London England

 16 July 2024 - London England (Westminster Abbey, British Museum)

We left Italy on 13 July on what ultimately became a Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. I had carefully booked the train tickets so that we had enough layover time in Zurich, Basel and Paris to make our connections.  Two walking trips to the Florence train station to purchase our tickets and make the arrangements for assisted support to get on and off the trains. But I didn’t/couldn’t account for Italian train schedule variances.  We were up at 3 am in Milan to meet our transfer to the train station at 6 am.  We were in the assisted office early and then waited and waited and waited while the clock crept ever closer to our scheduled train departure of 7:10 am. Our train wasn’t showing up on the schedule board and the staff were doing their Gaelic shoulder shrugs, like what can we do? I told them to call someone to find out what was going on.  Finally, 10 minutes before the scheduled departure, all of a sudden, it was rush, rush, rush to get to the train before it leaves.  It was there all along! We got on and left about 5 minutes late.  My original layover time in Zurich was only 30 minutes, so it was tight to begin with and now it was five minutes tighter.  And it got worse - the train just kept getting later and later.  Unexplained stops in the middle of nowhere and then slowly moving for several kilometers, then stopping again. Finally, when we were 40 minutes late, an announcement came that the rest of the trip was canceled at the next stop (at the border between Italy and Switzerland) and we needed to get off the train to catch the 9:30 train to Zurich.  This was unplanned, and I had not made arrangements with the assistance office to get me off this train and on to the next one.  A very kind conductor (an angel, actually), did not leave me behind - she went and found a lift and made another conductor help her position it so I could get off the train, then she guided me to the next one and, again, helped me get onto it, along with our luggage.  We made it just in time.  This train worked and got us to Zurich, although an hour later than I had scheduled.  Fortunately, there are hourly trains to Basel and I was able to get on one of those, after calling the assisted office while on the way to Basel. The delays ate up most of the layover time I originally had in Basel, but we were there in time to catch the originally planned train to Paris. After that, the schedule and trains to Paris and London worked fine.  It was after eleven at night when we checked into our London hotel.  A long and stressful day.  

We took a couple of easy days in London to rest up and get acclimated to England.  Visited Westminster Abbey and the British Museum.  Could have picked a better time for the British Museum.  It was the last week of school and it seemed like every teacher in the London area had scheduled tours.  Very, very crowded and a bit chaotic.  We only got to see a few things, but they were great. We have 34 days in London with lots more to see.

Our hotel is just on the south bank of the Thames river, right next to Westminster Bridge.  We crossed this bridge many, many times during our stay.  Big Ben is in the distance, next to the Parliament Buildings. When we were last in London (about 30 years ago), Big Ben was all in scaffolding and you couldn’t really see it.  It is all clean and shiny and beautiful.

With all the stress of the train day to London, we still got to enjoy the scenery of the Swiss Alps as we passed through them from Italy to Paris.

The train from Milan to Zurich had to climb up and through the Alps. We saw beautiful waterfalls and picturesque villages in the valleys we traveled through.

Still some snow on the Alps, but like everywhere else, the glaciers are shrinking.

The train from Basel to Paris was a high speed train and it hit around 183 mph at one point.  To contrast, the Amtrak trains that we have taken across country top out around 90 mph.  The trains were quiet and smooth and I enjoyed the rides.

In. Paris, we had to transfer to another train station to catch the Eurostar which goes through the Chunnel to London.  Snapped a few pictures of Paris.  We were there just a couple weeks before the Olympics, so it wasn’t super crowded yet.

Russ getting our luggage to the right place at Gare du Nord.

The first place we toured in London was Westminster Abbey.

Most people will recognize these pictures, if they have ever watched any of the televised British pageantry (weddings, funerals, coronations)

Almost every important royal figure is buried in Westminster Abbey or has a monument. Every coronation since 1000 has been conducted in the Abbey, including the most recent one for King Charles.

A memorial to a Henry Norris, courier and “Groom of the Stool” for Henry VIII.  Unfortunately, he was associated with Anne Boleyn and when she fell from grace, he did too and was executed.  The six men at the memorial are his six sons.

You can see the age of the Abbey by the entrance to one of the chapels.  It took a lot of  steps to get that worn.

Besides the royals, many, many notable writers, actors, poets and artists are memorialized in the Abbey.

One whole section is known as the Poet’s corner. Memorials on the floors and walls everywhere.

