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Published: January 17th 2018
Today was one of my favorite days yet. The museums from yesterday were hard to beat, but my professors have done a great job planning a lot of different sites that appeal to everybody's interests (in addition to the history of science stuff). We started out our day with a bit of a trip out to Kew Gardens. We had about an hour and a half to explore on our own. I practically ran through them, there was so much I wanted to see! I was going to head to the treetop walkway with a small group, but when we got close, Rachel and Max decided they were cold and headed off to a greenhouse. I decided I really wanted to explore the gardens myself anyway. Before climbing up all the stairs to the treetop walkway, I wanted to use the restrooms. I ended up cutting across on an unpaved trail that led through some thick trees. It spat me out at the restrooms, and, from there, I continued on the path to the waterlily pond. It was lovely, possibly the prettiest part of the gardens (that I saw). I still wanted to go to the treetop gardens, but first I
stopped by an explorer spot (closed). I went around in a loop and came back to the treetop walkway from the north. The walk was cool and provided a lot of great views, but it definitely would have been better in the spring with some leaves and birds! On my way down, I passed Jerrid on his way up. That was the only time I saw anyone from the group. With eleven of us, I think that suggests just how big the gardens are!
From there, I went to check out the Henry Moore sculpture, and then I wandered by a giant oak tree. I got closer to check it out and saw there were a few signs around it. Apparently, it's a chestnut oak (a type of oak I hadn't heard of but is native to the eastern US), and it was planted by William Hooker (the father of one of the scientists we'd been studying). Speaking of chestnuts, elsewhere in the gardens, I found chestnuts on the ground. They were sharp, and so I knew what they were from books I read. I couldn't imagine ever walking on them without shoes (ouch!). They are apparently from a
European sweet chestnut, which I guess I need to read more about. The American chestnut has basically been wiped out from disease (it's actually very sad), and I wonder if the European chestnut has been spared. I saved one of the chestnut shells to show the group at lunch later (When I showed them, I'm pretty sure they thought I was just weird).
I then looped around and walked along the Princess Walk from the east. I kept looking to find signs of an unpaved path to the azalea gardens, but I couldn't find it. When I spotted a magnolia, I knew I was in the right spot and just cut across the lawns (it seemed like people walked on the lawns, and that it was OK where it wasn't roped off). Sure enough, I found a bunch of azaleas. In a couple months, this part of the gardens will be absolutely stunning. Sadly, it was already time for me to get back. I hoofed it back at my top walking speed, across Sackler crossing, got briefly held up by a redwood I found, and made it back to the group with a minute to spare.
We decided
to quick swing by the Kew archives before heading out to the Tower of London. The women who were working there were amazing. One person pulled out journals and letters from Joseph Dalton Hooker, and we got to look at his lists of materials he brought on his travels, some of his field notes, and his sketches of plants and animals. Unfortunately, we didn't have long, but that almost made their work seem even kinder.
We hurried on to the Tower of London. I had just enough time to use the restroom and grab a coffee before catching our beefeater tour. He was amazing, too. Maybe I'm just easily impressed, but I feel like we've had the
best guides in London. One thing I find interesting is how information from each tour kind of gets connected. For example, our tour guide from the Natural History Museum had talked about the man who cut the world's largest cut diamond, and he told us we could see it in the Crown Jewels. So, today, we went to the Tower of London and got to see the diamond ourselves. From the tour, we learned about famous executions, including those that went well
(Anne Boleyn) and those that did not (Lord Russell). It was very good.
We met back up as the Tower of London closed, and most of us headed over to the Churchill War Rooms. We learned from Ruth on our first day in London that Winston Churchill had conducted a lot of his work during World War II in this underground complex below the Treasury building. Apparently (and not surprisingly), everyone hated having to work underground. So, as soon as the war ended, they just locked it up and left. It was actually forgotten about for decades, until someone stumbled upon it in the 70s. Everything had been left how it was, and, eventually, it was turned into a museum. That's what we wanted to check out. We arrived at 4:30pm, and the museum was open until 6pm. We thought that was more than enough time, but due to the nature of this museum and the audio tour, it really was difficult to squeeze our visit into those 90 minutes. There was actually an entry price to this museum, and it was pretty hefty (nearly 20£). It's so unique, though. We got to walk through this converted basement and
see how everything was set up. In addition to the living quarters, war rooms, and map rooms, there was also a Winston Churchill museum, dedicated to his life and work. I thought it was a great stop, but I ended up cutting each of the audio tour points short. There were nearly 30 of them, and I think each ran about 5 minutes. In addition, the ones in the museum were set up for you to listen and then go walk around a bit. It would take hours to do it all. So, I'd recommend either setting aside a
lot of time for this museum, or else expect to trim off some of the audio tour!
My description of my day in London wouldn't be complete without mentioning my incredible sandwich. I went with a small group to a place called the Marquis. It felt cozy and intimate inside, and I could have stayed all night. From the waitress's suggestion, I ordered a warm brie sandwich. It was the greatest thing ever. It was a toasted roll with melted brie, a thick layer of sauteed onions that were cooked down until they were dark, some greens (maybe cooked spinach?),
and chopped cucumber. The cucumber sounds like it wouldn't be good in the sandwich, but it really was. Seriously, so tasty. I'll get back to the Marquis again if I have my way!
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