Exclusive Evening Tour of Buckingham Palace

I went on the evening tour of Buckingham Palace tonight.  It is a one and a half hour guided tour with a glass of champagne in the Bow room to finish.  It was 80 pounds and worth every penny.   There were only about  30 on the tour and it was just so informative.   We went through the same entrance as the Queen and other dignatories.  Go up the Grand staircase and go through about 10 rooms.  The beauty of the Palace just takes your breath away.  The ceilings and grand chandeliers alone are just magnificant.  The wealth in the building is breathtaking from the furniture to the paintings.  The rooms were familiar from photos I..e. Dian after her wedding bending down to talk to the flower girls,  the room where James Bond walked, the backdrop to the Royal wedding photos, the room where the royal christenings are held etc.  However nothing prepares you for the beauty of it all.   We saw the gold piano that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert played on,  where Condalesa Rice gave her impromptu concert etc.  The room where Kate and William had their wedding reception was stunning but I did wonder how they fitted 500 people in there.  The funiture was just wonderul - my favourite were the pink chairs and sofas that Queen Victoria had put in the Palace - pink cushioning and gold legs.  We were just so close to the throne that Queen Elizabeth sat in at her Coronation.  It was just beautiful.  When you leave you are escorted out through the courtyard that fronts onto the Mall and you can see people wondring what you were doing in the Palace.   Oh we did see where the secret door was in one of the rooms.

Leaving Santorini

Well I am now back in much colder London.  On the last day in Santorini I went back to the Prehistoric Museum to just wander around and look at the items.  I find that when you read all the notes attached to the items you miss really looking at them.  I was intrigued by the tablet that had the Linear A script on it - I have seen the Linear B before but not Linear A .  They look similar to my untrained eye and I was wondering why they have only been able to descipher Linear B.  They also had a bathtub which was tiny by our standards but then I remembered the Guide said they were ony average height of 5'3".    when having lunch on my last day I was gazing out over the sea and noticed people arriving - which in itself was not unusual - but the fact that those helping them with the luggage virtually run down the pathway steps with these big cases on their shoulders was.

London is much colder so I went to the Tower of London and did the Beefeaters tour - I must admit it worries me a bit the gruesome tales of the executions with children on the Tour.  Then off to Kensington Palace to see the new Queen Victoria exhibition.  The jewelery is just breathtaking - but what I found really interesting was seeing her hand writing and the clothes her and her husband wore - she was much tinier than I thought.  Then I had a print out of a great fire of London walk and was excited to be going to the place where it started.  Would you believe when I got to the plaque in Pudding Lane it said the fire started 'near here' - what does that mean 10 ' away, 20' away - I was so disappointed.

It is a rare sunny day today so I am off to wander around London.

Santorini

I was walking around Santorini about 8.30 this morning with the church bells ringing and didn't see another soul on my walk.  Clearly the people are not early risers here.  The village is clearly being made ready for the tourist season as there are ladders around and people painting etc.   I have only seen the famous donkeys once and they were just being led in a line somewhere - perhaps their work does not start yet.

I went to the ancient remains of the village Akrotiri  which was  destroyed by a volcano in around 1500 BC.

Unlike the Palace of Knossos on Crete which is out in the open these excavations are under a roof.  The original roof was paid for by Aristotle Onassis  and when later needing renewal was paid for by the EU the Guide said.  These ruins are, I think, in more original condition than the ones at Knossos.  It was just breathtaking to look down on buildngs and roads that people would have walked on centuries ago.   One of the houses had a toilet which the young kids on the tour found hilarious.   This civilization had quite a sophisticated sewerge system it seems.

Today I have been to both the Museums here.  The first one had wonderful wall paintings from this ancient society - and lots of everyday items - what amazed me were the size of the coffee cups which were around twice the size of ours.  It wa also interesting to see the portable stoves and everyday items like pans etc.

