Category: Cities

One perfect day…in London

The Renaissance St. Pancras Hotel in London used to be both an old hotel and the train station. It has been fabulously restored.

A quarter of a century seems like a long time in a life – but for these discerning travelers it seems to have flown by.  So, last week on the occasion of our 25th wedding anniversary, we spent another perfect day.  Unlike other perfect days we’ve spent, this one was not on the water.  It was determinedly on land – in London.

We awoke to a wonderfully sunny and crisp autumn day – just the way a perfect fall day ought to be – with only a vague notion of how the day would progress. We only knew how we would cap it off in the end – we’ll get to that.  So, we did what we usually do when we visit a city: we walked.

Staying at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, we had little choice: as our son who now lives in London remarked, it’s not really close to anything.  But for us that is not a shortcoming.  The hotel is a remarkable architectural treat in itself, with a rich history, and when you walk through the Booking Room Restaurant & Bar and exit through the back door, you find yourself on the platform where the Eurostar trains leave for Paris & Brussels.

That morning we headed out toward Regent’s Park (which is but a five minute walk away – who says the hotel isn’t close to anything?).  What a beautiful oasis in the city – one of many.  London is dotted with these green spaces, a fact that often surprises people whose only view of London has been of traffic jams and hordes of ogling tourists as shown on the nightly news.  We enjoyed our walk and just kept going into the heart of down town, browsing the many wonderful shops along the way.

Art strolling in Regent’s Park, London.

Eventually it was time for a late lunch.  It’s often best in our view to wait until the weekday office crowd has returned to their desks to take fuller advantage of restaurants.  In the past when we have visited London we have concluded that we don’t go there for the food – but this trip seemed different somehow.  Every restaurant we had chosen in the days leading up to our anniversary had proved our previous experience to be so wrong.  And this time was no different.

In Swallow Street just off Regent Street, we discovered Bentley’s Oyster Bar.  With options that included the oyster bar itself, an outside dining space and an upstairs dining room (a bit more formal, said the hostess), the restaurant had a wonderful British ambience, replete with attentive, professional wait staff and fabulously prepared and presented food.  We opted for the ‘more formal’ dining experience upstairs and found ourselves surrounded not by tourists, but by well-dressed business types.  It was wonderful.  It also reinforced for us one of our rules of traveling: always dress comfortably but well: you never know where you might end up.  We may not have been dressed as we would for a formal presentation at work, but we comported ourselves quite well, thank-you very much.  Let that be a lesson to any travelers who favor those god-awful, hulking white sneakers and (we can hardly bring ourselves to say it) the fanny pack!

Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill in London

We treated ourselves to their wonderful seafood, a bottle of reasonably-priced Sancerre from France and even their trifle with mascarpone, and then returned to the street to continue our wander to soak in the London ambience.

Returning to the Renaissance, we made our way into the Chambers Club which has to be the most impressive concierge lounge among the Marriott properties.  It is massive, well-staffed, well-victualed and does not charge for wine.  We were in the mood for a few hot appetizers and a glass (or two) of their cold sauvignon blanc on offer.  We were not planning to eat until after the evening’s entertainment.

We changed and made our way to the west end in time for the 7:30 curtain of the new production of Cabaret which had officially opened with press night just the evening before.  We were eight rows back, dead center when Britain’s first Pop Idol, and platinum British recording artist Will Young emerged from the “O” in “Wilkommen” as the emcee in this astounding production.  Of course, our interest was a bit more personal.

The marquee at the Savoy Theatre.

Several minutes later, we spotted him – Hans was the character’s name – and he was very familiar to us since we’ve been watching him perform since he was three years old.  It was our 23-year-old son Ian making his west end debut, and it was the most unique and wonderful way to celebrate 25 years of marriage.  We congratulated ourselves on having “done good” as they say.

The cast poster outside the Savoy Theatre.

We capped off the day with a late dinner at Café des Amis just off Covent Garden with Ian & Jeremy – another west end musical theater veteran, and returned to our hotel via the tube. We are now the proud owners of London Underground ‘Oyster Cards’ which we intend to use often and soon!

