Usually, this is the best time of year in south Florida because after November we are relieved of the intense heat and the constant, dreadful, anticipation of hurricanes. The weather in the Fort Lauderdale region is usually delightfully cool with pleasant ocean breezes enabling us to wear light sweaters, leather jackets ,and cords rather than sleeveless blouses and shorts. However, this has not been the case as the mercury has been hovering between 78-85 degrees for the entire month of December. The December holidays felt more like Memorial and Labor Days. “Let's go somewhere and chill! Really chill", Nancy suggested. Instantly, I sprinted to my closet to commence mixing and matching my camel and brown winter wear. Then, I sat down with my laptop and found an incredibly awesome deal to London, combining a non-stop flight from Miami International to Heathrow and eight nights at the 4-star Holiday Inn Mayfair including a full English breakfast. Well, tally ho, baby, we’re off! Bring on the gloves, scarves, warm hats, and the umbrellas because we are going to “bring in” the New Year on the Thames. Literally! This was such a wondrous experience, that it will not be the last time, for sure.
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An important digression. Nancy has been to London about six times and this was my 20th visit, so the remainder of this article is really for the veteran Londonophile. Tower of London, Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, British Museum, The National Gallery, Tate…Eye…etc., will not be visited here. This time, we visited some atypical destinations from a Crypt Cafe to the cemetery of Karl Marx to a wine bar, deep, down beneath the ground..
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We landed at Heathrow Airport at 6:40AM on December 30th. Anyone who has had this experience at Heathrow can tell you that once you disembark from your plane, you walk interminably to customs. You almost feel like you are walking to London city and that’s because it’s the busiest airport in the world hosting 90 airlines. That beats out Ben & Jerry’s ice cream varieties. Since our hotel was across the street from the Green Park tube station, which is on the Piccadilly Line, we saved money by taking the tube. The Piccadilly Line serves at least three Heathrow terminals and it’s a thrifty alternative compared to a taxi or the Heathrow Express. We arrived at the Mayfair Holiday Inn at around 8:30 AM and were welcomed by Ricky, the Concierge, who in the course of the week was extremely helpful. Ricky stored our bags until check-in, and we immediately headed for Starbucks, a necessary visit and located directly across the street from the hotel.
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Whenever I travel on a trans Atlantic flight, I sit there observing the passengers in their tight economy quarters, and feel colossal pangs of jealousy while I watch them sleep or enjoy a movie. I fidget, squirm, get up and walk, attempt to find a sleep-position and fail in this relentless quest for comfort. Subsequently, after dropping off the luggage, I search for the nearest coffee venue. Both Café Nero and Starbucks are very popular in London. Voila! Awakened and refreshed, we left and headed down Piccadilly Street. Gone, gone, was the hot Florida weather as we traded 80 degrees for about 48-58 the entire time! Just as the heat in south Florida was atypical,this was not normal for London during their winter season either. I guess our definition of "normal" when it comes to weather, needs to be revisited since the cherry blossoms came out in Washibgton DC two weeks ago! The mild chill was invigorating and it was so much fun to wear our winter clothes which dwell in Florida closets untouched by human hands for most of their life-span.

We walked to Trafalgar Square and stopped by St. Martin of the Fields Church, which is situated in the Northeast Corner of Trafalgar Square, a major landmark. St Martin's is an unusual church in that it offers a café in the crypt, an amazing venue for a full English breakfast, lunch, or dinner and one eats in a CRYPT!!! Sounds a little intriguing, doesn’t it? The architecture was amazing and they are undergoing a restoration right now. Then, we continued to search for the Temple Church, 1106, of the Knights Templar which was a 20 minute walk from Trafalgar on Fleet Street/King’s Bench Walk.This medieval church has become popular since Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code, since this was the setting for the climax in the novel. The chandeliers were especially beautiful, in an non-ornate fashion. Okay, two churches, now it’s time for a glass of wine and lunch so we turned back toward Trafalgar Square, and “dropped-in”, or should I say “down” to Gordon’s Wine bar on 47 Villiers St. The ceiling and walls authentically produce a cavernous feeling…really promotes the setting for a couple of cabernet sauvignons. The menu was limited, but delicious and affordable. The wine variety transcended the food variety. Most customers had absolutely no problem with that.

