A Day in London

The day after our bus tour, we had what I would consider our most hectic day. In one day we visited the Tower of London, took the boat down the Thames from the Tower dock to the Westminster dock (where you can find Big Ben, Parliament, etc.), walked through the Victoria Tower Gardens to the Tate Britain museum. We then took another boat that led us directly to the Tate Modern museum and The International Shakespeare Globe Centre (we only toured the Tate Modern). After that we walked across the Milennium Foot Bridge, which led us in the general vicinity of St. Paul's Cathedral, although we got there too late to tour inside. At that point we walked our way back to Picadilly Circus; while our one companion parted ways with us to meet up with an Irish pal, the rest of us headed back to the Tower of London subway stop for a Jack the Ripper walking tour. This is quickly compiled in a paragraph, but let me tell you, this was a hell of a lot of stuff to do in one day. The Tower tour itself took two hours or so to complete.

Unfortunately, it was then that my legs gave up on me and I had to say "uncle." I felt horrible about it, because the other two really wanted to do this walking tour, but I was pretty much at the brink of tears at this point and knew I had to listen to my body screaming at me to quit walking! All I know is, I wish to God I had a pedometer on me that day, because I would love to know how many miles we walked from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. that day, including all the strolling around inside each museum as well as all the foot travel we did getting too each place and all the wrong turns we made. I'm guessing 10 miles.

They were incredibly kind, however, and we wound up going for Indian food instead, which I must say was fantastic. And they did get to go the next evening, so it wasn't like I cheated them out of their experience, just delayed them 24 hours.

So here's my overview of that crazy day:

The Tower of London was amazing. I don't think it would be right to say I enjoyed it, because a lot of its history is very, very sad. Within the past two weeks I've watched both Elizabeth movies with Cate Blanchett, and in the first one the young princess gets locked up in this building at left, the White Tower. I think the films were all the more moving for me since I recently walked on the very floors she did and experienced the menacing and intimidating might of these big stone prisons. Even more emotional was the statue at right, which is on the spot where Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn --unfortunately only one of several prisoners -- was beheaded. Our audio guide suggested that we imagine walking up to this spot as a person facing their last minutes on earth. Not a happy place, let me tell you. However, behind that statue in the large building was the home of the Crown Jewels, which was quite a sight to behold. I've never seen so much gold and so many jewels in one place in my entire life. Quite impressive.

After we thoroughly explored the Tower of London we hopped on the boat and traveled the Thames. My best picture of that jaunt was this one of the London Eye. That's the closest I got to it; I really had no desire to go that high in the sky. Looking back I probably shouldn't have let my fear of heights let me stay away, but in the end we were so busy doing everything else that the regret isn't that bad. Besides, I have to save something for the next time I go to London!

When we got off the boat we were at Westminster, and my one travel companion got to achieve one of his goals by having his picture taken next to this statue at right. I took photos of this the first time I was in London and could understand why. The woman in the chariot is Boudica, Britain's warrior queen who fought against the Roman occupation of England. Click on the link to read more about her and this statue. Having named my daughter after another ancient British warrior queen, I tend to have a fondness for these strong women of history.

We of course walked past Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, then entered the Victoria Tower Gardens. It wasn't as crowded as the main streets, which made for a more relaxing walk, and I found it lovely, even in January. The weather was nice enough for a group of men to pick up a game of rugby with Parliament in the background (I took a picture but it came out very dark). My favorite landmark in the gardens was this statue, the Buxton Memorial, which commemorates the emancipation of slaves following the British 1833 Slavery Abolition Act.

I must have been dealing with the first wave of exhaustion by this point because I didn't even think of taking any pictures at the Tate Britain. We were hungry, too, because we had lunch first at the museum before looking around. I had a cheddar and ale chutney sandwich which was quite good. I noticed you could buy beer and wine in this museum cafeteria, which I'm pretty sure isn't common in American museums.

My main goal at the Tate Britain was to see this painting, J.W. Waterhouse's The Lady of Shalott. Waterhouse is one of my favorite painters, and this piece in particular has been very dear to me. I've owned a print of this since high school, and it has adorned my walls in college dorms, apartments, and every house I've lived in since. It was amazing to see it in person; just the enormity of the painting (78.8" x 60.28") was awe-inspiring. But to see the actual brush strokes, the level of detail one can't see in my print, made it all the more beautiful. I realized something as I recalled the story; while at first glance this woman seems sad and weak, she actually has a lot in common with Boudica. They both faced impossible odds (Boudica facing the army of the Roman Empire, the Lady a curse that kept her imprisoned in a castle and unable to look at the world directly). Both made heroic but tragic decisions that led to their deaths.

I found so many paintings here that I loved. I'm a big fan of the Pre-Raphaelite and Victorian era art, and this place was jam-packed with it. And the sculptures were fantastic, too.

We then traveled by boat to the Tate Modern. Other than getting to see Claude Monet's Water Lilies (After 1916) I have to admit I wasn't too impressed by the majority of the art I saw there. I guess I'm an old fogey at heart and can't get into "modern" art. I found myself looking at several pieces and thinking my 9 year-old daughter could do a much better job. It didn't help that I was seriously hurting by this point and was much more interested in finding a seat to rest my feet and legs than being inspired by modern artists.

The biggest feat my one travel companion had was traversing the length of the Millenium Bridge, called the "Wibbly Wobbly Bridge" when it first opened to the public because something was wrong with the fortifications and the first people to walk across it were bounced around like a fun house attraction. This has been fixed and it's perfectly safe now. When I first heard about the bridge and saw it from afar I was a little leery, but once we were facing it I wasn't scared at all. While it looks narrow in this picture it seemed much wider when we were actually on it. If I had been forced to look down at the Thames River below the entire time I probably would have gotten vertigo and filled with anxiety. My friend wasn't so lucky. The other two travel companions and I literally surrounded him as we went across, a cocoon of safety for him as he sweated and fretted. This photo of his victorious finish on the other side was a testament to his bravery. And unlike Queen Boudica or the Lady of Shalott, his heroic choice didn't end in death!

Wow, it took me two days to post this blog of my one day's adventures! Just proof of how much we crammed into our schedule.