Leaving London

I am sitting at the Los Angeles airport after experiencing a very rigorous security screening at Heathrow, enduring a ten hour flight, going through customs and then having to endure another security screening for my San Francisco flight. I was very sad to leave London. It is a wonderfully international city drawing people from around the world. It is a cultural mecca with an exciting theater scene and world class museums. I will be going back again.

Museums

I have spent my last few days in London exploring museums. The Tate Britain and the Tate Modern have impressive art collections. I still like the British Museum for learning about history through objects such as the above statue of Aphrodite. I took a tour which reviewed the history of the Roman Empire though statues of the emperors. I was able to touch a carved stone ax head that was several thousand years old.

Backbeat

I saw Backbeat--a musical portraying the early days of the Beatles. It covers the start of the group in Hamburg, Germany. The acting and music were great. The audience was dancing in the aisles. I am learning the tricks of the trade such as checking with theaters in the morning to see if they have discounted day tickets. It ended up costing 20 pounds per seat to sit in the front row.

Olympics Countdown Clock

The Olympics Countdown Clock in Trafalgar Square shows the countdown of days, hours, minutes, and seconds until the Olympic Opening Ceremonies in 2012.

Shakespeare's Globe Theater

I visited Shakespeare's Globe Theater today. Unfortunately the season ended in early October, so no plays are currently being performed. The theater has an open roof, so cannot be used in the winter. In the off season they are working on upgrades and repairs including building a smaller indoor theater which can be used all year round. I took a tour and heard the over 40 year history of fund raising which led to the building of the theater. I also heard stories of interactions between cast members and the audience in the Shakespearean tradition.

Les Miserables

I went to see Les Miserables on Wednesday. I have seen it many times on PBS, but there is nothing like seeing it live. It was worth every Pound I paid. We are starting to see some rain. This is the London I remember--damp and rainy.

Jersey Boys

I saw the Wednesday afternoon Matinee of Jersey Boys. It reminded me of the 1950s and 60s when I was growing up in New Jersey.

Acrobatic Performance

I was walking through St. James Park near Buckingham Palace when I saw the horses and riders above. I am not sure who they are guarding--the Queen is in Australia. Then I came upon an acrobatic performance sponsored by the Vienna Tourist Board on a vertical wall next to the statue of Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square shown in the video below. Trafalgar Square has really been cleaned up. When I was last here it was mostly a haven for pigeons. Apparently they banned feeding the pigeons. Now the square is more of an entertainment venue.

Kensington Museums

Today I visited three museums in Kensington: The Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum of art and design . I thought Monday would be a quiet museum day, but it turned out to be a mid-term school holiday. So a lot of kids were there. I was impressed with the number of young people in the science museum. At the right is a model from the Science Museum of the Montgolfier Balloon which was used for the first human balloon flight in 1783. After visiting the museums, I walked through Hyde Park. One of the things which I love about London is the beautiful parks.

British Museum

Today I visited one of the finest museums in the world--the British Museum. Since I was there in 1979 they moved the British Library and Magna Carta to another location. They created Europe's largest covered courtyard at the center of the museum. The museum still houses the Rosetta Stone and many other artifacts, some of which are thousands of years old, from the early civilizations of Egypt, Rome, Greece, Iran and many others. To see these objects from the old world is why I travel to Europe.

Trafalgar Square and National Gallery

I spent Friday exploring Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square. I visited the National Gallery shown above. This is my first visit to London since 1979 and navigating the winding, angled streets which seem to change names every few blocks is coming back to me. I took a double decker bus sightseeing tour to refresh my memory. There is a lot of construction going on in preparation for the Summer Olympics next year. In 1979 when I went to the kiosk in Leicester Square to buy same day tickets for shows, they were 4 or 5 pounds. Today they are ten times that. I am exploring whether it is cheaper to buy at the kiosk or go to to the theaters directly.

London Arrival

I landed in London on Thursday afternoon. I only had to wait about 15 minutes in the passport line. I love being able to walk downstairs at Heathrow and get on the Underground. My hotel is 1 block from the Earl's Court Underground station. It is about 20 degrees cooler in London than Italy.

