Of all the horrible stories around the world, few have captured peoples imaginations as much as Jack The Ripper. Well, I can say I will keep wondering as this weeks walk around town wasn’t all I was hoping for. While it was fun and very interesting, it lacked a bit of the mystery I was looking for. Most of the actual places have been torn down and replaced by modern day objects such as coffee houses and car parks. Considering the history and the mister of it all, I figured most of it would have been well preserved. Here is an overview of the walk from the site which was a little more intriguing than the walk itself.
Please tread carefully and keep away from the shadows – you are about to enter the abyss…
He came silently out of the midnight shadows of August 31, 1888. Watching. Stalking. Butchering raddled, drink-sodden East End prostitutes. Leaving a trail of blood that led…nowhere. Yes, something wicked this way walked, for this is the Ripper’s slashing grounds. We evoke that autumn of gaslight and fog, of menacing shadows and stealthy footsteps as we inspect the murder sites, sift through the evidence – in all its gory detail – and get to grips, so to speak, with the main suspects. Afterward we can steady our nerves in The Ten Bells, the pub where the victims – perhaps under the steely gaze of the Ripper himself – tried to forget the waking nightmare.
Jack The Ripper March 22, 2007
I Can Not Help You, Stupid Americans! March 21, 2007
Today’s title is not a knock at the French or the Americans; it was just my favorite quote of this adventure.
The plan was to get up bright and early on Sunday morning, head to Kings Road for some shopping and then head to the airport to go to Paris for a few days. Well, we did make it to the airport in time. As I mentioned earlier, the preceding days had taken their toll and we were plum tuckered out. We got a good night’s rest which was just what we needed before we headed off to Paris.
At the airport, we stopped in a little book shop and picked up a phrase book to help us out as we knew nothing besides hello and thank you. We chose to go to Paris on Sunday evening because we had heard from many people that the shops were all closed on Sundays. We figured we would get into town, grab some dinner, get the lay of the land and then go to bed early so we could get up early on Monday. According to the girl at the front desk, even restaurants closed on Sundays. She pointed us in the direction of the only thing she knew of which was a pretty crappy sushi joint. We ate there and decided to still do our walk around the city to find the places we had to hit on Monday in the daylight. To our surprise, it was at this point that we found plenty of restaurants that were open. Oh well. We made our way to the Louvre and decided to turn around as it was bitterly cold and windy. On the way back to the hotel we found a street side crepe maker and had to order one. I got the nutella which was Incredible!!!
We did get up bright and early on Monday morning and headed out for a big day of excitement. We found one of the local bus tours which would take us to all the local landmarks. We started out driving down the Ave. des Champs Elysees. This was a beautiful old road that leads up to the Arc de Triomphe. We stopped here and got out to experience the moment. The weather was pretty bad so we decided not to go up to the top of the Arc. Instead we headed into a local cafe to grab a drink to warm us up and then do a little shopping on the Champs Elysees. From there, we got back on the bus and headed to the Grand Palais and Trocadero which weren’t very exciting but beautiful none the less. Our next get off was the major landmark, the Eiffel Tower. As with any major tourist destination, we were hit up left and right by people wanting money. They all knew too look for the Americans which we played off very well I must say. We stood in the queue to go up the tower for thirty minutes, watching people continue to cut in the front. The weather began to snow, and we knew we were going no where, so we decided it just wasn’t worth it. We got back on the bus and headed to the Louvre. As with many parts of Paris, this was not a very tourist friendly museum. There were no signs telling you where to go or what you needed to do so we were very lost. We got scolded by a few museum officials and then found our way to ticket booth. We made our way to the three pieces of art we wanted to see: The Mona Lisa, The Winged Victory of Samothrace and The Venus de Milo. Feeling we had seen the main pieces, which a few in between, we headed back to the bus and on to Notre Dame and the Hotel des Invalides. There was also a stop in the middle there which included a sugar crepe. Delish!
At this point, we were touristed out and gave up the sight seeing for shopping. We hit the main shopping roads and did some good shopping. I made my big purchase which was a new hand bag. Yeah!
After a full day of adventures, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and head out for a nice dinner. We asked the concierge for a true French restaurant experience. He asked if we like escargot, which I said I doubt, but had to try as I was in the home of escargot. He recommended a small little restaurant which was off the beaten path. The one thing we didn’t take into account for was reading the menu. As this wasn’t a tourist hot spot, the menu did not have the English translations. Luckily I had my phrase book and looked up some of the words under the table. I found two dishes which looked edible, fish or sausage. The rest were all parts of a cow which I don’t believe are meant to be eaten (tongue and cheek???). The waiter recommended the fish and the soup de jour which was cauliflower so I agreed. We figured to be French; we needed to be drinking champagne as well. Suzanne order what we thought was a bottle of champagne, but later found out was a bottle of red wine with a very similar spelling. We had a good launch as the waiter poured our glasses. It turned out to be a good bottle of wine so we were happy. Dinner was great and was a nice ending to our day of adventuring through Paris.
