We arrived back at Mark's apartment exhausted and frustrated by the many hours we had spent trying to escape Charles De Gaulle. Nothing is more exasperating than being at the end of a very long line and watching two french security agents very slowly and deliberately inspect every passport and paper, as the hours tick away and you realize that the several hours you gave yourself to get out might not be enough. Thankfully, when we arrived at blessedly and amazingly efficient Heathrow, Mark, (ever the consummate host) had a car to pick us up and food on order. We spent the evening in pleasant conversation before a good night's sleep.
We had a lot of bucket-list items still left in London to cover, starting with the Imperial War Museum. Keegan understandably opted out ("more military stuff?"), and relaxed alone in Mark's apartment, reading his book. It made him very happy. Meanwhile, we explored. Here are a few of the pictures.
I loved seeing the Spitfire, thinking of what could have happened to my dad if those brave pilots flying this plane (and the inexplicably missing Hurricane) had failed to stop the Luftwaffe. Would Germany have won? Would my dad even have survived a full scale invasion of England? Would he have been able to migrate to the States and meet my mom? I owe a lot to this little, beautiful plane, and the brave men who flew her.
Inexplicably, again, a T-34. Go figure what that has to do with British War history (except, of course for the fact that by invading Russia, Hitler committed a suicidal blunder that gave the British breathing room, I suppose). By and large, I was surprised at how slim the exhibits were, but there was a pretty good display on World War I, which I spent my time perusing, knowing that my great grandpa Ludlum died as a result if his time in the trenches during that war, we believe in the Somme. One day, I am going to head back to Europe with the intent of exploring the scenes of those battles, but it was not to be this trip, and this exhibit was as close as I could get.
It was fun to see a Sopwith Camel hanging above us. But the best thing about the place, in my view, was the bookstore, which had a pretty good collection of military histories, though my favorite part was (safe space snowflakes beware) this poster:
Says it all right there, doesn't it? Love that!
From there, it was off to experience Foyles bookstore, a delight of the kind not found in the states anymore at all (GEE THANKS AMAZON) -- four floors, complete with a full cafe, and every obscure title you could think of. Much to Alden's joy, it had the best military history collection he had ever seen. I lost him for a good 45 minutes, only to find him there, chatting away with an older than me bookstore patron about all things history. It looked like they could have gone at it for hours. He was definitely in his happy place.
Then we were off to the British Museum, a happy place for me. I love art, it always makes me smile and think at the same time, which is a great state of mind. I will never forget my first trip to the National Gallery in Washington DC, when I was 17, and how blown away I was by the impressionist's style of painting that caused things to be in focus and clear when standing across a room, but to blur and become more ephemeral the closer you got. And the colors! Heaven help me I love the colors. Turns out, the museum has a fine collection of these works. Here is a little taste of what we saw:
It is such a moving story, so singable, with such remarkable lyrics. And it was so fun to see the portrayal of King George in London! Really just a highlight in every way, and so great to be there with Mark. If you ever get the chance to see it, don't hesitate. Worth every penny. It was a fitting way to end what was our last full day in London. The following morning, we picked up a rental car and headed to the Jurassic Coast, a newly named World Heritage Site on the Devonshire coast between Poole and Exmouth. But our first stop, which excited Alden more than perhaps any other moment of the trip, was in Bovington, birthplace of the first "landship" (tank) and home of a world famous tank museum. I have never seen anyone so excited as Alden was entering this place.
He named every tank, every version, every strength and weakness, all of it. And I have to admit, it was pretty cool! Here are some pics:
Here is the Sherman Firefly, a British version of the tank with a 17 pounder gun (did I get that right Alden?) which is quite different than the 75mm on the U.S. version of the tank -- or so I am told.
And here are two versions of what many believe was the best tank of World War II, the German Panther.
Then there was this: the Tiger II or "King Tiger." Huge, slow but almost impenetrable, it was not produced in enough numbers to change the tide of war, but dang, it is a BEAST!
And here is the Tiger I, the only still functional Tiger tank in the world. They take it out and run it on a course outside the museum every so often. Unfortunately we were not there on one of those days.
This Sherman is also mobile and was used in the movie Fury, with Brad Pitt. Alden and I watched it in the plane on the way back. It was intense! Has one of the coolest tank battle scenes ever filmed, I think.
Kate and Keegan were such good sports, showing interest in a passion of their sibling's, even though they were probably ready to leave after about an hour. Great kids!
We stayed til the very last moment we could, and then headed for a short hike to nearby Corfe Castle (picture that opened the post), which looks like it could have come right out of Lord of the Rings.
I kept waiting for Frodo to get stabbed by Nazgul, but instead we found a local theater company production of Shakespeare, which was about to begin. We would love to have stayed, but we needed to find food, and check into our hotel, so we had to pass. It would have been sooo fun though!
For food we headed to Swanage, a really quaint seaside port not far from the castle.
In what was a huge stroke of luck, we stumbled upon the aptly named "Fish Plaice." BEST FISH AND CHIPS EVER! I mean, in what other restaurant do they publish the name of the ship your fish was caught on that morning, and the local farm where your potatoes were harvested. Honestly, this was just awesome!
We grabbed a quick desert, then headed for our hotel in East Lulworth for the night.
The next morning found us looking for fossils on a beautiful stretch of coastline. We didn't find a lot of fossils, but we enjoyed the morning, and the beauty all around us. Here are a few pictures:
Beautiful day in a beautiful place. The spot behind Kathleen and I in that last picture is known as the Durdle Door, and I do regret that I didn't go swimming under it while we were there. I have no idea of the water temperature, but there was a couple that braved it, and it looked quite fun. We spent the night in East Lulworth again, and headed out in the morning to our next destination: Stonehenge.
We had a great time, wandering around these massive pillars, listening to the history that has been meticulously pieced together around the hows and why's of this stunning, ancient anomaly in the Salisbury plain. Human endeavor never ceases to amaze me.
The same could be said, as far as I am concerned, of the bonding effect that comes from traveling as a family. We do it a lot not only for the places we see, but also for how those common experiences give the family a foundation that we hope will last forever. We are rapidly approaching the time where Kate's schedule will no longer match easily with ours, and she will be off on her own life and adventures. I am already missing the days when it was easy for us all to pull up at once, and head out to see what we could see. This trip to England and France may well mark the end of those days, but I hope not. Stay tuned.
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