Isaac Newton memorial.

The Abbey was built in the 1066 by King Edward the Confessor and is primarily Gothic in architecture with updates through the ages.

The first man to finish a mile run in under 4 minutes.

The tomb of the unknown soldier, to commemorate the British soldiers killed in WWI (over 880,000, 6% of Britain’s male population.) The one marker no one can walk on, including royalty. Other countries copied the idea and there are now many throughout the world, including the one in Arlington, VA.

The high altar and altar screen with a mosaic of the Last Supper.

The Cosmati pavement (1245 AD) sits in front of the high altar.  It is also known as the Coronation pavement, since this is where the coronation of England’s King/Queen takes place. There is a beautiful portrait of Queen Elizabeth II wearing her coronation regalia in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee galleries, standing on this pavement, looking down at it.  The Cosmati was a Roman family well known for their mosaics.

This was completed in 1495, so it took awhile for the Abbey to become what we see today.

This transcript was completed in the 13th century by Henry III.

One of the most beautiful sculptures in the Abbey.  It was said that a robber was so frightened when he encountered Death attacking Lady Nightingale, he dropped his robbery instruments and ran away.

One of the largest monuments in the Abbey, this is one for a former Speaker of the House of Commona.

The ceiling of Henry VII Chapel.  Several monarchs are buried here, including Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots.

Tomb of Henry VII.

Queen Elizabeth I is buried in the same chapel as Mary, Queen of Scots, her sister, whom she had executed.

Tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots.

The formula is Stephen’s equation for black hole entropy.

Lots and lots of people visit the Abbey everyday.  

The coronation throne.  Built in 1296 under King Edward I, it has been the throne used in the coronation of every monarch since then.  Below it is space for the Stone of Scone, symbolizing England’s dominance over Scotland.  We watched an interesting movie about the stealing of this stone to bring it back to Scotland.  England and Scotland have reached an agreement that the stone remains in Scotland, unless there is a coronation.  Then it is brought back and reinstalled under the throne.

The main entrance has sculptures of 20th century martyrs, including Martin Luther King.

The north side of the Thames.  London Eye in the background.

Along the embankment, at least for a portion of it, is a beautiful garden you can wander through.

The first time we visited Trafalger Square, the fountains were working.  When we came back a few days later, they were turned off and covered scaffolding had obscured them.  We timed that right.

We decided to go enjoy a “Sunday Roast” at the Shakespeare pub, near Trafalger Square.  Easily the worst meal I have ever had in a pub.  The meat was tough and tasteless.  The potatoes were badly burned and the gravy had no taste at all. The ale was good.

The old British phone booths don’t work anymore, but they have kept some around for photo opportunities.  My “Kent Clark” was disappearing to don his flying suit.

Probably the most famous artifact in the British Museum is the Rosetta Stone.  I was glad I saw it in person after studying about it in school that many eons ago.

The royal Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal is another of the top ten artifacts in the British Museum.  These reliefs took up the walls of a whole room and told the story of a group of royal warriors going out to kill lions. These Assyrian artworks are considered masterpieces of that era.

A King (Ashurbanipal) from 600 BC, is depicted going out in an arena to kill captured Asian lions with arrows and spears or his sword.

A whole ‘ other room contains sculptures and friezes from the Greek Parthenon.  It was at this point, I started feeling like the museum was a repository for all of the British Empire’s spoils of war from their conquests over the centuries.

The Museum’s commentary did contain some words about attempts by some countries to recover artifacts taken from their land.

Double headed turquoise snake from the Aztec Mexico area,

A Moai from the Easter Islands, dating from 1000 AD.  We also saw one when we visited a museum in Chile. This particular sculpture is the subject of a concerted effort by the Easter Island people to get it returned to them. So far, the British Museum has committed to collaborative efforts to provide information  in their museum on the history and cultural significance of the Moai. I guess I could see the argument that the British Museum offers an opportunity for artifacts to be displayed to millions of people from all over the world and it can educate them about the culture and history of the artifact.  Something that other countries may lack the resources for or are difficult for tourists to visit.

A 12th century set of chess pieces found in a sand bank on the Isle of Lewis.  They are carved of walrus ivory and bear resemblances to Norwegian carvings.

I really liked the Queen’s piece.  She is either very bored, waiting for the next move or is horribly appalled at the move that was just taken.

This working clock keeps time through the motion of a rolling ball!