Hi Everyone,
Jac and I returned yesterday from London and the flight was uneventful….just the way I like it! We had a wonderful time doing everything we could cram into 5 days. We arrived to beautiful spring weather and sunny skies…..very unusual for this time of year in London, but I guess this warm weather is global. We checked into the magnificent Dorchester Hotel and immediately went on our way. We took a boat ride up the Thames and landed at the Tower of London which is steeped in history. Actually, anywhere you go in London is steeped in history. This is wear Anne, Henry the 8th’s second wife plus two others lost their dear little heads. During the 5 days we saw 3 Museums….the Victoria and Albert, the British museum and the National Gallery. We went to Buckingham Place, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral where Dianna got married. On Saturday, in the rain, we went to the famous Portobello Road to rummage thought the flea markets and antique stalls. It was packed with people speaking every language you can imagine….lots and lots of fun….then off to Nottinghill for lunch in a typical English pub. We went to the West End and saw two shows…..Ghost, which is coming to Broadway and Hay Fever, a wonderful Noel Coward play. Ghost was much more than I expected and the special effects were terrific……….I’m sure it will be a hit on Broadway. We had “High Tea” at the Dorchester and it was an experience. We had reservations for another at Browns, but canceled….to much to see and do….one tea was enough! On Sunday the sun came out again…so we went to Waterloo Station and took the train, 25 – 30 minutes, to Hampton Court…..which was the favorite home of Henry the 8th and all of his wives. Elizabeth the first also spent a lot of time there. We were told by the tour guide they new when it was time to move on to the next residence when the stench got too bad…..I would say that was a good indication it was time to leave! The grounds and gardens were beautiful with primroses growing everywhere and all kind of Daffodils blooming in the lawns. We did a little shopping at Harrods…..Jac wanted 2012 Olympic T-shirts….she’s easy to please! Harrods is something else and there isn’t anything that compares. I especially loved the food courts……5 or 6 enormous rooms, each decorated differently and each featuring different produce….one had meats, game and poultry…..another had caviar, zillions of cheeses, crackers, quiches and all different kinds of pot pies. Of course my favorite was the room with every kind of jam, jelly, tea, coffee, chocolate, and ever pastry and cake you could imagine……..don’t ever go there hungry! Speaking of hungry, besides the pubs we stopped into along the way, we went to some fine restaurants. Todd’s is a restaurant that specializes in fish. It is very beautiful, very elegant, with warm woods and upholstered chairs…..very clubby with a very chic clientele….and excellent food! Another newish restaurant in the theater district is The Delaunay. A huge room, very bistro, lots of banquets….a place to people watch and to be seen. Another fabulous place to people watch is the Ivy Restaurant…..again in Piccadilly….the theater district……a really fun place and a favorite with celebs after theater…or so we’ve been told…..didn’t see any….but there were lots of beautiful people. I must say every place we went was crowded and the restaurants were packed…..I guess they haven’t heard there’s a recession. There were many foreigners traveling and visiting London. Everything is quite expensive including the cabs….which we took all over….we loved them and the cabbies were so friendly. The last two days of the trip were devoted to QVC. All of the people were lovely….from Sharon the front receptionist, who called me “sweetie”, to the crew, producers, stylists and the two lovely models that did the show…Tanya and Sharon…. who were very welcoming to Jac. All in all it was a good time and the two hosts, Katherine and Julia were wonderful. We truly had a wonderful time….but….we were glad to come home to tons of kisses from our three little girls………………………………………………………………………………………………………
P.S. Check out Jac’s posts and pictures on her face book!
Seeing your photos of London bring back sweet memories of my trip there with my mother right after I graduated from college many years ago! We stayed at a hotel in Picadilly Circus, rode the tube or underground everywhere we couldn’t walk to, and visited many of the same places you and Jac did. We went in November, and roses were still blooming profusely at Windsor and at Hampton Court. So glad you had great weather and time to tour! Now just waiting for the shows this week!
Ain’t nothing fair about how chic Jac looks in a pair of navy Keds.
Welcome home. I loved the collage – what a great ‘snapshot’ of your trip. Such a great place to visit. Thank you for taking the time to post the pictures.
Your trip sounds wonderful. I’m sure you know by now that many of us watched the shows live and commented on how wonderful the hosts were. Also, the lighting on the set was fantastic. Jac’s skin just glowed! My husband and I are spending two days in London this May before heading to Rome to visit with some of my relatives so I loved looking at your photographs. It made me even more excited about the trip. Of course, I’ll be packing Linea for the trip, including some of the items you’ll have next week. Beautiful pieces and perfect for traveling.
Dear Elena,
We had a wonderful time and I’m sure you will too! Be prepared for crowds and you really should have your hotel book reservations for restaurants well in advance if there is somewhere special you want to go. The restaurants are really busy and we had to take some very late times to get into places we wanted….others were totally booked. Between the Queens Anniversary celebrations and the preparations for the upcoming Olympics the joint is jumping.
Welcome home! Thanks for sharing your trip with us. You certainly packed in a lot of wonderful memory makers besides your Q shows. I’m longing to go back when it is sunny; my last visits were in the colder cloudy months of December .. no flowers or sun to be found.
I can’t wait to see your shows next week!
