Post Election Recovery Plan

Every November, Pat plans a trip for us. I think it's because he feels abandoned by his trusty sidekick who literally dumps all of her time and energy into another man or woman for about three months every other year. That's right - this is the post election recovery plan.

The first trip spontaneously planned in November was after Dr. Jean Siebenaler was so soundly beaten in 2002, despite her amazing credentials, the great Beridon campaign strategy, and my naive belief that the voters really wanted the best qualified candidate. Well, anyway afterwards, we went to Cabo San Lucas. It takes a lot of sun to bring me back out of the funk of losing. Cabo delivered. After Kerry's loss - we went to France (though admittedly that was not so spontaneous). So now, with a big win, -- well, I still really needed sleep but at least I wasn't depressed, too. We went to London!

I don't think Pat thinks about these vacations the same way I do -- He just knows he has multiple days off work, I am back, so we should take a trip. What days are holidays in the second week of November you ask? Have you read about the extra holiday that occurs when the French holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday? That's right - the day in between becomes a holiday as well. For Pat, it was actually a vacation day, but the plant shuts down (or something like that) so he can't get much done anyway. The French call that extra day -- Le pont - or bridge day.

So in honor of Armistice Day the theme of this London trip was WWI & II. What better way to see London than through the eyes of Winston Churchill? We wore the red poppy lapel button for the entire weekend (we should start something like that in the US) and visited war memorials and tombs -starting with Edward the Confessor at the Westminster Abbey accompanied by the verger of the abbey (definite must do).

Pat is a big walking tour guy - despite the rain - so we signed up for a pub walk. Richard III from London Walks was our host for the evening and his style was quite dramatic, but the walk was interesting. We met three brothers from the English countryside who were quite the loyal labour party members visiting London to honour their father the veteran of WWII. They were singing the praises of the Obama election, and we were able to talk about what Gordon Brown had done right for the financial crisis, whom they were thrilled with.

Our next walk was not so informative because the guide had a speaking style that was difficult to follow, but the interesting weaving of old architecture with new is really a London novelty. There is a fantastic building by the same architect as the one who did the Pompidou Center in Paris, and the London version looks like a robot station. There is also a beautiful Victorian style passage for shopping/food/tourism that was the back drop for the Harry Potter movies, and the guide took us to see London's City Hall, on the eve of the swearing in of the new Lord Mayor. (I just wish I could have understood more of what he was saying...)

Our third walk was the best. This time in Soho and another pub walk (note: it's not a pub crawl, as they only stop 3 times and no one gets overly drunk). Pat loved the beer, me the stories. Lots of who lived where and what does that plaque mean, that slot in the wall was for what? etc. Not to mention beautifully classical English pubs - inside and the out all with names like The Duck and the Hound, The Three Greyhounds, names that tell a story.

Another highlight of the trip was a comedian "the TinselWorm," Bill Bailey. He was really funny for the most part. It was a little tough hearing the first 15 minutes of how much of a joke "W" had made of the US in the eyes of the world, but there was some truth in each of his jabs. For instance, he played the theme song to Friends as he flashed pictures of the New Orleans residents struggling to be rescued and still without homes. He didn't just pick on the US though, he bashed UBS bank for it's cache of "Nazi Gold" and of course there is lots about royalty.

Our last day was actually Veteran's Day. We were in the Imperial War Museum for the 2 minutes of silence at exactly 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month some 90 years later. It was a powerful reminder. The museum did a good job of depicting the stories of everyone from a country that committed more than just money and soldiers to fight a war that they hoped would never occur again. Then we spent a few hours underground at the Churchill Museum wandering through the rabbit warren of rooms where the military ran their strategy sessions during WWII. All the old equipment is still there, apparently similarly to how it was staged then. Talk about your War Rooms.

The last step was to get our luggage from the Earl's Court Hotel (The Enterprise, which I would recommend) and then hot foot it back to the new Eurostar Station. The train was packed, but comfortable and uneventful. I finally felt like I could start to get some sleep as we headed back towards Paris, and my own bed.