Ode to January

According to Wikepedia, an ode is a type of lyrical verse, classically structured in three major parts.  So this won't really, after all, be an "ode" to January, as I'm hardly a poet.  It just sounded like a good title for the blog.

But I thought it was worth marking the end of this month, the longest of all dreary, grey, months; a month that I believe the British just lift their chins and bear year after year and feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of it for having tolerated 31 days of dark, dull, and wet.  Ironically, as I type, I'm squinting due to the sun coming through the window - a soft, pretty winter sun that we've actually had the benefit of seeing more than a few times over the past week, as well as earlier in the month, so 31 days ends up being something of an exaggeration.  On a clear day it's apparent also that it's staying light later into the afternoon, and I saw the tips of crocuses out front contemplating making a go of it,  so can spring really be far behind?

January was a pretty good month, really, all things considered.  After recovering from our Christmas & New Years visit and shoveling up the pine needles from our "no-drop" tree, we settled in nicely.  Kyle interviewed for admission to a well-reputed culinary program that begins in September - fingers still crossed as he hasn't heard back yet.  Chris & I visited the Churchill War Rooms & museum which were extraordinary.  We also took advantage of a sunny Sunday afternoon and visited Holland Park in Kensington, which was lovely!  I took lots of photos on my iPhone (Japanese garden, peacocks, parrots) then unfortunately lost them all when I plugged said phone into my desktop computer and iTunes restored all of my previous settings from my old iPhone... nevermind, too long a story, but they were great photos, darn it. (And yes - there really were peacocks & parrots!)

Saw the movies "The King's Speech" and "127 Hours", both of which I would recommend.  We spent a lovely weekend in Bath (see my previous blog), and then last week Chris & I attended a Burns Supper at our local butcher shop, which was a lot of fun, complete with the reading of the Burns poem and the serving of the haggis.  We'd tried haggis in Scotland and found it somewhat tasty.  I found last week's haggis tolerable as well, although keep in mind - I did grow up occasionally eating Spam & canned corned beef hash for dinner.  Now that I think of it, if you can imagine the two of those things mixed together and cooked inside a pig's stomach lining, you sort of can imagine haggis.  Anyway, at the Burns Supper they served the course with a taste of Scottish whiskey, which made it go down much more easily than it should have, resulting in my eating too much of it and paying the price later.  Consider it safe to say that I will most likely never eat haggis again.  (Given my above description of it, I'm sure you're wondering why on God's green earth would anyone try it to begin with?)

This past weekend I took Chris to the Wallace Collection to show him what all of the fuss is about, then spent yesterday mostly vegging on the couch and taking Baracca (the UK's version of Airborne) in order to fend of a pesky cold, and I think it worked, as today I happily ended the month on an up-note, walking with my wonderful fitness walking group and enjoying blue skies.  February looms, but if it's anything like its predecessor, winter here in London is shaping up quite nicely.  (Yes, I'm knocking wood, thank you very much.)

No photo album this time, but enjoy this one taken just moments ago out of our back window.  With apologies to the folks shoveling snow in the mid-Atlantic and northeast, Happy Winter!  :-)

Weekend in Bath

It being the middle of cold, dull January, without a whole lot going on, I decided to surprise Chris and plan a weekend in Bath for he & I.  I was assured that despite the weather, we would still have a lovely time and I was not misled.

We took a train on Friday afternoon from London's Paddington station for the 90-minute ride to Bath Spa.  We had a warm welcome at our hotel/B&B and it was a very comfortable place; the only disadvantage was that it was about a 10-minute walk into town, and the walk itself was not very scenic (and I think the next day was trash day.)  After settling in and unpacking, we took that cold, dark, un-scenic walk and were quite surprised once we got into the village as it seemed almost deserted.  Shops were closed and not many people out on the streets.  We managed to find a pub (no surprises there) and had a pint before walking a bit more, then hailing a cab for our dinner destination that had been recommended by a colleague of Chris's.  This was one of the highlights of the weekend for sure.   We went to the Bath Priory and it was a fabulous place - we had a drink by the roaring fire while we looked over the menu before we were seated, and the food & service were fantastic.  It was definitely a splurge but worth the visit.

