A trip to Poland and beyond, with a brief stop in Old Blighty!

I was offered the opportunity (through the Worcester Chorus) to participate in a choir tour of three cities in Poland. Having never been to Poland, I jumped at the chance. And then, since I was already going to be “over there” I decided to tack on a train and ferry journey through Scandinavia! Since I hate jet lag, I opted for a couple of days in London to rest up first.

I stayed at the Hotel Alexandra, conveniently near Paddington Station.i had stayed there before…a very basic little hotel, with small, simple rooms, but everything I needed, reasonably priced and spotlessly clean.

I had taken an overnight flight and was feeling rumpled and a bit cranky. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that my room was ready early! I took a hot shower and a long nap…and emerged feeling almost normal.

I had plans to go down to the South Bank, so I got myself a bento box at a place in Paddington Station and then took the Circle Line to Blackfriars Bridge. Paddington is a hub for many lines and has been built up and modernized over the years. But you can still see the old “bones” of the station. In fact, all of London is like that…old bones with new bones on top. Modern buildings next to ancient pubs and houses, tiny alleyways next to 4-lane roads.

The Globe Theater is an almost exact replica of Shakespeare’s original theater on the Thames, just a bit further down the river than the first one. They do amazing productions and I had purchased a ticket for their “Romeo and Juliet” that evening. It was set in the old West, with typical costumes (and cowboy hats) of the time. The words, however, were pure Shakespeare. I especially liked Juliet, who played the character not as a starry-eyed fair and delicate flower, but as an angsty, emo, willful teenager, determined to get her man at all costs.

The next morning, I slept in and had a couple of cups of strong tea while I reviewed the choir music. Then I took myself to a lovely pub right down the road and had a a decent latte and a spectacular lunch….pâté, an incredible warm salad with roasted chicken peas and butternut squash and “affogato” for dessert. (Vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over it!) I sat outside under a honeysuckle vine and relaxed.

This Pub had a very cool interior and some elegant rooms upstairs.

There had been some issues with TSA at the gate when I boarded the plane in Boston. Seems my walking stick (which has a large rubber tip at the end) had a metal nub under the rubber tip. Which, if you squinted, could be seen as a “point.” Which, according to the very serious TSA man, could possibly be used to break a window in the plane. I have brought this walking stick on at least half dozen flights and never had a problem. The TSA man told me that they probably “just felt sorry for me” and let me through. I suggested that maybe he could also feel sorry for me. He finally relented, but I decided to see if I could get a proper, classier walking stick with no “point” at the end. I went to James Smith & Sons, a venerable British company that has been in business since 1830. They fixed me right up. After I’d chosen the perfect stick (made of hickory wood) the worker in the shop customized it for me for length and made sure the metal tip under the rubber bottom was blunt. Not pointed.

That evening I met up with some old friends. We sat at a table at Browns near Covent Garden, had some drinks and some nibbles and chatted for several hours! So nice to reconnect.

The next morning, I had to be at Heathrow for a 7:35am flight, so dragged myself to Paddington at the ungodly hour of 4:30am. Slept on the plane and was picked up in Warsaw by one of the tour coordinators. We are staying in a beautiful 5-star hotel right near Old Town and I am so looking forward to singing with the group!

London calling, Yes, I was there, too
And you know what they said? Well, some of it was true
(London calling) At the top of the dial
And after all this, won’t you give me a smile?
London calling…