Never been a big fan of the Beatles. But everyone and his brother seems to love them. Today, I went up to Hampstead Heath, and as I was checking out the Keats House (as in "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" Keats) and Regent's Park, I thought I'd hoof the extra couple of blocks to see the iconic intersection at 3 Abbey Road.
The guide books are right: this is not the place to try to recreate the famous photo! Cars rocket through this intersection like there weren't even zebra stripes there, but sure enough when I got there, there were a half-dozen tourists goose-stepping across the road like John, George, Paul, and Ringo. The people in cars were NOT happy. When I walked by, I said to a small group, "Beach Boys, right?" I wasn't about to try it myself, but...well, look at the picture.
In other news, I hit Hampstead Heath and Regent's Park. HH is one of those wild parks Londoners love, and when you go in, you can almost forget you're in a big-ass city. Regent's, on the other hand, is a meticulously manicured park. There are a buttload of flowers in nearly every direction you look, to the point where it smells like a scented candle shop. (A bit of an overstatement--there are also a great expanse of football and cricket fields, as well as a famous outdoor theater.)
Finally, the Keats House. It's a Georgian house, well-restored, that's really only fit for the true Keats disciple. It's rather barren of furnishings, but has some neat period paintings and some busts of Keats. The gift shop is nice, but the best thing would probably be just to visit Keats' works. Begin with "Ode on a Grecian Urn," move on to "Ode to a Nightengale" and "On Looking at Chapman's Homer," and if you're really ambitious, try out "Hyperion."
He ne'er is crowned / With immortality, who fears to follow / Where airy voices lead.
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