After our "full English" (breakfast that is) Saturday morning, we walked back into town and were relieved to see many more people out on the town; things were bustling.  We did a bit of shopping (mostly looking) then headed for the Roman Baths.  A bit of background (*this is the history lesson portion of the blog so skip down to the next "*" if you tend to get bored by my ramblings):

Several milleniums ago, a dude named Bladud, son of the Celtic king, got leprosy and was banished to the countryside, where he herded pigs, which were similarly afflicted.  Bladdy noticed that when the pigs rolled around in the wet mud, their skin healed!  So, he smartly found the source of the water, took a swim (or a "bath", if you will), and behold, he was healed too.  He was, of course, taken back in by his dad, and later became king himself, not to mention the father of King Lear, but that is another story.  Needless to say, this became the founding and the naming of the city.  A thousand years or so later, the springs were re-discovered by the conquering Romans, who channeled the waters into an elaborate bathing compound and called their community "Aquae Sulis".  They also built a temple to Sulis Minerva (combination of the Celtic goddess of Spring and the Roman goddess of wisdom.)  As all good things must come to an end, the Romans fell, and although the baths went into decline, the area waters continued to attract visitors who believed in their healing powers. Throughout the centuries they've been visited by Bishops, Royals, physicians & lepers alike.  Excavation of the temple began in the 1700's, and the Roman Baths eventually became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  There!

*We had fun at the Roman Baths.  We then walked to the very nearby Bath Abbey, which was getting ready to close due to a BBC Radio live recording, so we unfortunately could not do the tour of the Abbey Tower, which allegedly has great views of the area.  But now we at least can be assured that the Bath Abbey must have awesome acoustics.  After an uphill, un-scenic walk back to the hotel, we rested, freshened up, and went out for a nice, although much less posh dinner back in town (after which we took a cab uphill back to the hotel.)

Sunday morning had us packing up and checking out early, then after leaving our suitcase at the hotel we headed to the Thermae Bath Spa.  You are not able to book ahead unless you are having a spa treatment (ie: massage) and we had tried to get in on Saturday afternoon but the line was much too long. We were both glad we opted for the second try on Sunday morning - it was another highlight.  For £25 each, we got 2 hours of soaking in warm, mineral-rich (?) waters, first in an open-air rooftop pool, then an aroma-infused steam room, then the largest (but most boring) "Minerva Bath" - basically an indoor pool.  But oh, so nice!  A great start to our final day.  With our hair mostly dry, we left the spa and headed to a landmark of Bath, the Royal Crescent, built in the 1700's and now supposedly one of the most distinctive examples of Georgian architecture in the world.  We also walked through the Royal Victoria Park and Botanical Gardens that held their own charm despite the grey weather.  After a nice lunch and a bit more walking and looking, we cabbed it back to the hotel for our bags then headed for the train station.  Bath is an absolutely picturesque city with an amazing history, and I hope to have the time to go back in some nicer weather.

Exactly one year ago today, Chris & I were in London, anticipating a big job offer and deciding whether or not to take it.  The weather was almost identical - cold, grey, and gloomy.  But we said yes anyway, and boy, are we glad we did.

http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/WeekendInBath?feat=directlink

The Twelve Days of Wronskys

(To the tune of "the Twelve Days of Christmas")
"On the first day of Wronsky Christmas my true love sent to me, an airplane arriving on time!"

"On the second day of Wronsky Christmas my true love sent to me, two... uh... two tired boys... (no, there were three tired boys...). Two... umm... two happy parents (but that's totally stating the obvious...) Uh...two... two...extra litres of milk...?" OK.  Let me save all of us this aggravation and attempt this cute song no further.   Brain cells kind of fatigued after 12 days of fun.  So... I'll just give you a synopsis of what we did when the guys (and gals) were here.

Day 1
Boys arrive - Hallelujah!  Full English breakfast and naps, followed by quick tour of Hampstead and the Holly Bush Pub.  They are duly impressed.  Even more impressed by English lamb for dinner.

Day 2
Kyle shows his bros around Camden Town.  We all go to the Royal Albert Hall for a wonderful performance of Carols by Candlelight by the Mozart Festival Orchestra & Chorus.

Day 3
Off to Bruges early on the Eurostar!  Arrive mid-day, just in time for lunch and a tour of De Halve Maan Brewery.  Very cold.  Stroll around the lovely town; Belgian dinner then back to the pub where we had lunch - great beer menu!

 

Day 4
Breakfast at hotel then more strolling in the cold.  A bit of shopping then lunch on the square, followed by one last stop at the pub where everybody already knows our name.  Back on train and home to Hampstead in time for Christmas Eve Bolognese a la Chris.  Delish.

