Carol
writes: Our London tour continues…
The path to
the Tower of London leads straight over the River Thames by means of the iconic
Tower Bridge, one of London’s most identifiable landmarks.
The Jubilee
Walkway along the shore of the River Thames was a wonderful showcase of the new
and the old. The modern buildings of
London appeared impressive and very creatively designed, especially the one affectionately
called ‘The Shard.’
The Tower of
London has become famous, in addition to being infamous, for a number of
reasons. Like Windsor Castle, the Tower
was also built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century. Throughout 1000 years of history, it has
served as a defensive castle, a royal palace, and a prison complete with
execution grounds.
In today’s
more civilized times, it also serves as the keeper of the ‘Crown Jewels’, and
that is the huge draw for many of its visitors.
We had read that the snaking line to see the Crown Jewels can be very
long at times, so we headed there first thing to see those precious and sparkling
treasures. They were pretty awesome!
Some of the largest
and most famous gems in history were incorporated into numerous crowns, royal
maces and swords. Several pieces of supersized
dinnerware in gold and silver were also on display. There was no chance of taking pictures in
such a controlled, guarded and fortified setting like the Tower, so here are
two that I have pulled from the Internet.
No one in line with us seemed willing to chance what the punishment
would be for a secret forbidden photograph…
Some of the
Tower’s more unsavory history has included executions, torture, and cruel and arbitrary
imprisonment. Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane
Grey were just two of many who lost their lives/heads on the infamous Tower Green.
One of the
more quirky Tower legends asserts that the kingdom will fall if the Tower’s
resident ravens fly away. On our walking tour with one of the Tower’s famous
Beefeaters, we were told that today’s residents of the Tower take this legend very
seriously and feed the ravens so much that they are too ‘fat’ to fly away. Those birds really were chubby…
On to tackle the immense British Museum...Hands down, the British Museum contains some of the world’s finest collections that document world history. A minimum of one full day was required to appreciate its magnificent exhibits, and even then we found we had to be selective. We spent much of our time in the Assyrian, Greek, and Egyptian sections. Many of these specimens were ‘acquired’ when British power was at its zenith in these areas of the world. The size and scope of these collections was grander than any we had ever seen—anywhere, in any museum. We were awed by Assyrian lions,
Greek
Parthenon sculptures (one of the more controversial acquisitions that Greece is
demanding be given back) and other temple structures,
always fascinating
Egyptian mummies,
and one of
the most valuable ‘rocks’ in all of human history—the Rosetta Stone.
The Rosetta
Stone was such a fortuitous discovery because for the first time it provided
scholars the key to translating Egyptian hieroglyphics. The same passage was carved into the stone in
3 different scripts, two of which were understood, thus providing the
dictionary for translating the third unknown one that was written in
hieroglyphics.
By the end
of a long day marveling at displays, our feet and backs were complaining, but
our heads were happy and spinning at the wonders we had explored in the British
Museum.
We woke up the
next morning in the campground to a brilliant blue sky, so we decided that was
the day to go for one of our long London walks.
Our first stop was at St. Paul’s Cathedral, a treasured historic symbol so
dear to Londoners that incredible heroic measures were undertaken in WW II to
preserve it from the bombardment of German planes. St. Paul’s has been called the heart and soul
of London. It is where London celebrates,
as it did at the wedding of Charles and Diana.
It is also where Londoners grieve, as they did so dramatically by the
thousands in kinship and sympathy with America on 9/11. St. Paul’s was a veritable Who’s Who of the nation’s famous and
included actual graves or memorial plaques of some of the world’s most well-known
political and artistic legends, such as Lord Nelson, Christopher Wren, and John
Donne.
From St.
Paul’s Cathedral it was a short stroll across the Millennium Bridge
to the Tate
Modern Museum—one of our rare misfires.
We took one brief look, decided it wasn’t our cup of tea, and headed to
the nearest Tube station. Instead, we
enjoyed lunch at the always entertaining Covent Gardens market scene where we
listened to an accomplished tenor singing an aria from Puccini’s ‘Madame Butterfly’, followed by a group
of five musicians playing the likes of ‘Pachelbel’s
Canon in D’. Both of these
selections have extraordinary personal meaning for me, what I have come to
recognize as a “God Wink.”
Kensington
Palace was the other royal residence we wanted to see. A private wing of the palace has been
renovated for Prince William, wife Kate, and their son (and future king), George. Princess Diana lived at Kensington Palace
from the time of her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981 until her death in 1997. A pleasant statue of Queen Victoria graced
the entrance, interesting because it was sculpted by none other than one of the
queen’s more artistically talented daughters—Princess Louise—as a celebration of
50 years of her mother’s reign.
It was
fitting that a statue of the Queen Victoria graced the entrance of Kensington
Palace because that is where she was born and raised. As a part of the palace tour, we were
fascinated, as always, to get a peek at the very interesting ‘Victoria Revealed’ exhibit.
The most
touching room in Kensington Palace was the little room with 17 rocking chairs,
each decorated with a golden memento design to commemorate Queen Anne’s 17
children, none of whom lived to adulthood.
Although the
exterior of Kensington Palace seemed somber and surprisingly plain, the
neighboring grounds of Hyde Park were some of London’s finest. We walked by a lovely circular fountain that
has been dedicated to the memory of Princess Diana.
At the end
of our long walking day in London, we had come to the end of our London wish-list
agenda. As Americans, our nationality was always ‘out
of the bag’ with only a few spoken words; yet, we always felt welcomed in casual
conversations. It was fun on the train
so sit back and relax and listen to the conversations around us. More than once we heard discussions about our
present United States government shutdown, and the general theme always seemed
to be: “what are they thinking?” In a
discussion with an older woman one day, she asked us, “Why on earth are some
Americans against health care for everyone?”
She told us she has been very pleased with her cradle-to-grave National
Health Service care. We gave her our
best unbiased reply. She was polite in
reply and let it be known that to her way of thinking our explanation went
against common human decency. She called lack of health care an "abomination," and added, "We take care of our own."
In short, we had found London a captivating city with wonderful royal pageantry, splendid palaces, fine museums, soulful cathedrals, delightful citizenry, and an engrossing history. Cheerio!
“Amazing what the British do with
language; the nuances of politeness. The
World’s great diplomats, surely." Anne
Rice
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