St. John’s, Newfoundland: More than worth the visit

Cape Spear: The eastern-most point on the North American continent

It is the easternmost point on the North American continent, and the city of St. John’s in Newfoundland (actually it’s Newfoundland & Labrador which is the official name of the province), Canada’s tenth province, is Art’s home town.   Well, the easternmost point is actually Cape Spear, but that’s just a hop outside the city.  Although he moved away many years ago, every time we go back to visit what is affectionately known as “the Rock”, we are blown away by the rugged beauty and the increasing cosmopolitanism.  Recent offshore oil exploration and production have given an economic boost to the city that it hasn’t seen in some generations.   And now, it’s the Canadian province with the most amazing advertising imaginable.  (See the video we’ve posted at the end.)

But, maybe the most impressive promotion for the city of St. John’s itself is the CBC television show The Republic of Doyle.  If you watch that show in HD, you can’t help but notice that St. John’s is one of the characters.  And although we’d venture a guess that the colors have been enhanced, St. John’s truly is a character.

The last time we visited was for a high school reunion – the reunion of a class that graduated so many years ago it’s hardly worth mentioning!  But, we had a chance to play tourist in a city that we actually thought we know so well.

As you fly into St. John’s, it’s easy to think that you’ve ended up at the end of the earth – as your plane reaches the shoreline of Newfoundland you begin to get a sense of place right from the start. And you must remember to keep an eye out for icebergs (at any time of the year – but in the spring in particular).  St. John’s is, by the way, the oldest English-speaking city on the North American continent.  With a population that’s shy of 200,000, the city itself is not large but if you seek them out, you’ll find all kinds of amenities that are worth the trip.

We’ve stayed at most of the better hotels over the years – the Delta and the Hotel Newfoundland (which has been under a number of banners, most recently the Sheraton but it used to be a Fairmont) – which are also the most expensive.  Recently, we’ve stayed at the Courtyard Marriott which is well-located on the harbor-front , has immense suites with great views, a lovely little bar with a view of the “narrows” that frame the harbor entrance looking out to open ocean, is reasonably priced, and because it’s a Marriott property, has wonderful staff.

At Battery Park overlooking St. John's: Son Ian made the pilgrimage with us that year

St. John’s is well-known as the North American city with the most bars per square foot than any other.  We can’t provide any source for that statistic, but trust us, if you take a summer trip to the city and wander downtown to George Street as you must, you will not dispute this statistic at all!  But for our money, these discerning travelers are smitten with the fine dining scene in St. John’s.  There are many fine restaurants along Water Street including Bianca’s which is worth a visit, but our current favorite is Bacalao on Lemarchant Road, which is known for its quintessential Newfoundland cuisine using local products.  It even won a national award for “hyperlocal food” recently.    We’ve eaten there several times, and both the service and the innovative food offerings make a return trip there in the future a must.

The there is a bit of shopping…do not go to the malls in St. John’s.  You will be disappointed.  But do go to the boutiques for women’s clothing.  Along Water Street, my personal favorite is Johnny Ruth.  Oh, the owner has created a gem of a space with a truly inspired and well-edited collection of often Canadian designers.  I’ve bought Comrags and Brenda Beddome there in addition to a number of others.   Also nip into Twisted Sisters Boutik while you’re on Water Street.

The Rooms, St. John's: Art & Ian take in the view of the narrows

No visit to St. John’s would be complete without a visit to The Rooms.  The name is a bit misleading – this is an architectural masterpiece that is truly uninspiring from the outside.  But step inside and it’s a different story.  Beside the fact that The Rooms is an extraordinary museum with all manner of Newfoundland history , both natural and other, it has the most amazing view of the harbor and beyond from a window that was artfully situated to provide just such an experience.

On our most recent visit there, it was Saturday, it was raining heavily and there were two bridal parties taking refuge for photo shoots.  The window makes a dramatic backdrop.

Now that Art’s parents are both dead, we have less reason to visit than we used to.  But we’ll make the trek from time to time – just for the food and Johnny Ruth!

(Flight times: from Halifax it’s an hour and twenty minutes; it’s 3 hours and 34 minutes direct from New York on United).

A sample of the Newfoundland and Labrador advertising campaign…