Susan's Adventures: Sep 9, 2013

Monday, September 9, 2013

A Day for Umbrellas and Sloshing Around

Monday, September 9th, 2103

After no sleep on the plane and not being able to sleep until 9pm London time, I finally fell asleep and didn’t wake up until 9:49am!!! Wow! Fully rested, we left soon after and had a delicious breakfast—scrambled eggs on buttered toast for me—at Nico’s Café & Diner around the corner. Theo waited on us; he is the son of Nico. Such a nice man. Breakfast was delicious. And there was a poster on the wall of George Formby, an entertainer, who was an ancestor on my mother’s side of the family.

It is a rainy rainy day today here in London, so we sloshed our way through the day trying to see as much as we could before tiring of being drenched. On the way into the city, we saw the building that’s under construction and is melting cars on the street below. It is all glass and curves outward at the top so that the sun’s beams are reflected down onto Jaguars, etc. Oh dear.

Our first stop was All Hallow’s by the Tower, a church standing since 675AD, the oldest in the city. One of the Templar trials was held here, but these were nowhere near as gruesome as those held in France. Edward II even supported the Templars and they kind of melted into other religions here. Sit Thomas More was beheaded for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church of England and his headless body was brought into All Hallow’s, his head hung elsewhere for all to see. There is an old Saxon Arch in the crypt along with some stonework honoring the goddess Venus that was found on the grounds and a 1^st century lamp and a Wheel Cross from 900 AD.

Next we visited the Tower of London with its Bloody Tower which held an actual Rack on which prisoners were tortured. Ray met a dragon and we saw two Beefeater Guards & the Crown Jewels.

Back on the Underground Tube—which we mastered so well today (not a single mistake)—and off to Westminster Abbey. On the way, I found my statue of Boadicea on the Victoria Embankment. She was the queen of the British Iceni tribe, a Celtic tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire, in 60-61 AD.

Westminster Abbey was just as amazing as ever, but because it is so full of memorials and tombs, it seems more like an indoor cemetery to me than an abbey. We saw the Poet’s Corner again and the tombs of Elizabeth and Mary and Mary Queen of Scots. And the Coronation Chair, which had no stone under it, of course, since it is in Scotland now. Sir Isaac Newton’s Memorial and the tomb of the Unknown British soldier are also impressive. This time we were able to get into the Chapter House with its restored stained glass and a lovely portrait of the now Queen Elizabeth. The cloisters were very pretty.

Big Ben—or the tower that holds the clock/bell named Big Ben—stands near Parliament with its ornate architecture. Big Ben is the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster. The tower is now officially called the Elizabeth Tower, after being renamed in 2012 (from "Clock Tower") to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The tower holds the largest four-faced chiming clock in the world and is the third-tallest free-standing clock tower.

Next—so much fun—was our try at finding a Tardis!! I love to watch Dr. Who, the long-running British TV series about a time-traveler. He travels through time in the Tardis—one of the old blue Police Boxes that used to be found all over the city. Finding this one was quite a chore but I did all the work online at home so all we had to do was get to Earl’s Court Tube Station and walk outside and there it stood!! I was so happy.

Next stop was the British Museum. I’ll say from the beginning that the rooms that I hoped to find most of the things I was interested in were closed for some inexplicable reason. So I picked a few old favorites and found a few new ones. The Hinton St. Mary Mosaic from the 4^th century is the earliest mosaic of Christ. My favorite, the Lewis Chessmen, now have a red and white chessboard on which to move. Chess was once used to sharpen the tactical abilities of knights. I did find the two half-plaques of Henry de Blois, given to St. David who placed them in Glastonbury Abbey.

There was a whole room of Buddhas—my favorite was the smiling monk one. There were also a set of Ming Dynasty magistrates—one holding the book of Good Deeds and the other holding a much larger book of Evil Deeds.

A new addition to the museum was a “quilt” made using real pharmaceutical pills. Very interesting.

We decided to go on to St. Paul’s Cathedral, the 4^th St. Paul’s to stand here, but got there with only one hour until closing. Ray hurried up the 259 narrow, claustrophobic stairs to the Whispering Gallery (where a whisper really can be heard across on the other side & Ray got reprimanded for taking a photo) and on upward to the tip top of the Dome at the Stone and Golden Galleries. The Dome is backlit with a fresco of St. Paul’s life. From here, you look down on the architect of St. Paul’s, Sir Christopher Wren’s, tomb, with the words: Reader, you seek his monument, look around you. Outside in the garden, I found the statue that replaced the old Paul’s Cross and was put here to remember it. Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was erected on the spot where St. Paul preached from the summit of Ludgate Hill. The ancient St. Paul’s Cross marks the spot where he stood and preached.

Down a side street, I found a plaque which spoke of a former church here from 1196 but destroyed in the Great Fire. Evidently Wordsworth had written of the churchyard with a “Reveries of Poor Susan.”

We bought a few supplies at Boot’s and at Sainsbury’s and had dinner at Nico’s. Ray has gone to Euston station to retrieve some tickets and to find an adapter he needs. I am warm and dry in the room.