The plan for Tuesday was to get up early again and do a little shopping before we headed back to London. We were so tired from the day before that slept away most of the morning. We got up, made our way to a local cafe and grabbed a bite before heading to the airport (and grabbing a final banana crepe on the way). This is where the trip goes down hill. The concierge at the hotel tells us we can take the Metro to the airport and there is a stop just down the street which will be easy to get to. He did not mention that the walk was all uphill at a 45 degree angle.
With luggage in tow, we made it to the Metro. Suzanne had a rough time as she lost of one the wheels one her luggage and the main strap broke. After spending a good 20 minutes reading the Metro map, we figured out how to get to the main train station which would take us to the airport. From the main train station, we spent another 20 minutes trying to figure out what train went to the airport. After a bit of frustration, we finally got on the correct train and figured we had been through the worst of it. Little did we know there was more trouble to come. We got to the airport but didn’t know which terminal. One would assume that you could read some signs or ask for help and we would be good. We weren’t that lucky. We stood in one line for about 20 minutes and didn’t move an inch. We gave up and headed to another line which looked to be moving much faster. After standing in this line for 20 minutes, we made it to the front and handed the airline attendant our passports. She looked at us like we were stupid and this is where the ranting began. Read the following in your best French accent, “I can not help you. Do you not read? You wasted your time standing in the queue. Why would you do this? Are you stupid? You stupid American…” The ranting went on for what seemed like five minutes but I am sure was only one minute. Suzanne and I just looked at each other and laughed, as we couldn’t get a word in to ask where we should go. Finally, the lady stopped and we got our question in. She pointed in the right direction so we took off as we had only 45 minutes until our flight left. It wasn’t that she was mean to us; she just got so frustrated on our behalf. We couldn’t help but laugh at the madness of the moment. Upon getting to the correct terminal, we then had to find the right line to stand in. I will state right now, the Charles de Gaulle International Airport has to be the most confusing and non tourist friendly airport. Ten minutes later, we find the right line which is at least 15 people deep. We find a supper friendly airline attendant who lets us go to another line as our flight is about to take off. Then we run into yet another snag. Because we purchased our tickets along with the hotel as a package deal, we have to show a voucher from the hotel to prove we did in fact stay at this hotel. WHAT!!!! We have no voucher, the hotel gave us nothing. Luckily, I saved a receipt for the hotel taxes (4 euros) which they accepted as proof that we did in fact stay at the hotel. They let us board the plan in time and the wonderfully too long two day trip to Paris was over.
Girls Headed to Paris
Arc de Triomphe
The Winged Victory of Samothrace
Venus de Milo
The Seine River
Cheers to the Irish March 18, 2007
Based on the crazy adventures of Wednesday and Thursday nights, Friday was much more reserved so there are no crazy stories. We also had to save up our energy for the big Saturday adventure as it was St Patrick’s Day.
We got up early on Saturday and made our way to Buckingham Palace to experience the changing of the guards. I was more interested in seeing if the boys we met on Wednesday were actually part of the event. We arrived a little too early so we went into a little cafe to grab a bite to eat. I must take a moment to compliment this little hole in the wall. They made an excellent English breakfast sandwich. Even after taking our time eating, we still had 45 minutes until the festivities began but we figured we would make our way over and find a good place to stand. Good thing we did as it was already packed. People must get there two to three hours in advance to get a good spot. We ended up standing by the fountain across the street from the palace which gave a good view of the soldiers and the band walking down the street and into the palace. It seems there was a lot going on in front of the palace but we didn’t get to see much of that due to the crowd. The soldiers and the band came through and we searched and searched for the boys from Wednesday night but never saw them. Either they were still hung over or they told us some tall stories. Oh well, they offered good entertainment at the time. At this point, we decided we had seen enough and headed on.
We headed east to Borough Market. As I have mentioned before, even if you don’t buy anything, the market is a true old piece of London which everyone should experience. We walked around for an hour or so and grazed off a few testers here and there. You could almost compare it to Sam’s on a Saturday.
After venturing through the market, we felt we had seen enough and didn’t need to make any purchases so we headed to a local pub to grab a pint or two and watch some rugby. The big game for the day was Ireland vs. Italy and of course everyone was cheering on Ireland as it was there day and they are one of the top teams. It was a good game and Ireland won by a landslide so we weren’t on the edge of our seats with anticipation. We met some nice folks there as well and introduced Suzanne to the best crisps London has to offer, the Turkey Dinner.
It is at this point in the weekend that I either had too much beer, not enough sleep or too many sight seeing adventures because I can’t remember what we did for the rest of the night. I do know we went home fairly early as Sunday was to be a big day, but that is about it.
