London

 

Photo 1: original 11th century core of Windsor Castle.

Photo 2: Woo hoo! Us at Lord's!

Photo 3: we were part of this 'queue' to see the Crown Jewels.

Photo 4: Tower Bridge. Note the lovely weather :-(

Photo 5: Westminster Abbey.

Photo 6: Our $93 Harrods lunch. We are smiling because we haven't seen the bill yet! Maybe it was the gluten free hamburger bun that cost so much ...

 

On Thursday 20 June we visited Windsor Castle using our London Pass. What a great idea that is – no queuing for tickets for the Underground or the Castle, just go straight through. The earliest part of the Castle has been there since the 11^th century but it has been massively expanded since then and covers a lot of ground. Touring the State Apartments we were confronted once again with rooms filled with beautiful antique furniture, paintings, tapestries and ceilings elaborately decorated with art works and gold leaf. You could get the impression that all the wealth of art and architecture that we have seen throughout Europe is becoming almost tedious, but that is not the case. All this human-created beauty is to us rather like natural beauty in that you never really tire of it. But it can be overwhelming when you find so much of it in one place. (The views expressed by the writer are not necessarily the same as mine!!!! – Sue)

After returning to the apartment we were exhausted and slept for 10 hours that night. We awoke to find that the Globus tour bug had decided to attack on the day of Dessi’s wedding! We took things easy and hoped that we would be well enough to go. However, as Sue’s health deteriorated and coughing and sneezing became the norm we realised that it would be irresponsible to go to the wedding and risk infecting others, especially Dessi. We don’t have words to describe our disappointment at missing this most special event in the lives of our lovely neighbours.

On Saturday morning we listened to the ABC broadcast of the Wallabies v Lions rugby match – a frustrating narrow loss L - then, as we were feeling somewhat better, we took the train to St John’s Wood and visited Lord’s Cricket Ground, the home of cricket. This was a special treat for Sue as she is so involved in cricket at home, and fortunately it was not strenuous – not too many stairs! The tour was run by an elderly cricket enthusiast (such an upper class gentleman and a member at Lords!!) who was also a retired clergyman. He was a charming and very informative guide, as you might have guessed about one who has those particular qualifications. As we can’t be there for the Ashes test later in the summer it was still great to be able to go through the cricket museum and see The Ashes in their little urn. We were surprised to learn that the urn was not originally some special trophy devised by the cricket authorities. In the 1880s when England played its first match against Australia on our soil the Aussie girl who courted and eventually married the England captain presented him with the urn as a gift. It is a perfume bottle containing the ashes of one of the bails used in the match. After he died the urn was presented to the Marylebone Cricket Club (based at Lord’s) and became the symbol it is today.

On Sunday we visited the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. We joined a tour led by a guide who was Welsh and an ex-soldier and who had a very dry sense of humour. He kept emphasising that the Tower of London is a royal palace not a jail. Even so the tour actually followed the path that prisoners took from the Traitors’ Gate (which enters from the Thames) to the Tower Green where executions took place. We visited the beautiful Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula where 33 victims of execution (the only ones out of 1500 who could be identified) were buried. Anne Boleyn is buried under one end of the altar.

Of course the highlight was the Crown Jewels. The jewel encrusted crowns and pure gold orbs and other objects of state have to be seen to be appreciated.  The crowns are adorned with some of the world’s most famous diamonds and sapphires.

We enjoyed a cruise on the Thames and a view of the rebuilt Globe Theatre before touring Tower Bridge. The views from the walkways across the near top of the Bridge are awesome.

Monday we had set aside to visit the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately we couldn’t get into Parliament as it was not sitting and security is so tight these days that there is absolutely no public access outside sitting times. So we crossed the road and did the ‘tourist shuffle’ through the Abbey. No photography is permitted inside the Abbey which is a shame as the interior is so magnificent. That’s the thing about the UK – you think you’ve seen it all, you go to yet another big church, then you find yourself dazzled once again by the dimensions of the place and the magnificent art and sculptures.

That night we saw the West End production of Wicked at the Victoria Apollo Theatre. We had seen it in New York so we had high expectations, and were not disappointed. If anything the London production was a bit more intense and dramatic. What a great night!

Tuesday was devoted to Sue’s favourite activity – shopping. But not just any shopping – at HARRODS!! (And didn’t Phil get paid back for my hours of tramping the historic castles etc!!! What do they say??? Payback’s a bitch!!!) We had lunch in The Diner…56 pound for a burger and fries, an avocado, cheese and bacon melt and 2 grand milkshakes. That converts to $93 Australian!!!  Still getting over the shock, but hey that is all part of the Harrods “experience”!!

Tomorrow we are off to Bangkok for sun, pool, massages and a little more retail therapy before flying home. It will be great to get some warm and sunny weather.  We have had 1 day in London out of 9 where we have not needed jeans, and been under an overcast sky.