Day 5
Merry Christmas!  We all sleep in, then spend a typical Christmas Day lounging around and trying to cooperate for a family photo for Mom.  Something of a beef & wine debacle (much too long to go into here) but Plan B (pork roast) turns out wonderfully.

Day 6
Boxing Day, and Lauren arrives via BA on time and rested - she doesn't even need a nap!  Tube is on strike, so we take a cab to enjoy one of the kids' Christmas surprises from Mum & Dad - Rugby match at Wembley Stadium (Saracens vs. Wasps).  Home team Saracens win.  Lots of fun, despite initial confusion on what the heck was going on.  Grubber?  Scrum?  And these guys don't wear any padding!  Dinner back at the flat.  Lauren makes it until 9:30 pm!

Day 7
Decide to check out the area of Brick Lane and the Spitalfields Market.  Unfortunately, it's a Bank Holiday so most places are closed - including a couple of Indian restaurants that we'd hoped to try.  Stop for a pint at the Ten Bells Pub, made famous for providing a hang-out for two of Jack the Ripper's victims.  Back to Hampstead for dinner at a local Indian restaurant.  Good food - definitely spicy enough for the guys (a bit too much so for me!)

Day 8
Sarah arrives also on time and without any problems.  She does nap, then we shop for dinner and prepare for a visit from Andrew who is back from Oz for the holidays.  Really good dinner at home, then a Hampstead pub crawl.  Hilarity ensues.

Day 9
Nickel (make that 5P) Tour of London: tube to St. James Park, then walk to Buckingham Palace, up the Mall and down Whitehall past the Horses Guard & Downing St., and on to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.  Then across the Westminster Bridge to the London Eye!  Lots of fun & good views despite the mist, fog, and rain.  Nice dinner at French Restaurant before meeting back up with Andrew and some of his mates.  Hilarity really ensues.

Day 10
Tower of London in the cold rain.  Still great visit!  Crowds seemed as big as when we were there in 2005 in the height of summer - on a sunny day!  Today's pub:  The Hung, Drawn, and Quartered - of course near the Tower.  Great dinner at home again courtesy of Chris - cockles & shrimp with linguine.  Mmmmm.  Kids will not be able to complain that they did not eat well.

Day 11
New Year's Eve.  Kids head out to Kyle's old restaurant for breakfast, then to Notting Hill & the Portobello Road Market.  Chris & I finish up shopping for our dinner:  Roasted Duck with Red Cabbage (although we had to substitute green Savoy), Applesauce and Potatoes Roasted in Duck Fat.  (Shots of Lipitor for dessert.)  Count down the New Year with Jools Holland on the BBC; kids introduce us to Sporcle, an online trivia game.  Chris, Mike, and Eric sample the (until recently dethroned) "Hottest Chile in the World" - the Jolokia.  Much milk drinking follows.  Fun night.

Day 12
Happy 2011!  Looks for about 15 seconds like the sun might come out, but it is not to be.  Big New Year's breakfast, then a late walk to Hampstead Heath and Kenwood House in the rain.  Still fun!  Final pub stop is the Spaniard's Inn before home to our last meal together of Braised Lamb Shanks.  More mmmmmmmm.  More Sporcle before bed.

Today
Kids out the door at 8:30 am to take the tube to Heathrow.  Sun threatens to emerge.  Sue goes back to bed.

So there you have the Wronsky Family London Christmas in a nutshell.  We really didn't see the sun at all but no one minded a bit.   The best Christmas present, needless to say, arrived on December 21 on the first flight to land at Heathrow from the US in days.  We loved having the girls as well - the male:female ratio was nearly evened up for a change - and they are absolutely wonderful.  We are lucky indeed.

My next task will be to find a warm & sunny holiday break for late January or early February.  Now that Christmas (and the kids' visit) is behind us, the dark afternoons are going to get old real quick.  Happy New Year!!

Check out the rest of the pix (may need to cut & paste link):
http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/Christmas2010?feat=directlink

Three Turkeys go to Prague

The cold weather hit Europe just as we landed in Prague last week, and it's had the UK in its icy grip as well.  The poor folks up in Scotland and Northern England have been slammed with snow for days, and although we haven't had more than a few inches here in North London, the southeast suburbs are getting it as well.  The reaction is reminiscent of our early days living outside of Washington, DC - the snow removal equipment is inadequate and public transportation is a nightmare.  And just for us normal people, walking to the local grocery store (where they ran out of milk yesterday) is a bit hazardous due to the icy sidewalks.  I'm hoping for a thaw soon as the weather has also forced my beloved fitness walks to be cancelled until further notice!