Bellagio and Lake Como

Wednesday we visited Bellagio and Lake Como. However, the weather was very foggy and overcast, so not a good day for photography or visibility in general. Wednesday evening we had the farewell dinner for the tour group. Thursday morning we get up early to go to the Milan airport and everyone goes their separate ways. I fly to London.

Venezia

I spent the day in a floating city relying mostly on boats for transportation. Above is the Grand Canal with the heaviest traffic. On the left one of the smaller canals from the Gondola perspective with one of the many bridges in the background.

Venice

We drove from Florence to Venice today and took the sunset ferry to Lido island and checked into a beautiful old hotel. The tour group hosted a very nice dinner. Tomorrow we explore Venice and take a gondola ride.

Florence

It is difficult to find words to describe Florence--the birthplace of the Renaissance. Being here is like going back in time 500 years. We visited the Duomo shown above. Then the Uffizi Gallery to view art work by Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Botticelli. In the afternoon I visited the Galileo Science museum which chronicles the history of science in the 1600 and 1700's. During the afternoon hundreds of people were in the streets visiting open air markets.

Basilica Papale di San Francesco Assisi

Today we visited Assisi. The picture above is of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi after whom San Francisco is named. There is an upper and lower Basilica. Assisi is a beautiful town from the Middle Ages with narrow, winding cobble stone streets. We drove through Tuscany with a stop at the hilltop village of San Gimignano and then on to Florence where we had a special viewing and presentation on Michelangelo statues including David at the Galleria dell'Accademia.

Orvieto and Assisi

Today we traveled from Sorrento to Assisi. On the way we visited the hilltop town of Orvieto. The town is accessed by funicular. The Basilica is shown at right. Narrow, winding cobblestone streets radiate out from the town square. It is like going back in time. Tomorrow we explore Assisi and go on to Florence.

Isle of Capri

Today we visited the Isle of Capri--a beautiful island and enclave for the rich and famous. The weather has been moderate around 20 C (low 70's F). It has been good to meet people from around the world--to get a sense of how the other 95% of the world lives and to hear the variety of languages being spoken.

Pompeii Ruins and Abbey at Montecassino

Today we visited the Pompeii ruins from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago. On the way there, we visited the Abbey in the hills above Montecassino. It was the most beautiful church that I have ever seen. Then on to Sorrento.

Castel Sant'Angelo, Museum Capitolini and the Pantheon

Today I visited the Castel Sant'Angelo built around 130 AD which was used as a tomb for Roman emperors. It was also used as a military outpost and home for the Pope. It was refered to in the book and movie Angels and Demons. I then visited the Museum Capitolini which houses mostly sculptures such as the horse and rider on the right. I also went to the Pantheon and heard an orchestra rehearsing for a Mozart Concert to be held later in the evening. It is amazing how Rome has the old integrated with the new, the very beautiful and the very tacky.

Vatican Museum and the Coliseum

Sunday evening I joined the tour group. We had a welcome dinner. Monday morning it was off to the Vatican Museum with a local tour guide. The museum is very large and crowded averaging 50,000 visitors per day. The Sistine Chapel was packed with people standing shoulder to shoulder and no photography allowed. In a three hour visit we barely scratched the surface of seeing the contents of the museum. In the afternoon we went to the the Coliseum.

The Vatican

I visited St. Peter's Basilica today. It turns out that the Pope was delivering a mass on the large screens in the square so it was quite crowded. There was also a mass inside the Basilica. There were hundreds of people there. I saw the Pieta (left) for the second time in my life. I saw if first at the New York World's Fair in 1964. At the World's Fair I could get very close. Today it is behind glass in the Basilica because of past vandalism. It is much more powerful when seen up close.

Arrivo di Roma

I arrived in Rome around 9 a.m. Saturday morning (2 a.m. Chicago time) after a grueling nine hour flight. It has been a long time since I have been in a country where English is not the primary language. It took me a few minutes to get acclimated and to find the shuttle company that I had registered with on the Internet. I finally got to the hotel, but the room wasn't ready since I had arrived in the morning. A couple of hours later the room was ready, and I was able to get some much needed sleep.

Art Institute of Chicago

I made the obligatory visit to the Art Institute. It has added a new wing since I was last there. I always enjoy the variety of exhibits at the Art Institute. After three days of risking my life dodging traffic in Chicago--the drivers are more aggressive than in California, I am planning for my Friday evening flight to Rome.

