Dream of Europe

-"Dream of Europe" is made possible by... -At Regent Seven Seas Cruises, we believe that personal space is essential to the luxury travel experience.

With no more than 732 guests, our ships allow you to explore the world and discover the freedom of having space at sea.

-Custom, privately guided travel.

Kensington.

See the world differently.

-I'm Kathy McCabe.

In this series, we'll explore the stunning landscapes, unearth the centuries of history, and discover what makes Europe one of the most captivating continents on Earth.

Join me as we Dream of Europe.

I can't believe I'm fulfilling my lifelong dream to learn how to row a gondola.

It is amazing.

E stupendo.

Over the years, you've joined me for countless adventures in Italy.

Oh, my.

Mio dio.

[ Laughs ] Now I've expanded my horizons... [ Cork pops ] Cheers.

...to take you to all of Europe... Whoo!

-Whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo!

-...in this new travel series.

"Dream of Europe."

Take one.

Every TV show needs a good theme song.

That's why I'm here in London at one of the most famous addresses in the city, known in part for its iconic crosswalk, Abbey Road.

My friend, composer Alessandro Roveri, has joined me at Abbey Road Studios.

-We made the dream into a song.

-[ Laughs ] That's true.

We made the dream into a song.

I'm entering a place revered by musicians, where echoes of legendary melodies and the spirit of countless performances linger in the air.

Some consider this almost something of a holy place.

-We're in Studio Two, which is probably, I would say, the world's most famous recording studio.

-Mirek Stiles has worked at Abbey Road Studios for more than 25 years.

-Abbey Road was the world's first purpose-built recording studio.

-In the early 1900s, artists were recording their music in church halls and basements, and the sound quality was marginal at best.

EMI Records felt there was a need for a true studio for musicians to realize their creative vision.

After an exhaustive search, they discovered a manor house in a quiet London neighborhood that felt perfect.

And in 1931, Abbey Road Studios was born.

Then in 1934, the first-ever stereo-music recording was made here.

These walls have witnessed the creation of iconic recordings, from symphonic masterpieces to revolutionary rock albums.

-Where the Beatles recorded.

You know the Beatles, right?

-Heard of them.

-Okay, yeah, so it's where they recorded probably 90% of their output, in this -- in this very room.

-Incredible.

And some of the -- many of the instruments, the microphones, the pieces in this studio have a great history especially related to the Beatles.

Can you give me a rundown of what's in here?

-We've got loads of instruments here, loads of recording equipment here, loads of microphones here that have just been here for decades and have been used by, you know, amazing kind of artists right through to the latest cutting-edge digital equipment and everything in between.

So you mix that all together and you just get this very unique experience when you come to Abbey Road.

-So the Mrs. Mills piano, of course, is famous.

-Yes, behind me is the Mrs. Mills piano, and it's from 1908, so the Beatles used it quite a lot.

"With a Little Help from My Friends," some say "Lady Madonna."

-What is it about the acoustics here, this studio, these walls?

-Some people are really attracted to, you know, the history that these rooms kind of have soaked up over the years.

I have to say, they don't make them like this anymore.

It's like an old sort of church hall or something, you know?

We've modernized over the years, but the shell we wouldn't touch for love nor money because it has got this certain sound to it.

-Yeah.

-And I think when people come in here, um, it takes you in a certain creative direction that maybe wouldn't get anywhere else.

-Yeah.

Yeah.

-It's a very special place.

-Abbey Road Studios reinvented itself in the 1980s as the go-to studio for Hollywood film scores.

-First big hit here was "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and it kind of snowballed -- -What a score.

-It snowballed from there, really.

-Tell me some of the other most famous scores that have been recorded here.

-Well, "Return of the Jedi" was recorded here.

"The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, a lot of the "Harry Potters," and now a lot of the Marvel films.

Composers love to come to London, one, because they -- they love the sound of Abbey Road, and also the -- the musicians in London are just absolutely amazing, and the orchestras in London are amazing.

So when you kind of put those two things together, like, these amazing musicians and these amazing rooms, these amazing acoustics, you kind of get this sort of magical, cinematic sound.

-Composers and musicians from around the world can come to London to rent any of the studios seven days a week, working with one of Abbey Road's legendary audio engineers.

Now, recording artists don't even need to travel to benefit from its name and unique sound.

-If you can't come to Abbey Road, a bit of Abbey Road can maybe come to you.

