The Abbey, The Tour, and The Wandering

---

Hi there, everyone!!

It has been almost a week since I last updated the travelblog with our recent sightseeing, so I have a lot to tell you! Perhaps you should go grab a snack or a cup of coffee before reading this entry all the way through. 😊

Wednesday, September 22 and Thursday, September 23
On these days, we went to Westminster Abbey. It is one of those places you always hear the name of, but aren't ever sure what it is. I mean, an Abbey is a really pretty church, but what is so special about this particular one? Well, we found out on our tour. Basically, here in the UK (and to my understanding, all over Europe) people are buried in or near churches. I guess the idea is that your body should be buried close to a "holy place" or something like that. Anyway, this particular church was the burial place of royalty for hundreds of years. They still hold regular services there, but the corridors and walls are bursting at the seams with graves and monuments to the deceased. It was interesting to see the graves and learn about some of the people and kings buried there, and it was also a beautiful building. Of course, they didn't let us take any pictures... again. We did get pictures of us on the outside, though 😊

We went back to the Abbey on Thursday afternoon because one portion (the cloister area) was closed by the time we got to in on our self-guided tour. They told us that if we came back the next day, we could use our same tickets to enter that area. As it turned out, Ben got out of work early enough for us to go. 😊

Friday, September 24
Ben and I didn't want to do anything too exhausting on this evening because we knew we had a big day the next day (more on that later!). So, we decided to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum. There were all kinds of neat statues and ancient artwork there, including some replicas of famous works of art, such as the David statue by Michaelangelo. The most surprising thing was that we walked in and there was a crowd inside with music playing. As we entered further, there was a cash bar and a few other stands selling things in the lobby of the museum! We thought "What is going on here?"

As it turns out, there is some sort of design festival going on in London, and there was an event at the museum that night called "Two's a Pair" celebrating "famous design duos and collaborative working in contemporary design through installations, talks and workshops, and culminates in a great design giveaway"; according to the brochure. Also, they encouraged people to participate in the many activities throughout the museum, including playing marbles or trying on funny-shaped wigs. It was almost as interesting to see the people interacting with the activities with martinis in their hands as it was to see the actual exhibits!

Saturday, September 25
Saturday was a very busy day for us! We went on a bus tour to see Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge! It was so neat! We woke up early and went to the coach station to meet our bus. This place felt like a small airport! Once we figured out where to go, we got on our bus and headed out for the tour. Our guide was very nice and really liked to talk, she was knowledgeable about the stops we were making, and was able to give us a lot of information that we may not have otherwise known. Having a lot of the information ahead of time proved to be useful, because it allowed us to simply enjoy the sights rather than trying to do both things at once.

First stop: Windsor Castle! This is one of the 3 residences of the Queen, and apparently her preferred residence. The tour guide informed us that there is a difference between a castle and a palace. A palace is primarily a residence. It is not a fortress in any way, it is merely a very expensive house. A castle, however, is a fortress and a residence. At Windsor Castle, there were slits in the outer walls (which Ben and I recognized because they have the same type of thing at the Tower of London) so that an archer could shoot arrows at an enemy without the enemy being likely to hit him. She guided us through the outdoor part of the castle, pointing out where the Queen stayed when she lived here, and the architectural oddities. Apparently, this castle has been added onto by many different Kings and Queens. When we went inside the castle, the tour guide was not allowed to join us, so we relied on our audio-guides (very popular method of self-guided tours around here) and our eyes. Of course, there was a staff member in each room for two purposes: to make sure you followed the rules (like, no photographs), and to answer our questions. We found out before our tour began that there would be a changing of the guard ceremony happening at 11:00. We entered the State Apartments of the castle at 10:30, which didn't give us much time. However, we barely got through it and made our way down to see the guard change.

I am going to have to look up all of the details of the particular things the guard do when they change, but, not really knowing what was going on, it looked like a bunch of guys in silly, black, fuzzy hats wandering around and yelling at each other. There was also a band made up of 30+ soldiers, and the funny part about that was that they played songs we recognized including the Rocky Balboa Theme Song and the theme to Star Wars!! Ben and I thought it was hilarious that they included these "American" movie theme songs in their very traditional ceremony!

Second Stop: Bath! This now flourishing city was once a relaxing place for ancient Romans to go to. This is the location of the UK's only hot spring. The Romans built a building around it, thinking that the spring's water had healing power. Our tour guide told us that they used to use this place sort of like a gym. They would exercise and then soak and gossip in the hot spring after a workout. The original Roman architecture was destroyed, but years later, it was rediscovered and a city was started there. There was a whole museum on the location of the hot spring when Ben and I arrived, so we walked through the museum and eventually down to the level of the hot spring itself. The air smelled a little weird, which our tour guide told us was from the sulfur in the water. It was neat to see the water bubbling up towards the surface constantly. Also, as we walked through the museum, we were able to see some of the original architecture of the place. Apparently, this was a very fancy place in Roman times.

After seeing the hot spring, we went into Bath Abbey. Again, a very pretty church, so I figured we wouldn't be allowed to take pictures inside. But, to my surprise, we were allowed!! I was ecstatic about this, so I took some pictures of things that were similar to other churches we have been in. This one is most similar to Westminster Abbey, rather than St. Paul's. It was really pretty, but small enough that we could get through it quickly and get back to the bus on time.