But back to Prague.  We arrived in the dark (4:30 pm) so the breathtaking sites of the city had to wait for the next morning.  But the first night was still beautiful with Christmas lights all around, and we went to a really lovely restaurant for my birthday dinner.  We caught up with my nephew Matt back at our hotel, and he & Kyle left to hang out in his dorm with young'ns their own age.  Matt goes to Union College in New York State and is spending the fall semester of his junior year in Prague.

Sun greeted us the next morning, but it was cold!  We met back up with the boys in the stunning Old Town Square which was very busy with preparations for the Christmas markets that were to begin on the weekend.  Matt led us across the river Vltava and up the New Castle Steps to Prague Castle.  Once the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, most of what is there today was built in the 16th century, and it now houses government offices, including that of the President of the Czech Republic.  It's more of a complex of buildings, including the amazing St. Vitus Cathedral and the Royal Palace, as opposed to one big castle building, and you can walk around the grounds at no charge; if you want to see the interiors you need to buy a ticket, as we did.  We hoped getting inside would get us out of the cold, but the unheated Cathedral felt more cold than being outdoors.  Interestingly, although work on the cathedral was started around 1344, the "Hussite Uprising" in the 1400's interrupted the construction, and believe it or not, work was not finally completed until 1929.  There's a beautiful chapel inside devoted to Prince Wenceslas, or Saint Wenceslas, or as he is more familiar to the rest of us, "Good King" Wenceslas.  I know that he went out on the Feast of Stephan; after that, his story gets fuzzy.

After finding a charming little restaurant for a traditional Czech lunch, we walked back over the beautiful landmark Charles Bridge, and the boys left us to go back to Matt's dorm for another traditional meal - an American Thanksgiving dinner.  Chris & I decided to completely do a 180 from tradition and opted for an Argentinian steakhouse that was quite good.  Kyle & Matt met back up with us later and we visited the Prague Beer Museum pub to sample their wares.  The next morning, Kyle was back with us and we hit some shops as we meandered through the lovely streets of Prague.  We also took a walk to the Jewish Quarter, where we toured the Jewish Museum & Old Jewish Cemetery.  The museum is an impressive tribute to the important history of Jews in the Czech Republic, both before and after the Holocaust (during which nearly 80,000 Jews from the Czech Republic were killed.)  Later in the afternoon, we met Matt and two of his friends at their dorm, then we all walked to one of their favorite spots, Budvarka, for pork ribs.  Then it was off to the Pivovarsky Klub, where they have over 200 beers from all over the world.

Our last day was Saturday, which was also the first day of Prague's Christmas Markets.  It was the coldest day so far, so we bundled up as we headed first to Wenceslas Square then back to Old Town Square to check out the outdoor market stalls.  I was a bit disappointed with what was on offer from the vendors - a lot of the same tourist-y items that were on sale in the souvenir shops, repeated over and over again.  But when it got dark, the Old Town Square tree was lit and choirs were singing and "hot wine" was being sold and we had a good time anyway.  Our restaurant for dinner warmed us up nicely as we were seated at a lovely table right next to a fireplace; it was a nice way to top off the day and mark the end of our trip.  We made a final stop into the Prague Beer Museum pub before saying our final goodbye to Matt and calling it a night.

Although a beautiful city, our visit had a few downsides: first, smokers!  Indoors!  It was real turn-off at first, and although you do get used to it to an extent, it's still pretty yucky.  Second, the people for the most part would not win any "warm & fuzzy citizen of the year" awards.  Although there were certainly exceptions, many of the workers in the shops and restaurants had a tendency to make us feel like we were inconveniencing them when we were say...ordering food, or perahaps... buying things.  As Matt told us, he & his friends have determined that the Czech marketing motto is, "the customer is always wrong."  That didn't feel too far from the truth in some situations, but it absolutely did not stop us from having a wonderful time.  Despite the affinity for dumplings (bread dumplings, pork dumplings, potato dumplings, liver dumplings) and absence of fresh vegetables, the food was pretty good.   The crystal and glass pieces were gorgeous.  And Chris enjoyed the beer more than here in the UK!  The history of this country is a complicated one including war, genocide, communism and a rough economy.  We spent real quality time with our nephew, brought home some exquisite souvenirs, and had another opportunity to visit a great city of Europe.  We can handle a little Eastern European smoke & "attitude."  They're entitled.

http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/Prague?feat=directlink

Did We Really Go to Stonehenge??

