de Rouen. The city was heavily damaged on D-day, but not as much as "rival" Caen, whose principal landmarks were razed to the ground. In Rouen, the battle was around the banks of the river instead of the city centre and most of the historic buildings survived:

The D-Day weekend was also the time of the Normandy Impressionists Festival. Thousands of visitors from all over the world and especially Japan, had arrived to Rouen for the numerous exhibitions and events. This is Monet's "The Seine at Rouen" from 1872.

Next, D-Day.

Sainte-Mere-Eglise
If you have watched "The Longest Day" (1962, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Sean Connery, Richard Burton, ...), you know exactly why we started our D-Day tour from there. If you don't know why, take a look at these two photos.
During the early hours of D-Day, US airborne troops of the 82nd Airborne Division and a few scattered units of the 101st dropped around Sainte-Mere-Eglise. Their mission was to cut the main road to Cherbourg and open up the routes leading to Utah Beach. Due to heavy flak and winds, the drop was scattered, with many troops landing inside the village among civilians and German troops. The parachute of one of the paratroopers, John Steele, was caught on the spire of the town church. He hung there helpless for two hours, watching the fighting below and pretending to be dead, before the Germans took him prisoner. He later escaped from the Germans and rejoined his division when US troops attacked the village capturing thirty Germans and killing another eleven. Today, during the summer, a dummy hangs from the church tower to commemorate this battle.

Driving through Normandy, you see people dressed in world war 2 uniforms and immaculately preserved world war 2 vehicles everywhere. To give you an idea of how similar Normandy today is to the Normandy of the 1940s, we used a 1947 Michelin map to find our way.

A most pleasant surprise was the demonstration of real Shermans rolling next to the Airborne museum. That's one of the several surprises that await you in Normandy during the D-Day weekend. The whole of the region is an open-air museum. It's good to sketch out a general plan for the day, but you need to be flexible and expect to modify your plan often. A little bit like what the actual troops had to do in 1944. Oh well, that was a silly analogy. Anyway, here is the video that I recorded:

Pointe du Hoc

Here is where the overwhelming for the senses part of the tour starts. In the history of warfare, few people have been given more daunting task than the U.S. 2nd Ranger Battalion on D-Day. They were ordered to capture the German guns pointing to both Omaha and Utah beach. The Rangers managed to climb the cliff under immense heavy fire and capture the position. However, the guns had already been moved by the Germans 1 mile away. Their commanders knew that, but the troops did not, so as not to question the necessity of the operation. Out of the 225 rangers, only 90 survived and could still fight.

Many of the original fortifications have been left in place and the site is speckled with large bomb (and shell?) craters. In 1979, this field was ceded permanently from the French to the US government to be responsible for its maintenance.

Next, we headed towards Omaha Beach. On the way we saw a camp with soldiers, a group of GIs that were lost and checking their map, and a Dakota flying in D-Day colours.

Omaha Beach

On D-Day, the untested 29th Infantry Division, nine companies of Rangers redirected from Pointe du Hoc, and the battle-hardened 1st Infantry Division were to assault Omaha Beach. The initial assault waves were carefully planned to reduce the coastal defenses and allow the larger ships of the follow-up waves to land. Very little went as planned during the landing. Difficulties in navigation caused the majority of landing craft to miss their targets throughout the day. The defences were unexpectedly strong, and inflicted heavy casualties on landing US troops. Small penetrations were eventually achieved by groups of survivors making improvised assaults, scaling the bluffs between the most heavily defended points. By the end of the day, two small isolated footholds had been won, which were subsequently exploited against weaker defences further inland, thus achieving the original D-Day objectives over the following days.

Photos and videos don't capture the feeling of walking on Omaha Beach. You need to take your shoes off and walk on the sand, but in any case:

American Cemetery
The Americans who died on Omaha beach are buried in the American Cemetery near Colleville-sur-Mer. Among them, three medals of honour; Jimmie W. Monteith, Frank D. Peregory and Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

J. Monteith's citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, near Colleville-sur-Mer, France. 1st Lt. Monteith landed with the initial assault waves on the coast of France under heavy enemy fire. Without regard to his own personal safety he continually moved up and down the beach reorganizing men for further assault. He then led the assault over a narrow protective ledge and across the flat, exposed terrain to the comparative safety of a cliff. Retracing his steps across the field to the beach, he moved over to where 2 tanks were buttoned up and blind under violent enemy artillery and machine gun fire. Completely exposed to the intense fire, 1st Lt. Monteith led the tanks on foot through a minefield and into firing positions. Under his direction several enemy positions were destroyed. He then rejoined his company and under his leadership his men captured an advantageous position on the hill. Supervising the defense of his newly won position against repeated vicious counterattacks, he continued to ignore his own personal safety, repeatedly crossing the 200 or 300 yards of open terrain under heavy fire to strengthen links in his defensive chain. When the enemy succeeded in completely surrounding 1st Lt. Monteith and his unit and while leading the fight out of the situation, 1st Lt. Monteith was killed by enemy fire. The courage, gallantry, and intrepid leadership displayed by 1st Lt. Monteith is worthy of emulation.

