I can, however, wholeheartedly recommend the Original London Walks (http://www.walks.com) if you’d like a knowledgeable guide to lead you around London. I’ve never had a bad walk with them, but some of the best include the Jack the Ripper walk, the Haunted London walk, the…aw, hell – they’re all grand! I still remember my very first Walk, way back in 1999; Tom the barrister was my guide around Westminster and the West End. Alan is quite the guide, too, with his Sherlock Holmes and Oscar Wilde costumes.

And do take the tour if you stop by the Globe. Better yet… this time of year, they should be running plays. If you can bear to stand for three hours, get a Groundling ticket and get to the theatre early. Stake out a place at the edge of the stage and plant your elbows on its edge. It’s the ONLY way to watch Shakespeare. (They do also have seats, if you require one; just be careful you don’t wind up behind the stage, unable to see.)

There was also a lovely tour some friends and I took around Stratford back in 2008 that included a stop at Trinity, but I can’t recall where we met up with the guide or the name of the company. Ask around.

Oh, have I mentioned the Royal Pavilion down in Brighton? Pseudo-Eastern decadence at its finest to be seen at George IV’s pleasure palace.

Sorry for the length of this comment. I just watched a film set in London and am feeling a bit Homesick, so am encouraging you to all the places I wish I could be.

Enjoy. x

Thanks for living an adventurous life abroad for those of us who consider Costco a long trip (or it just feels long with three little ones in tow!) We miss you!!

Angel: Adding the V&A to the must-see list…we had actually meant to do that the day we visited Kensington Gardens, but it turned out to be the most perfect weather imaginable that day, and understanding the rarity of such a day in England, we just couldn’t make ourselves go inside. BUT – I hope to go the week after next. Why don’t you come and go with me?

Wendy: Adding Royal Albert Hall to the must-do list. We actually DID see Royal Albert Hall AND the Prince Albert Monument when we went to Kensington (see the photos on Facebook) but I’m dying to go INSIDE the Hall. But can you tell me please, what “the Proms” are????

Keep sending me hither and yon my new British friends!!! (Remember “Something’s Missing”? According to Dale, I’m hither and he’s yon.)

Please think of me when you visit the Victoria and Albert Museum (my favorite) When I am passing through Heathrow on my way to Africa I always take the tube there and enjoy a few hours of time-travel back to where the relics take me.

Shakespeare is not buried in Westminster. (I’m sure you were referring to his memorial and just didn’t specify that. :-) ) He remains buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, in part due to the curse contained within his epitaph:

Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,
To digg the dvst encloased heare.
Bleste be ye man yt spares thes stones,
And cvrst be he yt moves my bones.

[Good friend, for Jesus's sake forebear
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.]

Will was well aware of the custom of his time where a skeleton would be exhumed and its bones moved to the boneyard* to make way for a new body, and didn’t want it to happen to him. Even during a church renovation in 2008, the workers were careful not to disturb his grave.

If you’re ever in Stratford, do stop by Trinity. It’s an adorably gorgeous church. And if you pop into the Dirty Duck for a pint or meal, you just might rub elbows with an RSC player. The pub is near the theatre and actors often stop in for a post-performance drink.

*In the boneyard, bones were piled and burned. “Bone-fire” is the root of “bonfire”.