Wanderlust woman on Clapton, Crumpets and a perfect Saturday in London

I am sure you are wondering what Eric Clapton and crumpets have in common…….simple – they are both yummy treats, especially on a sunny, spring Saturday in London.  They are all the ingredients for a perfect day.

I had been known, during my tenure as the wandering nomad of rock journalists, to jump on a plane and hop across the pond for a weekend getaway.  Now, with the dollar better against the pound, and my idol (the god of rock guitar himself) playing at the Royal Albert Hall, I had no excuse not to revert to my rock ways and pop over for tea, crumpets and Clapton.

I was as giddy as a “valley girl” on prom night to see the sun when I woke up.  I headed for the tube……..destination?……the Queen’s Walk via Tower Bridge.  It’s on the south bank of the River Thames and the ideal place to people-watch, stroll, shop and eat.

I always start the day on the Tower of London side of the Bridge.  This allows you to visit the Tower and gaze at the Crown Jewels if you’ve never been and also provides for pretty picture taking of Tower Bridge (not to be confused with London Bridge, which is the next bridge upstream).  Tower Bridge is as an iconic symbol of London as Big Ben and offers a great vantage point of the sites if you climb to the top.  On a rare instance you may even see the span opened – it only happens about a thousand times a year and reportedly needs 24 hour notice to make it happen.

I hate crowds but somehow don’t mind them on Tower Bridge; it’s part of the charm and hoards of people taking advantage of the sun in London.  Once you descend the bridge on the southern side of the river you find yourself on the Queens Walk.  It was lunchtime when I happened by and I made an immediate left turn for Pizza Express and my favorite Pizza Veneziana.  Not only is it yummy but it also makes you feel good because the restaurant donates a portion of all Veneziana sales to the charity “Venice in Peril.” (See, always an Italian connection)  Small world too, because during this visit to one of my usual London haunts, my waiter just happened to be from Pompei.  All things Italian just seem to keep crossing my path!

You never know what you’ll find along the Queen’s Walk, there are fairs and kiddie rides, crafters selling wares and there are the shops of the Hays Galleria which leads out to the London Dungeon, where ghouls and scary creatures greet tourists on the street.  Make sure to stop at “Absolutely Starving” en route – yummy gourmet delicacies on Tooley Street.  (Can you tell this trip to London had a food theme?)

A quick dinner with a good friend (A Marks & Sparks delicious 3-course dinner and a burger stuffed with Stilton) and then off to the Albert Hall.  Again, I can’t say enough about the weather.  It was a beautiful night (although any night with Clapton is a beautiful night); you didn’t even need a jacket.  How rare is that in London?

I bought the ticket online before I left NY and got one dead center, directly behind the sound board, and it was the last ticket available.  Can you believe it?  I am 16 all over again every time I see this man.  He can make a guitar cry and give me goosebumps in the process.

I feel we’ve been through a lot together over the decades.  He saw me through adolescent traumas and boyfriend hiccups and I saw him through drug addiction, stealing George Harrison’s wife and now sobriety.  We have history.  Seriously!

Most New Yorkers would see a British crowd at the Royal Albert Hall as staid when attending a rock concert but I needed a bit of sanity in my life this visit.  The last time I saw Eric in NY at the Garden a woman yakked on her cel phone throughout his soul-wrenching version of “Over the Rainbow.”  Fortunately, the Brits won’t have any of that and I was able to enjoy every blissful second of the two-hour show.  It was also nice to see such a wide age-range in the audience, from those in their 60s and 70s (yes, they were there) to those in their 20s hearing Slowhand for the first time.  He’s on tour all summer with Steve Winwood………..I suggest you run and hock your firstborn (even if he’s 18) to see them!

TOURIST TIPS:

When taking the tube to the Tower of London, take the District or Circle line to either the Monument or Tower Hill stop.  It places you on the correct side of the river and in close proximity to the Tower.

If visiting the London Dungeon, be prepared to wait.  There is always a line to get into the Dungeon and it seems the lines are even longer when it rains.  Instead, be smart and buy your priority tickets online ahead of time and you can specify the time for entry.