Yes, we did actually. Still kind of pinching myself.          

One of the really wonderful but underrated facet of this London opportunity is that on any given Saturday morning, we can wake up to the alarm, look out the window, assess how we feel, and decide whether or not we want to go to... oh, say... Stonehenge perhaps. That's the way it went down yesterday, and our original choice, believe it or not was to bag it and do it another time. (It was early, cold, and grey and it had been a really nice bottle of red the night before, which always gives me a headache.) So, I turned off the alarm and hunkered back down under the covers, and a little voice said, "WHAT ARE YOU, CRAZY? IT'S STONEHENGE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!" Within about a minute, I realized that in not too long of a time from now, our choices on a Saturday morning may very well be whether or not to clean the garage or go to Home Depot. Stonehenge will no longer be available as an option. So clearer heads prevailed - and the coffee and shower helped.

We utilized once again the terrific walking tour group, London Walks, which required our meeting at the Waterloo Train Station, about a 30-minute tube ride from Hampstead, where we met our guide, Gillian and a group of about 20 others for the tour. We all boarded the Southwest train to Salisbury for the hour and 1/2 ride. The sun threatened for a bit but never really was able to make it through the clouds.

Upon arrival in Salisbury, Gillian led us on a walk of about 15 minutes to the Salisbury Cathedral, which was really something. Not quite the "wow" factor of Westminster Abbey, or the historical feel of Notre Dame, but I really think that each one of these amazing places has a character all its own. And Salisbury also has two other important claims to fame: its 404-foot spire is the tallest in all of England, and the Cathedral's Chapter House provides the home to one of the 4 remaining copies in the world of the Magna Carta - just a little document from 1215 that contains the basic principles that were eventually incorporated into the Constitution of the US.  I did have a hard time reading said document (must brush up on Latin), but it was cool nonetheless.  As for the church itself, I've already seen many of these types of structures since we've been here, and I'm sure I'll see many more before we leave; hopefully I'll continue to be impressed by the beauty and history that each contains.

After an hour break for lunch, we all gathered again for our 30-minute coach (bus) ride to Stonehenge. The route was a pretty one, despite the grey day, and Gillian took care to point out the impressive architecture in many of the homes as well as the unique thatched-roof cottages that we passed along the way. No outing would be complete without a celebrity connection, and indeed, we passed the home (or should I say castle) of Sting on our ride. (What you could see of it through the trees was really beautiful.) We also passed several burial mounds - or barrows - as we got closer to the Stonehenge monument. These apparently were tombs for individuals or families, who not unlike the ancient Egyptians, were buried with a variety of personal possessions to accompany them into the next world. The barrows date back to between 4000 and 3500 BC.

And then we came to the monument, the entire experience being somewhat hard to describe. First the facts, as only an American tourist who knows little about ancient cultures can describe them: A "henge" by (loose) definition is a certain type of earthwork consisting of a ditch and a bank, often near ritual structures. In this case, the ditch surrounding the monument was originally 6-feet deep and the bank 8-feet high; however now it looks like no more than a dip in the field. This henge was built around this particular stone monument, hence the name. The current predominant theory of why it was built is one of hope - of light and warmth following the cold & dark winter in this part of the world, (which we are currently already witnessing to be cold and dark.)  Stonehenge apparently was built to mark not the longest day of the year, which was long the theory, but the shortest day - after that, things could only be looking up. Using carbon dating and lots of other archeological processes that I could not begin to understand, scientists estimate that the monument was built in phases over about 1,000 years beginning in around 3000 BC. This is older than Dad.

What truly boggled my mind is that the stones used for the monument came from up to 240 miles away. Larger stones - weighing up to 40 - that's 4-0 - tons, were closer - only about 19 miles, but it's estimated that it would take 200 people 12 days to move one of them that distance. There were originally about 30 of these. There was no wheel invented back then. No pencil to put behind your ear or cigarette to smoke while drinking your coffee thinking, "Hmmm. How're we gonna do this?" These stones were erected (a feat in and of itself repeated countless times) in a precise way so that at a precise time in the year, the position of the rising or setting sun would be precisely marked. There had to have been an awful lot of mathematics, logistics, physics, not to mention cooperation and patience, going on. Speaking for myself, I can say that I generally haven't given humans from 3000 BC this sort of credit in the past.

