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Thursday, 11 May. We were told first thing in the morning that we could keep our hotel rooms for our last night in London, thank goodness, so that worry was gone. We took the double-decker bus back to Oxford Street to do some more shopping, this time at Selfridge's, which claims they sell everything. They were featuring Italian-made goods, of all things. We bought some toys for the boys and a few odds and ends, but Roy made the biggest buy -- a $3,000 Jaguar sedan. For lunch we tried a Wimpy, and the hamburgers were terrible. Roy managed to find a bookie and placed three bets. (He won on one and wound up with a five pence profit.)

Next we went to the underground silver vaults (1876) on Chancery Lane. These were about 30 shops, each with a vault door. They had antique and modern silver, all very nice, but we didn't buy any, not being millionaires. We went back to the hotel where Jane had an appointment at the beauty parlor.

 

While she was there, I went to Knightsbridge to look around the shopping area. He went to Herrod's Department Store, a large and very upper class establishment. There were a dozen or so Rolls-Royce's parked outside, with the chauffeurs walking poodles while the owners stopped. I tried to pick up the crest of London on a small charm for Jane's collection. I found one, but it cost 15 pounds ($40). Needless to say, I didn't buy it. I also visited Scotch House, but didn’t find it very interesting.

 

We all had dinner at the hotel, and then took a cab to the Pigalle, a night club featuring Tony Bennett. After we were seated, we learned that at London night clubs it's mandatory to buy dinner at the club to see the show. The charge was $7 each, plus drinks. Since we had already eaten, we left. I got a newspaper and found several clubs listed, but it was about the same at all of them. He went to a phone (and had to buy a whole roll of 60 coppers to get any) and called several without finding one where dinner was not mandatory.

 

Finally we took a cab ride through Soho. We asked the driver about a place to go without dinner, but he said they were "not for ladies.'' So we went back to the hotel, had a couple of drinks in the bar, and went to bed.

 

Friday, 12 May. We checked the train schedule and found there were no good train connections for Stratford-on-Avon, so we gave up plans to stop there on the way back to Nottingham. We checked out of the hotel and went back to Oxford Street for some final shopping.

 

Roy, Laneer, and I went back to the hotel for the bags and met Jane and the two Lucys at the railroad station, where we all had lunch. The food was horrible.

 

We finally learned, just by accident, of a military rail discount and saved a pound ($2.80) on each ticket. The train left at 12:25 and was very fast. It was very pleasant until we entered a tunnel and the coal soot just poured in the open window. Jane had hung her tan sweater on a hook by the window, and it just turned black. We managed to play a little bridge on the train.

 

From Nottingham we caught two cabs to Langer Air Base, changed clothes and cleared customs. The plane left at 17:00, and we had a smooth flight back. The girls had bought bread, crackers, cheese, and some very expensive grapes that were imported from Italy. Jane got very sick on the plane. We finally arrived at Pisa airport at 21:15. We cleared customs, and Roy drove us to the RTO in Livorno in time to catch the SETAF sleeper back to Verona.

 

Saturday, 13 May. We woke up on the train in Verona before 06:00 the next morning, found our car, and drove home. The boys woke up when we came in the house. As usual, they greeted us with "where are the presents?''

 

Observations. During our entire stay in England the weather was pleasant and sunny. Although there were scattered clouds and it once tried to rain, it was a far cry from the rain and fog we were led to expect. The food was, as predicted, terrible. We ate at our hotel as much as possible because they had a French chef and the food there was very good. We didn't try any gourmet restaurants, but the ordinary places certainly are below par compared to other countries.

 

Probably the most impressive thing about England was the people. They were the most polite and helpful we've ever seen. No pushing or shoving, even on subways and buses. Everyone forms a line at a bus stop.

 

We saw about all of London we cared to see at the time, but in retrospect it would be nice to go back. We didn't get to the British Museum, and we were sorry we couldn't get to see more of the countryside.  London is a very interesting and beautiful city, with many parks. However, coal is the main fuel, and there is soot everywhere.

 

The biggest disappointment of our trip was the fact that most of our pictures didn't turn out. Our old Leica camera had a loose screw, and the shutter was not opening. Only about a dozen of the 72 pictures we took were exposed.

 

Because of the free transportation to England, this trip cost us only about $150 (roughly $10 a day per person). That was close to what we spent on other trips we took around that time. We probably did more on this trip than we usually do, too. We certainly had a wonderful time.

 

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