So we offer all sorts of services remotely, things like online mastering, online mixing where you upload your files, you work with an engineer here, you have a discussion, and we can do software emulations of some of the -- the classic old bits of equipment we still got here so that people around the world can get that sound.

-Mm.

I'm here in Studio Two, along with our composer Alessandro, and the London musicians we've hired to record the theme song for "Dream of Europe."

I just love, as you know, the song that you wrote for the new theme for "Dream of Europe."

How did you come up with that?

-We wrote it together in a sense, because I was sending you pieces, you were sending me feedbacks, and we built this song together.

And this is very meaningful for the show and of you, of course, because I know you put your heart into the show, and I did the same with the music.

-I gave you three or four words -- "lightness" and "dreaming" and "movement."

-Yeah, "movement."

-"Movement."

-And the idea of something that sound European in a way... -Yes.

-...it's like a -- a flight that brings you to something to discover, let's say.

-For me, it's bells.

It's church bells.

It's in the mountains and the cities.

-Yeah.

And also for me, it was the idea of this part.

Something that I associate with the great tradition of classical music originated in Europe.

And then we decided to make a song out of the team.

It is -- -The beginning is my favorite.

-Since it was a dream, I thought of something that sounded like entering a dream.

-Yeah.

It feels very decisive, like someone has made a decision.

They don't just dream.

They're taking the leap and flying.

-And then we want to tell a story.

-Yeah.

You said that we should write lyrics.

-A heartfelt story of the people and of us.

-The end with how "we made a dream into a song" is beautiful.

-Yeah.

-Let's record from the top to the a tempo.

-To mix the song, our audio engineer, Lewis Jones, must record each instrument and voice individually to isolate separate tracks.

-Here we go.

-No, I had some dirty notes.

The piano is the instrument that I compose on.

So it's a way for me to hear how the music works and if it delivers the meaning I'm looking for.

What do you think?

-I think that was good.

-Yes.

-Let's get the handbells next, yeah?

-Okay.

[ Handbells chiming ] We thought that the handbells added a dreamy sound, and I think it works really well.

-Do you want to do the trio?

The clarinet?

-About the clarinet, I think.

-Oh, yes.

Yeah, we need to -- -We can keep the same for both versions.

What do you think?

-Yes.

Yeah.

Of course.

I was listening to the clarinet that time.

Which one did we just play back, Marta?

-This one.

-The clarinet is an instrument that joins classical and popular music exactly as in our song.

-Here we go.

-I thought the cello would bring emotion to the song through a deep musical sound.

The lyrics I wrote are meant to be meaningful yet playful.

So Chris' voice sounds perfect.

- Life is a truth to be told -Here we go.

-And now it's my turn to record the open for this series.

-"I'm Kathy McCabe.

Join me as we dream of Europe."

-That felt good.

-Why don't we just review each one?

-Now that we've recorded everything, it's time to mix it all together.

-Just play that back one more time.

That's the earlier take of the end section of the clarinet.

-So would you put that on the end of the first one?

-I think so.

-Mm.

-I think that works nicely, don't you?

Yeah?

-So how long does it take to mix a song like this?

-Uh, this will take a couple of hours.

-Mm.

-So editing it, first of all, and then just getting your sounds right.

I've now got a piano live mix, a cello live mix, clarinet live mix, and so on.

So, actually, I can just balance those live mixes.

-It's incredible when you -- you have many choices when you record each individually.

-Exactly.

So now we've got all the parts separate.

I can mix it into stems So you can always... -Decide.

-...decide later.

-I'm the great decider of later.

[ Laughter ] "Dream of Europe."

Abbey Road Studios.

Take one.

- Life is a truth to be told It's a spark, it's a tale that unfolds Life is a flight through the dark Make your choice, use your heart Hey, hold on We just made a dream Into a song -[ Chuckles ] Perfect.

That was perfect.

Can we do it one more time?

[ Chuckles ] As we wrap up our recording day, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for what we've accomplished.

Alessandro and I have worked for months to make this dream come true, and I'm thrilled to see our vision come alive in this historic and hallowed musical space.

What has surprised you about being here?

-Music is my life, so being here, recording my music with these musicians in this temple of music, for me, it's, uh... -A dream.

-...incredible.

-[ Chuckles ] -For me, it's a huge emotion.

Uh... Everything is magic here.

It's joy.

-Yeah.

-The joy of music.

That's what this place is for me, and the -- the -- the magic of the music and -- that continue and -- -Forever.

