(A Tale of) Four Cities Confidential: A Photo Essay

So as you may have heard, a certain Shady Dame and I recently spent some time across the pond. Herewith, selected highlights of our whirlwind sojourn in the British Isles and France.

To paraphrase Paul Simon, it's all a blur to me now, so it's a good thing I had the foresight to take a bunch of pictures. Incidentally, the following photos are best viewed by clicking on them to increase their size. Thank you.

Anyway, after a long, unconscionably delayed flight, we arrived, somewhat exhausted, in the ancestral home of the Fab Four and had this as our introduction to Liverpool -- as seen in the lobby of our hotel. He seemed like a nice young man, but the high heels struck us as a tad odd.

Turns out there was a good reason for the shoes, and kudos to receptionist Chris!

On the Liverpool docks, and yes -- that cat sculpture is made from discarded styrofoam coffee cups.

Incidentally, as you can see from these two street signs....

...although Liverpudlians nominally speak English, it's obviously not the same version that we Yanks do.

In any case, we found Liverpool utterly charming, but after two days of soaking up the atmosphere it was off to Oxford and the Pitt-Rivers Museum (of art and archaeology), where we encountered a stuffed stork that seems to have been art-directed by Chuck Jones and Friz Freling.

This sign, which made me laugh out loud, was glimpsed outside a seafood store at Oxford's famed Covered Market.

Later, we went in search of the Inspector Morse tv series, and found a charming pub that had been used as a location in the show. Imagine our surprise, then...

...when the bartender turned out to be Manuel, from Fawlty Towers.

Meanwhile, over at another museum -- the charmingly monikered Ashmolean -- we discovered this outfit. Which is NOT a costume from a movie...

...but is, in fact, something once worn by the actual Lawrence of Arabia.

AND THEN LONDON!!!

While walking down the street nearby our hotel, we chanced across this darling little hat store...

...where BG tried on this remarkable hat.

Which, although tempted, we did not buy.

Then we took in a James Bond exhibit at the London Film Museum.

Jet packs! We were promised jet packs!

Hmm...this car looks strangely familiar.

And we found this in the museum gift shop.

Obviously, we had to buy one, and it now graces the entrance to BG's apartment in the Q-Boro.

Q-Boro. Seems appropriate, now that I think of it.

Later, after a splendid meal in the West End, we attended a performance of the hilarious farce The Play That Goes Wrong.

It was screamingly funny, but this really pissed us off.

I mean -- do you know how much those tickets cost???!!!!

The next day, still annoyed but at least well-rested, we spent several hours at the National Portrait Gallery, which has many treasures well worth the trip. For example, The Dream of Saint Helena, by Paolo Veronese (1570).

Or as it's better known -- Stop Sufferin, Take Bufferin.

Another stop you in your tracks moment was provided by this masterpiece from 1620. Say what you will about the unknown Flemish artist who painted it, but he was really showing off.

I was also much taken with Philosophy, by Salvator Rosa, circa 1645.

The Latin inscription held by the figure in the painting (widely assumed to be the artist himself) translates as "If you don't have anything interesting to say, then keep your freaking mouth shut." Seriously.

And what can I say about this amazing self-portrait by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, from 1742...

...except -- wotta dish.

But my favorite, hands down, is this fabulous family portrait by William Hogarth.

I must admit, I did not know that Hogarth had done anything but black-and-white caricatures. But I was even more surprised when I looked carefully at the top right portion of the painting...

...and discovered that somehow it featured The Incomparable Eddie©!

The next day, it was off to Paris -- where we've been so many times now that it seems like a second home -- by the Chunnel Train...

...where we decamped at our beloved Duquesne Eiffel hotel.

With this view out of our room window. (It's less impressive than it looks -- as they say in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, it's only a model.)

BTW, for some reason, the Frenchies seem to like this sparkling lemon beverage...

...but I thought it tasted like Pschitt.

Okay, posting all these photos has been exhausting.

Have a great weekend, everybody! See you on Monday with more traditional power pop related stuff!!!