Advertisement
Thursday, July 3
The weather was "spotty"--we dodged a few raindrops early on, then managed to be inside during the worst of it. Our very full day began when we emerged from the Westminster tube station right in the middle of the iconic London sights we'd been waiting to see. Big Ben and Parliament were so much more impressive than we expected!
The Churchill Museum and Churchill War Rooms: The War Rooms are in the actual bunker Churchill and his top advisers and staff lived in during World War II bombing raids of London. They are furnished down the the smallest detail exactly as they were then. Very well done. The adjoining Churchill Museum was a modern, engaging, highly interactive series of exhibits that warmed the heart of this former museum educator by their presentation alone. But the content was extraordinary, and we all were fully involved in learning about this period of history and the complex man who affected modern history in such a big way.
Westminster Abbey: Walked over to the Abbey and were heartened by the lack of line to get in--but that's because every tourist in town was already inside! The place was spectacular, overwhelming
and a bit claustrophobic--due not only to the crowds, but to the physical crowding of the interior space with an huge number of monuments, statues, chapels, memorials for the dead. Anyone who was an important figure in society at the time of death seemed to be buried under the floor and memorialized with a statue or tomb. But it was fascinating! Highlights included Poet's Corner (resting place of a virtual who's who of English Literature and music), the Lady Chapel (crypts of Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, etc.) with its incredible ceiling, Unknown Soldier's Memorial, tombs of Newton and Darwin, etc. etc.
Next we walked over Westminster Bridge, got our first look at the Thames, then hopped on the tube to London Bridge. We walked through Borough Market, which covers many blocks with meat, fish, vegie, flower stalls and many cafes and restaurants. We scurried into the Old Globe and Shakespeare Center just as a thunderstorm began. Spent quite a bit of time in the extremely well-presented museum exhibits, again with lots of interactive displays, which was a great prelude to that night's production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. We could only get groundling tickets--that's right 3
hours of standing in a crowd of 700 (!) at the edge of the stage after being on our feet all day! Are we crazy or what? But we all agreed that we've never enjoyed a Shakespeare play more--don't know if it was the authentic experience, being so close to the actors--or maybe just the quality of acting by members of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Anyway, the play and performers had us laughing almost constantly, their timing with their lines and physical comedy was impeccable! And best of all it didn't rain during the performance! (The Globe has no roof over the center of the building--where we were standing was open to the air.)
Believe it or not, we decided to WALK back along the Thames and enjoyed the sight of London all lit up at night and the good weather.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.14s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 11; qc: 58; dbt: 0.0669s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb