Getting Lost in London's Underground Rapid Transit System-The TUBE

I woke up this morning remembering our trip to London in 1992. The portion of my dream that was very vivid is how Macrine and I got lost in the TUBE. Luckily, a friendly middle-aged English gentleman helped us on how to read the Tube map and we manage to get back our bearings with only 20 minutes delay back to our hotel.  This incident reminded me that not all Londoners are unfriendly to tourist and visitors.  

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. The Underground has its origins in the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground passenger railway. It has 11 lines and more than 250 stations. In this blog I am reposting Memories of Our Trip to London and Bath, England as follows:

Memories of Our Trip to London and Bath, England

London Tower Bridge
 

Macrine and I went to London on a whim, that is no previous planning. I saw an ad in the Washington Times dated July 21, 1992 to see a football game between the Redskins and the SF 49'ers in Wembly Stadium, London for August 16, 1992. I immediately called Macrine at work and ask her if she could take a week of from work.
 

The package consists of 5 days and 4 nights at the Scandic Crown Hotel in the London Docklands, two tickets to the football game, continental breakfast daily, full day tour of London and a mini cruise of the Thames River, welcome dinner hosted by Ricky Erwins (no.32) of the Redskins, and a round trip non-stop airfare from Dulles to Heathrow including ground transfer and tour guide via a luxury motor coach for only $1,099 per person. The package was offered by Trafalgar Tours, Bethesda, Maryland.  Other tours around London are available for an additional fee.

Macrine and I took the one day tour to Bath, England with a reasonable additional fee of less than $50 per person which included lunch and a round trip train fare from London to Bath.  We had a grand time in Bath, seeing the Roman Baths museum and enjoying a lunch of Fish and Chips.

On this vacation, we saw the outskirts of the Buckingham Palace, Westmister Abbey, the Big Ben, rode the London underground railway system called The TUBE, shopped at Harrod's and saw Miss Saigon at the Drury Lane Royal Theatre.

The highlight of our tour was not the Redskins and 49er's game, inspite of the fact that the Niners beat the Redskin 17-15, three seconds before the end of the game with a field goal, but the show, Miss Saigon. Our group of 40 tourists were all Redskin fans except for Macrine and I, so we were outnumbered and received a lot of taunting and boos when we cheered for the Niners.

We paid scalped prices for the two tickets to Miss Saigon, but it was worth it. Tears rolling from our eyes moved by the story and music of the modern Madame Butterfly musical will never be erased in our memory. The leading lady was not Lea Salonga, but another Filipina singer. The leading man, Junix Inocian, who inherited Jonathan Pyrce role, is also a Filipino and did a good job singing the "American Dream" song. 

The Royal Crescent in Bath
 

We took a one day tour to Bath, Avon about 75 minutes train ride from Paddington Station in London. Paddington Station reminds me of Union Station in Washington, DC. However, you have to pay to use the WC(rest rooms) or CR (Comfort Rooms in the Philippines)
 

One of Bath's principal industries is tourism, with more than one million staying visitors and 3.8 million day visitors to the city on an annual basis. The visits mainly fall into the categories of heritage tourism and cultural tourism. This is aided by the city's selection in 1987 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognizing its international cultural significance. All significant stages of the history of England are represented within the city, from the Roman Baths (including their significant Celtic presence), to Bath Abbey and the Royal Crescent, to Thermae Bath Spa in the 2000s. 

The Roman Bath
 

The size of the tourist industry in Bath is reflected in the almost 300 places of accommodation – including over 80 hotels, and over 180 bed and breakfasts – many of which are located in Georgian buildings. The history of the city is displayed at the Building of Bath Collection which is housed in a building which was built in 1765 as the Trinity Presbyterian Church. It was also known as the Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel, as she lived in the attached house from 1707 to 1791. Two of the hotels have 'five-star' ratings. There are also two campsites located on the western edge of the city. 

The city also contains about 100 restaurants, and a similar number of public houses and bars. Several companies offer open-top bus tours around the city, as well as tours on foot and on the river. Since 2006, with the opening of Thermae Bath Spa, the city has attempted to recapture its historical position as the only town in the United Kingdom offering visitors the opportunity to bathe in naturally heated spring waters.

For more information on the Tube- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground

Note: Macrine and I have also used the subway systems of Chicago( the L), New York(the Trains), Washington,DC( METRO) as well as the San Francisco Rapid Transit Systems (BART) with ease and very proud of the experience.