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Carol Perkins: London Her trip to London, she says, left her feeling like she had been on a Chevy Chase vacation The next earlier Carol Perkins column, Hoosier hospitality in outlet mall By Carol Perkins As the Fourth of July approaches, I am reminded of my visit years ago to England, the country from whom we gained our independence and who is now our greatest ally. Nine women and a very brave husband of one in the group, our designated leader, flew to London for a seven day tour in the midst of subway bombings and train strikes. I had no fear. Well, maybe a little, but not enough to stay at home! On the long flight, each of us had a window or an aisle seat, as we requested. What we failed to request, however, was that those seats be together. I found myself beside a man who was going back to revisits places he had been in WWII. His jacket smelled of stale smoke, but I had no place else to sit. Second memory was a big scare That was my first memory. When we landed and before passengers deplaned, an announcement for CAROL PERKINS to report to the main office paralyzed me. Accompanied by one of my friends, I was ushered through the crowd. I braced myself as an official rose from his desk. "I'm sorry Ms.Perkins...." My knees weakened. "I'm sorry, Ms. Perkins, to inconvenience you, but we tore off your return ticket at the gate in Charlotte. If we didn't correct it, you wouldn't have had a ticket home." "THAT'S IT?" I leaned over the desk. "YOU HAVE SCARED THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME FOR THIS?" "Well, I'm sorry to have upset you, but we had to give you this." "The next time tell whoever announces to add... NOT AN EMERGENCY!" That was my second memory. The ten of us had much territory to cover in a week, so we began with a tour of the Tower of London. As amazing as it was to stand where Henry VIII had his wife beheaded, seeing the crown jewels stole my breath. Guard tried to take friend's camera A "NO CAMERAS ALLOWED " sign hung above the door to the dungeon where the jewels were housed; however, as I was moving from one display to another, a flash bounced off the cold, dark walls. I just knew it had come from one of our own. Sure enough, when the guard tried to take her camera, the lady talked him out of it, and then later distributed duplicates of her pictures to us! Almost every day in London, it rained. We complained, of course, because it did slow us down and canceled the only time we could see the Changing of the Guard, but it didn't stop us. We mostly traveled in pairs or small groups because each of us had different interests. One day four of us hopped a train to Bath and Stratford-On-Avon., knowing a strike could occur, potentially trapping us somewhere along the way. In Bath, we toured the famous bath houses and the shops, but my best memory was eating lemon curd at the famous Sally Lund's. I could take you to the table where I sat, right in front of a window. Saw many quaint villages From there, we took a cab through the English countryside, where we saw so many quaint villages with stone cottages covered in vines. The driver keep us informed along the way, and even stopped outside the home of Sting. It was actually a castle. Our destination was Stratford-On-Avon, the home of Shakespeare. I don't know what I expected, but I wasn't prepared for such commercialism. "The Shakespeare Inn" "Shakespeare Mugs and Shirts" The only authentic Shakespearean site was the place of his burial. Shaking off the disappointment, we boarded a train with our bags of t-shirts donning Shakespeare's face. No strike. Back in London, we gathered in our hotel lobby with the others, relived the day, and then dined together. One night, someone suggested a Jack-the-Ripper Tour. So, in the dark alleys of London, shadowing closely to the only male in the group, we followed a guide, who flashed his light into windows and door facings, as he told us of one murder after another. Being a chicken, I did not wish to go on this tour, but I did not wish to miss it either. The next day, we took a six hour train trip to Edinburgh, where we stayed two nights and did all the tourist things, from touring Edinburgh Castle to hanging out at an authentic Scottish Pub. It was there that I ate my first scone. Week felt like a Chevy Chase vacation At the end of this week, I felt as if I had been on a Chevy Chase vacation. I saw almost all I had wanted to see, but none of it for as long as I wanted. Ironically, when I found my seat on the return flight, the same man with whom I had spent those miserable nine hours in route to London would be sitting next to me on the seven hour flight home. The jacket still reeked of smoke and I had nowhere else to sit. However, my attitude had changed. This was a man who had fought for the freedom of thousands, and I was complaining about this smoky jacket? Shame on me. I would like to return to London one day, but there are so many other places I haven't seen. I think of the line from Robert Frost, "I have...miles to go before I sleep; and miles to go before I sleep." That's me. This story was posted on 2010-07-25 15:16:06
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Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Carol Perkins:
Carol Perkins: Hoosier hospitality in outlet mall Carol Perkins: The Hitching Post Carol Perkins: Who is watching your children? Carol Perkins: Feeling Like Myself Carol Perkins: Churches Carol Perkins: Missing Mother Carol Perkins: The new washing machine Carol Perkins: Let's Talk About...Flour Sack Dresses Carol Perkins: Let's Talk About... Field Hockey Carol Perkins: Sinus! View even more articles in topic Carol Perkins |
 
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