Arromanches
Before heading for Pegasus Bridge, we stopped briefly near Arromanches to take photos of the remains of the artificial floating harbour that protected the landings. These prefab concrete constructions were built in Britain and towed across the English Channel when the invasion began. According to our local guide, they rapidly sink year by year. He expects that they will not be visible in a few years.

Pegasus Bridge
Last on our tour of Normandy was Pegasus Bridge.

On the night of 5 June 1944, a force of 181 British men took off from Dorset in six Horsa gliders to capture Pegasus Bridge. The object of this action was to prevent German armour from crossing the bridges and attacking the landings at Sword Beach. Five of the gliders landed as close as 47 yards from their objectives from 16 minutes past midnight. The attackers poured out of their battered gliders, completely surprising the German defenders, and took the bridges within 10 minutes. They lost two men in the process, Lieutenant Den Brotheridge and Lance-Corporal Fred Greenhalgh. Greenhalgh drowned when his glider landed. Lieutenant Brotheridge was killed crossing the bridge in the first minutes of the assault and became the first member of the invading Allied armies to die in combat on D-Day.

The bridge was captured by British glider troops in the first few minutes of D-day. The three Horsa gliders, visible in the top right brought Major John Howard and his troopers in on time, accurately placing them in position to seize the bridge by rapid surprise. Lt. Den Brotheridge, the first allied death on D-day was killed where the Jeep is standing as he and his men rushed across the bridge from the eastern side. Notice that the drivers, although in Europe, are still driving on the left side of the road.

The current bridge seen in the photo below is a larger replica built in 1994, as the original was not sufficient for today's widened canal. The original bridge was sold to the nearby Pegasus Memorial Museum for a symbolic one Franc.

The house of the Gondrée family, next to the bridge, was the first to be liberated during D-Day. It still exists and today contains a café and a small museum shop that sells related memorabilia. Arlette Gondrée, who now runs Café Gondrée, was a little child living in the home when it was liberated.

... and that's the end of our wonderful D-day trip.

I'll close with a video made by a fan of the Heavy Metal band Sabaton:

(23 - 26 Dec 2009) Venice

2009-12-27T04:58:00.000-08:00

I have always been fascinated by Venice. By always I mean since 1992. That's when Lena, one of our best family friends, bought me a pirated 3.5" disk (at the time that was normal) of the DOS game "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". I hadn't watched the movie and Harrison Ford's "Ah Venice!", but his computer sprite was enough to convince me that this was a place that I needed to visit if I ever grew up.

I doubt I grew up, but seventeen years later it was time to visit Venice. First, I read Julius Norwich's "History of Venice". This provided all the historical background one may need before arriving there. This sentence may sound unusual, but yes, you really do need to read a bit of history to fully appreciate the beauty of every little corner of this place. I'll start with a direct quote from Norwich's book: "The first builders of Venice were frightened men."

Until A.D. 400 they were living prosperous lives in splendid cities of the Roman Empire, looking to what we now call Venetian lagoon only for their salt and fish. In the early 5th century, the Goths started sweeping down Italy forcing the local populations to seek refuge to the lagoon. At the beginning, these populations were moving to their new settlements only temporarily, until after 300 years of continuous harassment in the mainland, they decided to stay in the lagoon for good.
Thanks to their cohesion, resourcefulness and impressive sense of duty, this tiny island built an empire that lasted 1,100 years (697–1797), almost as long as the Byzantine empire (330–1453), her arch enemy and best friend.
The Venetian empire was built on trade and naval power, supported by the most stable, modern and efficient political system (in my opinion, in history).
When Constantinople fell to the Turks, Venice became the most splendid city on earth. Byzantine and European renaissance scholars would either stay in Venice or visit Venice (The list includes Bessarion, who is an ancestor in my academic genealogy tree :P; the premier Byzantine scholar of the time, whose collection of manuscripts became the basis of the Biblioteca Marciana in 1468). Yet, Venice was a city of superb merchants, craftsmen and artists and these people rarely become great philosophers.
Venice herself never produced a Boccaccio or a Dante. As Norwich puts it, Venice was great at producing books, but not as much at writing them.

