By the time we got ourselves settled in London on the afternoon of June 8, there wasn't very much time left in the day. Priorities being what they are, we went straight to King's Cross Station to see Platform 9 and 3/4. Well, first, it's not even between platforms 9 and 10, it's just in a random wall. Second, there was a huge line of people getting their picture taken at the half-in trolley by a professional photographer. We stood in line for a while, but then I did the math on how many people were ahead of us, and how long they each took, and decided I didn't want to wait for hours. So I have this picture of the trolley only:
Next we spent an hour in the British Museum before it closed, and ate a pie for dinner in a British pub.
The next day we joined the "free" city walking tour of London with Sandeman's. I think we are just tired of showing ourselves around any more :) We saw Trafalgar Square, the Admiralty Arch, St. James' Palace, Buckingham Palace, St. James' Park, No. 10 Downing, Churchill's bunker, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey, while hearing a lot of history about the city.
After lunch, Alan and I went into Westminster Abbey on our own. No pictures allowed, but it was very moving to see the graves or monuments of so many queens, kings, authors, poets, and scientists. Mary Queen of Scots, Mary I and Elizabeth I buried together, Darwin, Dickens, Shakespeare, Handel and hundreds more. Plus Will and Kate got married here.
In the afternoon, we did a second tour (not free) with Sandeman's, this time of the Thames South Bank. We saw the Millennium Bridge, a recreated Shakespeare's Globe Theater, a replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship that sailed around the world, Southwark Cathedral, the new London Bridge, the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. As you might imagine, we were quite worn out from all the walking. Our Camino-legs must be wearing off.
On the next day, our bus tour throughout England and Scotland was to start. I've felt some trepidation wondering if I will enjoy being scheduled all the time. We shall see. The tour got off to a good start, as we saw MI-5 while driving through London. It was blown up in the most recent James Bond, Skyfall, but not for real.
Our first stop was a few hours out of London, to the west. We came to the town of Windsor and Eton to see Windsor Castle. We did a short walk around the town, then went inside the Castle grounds. We went inside to explore St. George's Chapel first. This is the burial place of many other monarchs or members of the royal family, which rounds off our visit to Westminster. The chapel most meaningful to me had the graves for George VI and Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth II's parents, and Margaret, her sister. There was also a marker for King Henry VIII.
It was not allowed for pictures to be taken inside the State Apartments, so we listened to our audio guides and tried to take it all in. In particular the Waterloo Room was stunning, with portraits of the important players around the time of Napoleon I.
The tour's next stop was Bath, famous for its curing water, and even home to Roman baths. For me, of course, the Jane Austen Centre was the place to see. So I got my photo next to a wax figurine.l We had a look around the town to see the Pump Room, where folks would come to drink the water.
Our bus tour makes 2-4 stops each day, and we will do some posts on the places we like most, instead of writing about every little thing. Our next entry will be about our time in Scotland, which includes visiting a working sheep farm and watching sheep dogs herd by voice and whistle command.
Next we spent an hour in the British Museum before it closed, and ate a pie for dinner in a British pub.
After lunch, Alan and I went into Westminster Abbey on our own. No pictures allowed, but it was very moving to see the graves or monuments of so many queens, kings, authors, poets, and scientists. Mary Queen of Scots, Mary I and Elizabeth I buried together, Darwin, Dickens, Shakespeare, Handel and hundreds more. Plus Will and Kate got married here.
In the afternoon, we did a second tour (not free) with Sandeman's, this time of the Thames South Bank. We saw the Millennium Bridge, a recreated Shakespeare's Globe Theater, a replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship that sailed around the world, Southwark Cathedral, the new London Bridge, the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. As you might imagine, we were quite worn out from all the walking. Our Camino-legs must be wearing off.
On the next day, our bus tour throughout England and Scotland was to start. I've felt some trepidation wondering if I will enjoy being scheduled all the time. We shall see. The tour got off to a good start, as we saw MI-5 while driving through London. It was blown up in the most recent James Bond, Skyfall, but not for real.
Our first stop was a few hours out of London, to the west. We came to the town of Windsor and Eton to see Windsor Castle. We did a short walk around the town, then went inside the Castle grounds. We went inside to explore St. George's Chapel first. This is the burial place of many other monarchs or members of the royal family, which rounds off our visit to Westminster. The chapel most meaningful to me had the graves for George VI and Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth II's parents, and Margaret, her sister. There was also a marker for King Henry VIII.
The tour's next stop was Bath, famous for its curing water, and even home to Roman baths. For me, of course, the Jane Austen Centre was the place to see. So I got my photo next to a wax figurine.l We had a look around the town to see the Pump Room, where folks would come to drink the water.
Our bus tour makes 2-4 stops each day, and we will do some posts on the places we like most, instead of writing about every little thing. Our next entry will be about our time in Scotland, which includes visiting a working sheep farm and watching sheep dogs herd by voice and whistle command.
YES! Will and Kate!!! Also Jane Austen! Did you have any champagne in honor of JA Movie Club? xo
ReplyDeleteI'd raise a glass of bubbles to that!
ReplyDelete