Santorini

I arrived last night after a long day of travel and thought I had landed in heaven at this hotel.  It is one of the small luxury hotels of the world and I can undrstand why.  At reception I was greeted with a glass of water with some sort of fruit in it and it was so delicious I could have drank the whole pitcher full if it had been there.  They also gave me a face washer with some refreshing thing in it to wipe my face with that was wonderful.  I went to dinner last night and mentioned I was cold and someone came and put a blanket around my shoulders!  I had a lovely grilled fish fillet at a very reasonable price.  Breakfast this morning was a banquet - I was scoffing my plate of scrambled eggs
etc and some very thin girls came in and had a boiled egg and not much else and I thought well that is the difference between their weight and mine.

I change hotels today to go down into the village.

The flight from Athens to here was so rough they could not even serve the coffee on the flight - it was a very small plane so we felt every bump.   I am not a nervous flyer but I ws very pkeased to land.

Zurich

Zurich must be the most beautiful city I have been to.  It is like a postcard.  It is quite small so eay to walk around.  The first day I did a bus tour of the city for a couple of hours which was very good value.  Of course the highlight for me was when we went past the site of where the Swiss banks are - and the thought we may be over the vaults of gold gave me a lovely warm feeling!
The next day I wandered around the Old Town which is breathtaking in the beauty and colours of the buildings.  Yesterday I did a river cruise which though very relaxing had no commentary which I found strange. 

I am pleased that I have a place with a kitchen as eating out here is just so expensive - main courses between 35-55 francs.  Everyone also says not to get taxis - this is right my taxi from the main train station was 32 francs  and it was not all that far.  I have been quoted 70 francs for my taxi to the airport tomorrow.  The public transport is excellent although not entirely cheap - a 24 hour tram ticket for Zone 1 is 8.80 francs.

Being in Zurich makes you want to see more of Switzerland.

Leaving Paris

Well have arrived in Zurich much to my relief.  The transport workers were on strike yesterday and no intercity trains were running -luckily they went back to work at 8am today.  I went into inner Paris and did my Seine cruise yesterday - it was just lovely - but I think I would go on a smaller company one next time.  The one I used is the oldest company in Paris and clearly is the one that the tour groups use as it was very crowded.  Then went to the bridge under which Diana was killed but there were road works going on and you could not see anything - honestly I ask you!   Anyway I was looking around to see where I would go next and spied a lovely cafe with a really good lunch deal - so had found my next stop!  The lunch - two courses for 14 euros was jut delicious.

On the train back to the hotel I could not believe how crowded the train was - we were pressed against each other.  I must be looking old as there was an old coupe sitting near where I was standing and the husband asked if I wanted to sit down - but he was not getting up he expected his wife to.  Anyway I found out why the train was so crowded - most got off at my station as there was a demonstration - or they call it a manifestation in France - on the street just outside my hotel of the striking workers  Anyway the strikers are striking for two days each week for the next three months.

The train ride today to Zurich was just gorgeous.  I had a seat upstairs on the train so had a wonderful view.  Zurich looks gorgeous from what I have seen so far - off tomorrow to do a sightseeing tour

Paris

Went to the Eiffel Tower for lunch today.  What has amazed me in both London and Paris is the increase of people since I was last in both cities.  For example the underground used to be fairly quiet after 9.30 but not so now it is crowded virtually all day.  Anyway I got talking to a lady with a baby in a pusher and I thought 'Oh how is she ever going to get on these crowded trains'  -well she just pushed her way on with people just separating to let her on while I just stood on the platform waiting for a less crowded train. 

I was thinking how things have changc since I was last in Paris at the Eiffel Tower - last time you just wandered aound under the Tower whereas now you gave to line up for ages to go through security to enter the area under the Tower to head up .  Anyway I just joined a que and soon got sick of this as no one else seemed to gave anything booked -so I went to the head and said to the Security guard that I had a booking at the restaurant - expecting him no say go back - but he just let me in through the security checkpoint.  Anyway lunch was just delicious -honestly I felt like licking my plate!    I was a bit disgruntled as I did not have a window seat - but my table had a lovely view anyway.  I got talking to the couple at the table next to me who were from San Diego and it was their anniversary as well.  It was such a wonderful experience - I even chose the best choices of dishes from the menu - you know how you make your selection and then you see what someone else has chosen and wish you had that and it spoils your meal - well none of that I was delighted with my choices

Oh when I was in Kensington the other day the postie was delivering the mail and he was actually walking with the mail

Off on a Seine river cruse tomorrow.