I can just hear your enthusiasm for your trip in your descriptions, Louis! So happy to hear that everything went so well for both of you. And just think. You will soon be able to go back! But you will have to give me your pointers for dealing with jet lag. I can’t ever remember arriving in Europe and hitting the ground running. How DID you do it?!! Every time I go to Europe and immerse myself in the incredible history there I am reminded of how young our country actually is and what a bold experiment its creation was. Old Grumpy’s parents were quite the anglophiles, especially his mother, and they used to go to England for a month or more at a stretch, get a car, and travel around to different parts of it. They really enjoyed getting off the beaten track and would return home with many new friends they had made and would see on return trips. Oh, how I love to travel!!! Thanks so much for your delightful postcard for London. Will “see” you both in but a few days! As always, Barbara
Dear Barbara,
We really did have a wonderful time. It really was the first time Jac and I were there together. Jac has been to London many more times than I have but it was always in for runway shows and then immediately out to Italy for shows then on to Paris so it was only work. I didn’t go to London regularly because my work was in Paris and Italy. By the time I was done I just wanted to get home. I was in London only TWICE!So this was a new adventure for both of us. We really don’t have any magic tip for beating jet lag. We check into the hotel in the morning after an evening flight. Take showers, have a small bite to eat and go! This trip we took the boat ride to the tower of London, and we were lucky to have a sunny day. We try to keep on the go until about 10pm and then go to sleep. We eat very light the first day. We woke up at 9am and felt great…..lucky this time. The worst thing you can do the first day is lay down and nap. That really throws your body clock off……for us anyway. When are you going on your trip…..Vienna isn’t it? We were thinking we might go there or Brussels in Aug. Jac wants to go to Bruge [sp?], where her family is from…………..Louis
Oh, tell Jac I hope she gets to go to Bruge. We were only there for a day, but it was one of our favorite places from our trip. I found an lacemaker in a doorway, doing the original lace by hand. I think she was about 89 years old, tall, elegant lady; I bought four pieces of lace from her. Our tour director sent me to the best lace shop, and if you are really interested, the owner teaches at the lace school, and he has a museum in a little room on the ground floor … simply indescribably gorgeous lace. He said the school is fantastic, but we didn’t have time, alas … I think we’re returning for spring 2013, so maybe … And the canals, houses, cathedral, not to mention chocolates everywhere … who wouldn’t want to go there? More of Belgium is HIGH on my list for 2013; and then there’s something about diamonds in Antwerp … no, Walter didn’t let me anywhere near LOL! You’ll have so much fun planning your next visits 🙂
Cathy in PA
Sorry to butt in on your conversation with Barbara – Hi Barb! – but Bruges is exactly where we are going in 4 days. We’ll do the tulips and various sites in the Netherlands with some of our grandchildren, stop over in Lille, travel through France enjoying a lot of sights there and on to Germany to visit family there (more grandchildren), up the Rhine on a castle cruise, stay in Koln and then to Floriade in Venlo. Then back to Brussels and 4 days in Bruge, Antwerp, Ypres (Flanders Fields). Now I’ll be thinking of Jac the whole time we are in Bruges 🙂 Louis, I took the opportunity to view the online videos from your UK shows and I just wanted to tell you how completely enjoyable they were. As usual you were full of information and great fashion tips on wearing the items and your lovely models (Jac included) were styled to perfection as you always do. Aside from how wonderful your garments are, I must say that your on air or online presentations are just something I hate to ever miss and that I rewatch over and again. Just consummate talent and thanks for sharing it all with us! – Nancy, aka “TheOwl”
I spent more time in the V&A. I loved the jewelry and costume collections there.
From your “postcards” I’m expecting primrose, Madonna gold and blue, gunmetal jewelry highlighted with gold, and floaty georgette pieces inspired by Hay Fever. Hope so!
I was there for the Queen’s Birthday once, and some locals got us up to the front of the crowd on the street where the “parade” passed. We were literally 20 feet from the passing royalty: the Queen, Prince Phillip and Princes Charles and Andrew all decked out in military regalia, with the Queen Mum and Lady Di following in an open carriage with the most enormous feathery hats! It was magnificent. All the horse guards. It’s in early June and a several day celebration. If you’re there, you have to see it.
Hope you can visit QVCUK before the Olympics. We were in Beijing a month before the Olympics there and saw all the venues–and of course bought the T shirts, too!
So glad you enjoyed your trip and aren’t too jet lagged to do our shows next week. We’re like ponies frolicking in the meadow awaiting the big reveals.
crdlb
Lovely photos and having been to Hampton Court, it is quite impressive in terms of the amount of property there. I hope you got to see the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London– metal detector withstanding. I enjoyed visiting Westminster Abbey because of the architecture and people buried there. Glad the weather was cooperative for you.
P.S. Your boat ride on the Thames reminded me … that boat is fantastic … when you go back, take the boat all the way up (?) or down (?); they can tell you … to Greenwich. You get off there, and walk up the hill through the park to the Greenwich Mean Observatory. You will LOVE the little town, and the observatory, with old telescopes, clocks, the first “grandfather” clocks, the first sextants … we so wished we’d gone earlier in the day as it was the most fascinating place; the observatory was built by Sir Christopher Wren. Lots of people get a bit of food and sit on the lawn in the park for a picnic and then have a nice seafood dinner in the restaurants, then back on the boat, with a bottle of cold hard cider and a nice ride back to London to the setting sun … fabulous!
Oh, welcome back, and how incredibly kind of you to share your photos; I’m going to Jac’s facebook next … oh, those primroses (especially those periwinkle blue ones) and the daffodils, sigh !
I’m sure your little girls are happy now 🙂
Thanks again for sharing and thinking of us,
Cathy in PA