And it continues past us.

-The song, it really comes out from core ideas of how we make our dream come true in life.

-That's, like, the point of the whole show.

[ Laughs ] -Exactly.

-It's one of the great gifts of my life.

-Me, too.

-Grazie.

-After a job well done, we head out to the crosswalk to recreate that famous album cover by the Beatles.

If you know me, you know that if there's a dog nearby, I have to say hello.

Who do we have here?

-This is, uh, Dior.

-Dior?

That's a very fancy name.

Oh, my God.

She's like a stuffed animal.

-She is.

She -- She -- -So does she live here on Abbey Road?

-Yes, yes, we just live across the road.

-So you live across from... -Yeah, yeah.

-...the most famous recording studio... -We are lucky.

-...in the world.

-Do you ever see famous musicians?

-Oh, constantly.

All of them, they come across here.

-So I came to Abbey Road for the music, but I found a beautiful dog.

[ Laughs ] London's vibrant performing-arts scene extends to live theater.

It is hard to come to the British capital and not take in a play or a musical, and if there is one place to do so, it is at the historic Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

I'm thrilled to be at the Drury Lane Theatre.

I think I was here many, many years ago with my parents on my first trip to London.

It is filled with history and magic.

-It's an incredible theater.

It's the oldest continuously operating theater in the world.

-David Kerby-Kendall is not only a tour guide for Drury Lane, he's a working actor.

-So we date back to 1663.

It's where the first musical was staged in the world, where pantomime was created, where moving scenery and regular rehearsals, color lighting, modern terms that we use in theater, the crew, props, all began here, as well.

-How did the word "crew" come to be?

-"Crew" comes from the 1660s when the theater was first built.

So underneath the theater there are tunnels that run down to the River Thames.

Back in the 1660s, sailors weren't paid for the time their ship was in dock, so what they would do would be to run up here and work backstage on all the shows, because they were doing pretty much the same thing they did on the ships.

On the ships, they'd be pulling the ropes and the rigging to raise and lower the sails.

Here they'd be pulling the ropes to raise and lower the scenery, and that is why, 361 years later, we still call everyone the crew.

-And the word "props"?

-The word "props" comes from David Garrick, who was our actor-manager in the 1740s, 1750s.

He's known as the father of modern theater.

He realized that people were actually stealing the items from the actual productions.

-Mm-hmm.

-So in order to stop people doing this, he would stamp in ink on every single item "property of the theater."

-Ohhh.

-Over the years, this was shortened to theater properties and, as we now call them, props.

-Wow.

-It's just so cool that both crew and props that we now use all around the world in theater, TV, and film actually originated in the tunnels underneath Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

We're the only theater in the world with two royal boxes, because King George III -- -Oh, that King George.

-Yeah, that King George.

-[ Chuckles ] I know him well.

-The famous King George.

King George III and his son had a fight here.

The prince turned up drunk as a skunk, as usual, to see a show, and King George walked up to him and said, "You are drunk, sir.

Remove yourself this instant."

"Yeah, well, perhaps you'd like to remove your personality.

Oh, no, you can't, 'cause you don't have one."

-[ Gasps ] -At which point, the king punched the prince in the face.

They had a fistfight.

The prince was banished to the box on the other side of the auditorium.

So we have a prince's side, the prince's box, and a king's side with the king's box over there.

We tell a lot of ghost stories here.

-Yes.

Tell me one, because I love ghost stories.

-The Man in Gray is our most famous ghost.

And he haunts the grand circles, the second level up.

And he's been seen by literally hundreds and hundreds of people.

But the Man in Grey is a good omen.

If he appears, the show will run for a long time.

-You can feel the energy in this place.

There's a very, like, light, energetic, life-affirming... -Yes.

Andrew Lloyd Webber bought the theater in the year 2000.

And it was always his intention to one day restore it to its original Georgian glory.

And so in 2019, we had a �60 million renovation.

So we now have this incredible, state-of-the-art theater.

The grid and fly floor is completely new.

It can actually handle the weight of 18 double-decker buses.

You can actually raise the stage to the height of the Royal Circle, take off the front of the Royal Circle, and create a completely new floor level.

So there's this modern aspect to it, but it's the history of Drury Lane which is just so identifiable with British theater.

-I could talk to you all day.

I'm already planning to come back and hunt some ghosts.

-And see a show.

-We'll do that together.

-But I'm kind of looking for a little something to eat and drink.