Third Stop: Stonehenge! Yes, we got to see the actual Stonehenge that you hear about! There are many stone henges across the UK, but this one is special because the stones were taken from so far away and were shaped before being placed in the holes. Also, this site has been used for interesting things ever since 3,000 BC! The current Stonehenge that we know today was built around 1,600 BC.

According to our tour guide, Stonehenge went through 3 phases. The first phase was that some group of people dug a circular trench with 56 holes just inside of the trench. No one really knows what this was used for, but it was the first phase of this monument. Hundreds of years later, the second phase that this monument went through was built. Apparently there were pieces of wood that were placed in holes in a circle at this site. Again, no one really knows why. The 3rd phase, hundreds of years later, is what we know today. Originally, this phase had a circle of stones with a horseshoe-shape of stones inside (if you looked at it from the sky). It is believed that this was some sort of calendar, since some stones line up with the equinoxes we experience in the summer and winter.

It was really neat to see, but both Ben and I thought that the stones would be more spread out than they were. That is, we thought that the diameter of the outer circle of stone would be larger. The stones themselves were enormous, 2 or 3 times taller than a person, but they were positioned much more closely together than we thought. It was really neat to see the monument, and marvel at the shape and size of it.


After this very long day, we relaxed for the rest of the evening. In fact, we even relaxed all day Sunday! We planned to sleep in, but Ben's alarm surprised us at 7:30 and we couldn't fall back asleep. So, we took a mid-morning nap and then ate lunch. Then, we took an early-afternoon nap. It was a very peaceful day where neither of us had any obligations outside of just laying around. I don't think either of us changed out of our pajamas all day! On Monday after Ben got home from work, we worked hard to plan out what we wanted to do with the rest of our week.

Tuesday, September 28
The doctor that Ben has been supervising Ben suggested that we go see some things around town that we had not already visited. One of the things he mentioned, was to walk along the south bank of the Thames river from Westminster. So, we did. It was a really pretty view because there were all kinds of pretty buildings to see from across the river. On our way, we arrived at Tate Modern which is currently a museum for modern art.

Before you judge Ben and I for quietly laughing our way through the museum of modern art, please keep a few things in mind. This is modern art. There were literally paintings that were made up of concentric squares. Another set of paintings was literally a white canvas with red loops on it. The fact that the artist made the paint drip down the canvas was supposed to mean something, too. There were also videos that were "art". One was of a naked woman who recorded herself coating herself in blood from a pitcher, and then rolling around in feathers that she had previously scattered on the ground; this was cleverly named "blood and feathers". Some of the art pieces were sculptures, or at least 3-dimensional. One of these was a long piece of white cloth in the shape of a "V". At the point of the V, there was a plastic cylinder such that the cloth was sort of wrapped around it. At the tips of the V, the fabric fanned out. That was it. A piece of fabric laying on the floor in the shape of a V.

Please don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad. There were some rather interesting pieces that did not offer the complexity or detail of a life-like painting, but did offer something different. Some of the abstract sculptures looked really neat, and there were some paintings that were intriguing. I guess modern art isn't something that Ben or I have a great appreciation for, but there are people who really like it. More power to them.

Our last stop on Tuesday was to Fleet Street. Yes, the home of the demonic barber Sweeny Todd. Ben really wanted a picture of himself by the street sign, but since the street signs here are posted on the buildings randomly, it was a little difficult to get a picture. But, as you can see, we improvised.

Wednesday, September 29
Today, we went down to King's College and took a few pictures there of Ben. Then, we went to a market in Covent Garden (another neighborhood in the city) so I could finish my souvenir shopping with a shopping buddy. There were some neat street performers at the market, including people who sat or stood like statues, and even a guy who balanced a bicycle on his head! There was a quartet who danced as they played familiar classical music, too! It was all a very fun atmosphere, and the variety of shopping was enjoyable. Ben tagged along and, despite the shopping, seemed to enjoy himself.


Well, that's all for now! Ben has the day off work tomorrow, so we are planning on going to Dover for the day. Friday will be full of cleaning and packing fun, and then we will wake up really early Saturday morning to start our journey home! I hope to update again before we get home, but we'll see how it goes. If not, I hope to be in touch so you can hear the stories!

Love you all lots!

Michelle and Ben

---

Photos

Westminster Abbey
Look! We were really there!

Victoria and Albert Museum
Ben in front of a replica of the David statue by Michaelangelo.

Windsor Castle
Such a beautiful sight!

Changing of the Guard
A neat ceremony, I will have to do some reading about what we saw!

Bath
The hot spring is the greenish water behind us. We were able to get close enough to touch it... if we were allowed to.

Bath Abbey
A beautiful church! If you look at the ceiling and the columns, these are similar features to what Westminster Abbey had.

Stonehenge
Yes! The actual Stonehenge! So cool... :)

Stonehenge
It was nearing the end of the day, so it was a good opportunity for some neat pictures.

Tate Modern
I can't remember what this building used to be used for, but it definitely has a unique shape.

Fleet Street
You can't see it very well in such a small picture, but Ben's finger is right below the sign that says Fleet Street.

Street Performer
This guy was great! He did a lot of different things while balancing the bicycle on his forehead: he spun, laid down, and even did push ups!