Check-in time approached and we returned and went to our very nice rooms which were clean and provided decent space for closets, desk, table and chairs, an entrance hallway and a good bathroom with strong water pressure. By 4:15PM, or should I say 16:15, London was dark. We left the hotel and walked from Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square to Soho for dinner. The streets were decorated to the hilt with a variety of lights appropriate for the holidays. We were delightfully cold! Sounds crazy to most people, but a change from the heat was a pleasure and a diversion of sorts.

Yes! New Years Eve day arrived. We went to Highgate Cemetery, which is located near Archway Station, to see sculptures of lions, angels, and Karl Marx’s tomb. That was an interesting experience because this cemetery, perched on a hill above the city, featured a wealth of Gothic tombs and buildings. I saw my first Cedar of Lebanon and my first Yew tree. I was intrigued by the Yew tree because I teach Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written on a Country Churchyard” and the Yew tree, which is poisonous if ingested, is featured in the initial verses of the poem. Again, beautiful aesthetic scenery, and crisp, cool, air. Darkness approached and we returned to the hotel to get ready for a New Years Eve celebration which was all about being with the thousands of participants on the Thames, awaiting the countdown and the fireworks.

At 9:30 PM, Nancy and I left the hotel. There was an eerie, quiet, feeling in the air. Again, voila! Oh my goodness! NO CARS. No cars on the busiest streets of this bustling city. Compulsively, I jumped from the sidewalk and walked right in the middle of Piccadilly Street…Whitehall…wow! It was like Disneyworld. The fireworks were anti-climactic compared to the overwhelming joy that I felt walking down these empty-vehicled, normally very congested, streets. . .and the decorations looked so much better without the noisy cars sharing the setting. Just kidding…sort of…the fireworks, the anticipation, the wonderful people chatting and laughing… good will and optimism prevailed. Happy New Year,2007! This was my first New Years Eve countdown experience in a large city. Someday I would like to try this in the city where I was born, New York City.

New Years Day. First, thank heavens they extended breakfast until 11AM. The full English breakfast, was delicious. The service was the best I have had in a long time. Candy, Mandi, Wei, and Veer, greeted us with smiles and very fast service. We sat down, and immediatelythey asked ”Tea or coffee?” and it was there within two minutes. Their presence and participation was a positive catalyst to the start of every day. If I could have,I would have smuggled Veer back to Florida. He is a handsome, soft-spoken young man who took the time to talk to us every day. It’s important how one starts their day when on vacation. These young service people at The Holiday Inn Mayfair were outstanding in every conceivable way. Service, location, and cleanliness determine whether or not I will return to a hotel. The Holiday Inn Mayfair presented all of these. The only reason that I have not even mentioned the people in reception is because they seemed to change throughout the week. They were exemplary, as well.

One would think the celebration would be finished. However, from noon to 3PM, right outside our hotel window, marched a parade featuring thousands of Americans and English with bands, floats, bagpipes, USA Cheerleaders. This parade started in the Westminster /Parliament area ,up Whitehall to Trafalgar and then across to Piccadilly ending at Berkeley Square where our hotel was situated. For the remainder of January 1, 2007, people strolled around the city. . . some stores were open including Harrods, and restaurants were filled with hordes of people. No one was complaining…just passing the time chatting with everyone around them. That’s my favorite part. While you wait for a table, ”Where are you from?” and so on. A new year is like Spring, a beginning, an opportunity to at least strive to improve somet facet of your life because a number disappears and another one shows up. Bingo! It’s not a very popular holiday. I have many friends in Florida and New York who stayed home…dangerous driving…dangerous walking. This New Year, 2007, I felt cheerful, healthy, joyous, and safe,surrounded by the quaint beauty of majestic London. I don’t even think the previous sentence contains enough “super-mood” adjectives. I will think of this experience whenever I feel the need to smile a big grin in my heart.

We continued our week exploring London because no matter how many times one goes to London, it is impossible to experience the entire city. If you haven’t been there, you can’t even imagine it’s magnitude. If you have been there, you still can’t imagine it’s magnitude. Moreover, London encompasses an encyclopedic variety of venues…churches, theatres, temples, book shops, pubs, even horror-themed pubs such as Ben Crouch Tavern on 77 Wells Street off Oxford Street and Bell, Book, and Candle at 42 Ludgate which is off Fleet Street. Harry Potter’s 9&¾ platform used to be at King’s Cross Station. In Chelsea on 248 king's Road The Cadogan Pub offered two for one dinners and we ate in front of a burning fireplace! Google London. If you read everything about London, you would have to take a year off from work. Maybe three years. To paraphrase Samuel Johnson, if one grows tired of London, one grows tired of life itself.