London, UK. June 7
We woke up early to ride the train to London from Bedford, but really not that early. Locals know the tricks to riding the trains here and one of them is to buy your tickets for the off times. We headed into London at around 8:30, and arrived by 9:15. I am always impressed and awed by the trains of Europe and the UK. I wish with all of my heart we could figure out how to do trains the same way.
We planned our trip to London over the weekend and bought tickets only to learn on Sunday night that all of the Tube workers were striking Monday morning. Our tickets for Westminster Abby were non-refundable and I am neurotic, so we decided to brave London on foot. Who needs the Tube? How could 30 million Londoners be wrong?! I can do London on foot - and so we did. (I may be voted off the island in the coming days).
St. Pancras station from the inside. It was redone about ten years ago (?), Nic has told me about this station and its wonders for years. He was right. It was pretty cool.
I was ready to go with this latte fueling me for the day. We charged forward from the station headed to Westminster, flying by Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square. They were just as impressive as the last time I saw them. (For reasons I can't quite place, I don't have very vivid memories of London from when I came years and years ago. I sometimes wonder if I was so tired from my various travels at that time and the countless museums I saw, if I just sort of filtered some of it out?).
I tried to capture some pictures of London as a city to show my kids, hoping they could feel the energy and sense the atmosphere of the city. Of course I had to make sure there was a double decker bus there for them to see too - even if riding them these days is somewhat more complicated than it used to be. Plan, prepare, and pre-buy is the lesson of the double decker bus, especially if the Tube workers are on strike.
We walked by 10 Downing Street, you can see that Good Ol' Boris has been having a rough few weeks. Nic had his binoculars (of course) and we took a good look at the press and all of the excitement behind the gates. The guards were very tolerant of us and our spying.
After our 007 moment, we rushed down to make our slot at Westminster, snapping a few photos on the way.
And just like that, we were at Westminster. Nic was most excited about his photo with Charles Darwin (the irony of Darwin being buried in a church was not lost on me). He and his nephew, James posed happily for me.
I love this dude in my picture. He was very pleased with his experience. Every time I turned around there he was. I am really quite pleased I snapped him in a photo. I think I like people watching as much as I like sight seeing.
I spent a hot minute in Poet's Corner with some of my favorite people.
I especially enjoyed the older portion of the church. I do love the history of the churches
We paid the extra 4 pounds to do the Diamond Jubilee section of the Abby. It was remarkable. You were not allowed to take pictures of this portion, but I did not know this immediately and took a couple of pictures. This portion is in the upper level of the Abby, so you can see out of the windows and into the church. It is truly spectacular.
Nic and I are now experts on stained glass, so I especially appreciated these fragments from the original glass of the Abby.
We headed out from the Abby and to a traditional pub, the Salisbury. I was thrilled to be hanging out with the ghost of Oscar Wilde while sipping my Pepsi Max and eating my mushroom pie.
Nic, James & Rob Medley
We roamed Covent Garden. It turns out there was an antique fair there too. It seems like this is a theme in England. Nic insists this has long been the case. It is the first time I had ever heard of it. As I am not English, I do not think I can actually weigh in on the subject.
I really wanted a British pastry, James and I popped into several, but I could not decide, so ultimately, I bought nothing. I took pictures though, which was almost as good as eating all of them.
I had to snap some pictures of cheese, because cheese is the most delicious thing ever.
Chocolate is a close second.
A few of my take-aways: London is a big city and I do not love big cities. They are somewhat stressful. I loved seeing the sights and having the opportunity to experience the art. We will definitely go again while we are here. I still have several things I want to see on my list. But my eyes are deteriorating and busy cities and lots of people are increasingly hard for me to navigate.
I do not think I actually went to Westminster Abby the last time I went to London. I think I went to the church - which is NOT the same. They are across the street from each other and easily confused. I would not be surprised if I did this. I remember wondering where all the dead people were.
Things in England, including London, close early, like, 4p.m. early. I remember this from when I came years ago, but it is still true.
I think the world has gotten smaller. England feels more familiar now than it did years ago. Is this because I am older and wiser? Or is it that the world is much more similar than it used to be due to Internet and globalization? Or is it because I live with a Brit and I live and breath England every day? I am not sure. But it feels true whatever it is.
Today we will recover (We walked around 10 miles) and get ready for the next phase of our trip - we are heading north! Tomorrow we will go to Shakespeare's birthplace and stomp around. The weather promises to rain, so I think I will try to enjoy the drop of sunshine I see outside today.
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