Let’s start with a bit of off-color humor, eh what?
Day 6
We started at the Globe Theater, and took the entertaining, actor-led tour.
They were setting up for their production of Macbeth, inspired by Gustav Dore’s etchings of Dante’s Inferno.
We went back to the Tate Modern, this time to actually look at the art. I have to say it was a bit of a disappointment, even though I loves me some modern art. They do have a great bookstore, though. This first shot is a bit of found art by Alison.
After that we went to see Warhorse. Absolutely amazing play based on a YA novel about a horse drafted into the army in WW1, just when cavalry became obsolete in the face of modern war technology. It’s supposedly coming to NY soon, so go see it if you get a chance.
Day 7
The (aforementioned wonder-family) the Gormleys took us to Greenwich to see the Christopher Wren buildings of the former Naval College campus, the National Maritime Museum, and the Royal Observatory where they mark the Meridian for Greenwich Mean Time.
That last pic is Zula the wolfhound, who is incredibly sweet, and who pretty much looks exactly like my drawings of Odysseus’ faithful dog Argos, in The Odyssey (coming out October 12!) When we got home I did a few drawings for the Gormleys of Zula, Gabriella, and Mary Clare. I also played on their trampoline!
Day 8
This was the day we were supposed to fly home, but our flight got canceled due to a certain unpronounceable volcano in Iceland. We were flying American, and they handled the whole thing very poorly. They didn’t cancel us until we were at the gate, and made us walk all the way back to the check-in to reschedule. They tried to put us on the same flight the next day, but we asked a lot of annoying questions and eventually learned that a 757 cannot carry enough fuel to fly around the ash cloud, so we got ourselves put on a different flight with a larger plane (a 767).
After that, we headed back into the city, counting our blessings that we had a free place to stay and nothing super-urgent to rush home to. We didn’t have time to do a whole lot, but we went to visit the Museum of Natural History, which has a lot of cool stuff displayed in an absolutely magnificent building. I think the last drawing I did might be my favorite from the trip.
(click to make larger)
After that we went to see the Peter Pan sculpture in Kensington Gardens, then headed home by way of the opera house.
We also saw this cool wall of colored pencils.
Day 9
Finally we flew out. All transatlantic flights were being diverted around the volcanic ash cloud, so the got an extra couple of hours in the air (boo!), and some pretty spectacular views of Greenland (magnificent and inhospitable!).
And there you have it — our wonderful honeymoon in Paris & London.
Now you’ll have to excuse me for a bit, as I have to find an apartment in NY, move into it, set up my new studio, and finish a little book I’m working on by October — plus a bunch of marketing stuff I need to do for the Odyssey, plus polishing off a proposal for the next book. Yikes! You may not hear much from me for a while.