Do you have a recommendation?

-Then afternoon tea in our beautiful Grand Saloon.

It's all Art Deco furniture in there as well.

Gorgeous crockery.

It's the epitome of being English.

-[ Laughs ] I look forward to it.

Among those who have enjoyed tea at Drury Lane -- Andrew Lloyd Webber and his Havanese, Mojito, and the King and Queen of England.

Oh, my.

Here we go.

And today I'm enjoying this afternoon tradition with the baker who created Drury Lane's spectacular spread, Lily Jones of the Lily Vanilli bakery.

I think the thing about tea is you want it to be a beautiful, civilized experience.

-It's about the whole.

drama of it.

It's about dressing up, which you have perfectly, the details in the room, the experience of grandeur.

We want it to be a very decadent, indulgent, glamorous experience.

-What I'm enjoying are these ceramics.

I love dogs, and there's a little beagle looking at me right here.

So tell me a little bit more about tea and how it became such an institution.

-Afternoon tea dates back to the mid-19th century.

There was a duchess, Duchess of Bedford, and she started to get hungry around 4, and there was nothing for her to enjoy.

-Don't we all?

-Right?.

She wanted a snack, essentially.

But she made it very fab.

And it quickly became a kind of very fashionable high-society event.

Shall we start with a scone?

-Okay.

Yes.

What are the choices in terms of the toppings?

-So that's a very traditional scone accoutrement.

It's clotted cream and -- -Mmm!

The clotted cream.

-I remember when I lived in England many years ago, we had a lot of clotted cream.

-And you can just, like, heap it on there.

Don't be shy.

-How about that?

-That's perfect.

Bit of cream, bit of jam.

-Bit of jam.

-Slap it on.

-Perfect.

-Dripping.

Mmm.

Absolutely delicious.

Tastes more like a biscuit.

Mmm!

-Lots of butter.

-Mmm!

Like how many pillows?

-Like enough that you don't want to know.

-Oh, my God.

Chicken pie.

-A crumpet with salmon and cucumber.

-Mm-hmm.

Mm -hmm.

-And then we have a savory Madeleines, which is with Earl Grey cream and some beetroot.

-I think I'll try the chicken pie.

-Nice.

All right.

-Mmm.

-Little bit of spice.

-It's very British, because it has that Indian... -Exactly.

-It's got that Indian taste.

Kind of a curry taste.

Oh my God.

It's excellent.

We saved the best for last, which is dessert.

-We have a twist on a really English traditional dish, which is sticky toffee pudding.

-Yes.

-Passion fruit cake.

And believe it or not, ice cream was a huge thing in the Regency era.

And it was a huge kind of society trend, and they were really experimental and creative with flavors in a way that we haven't really seen again until recently.

So we wanted to honor that.

-And what flavor is here?

-That is a mint chocolate chip.

-Oh, my favorite.

I know that tea is dainty, but with the ice cream I can just use my hands, right?

-Absolutely.

-Okay.

Mmm.

Mmm.

It's very refreshing.

-Mm-hmm.

-Like a palate cleanser.

-A nice palate cleanser.

Yeah.

-Mm-hmm.

Now, finally, this is quite a work of art.

-We hand-paint and hand-make all of the chocolate.

-I don't know.

How does one eat a cherub?

-Just pop it in.

-I feel bad.

-No.

Go for it.

-Mmm.

Delicious.

So I think afternoon tea is perfect for when you're touring London because you get a second wind.

I'm re-energized.

I've got a little sugar, a little salt, some caffeine, and I'm ready to go.

-And tea.

Cheers.

-Fueled up by British tea and still on a high from our Abbey Road Studios recording session, I'm ready to explore much more of London.

Join me for our next episode, with everything we couldn't fit in this one, where I discover more of the buzz of the British capital...

I didn't know I would be meeting royalty on this trip.

...visiting royal gardens, learning to make Indian food... -That is bully bully.

-Mmm.

Bully bully.

...and meeting the most colorful characters in town.

[ Group cheering ] -"Dream of Europe" is made possible by... -At Regent Seven Seas Cruises, we believe that personal space is essential to the luxury travel experience.

With no more than 732 guests, our ships allow you to explore the world and discover the freedom of having space at sea.

-Custom, privately guided travel.

Kensington.

See the world differently.

-For more about visiting Europe, additional videos and a companion travel guide, visit dreamofeurope.com/tv.

Follow "Dream of Europe" on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.