Christmas 2011

Perhaps the most integral part of Christmas (and, indeed, many holidays) is the food we eat every year. This year was no exception, and I'm lucky my pants still fit when I got home!

While I was staying with my friend Suzanne in London, I spent Christmas itself with my dad, who came over from his home in another European country for the holiday. We made our traditional taco dinner on Christmas Eve (tacos are my dad's specialty), using corn tortillas that were much larger and slightly sweeter than those we find in the States. Still, everything was very tasty!

On Christmas day, we were treated to a traditional British Christmas dinner made by my dad's British friends. Between dinner and dessert, we pulled apart Christmas crackers containing these jaunty crowns (right), which we wore for the rest of the evening. They made turkey, stuffing, boiled and roasted potatoes with gravy, some sort of mashed carrots dish, and Brussels sprouts. For dessert, we had a Christmas pudding, which is a sort of heavy cake filled with all kinds of fruit (e.g., dried berries, raisins, apples), that's eaten with cream or rum butter. Before serving, you pour some warm brandy over the top and light it on fire--very dramatic! I think we need to start a Christmas tradition like that in the US! (Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the food or the flaming pudding.)

Our taco dinner with the super-sized tortillas on Christmas Eve

Dad holding up our petite crackers before we started dinner. No paper crowns in these but they did have some candy and jokes.

Deck the Halls

London was all decked out for Christmas. Everywhere we went, especially in the main shopping areas, we saw twinkling lights, green garlands festooned with bows, and window displays both gorgeous and bizarre.

Above left: Lights adorn department store facades and hang above the pavement on Oxford Street

Above right: Giant red balls dangle above shoppers' heads in Covent Garden.

Also at Covent Garden was this larger-than-life topiary reindeer, who was lit up at night.

While at Covent Garden, I had to stop by my favorite paper store, Paperchase. (Ok, I realize this photo doesn't fit in with the theme of this post, but I could count myself as a decoration.)

An iconic holiday view of Big Ben, the London Eye, and a Christmas tree to mark the season

Christmas Sing-a-Long at Royal Albert Hall

One of the highlights of my trip to London was a Christmas sing-a-long concert at the magnificent Royal Albert Hall. The concert featured a full orchestra and a large choir, soloist Alison Jiear--whose career includes roles in several musicals in London's West End (the UK equivalent of being on Broadway)--and a very enthusiastic, funny, and incredibly talented conductor, Jonathan Cohen.

This was a true audience participation event. People were decked out in Santa hats, reindeer antlers, hats with flashing lights, and the like. We sang at least a dozen songs, both traditional carols like "O Come, All Ye Faithful" and modern favorites like "Frosty the Snowman." The audience was encouraged to stand up, dance around, clap our hands, and have fun with the singing.

One thing that Suzanne and I noticed was the different verses the Brits sing for some of the traditional hymns and carols. In several instances, verse one was the same, but verse two was completely different--lyrics we'd never sung nor heard before--and verse three used the words that we expected in verse two. The tune for "O Little Town of Bethlehem" was also not what we were expecting. It was lovely, just different from the tune we are accustomed to hearing with that song here in the US. Who knew a sing-a-long would be so educational?

The hall itself is stunning. The enormous pipe organ at the front looks like a castle. Boxes line the perimeter, decked out in plush red. Although the hall is quite large, its circular shape and design make it feel like an intimate venue, without a bad seat in the house.

Although there isn't a bad seat in the house, we had truly fabulous seats, on the floor, just a few rows back from the stage. Here's a shot of the organ and stage before the orchestra and choir came on. You can see how close we were by the proximity of the heads in front of us to the camera and the distance to that grand piano.


And here's the view of the hall behind us. Amazing, isn't it? There's the floor, the gallery, two tiers of boxes, plus a standing-room balcony on top.


Just as enjoyable as the concert was the private tour of the hall we had arranged beforehand and lunch in there cafe (for a fee, of course). Our dramatic, opera-singer tour guide took us up back staircases and into private areas while teaching us about the history of the building and how it is used today. We got to see the Queen's box, go into the private "break room" used by the Royal Family when they come for a performance, see the private staircase by which they access that room and their box, and go up to the balcony for a closer look at the ceiling and a bird's-eye view of the stage and hall. The bits of information we gleaned made our concert experience that much more meaningful.

Me with Suzanne

Another excellent feature of the day was that one of the Brits from my Ireland cycling group in the summer, Richard, came to London to meet up for the day and was part of our concert-going fun. He is a delightful man and it was wonderful to see him again. He hasn't spent much time in London nor had he ever been to Royal Albert Hall, so we were all like eager children, soaking in the sights and sounds and experience of the outing.

Me with Richard during intermission

You can tell by those big smiles on our faces what a great time we had. It was the perfect way to get into the spirit of Christmas in London.

Portobello Road

Portobello Road, Portobello Road.
Place where the riches of ages are stowed.
Anything and everything a chap can unload
Is sold off the barrow on Portobello Road.
--Bedknobs and Broomsticks

An iconic London landmark and must-see is the weekend market on Portobello Road, situated in the middle of an area with another familiar name, Notting Hill. As a child, I watched the Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks over and over, where I first heard of Portobello Road. Of course, I had no idea then that it was a real place that I could actually go see, or that people really did sell all manner of curiosities there.

Imagine my delight when I learned it was real and that I could visit! Suzanne and I went there last Saturday morning--my second trip to the famous street. The variety and volume of kitsch, crockery, silverware, antiques, old records, costume jewelry, and all manner of oddities lovely and tacky is quite a sight to behold.

Below is a smattering of what we saw as we perused Portobello Road's wares.

Tea, anyone?

The area is known for its colorful facades.

Window display at one of the clothing shops. I've never seen so many old sewing machines gathered together!

Fanciful teapot hanging above a shop

Vintage metal posters, as well as Britain-themed magnets and similar memorabilia

Indeed, anything and everything can be found on Portobello Road!

It's London, Baby!

I've come to my favorite foreign city, London, for Christmas, staying with my friend, Suzanne. Having been to London many times before, I've seen many of the big tourist attractions already and have developed some favorite spots in the city. And London at Christmastime is fantastic!

One of the integral parts of a visit to London is taking advantage of the extensive public transport system, particularly riding on a big, red, double-decker bus. The view from the upper level is both harrowing ("He's going to hit that car!") and fabulous.

And now, some photos from one of our bus rides:

I loved this outdoor Christmas tree "shop" on a corner in north London, named Pines and Needles

Yours truly in the bus; we were sitting on the upper level, very front row

Suzanne in the same spot

Another view from the top, of charming... I forget the name of the area in north London

Back home after a morning out, Suzanne gets ready to go into her flat (well, the building)