Chicago

I left Chicago to move to California in 1974. This was my first trip back. There have been many changes in the city--it seems cleaner, greener and better organized. The above picture shows the reflection of the city in the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park which is next to Grant Park. The picture on the left shows the contrast in architectural styles between the Wrigley building in the foreground and Trump Tower in the background.

Madison, Wisconsin

I am visiting my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, for the first time in almost 40 years. The University is on an isthmus between two Lakes--Lake Mendota and Lake Minona. The Wisconsin Capitol Building is located at one end of State Street and the University at the other end. State Street has been converted into a pedestrian and transit mall. The University has built many new buildings in the last 40 year, yet Madison retains an almost small town feel despite the additional construction. The Student Union is located on the shores of Lake Mendota. The view from the terrace of the Student Union is shown above

Leaving Washington DC

I flew home today after United Airlines finally figured out which gate and which plane they were going to use for my flight., The airlines are still recovering from the hurricane. During my week in DC, I saw the east coast deal with a hurricane and an earthquake. I experienced many interesting museums. I was struck by the intelligence exhibited in the art, history and science museums along the National Mall. This intelligence contrasts with the single issue ideologues we hear from in Congress. I tried to get into the White House to talk to the president without success. Maybe next time.

National Museum of the American Indian

The National Museum of the American Indian includes exhibits from various indigenous communities throughout the Americas. The building exterior is limestone and was designed by a team of native architects.

National Gallery of Art East

Today I visited the National Gallery of Art East Building. The East Building is newer than the West Building and has more open space and less gallery space. I saw Dali's The Sacrament of the Last Supper.

New Martin Luther King Memorial

Today I visited the new Martin Luther King memorial which opened this week southwest of the National Mall. The formal dedication, which was scheduled for Sunday, August 28, the 48th anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech was postponed because of the hurricane. The memorial includes quotes from Dr. King engraved in stone.

Irene Moves through Washington DC

Hurricane Irene, one of the worst hurricanes to hit the east coast in twenty years, moved through Washington DC Saturday night. Most of the damage was in coastal areas and later in New England. Washington experienced about 24 hours of rain and some moderately strong wind gusts and some power outages.

Newseum

On Friday August 26, I visited the Newseum--a museum honoring journalism and free speech. It was the only museum which I visited in Washington which had an admission charge. It has numerous theaters and interactive exhibits plus many historical front pages in digital format. It even has a theater showing television comedians such as Jon Stewart delivering political commentary. They have a replica of the ATS 1 satellite which was used for the first live global TV broadcast in the 1960's. They also have a theater showing Pulitzer prize winning photographers talking about their work. I visited the studio where ABC's "This Week" is recorded every Sunday morning. Check out their website at http://newseum.org

National Gallery of Art

On August 24, I visited the National Gallery of Art West Building--my first visit. I was impressed with the diversity of the art work. I had feared it would be all American landscapes. I saw the only Leonard da Vinci painting in North America --Ginerva de Benci c. 1474. I enjoyed the Italian, French, and Spanish galleries as well as the Dutch and Flemish galleries especially the Rembrandts. I was especially interested in Samuel F. B. Morse's Gallery of the Louvre depicting himself and several other people in the foreground and reduced versions of some of the masterpieces from the Louvre in the background. I have been researching Morse's role in the development of the telegraph for my technology book. I was interested to find out more about his art career. I also visited the Chester Dale Exhibit which included several Picasso works including Still Life.

Washington DC Trip

I decided to visit Washington DC for the first time since the Eisenhower administration. I expected to see some changes from my last visit, but did not anticipate the largest earthquake that the east coast had experienced in years or the worst hurricane. I landed at Dulles about 1.5 hours after the 5.8 earthquake which shook Virginia. For many people on the east coast, this was the first earthquake they had ever experienced. All government workers were sent home at around 3 p.m. and the result was traffic gridlock. It took two hours to go the 20 miles from Dulles to my hotel on the Super Shuttle. The driver said that it was the wost traffic he had ever seen. The next day all DC schools were closed for inspections,. Newspaper headlines read "Shaken and Stirred". There was damage to the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral.

My Travels

This site chronicles my recent travels.