It was after 4 pm and almost dark when we finally boarded the bus back to Salisbury, and it had gotten quite cold as well. Gillian had more tidbits of ancient history to bestow on us as we rode, but I think by then we were all pretty tuckered. The train ride back to London was uneventful and we were home in the flat by about 7 pm.

So what to make of Stonehenge? I really can't say. I think it deserves its title of "World Heritage Sight" and its place on various "Wonders of the World" lists, just for the herculean effort it must have been to get it built. I'm stumped about the juxtaposition of the stones, and the alignment with the sun, and why in the heck this thousand-year project began in the first place. Of course, I'm not alone. Folks a heckuva lot smarter than me are somewhat stumped too. One thing is for sure - I sure am glad I listened to the little voice and got my bod out of bed yesterday morning. It was quite a day.

http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/SalisburyCathedralStonehenge#5542121116233534930

Not Quite 15 Miles on the Regents Canal

A few weeks ago we got together with Cristina & Wycliffe for the first time since their wedding in July. At my suggestion, we decided to try out a boat ride on the Regents Canal which - thank goodness - turned out to be a lovely excursion.

It was the last weekend outing of the year for Jason's Trips, a canal tour company that's been running in London since the early 1950's. The boat we rode in was an authentic 100-year-old canal boat which was originally used as a cargo vessel on the canals before being fitted with a diesel engine and converted to its current duties carrying leisure passengers.

It was a bit chilly and not quite sunny, but completely enjoyable; we started out from the Warwick Pier near an area of London called "Little Venice" (no doubt named for the canals) and disembarked at Camden Lock after about a 45 minute ride. We were able to see the paths that were used for the horses (not mules) that pulled the boats, and on many of the bridge abutments the markings from the ropes connecting the horses to the boats are still visible. Camden has some wonderful street markets that we found by surprise once we got off of the boat, so that was an added plus for the day.

http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/JasonSTrip#

The Wallace Collection

(Apologies if this sounds a bit too much like an art history lesson. I like to share what I'm learning!)

Jenny calls it "a hidden gem" and she's absolutely right. From approximately 1760 to 1880, the 4 Marquesses* of Hertford and the son of the 4th Marquess, Richard Wallace, acquired an amazing collection of paintings, porcelain, furnishings, and other objets d'art from all over the world. The widow of Richard, Lady Wallace survived her husband, and honoring his wishes, left the entire collection to the State upon her death in 1897. It's called the greatest ever single bequest of art to a nation, and after visiting last Wednesday, I think that description is fitting.

Richard Wallace was the illegitimate son of the 4th Marquess, and his paternity was not acknowledged by the family until the death of his father in 1870, when the entire collection was bequeathed to him. According to our tour guide, Richard himself did not know that the 4th Marquess was his father, but acted as a sales room assistant and advisor to him. Can you imagine the reading of that will?!

The bulk of the collection was acquired by the 4th Marquess and by Richard Wallace. Wallace was living in Paris, as was his father at the time of his death, and in 1872 moved to the family home in London (the Hertford House) and eventually brought the collection there. The house was modified in order to accomodate the impressive works, and today it is as much a part of the museum as the objects it houses. (Fun fact: the house itself was first leased by the 2nd Marquess because of the substantial duck hunting in the area. It sits now a block from Oxford Street, arguably one of the busiest streets in London. Didn't see any ducks the day we were there... notta one.) It is a stunning place - in going through the first few rooms I felt as impressed as when we visited the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace over the summer.

A few highlights: One of the 83 known self-portraits of Rembrandt (original of course); François Boucher's portrait of Madame Pompadour, who was mistress to King Louis XV of France (back then the King's mistress would have her own title and status); and an unbelievable collection of Sèvres Porcelain, created at a factory in Sèvres, France in the mid-18th century - a factory that is still in production today. Most impressive on this visit was a gorgeous collection of furnishings commissioned for - and used by - Marie Antoinette! Wife to King Louis XVI! Queen of France! Had her head cut off! That Marie Antoinette! Pretty darn amazing.

Another pretty darn amazing fact is that the Wallace Collection is another free national museum. Truly hard to believe. There's talk of a policy change that would charge an entrance fee at national museums such as these - and I absolutely think they should. Starting in late 2012.

*A "marquess" is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European monarchies.

http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/WallaceCollection?authkey=Gv1sRgCI_79engxfOnIA#