After 1500, when the Portuguese proved that you don't need the Mediterranean (and consequently Venice) to trade with the East, the Venetians had to shift their focus, from exceptional merchants to exceptional diplomats and spies. The Venetian republic lasted another 300 years, until Napoleon occupied Venice in 1797.

Today, Venice is no less magical than 1000 years ago... as long as you visit her when there are no tourists (that's 23-25 Dec and a few other times of the year).

After you've arrived at the Marco Polo airport, you take the boat-bus to reach the island of Venice.

What you realise quickly is that everyone uses boats for everything as there are no cars. See for example these photos of an ambulance boat and a DHL courier boat. Even the firemen move around the town in boats, such as the ones here that are trying to open a locked door near the Arsenale.

Speaking of the Arsenale, it used to be the most advanced and largest shipyard in the world. Its existence was a state secret, unknown to the Turks and other enemies for centuries.

As far as I know, you can't visit it. You can only take photos outside one of the entrances.

Da Vinci's Vitruvian man was on display for a few days, while we were in Venice. There was also a Da Vinci exhibition with wooden miniature models of his designs.

While Venetians are very friendly and hospitable, you can't blame them when they just have enough with the tourists. This taxi driver is tired of being photographed by tourists and takes his revenge by showing me his tongue.

When Byzantium fell, several Greeks fled to Venice. They were first given a Catholic church and 50 years later built their own church, proof of the religious tolerance of the Venetians. That's the splendid San Giorgio dei Greci, still the religious centre for Orthodox Christians in Italy.

Speaking of religious tolerance, in Venice you will also find the first Jewish Gheto. No negative meaning for the word Gheto at the time. Gheto just meant Foundry, and ... there was a foundry there.

Venice is tiny. Surprisingly this is a good thing if you base your empire on merchants. The more familiar the merchants are with each other (personal friends, relatives, etc.), the easier it is to form quick, ad hoc partnerships. Merchants in the rest of Europe would not trust each other as much as merchants in Venice. A large-scale partnership that would involve hundreds of caravans and ships could be decided in a matter of hours at the markets around the bridge of Rialto.

While the centre of commerce and entertainment is near Rialto Bridge, the centre of political and spiritual life in Venice is St. Mark's square with the Basilica

The Doge's palace.

This is one of the most incredibly important rooms in Europe. The Sala del Maggior Consiglio, where the Doge, his advisers and the 1,000 + nobles of Venice were taking their policy decisions. I won't say much about the political system of Venice, because it needs a separate article, but here's a couple of photos of the room:

The Clock

I chose St. Mark's Basilica for Christmas mass, although I am not a Catholic.

When we were in St. Mark's, we heard a ww2 bomb raid siren and the Patriarch explained that we should be careful on the way to our homes, because flooding was in progress and most of the city was under 5-20cm of water already.

Women invariably love the gondolas. Men invariably hate them, because they are ridiculously expensive and not really special ($140 for two, for 25 minutes). Still, everyone does it, because it's the first thing their friends ask them about when they return home.

At least with the gondola you get to see some places, such as Marco Polo's house, that you may have missed otherwise. Venice has its fair share of palace and nobles' houses. Actually many more than a fair share. Sir Norwich described Venice as a thinking man's disneyland. Every few steps you find a palace or a church or the house of someone that you know from your history books.

In terms of prices, if you book early enough (2-3 months), you can get a beautiful 17th century hotel in the centre of St. Mark's sestiere for a very good price. Ours was Ca Dei Conti.

However, as soon as you arrive in Venice, the prices (food, souvenirs, etc.) are extortionate, even for a Euro-tourist destination. Still, you won't stay for so long that you'd bother about the prices. A Venice-n00b's optimal stay is about 3 days.

Some more photos of the intriguingly diverse architecture of Venice (Chiesa, Ca Contarini and Natural History Museum):

Next to the Doge's Palace are the two columns of San Marco and San Teodoro, brought from Constantinople and erected in the 12th century. The first architect of the Rialto Bridge, Barattieri, for his efforts, was granted the right to set up gambling tables between the columns :o. Later, the site was used for public executions, until the 18th century. For this reason, even today, superstitious Venetians never walk between the columns.

A few more photos:

Mind the Gap in Venetian Style and the Bridge of Sighs.

The bridge passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms inside the Doge's Palace (btw, the prisons, the palace and the Basilica are all connected!). [From wikipedia: The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice out the window before being taken down to their cells. In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built, and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals.]

Last image is my favourite Bellini's masterpiece. Doge Leonardo Caredan. It's on display in the National Gallery in London.

I'll close with Sir John Julius Norwich, the no1 authority on Venice: