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ENGLAND AND THE IONIAN ISLANDS

I've started to verify and plan my trip to Europe this year which will begin September 4 when I fly to London.  From there I will go right away to Caerphilly, Wales to spend a couple of days visiting with my cousins and touring my castle.  It's a quick trip due to me having to take advantage of cheap air fares.


On Sept. 7 I'll head into London again, early, in time to take in a special exhibit at the British Museum.  I'm really excited about seeing EGYPT'S LOST WORLDS, which are artifacts found under the see, some off of Alexandria which was the city founded by Alexander the Great and occupied but the first Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.


Early the next morning I fly to Corfu, my first stop in the Ionian Islands off the west coast of Greece. I was only there briefly back in the early '80's so I wanted to spend a few days there as Corfu has an interesting history with lots to see. I've check out the tours and will try and take one of them so I can see as many of the special sites as possible.  This will include the palace where Prince Philip was born and the home of the Durrell brothers of literary fame.



I'm staying on Corfu for 3 days then taking the quick ferry over to the tiny island of Paxis where I'll spend two days exploring. There are a couple of interesting museums and a Venetian Kastro on an islet off shore that was reputedly designed by Leonardo da Vinci. 

From Paxi I must take a ferry to the mainland and then a bus to Lefkada where I'll head south to the town of Vassiliki (the surf-boarders paradise). Not sure yet if I'll spend a night there. It depends on the ferry service onward to Kefalonia where I will visit the seaside town of Fiscardo, established and named for a famous pirate. 

From there I will head by bus to Athens, and will stop there to visit friends for a few days before heading on another island adventure,  this time to the islands of Paros and Naxos.  I decided to stay two days on Paros as it is another island that I've only visited briefly back in the '90's.

My favorite island is Naxos, so I'll stay there five days in a bed-tent at the Maragas Camping, a campsite and beach that I just love going to. I never get tired of visiting Naxos as it's a big island and lots to see besides having the most fabulous beaches!  I can hardly wait to have my dinner at one of my favorite sea-side tavernas there to watch the sunset!

From Naxos I will head south to Crete.  I haven't been to Crete since the '80's and wanted to see the Minoan site of Knossos again as well as exploring around Iraklion.  I'll be there a couple of days and hope to get up to a mountainside resort owned by a FB friend.

When all my Cretan adventures are over, I head back to Athens and that's where I'll be for the month of October, until the 20th when I head back home.  There's lots to see and do in my favorite city besides visiting with my friends.  I'll go over to Salamina island for a few days to explore with Christina and probably make a few day trips around  If finances enable it, I might even go up to Pelion for a few days as I've been wanting to explore that area for quite some time now. 


I'll be posting along the way and sharing all my adventures with on-line friends and family. So stay tuned for the next installment!

I always love visiting London. When I first arrived there Sept 1, I stayed at my favorite place, the Indian YMCA, a centrally located, reasonably priced hostel-type hotel near Warren Station.  I always enjoy browsing the area. Right across the square is the former home of Virginia Woolf and various other members of the Bloomsbury Group of writers also lived in that area.  Just down the street is the Fitzroy Tavern where writes such as Dylan Thomas hung out while in London. Naturally, I like to stop in there just for the writerly atmosphere.




My main purpose for spending time in London on this trip was to attend the Historical Novel Writer's Conference (Sept 5,6). So after my 3 days visit in Wales, I returned to London and took up residence in a student dorm at the International House in Waterloo,  on London's south side (across the river). It was conveniently located near a tube station in order for me to reach the conference which was at the Marlybone Campus of the University of Westminster.

That evening we went for a dinner at a nearby restaurant for the Hardy's Historical supper  and enjoy some good food, wine and camaraderie with a group of the writers.


The next day I attended the all-day sessions of various workshops. And I made sure I went to one that Margaret George was participating in.  I also enjoy hearing from  the keynote speakers and a couple of other presenters who were successful historical fiction writers.  I met one of the writers from Oxford who is a good friend of Robin Lane Fox whose book about Alexander the Great I referred to for some of my research for SHADOW.



My last day in London I chose to go on a London Walk. I love these walks and this time decided on the Dickens & Shakespeare Walk.  The American professor who was our guide proved to be entertaining as well as informative. 

We strolled around all the parts of town where Dickens was inspired to write several of his books such as "Pickwick Papers" and "Great Expectation."




We also visited the district near the Jewish Quarter where Shakespeare lived with a Huguenot family and penned many of his famous dramas.  There is a memorial to him and a plaque to his two friends who 'rescued' Shakespeare's folios after his death and saw that they were published. Otherwise we might not have had the privilege to enjoy his work.



We also toured the noted areas of that time, such as the Guildhall (from the 1400s) the Smithfieds Market that had signs depicting the cruel punishments meted out of people those days, the place nearby where William Wallace (Braveheart) was slaughtered as well a number of other fascinating old London sites.



After the walk, which took about 2 hours (or longer) I went to see St. Paul's Cathedral. By that time I was tired from the walking and headed back to the Indian Y where I had chosen to stay for my last night in London.  The next day, I headed out to Heathrow for my flight to Greece. 





NEXT: GREECE: My first stop: THESSALONIKI.

Everyone enjoys a bit of gossip, especially when it concerns famous people. I was surprised to learn, on my recent visit to Kensington Palace in London, that there is no end of gossip associated with the British royal family. And I don't mean recent 'gossip' as reported in newspapers and magazine after such tragic events as the untimely death of Princess Diana or the antics of Prince Harry and Sarah Ferguson. The gossip heard at Kensington goes way back to the first royal inhabitants.


Kensington Palace has been a royal resident since the late 1600's when it was purchased by King William II and Queen Mary II after they assumed the throne as joint monarchs in 1689. Before that it was known as Nottingham House, originally a Jacobean mansion built in 1605.

There's a lot of tragedy in the stories of Kensington Palace too. Sadly, Queen Mary II died of smallpox in the palace in 1694 and just a few years later, King William III suffered a fall from a horse and died shortly after. Then the palace became the residence of Queen Anne whose life was fraught with health issue and unhappy relationships. By the age of 30 she was lame and corpulent. She had 18 children but only two survived past the age of three and many were stillborn. One room in the palace shows all the little chairs representing "Queen Anne's Hopes"


In 1710, in the Queen's State Apartments (also known as the Queen's Closet), Queen Anne and her best friend Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough had a huge argument. The Duchess was jealous of the attention the queen had shown to another woman and actually accused them of having a lesbian relationship. After that gossip circulated the Duchess was stripped of her official duties and the two women never spoke to each other again.

There is a "Whispering Room" in the palace where you can actually 'hear' the whispered gossip of all the royal goings-on.  Lean your ear close to the horns of the Victrola and you'll hear it: "Psssss pssss...did you hear...?"  Quite amusing!



Queen Victoria was born in the palace in 1819 and lived there much of her life. At the entrance is a beautiful statue of her on a pedestal. 



And you can visit several of the rooms she occupied from the nursery to the Privy Council room where she signed her official documents upon become Queenon June 20, 1837.


You will see the piano that her beloved consort Prince Albert used to play music he had composed for her. There is also a display of her clothing, including the formal mourning clothes she and her children wore after dear "Bertie" died.



Death and tragedy are as much part of the palace as the titillating gossip.  We all remember that sad day on August 31, 1997 when "the People's Princess", Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. Within hours of the news the golden gates at the south side of the palace were covered in floral tributes and in the following days ever bit of railing around the palace was covered with flowers.




As you enter the Vestibule of the palace there is a beautiful photo of Diana and embroidered pillows of her as well as William and Kate who will reside there once the new renovations are completed.



(The palace is divided into two parts - the historic state apartments which you can tour, and the private living quarters of the royal family.) There is a Diana Memorial Playground in memory of the late Princess located next to the palace.

I really enjoyed the brief visit I made this summer. I didn't have as much time as is needed to see everything because I had a plane to catch.  But I'd definitely recommend this as an interesting destination if you happen to be visiting London.

Check out details for opening times etc at www.hrp.org.uk

This year when I visited London I was invited to stay with a friend in the northern district of Wood Green. A short walk from her home is the Alexandra Palace, named after the new Princess of Wales, Alexandra of Denmark who married Prince Edward but the palace is known as "the People's Palace" It was built in 1865 and covers 7.5 acres.

The palace is an entertainment venue meant for recreation, education and entertainment.  The late comedienne Gracie Fields nicknamed it "Ally Pally".


During the First World War the park was closed and the palace ad grounds were used as an internment camp for German and Austrian civilians. In 1936 the palace became the headquarters of the world's first regular public "high-definition" television service operated by the BBC. The radio tower is still in use. During the Second World War the transmitter was used for jamming German bombers' navigation systems.  The palace continued as the BBC's main transmitting centre until 1956. 



The day I visited there wasn't a tour of the inside of the palaceI enjoyed a leisurely stroll all around the grounds of Alexandra Park. From there you get a sweeping panoramic view of London city although that day it was overcast.


The park surrounding the palace has flower-beds, flowering trees and in a woodland at the edge of the park I spied deer grazing.

The palace and park are overseen by the Greater London council with provision that it should be used for charitable purposes.The original Victorian theatre also still is in use. The Great Hall and West Hall are used for exhibitions, music concerts and conferences. There is also an ice-skating rink, palm court and a pub. On weekends a City and Country Market is held there.


You can get to Alexandra Palace and Park by Underground to Wood Green (Picadilly line). There is also a rail line to Alexandra Palace from Moorgate and King's Cross.