Second Week in London

Oh man, two weeks gone already. I love this place though. Is it noisy? Yes. Is it dirty? Sometimes. But there is just something about it that I adore. And then there’s the history of course. What a combination of modern and ancient 🥰 We have been incredibly fortunate with the weather too, which is so very nice.

So where did we go the second week? Windsor Castle, explored Kensington area, Westminster Abbey, British Museum (Again. Twice), explored Sloane Square area through Belgravia and popped into Harrod’s. I told you…I’m not going to waste a single moment of our time here! If we are not working we are walking😁

Windsor Castle. It was as amazing as I thought it would be. It is the largest inhabited castle in the world. It is also the oldest inhabited castle in the world, and has been regarded as a home for the monarch since Henry I became king (1100). His father, William the Conqueror, began construction after 1066 on the site of an earlier Saxon castle. OMG, I love this old stuff💕

St George’s Chapel. Note the disembodied hand on the right side – no clue. But this church sits firmly in my top 10 favorites. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed so I can’t share.

There isn’t a lot of the original structure from 1070 (or so) still visible, however this is one of the areas.

The following day we walked through Hyde Park some more (it’s huge) to the Kensington neighborhood. We enjoyed taking the time to wander interesting looking streets, small parks, cute shops…and Whole Foods! So much was familiar, a lot was just a bit different and few things really should be at American stores. Fun stuff. We also have discovered our favorite restaurant – Da Mario. Best Aperol Spritz I’ve ever had too. And I’ve had a lot of Aperol Spritz…

Queen Victoria’s memorial to Prince Albert (her husband). Just a small, unstated thing. The Husband says I can build something like that to memorialize him. Right. The dome behind is the Royal Albert Hall.

Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park

These are all consular offices for small African countries

Gorgeous flower market on Kensington High Street

The following day it was finally time to go to Westminster Abbey. YAY!! And they are now allowing photos from inside – double YAY! The first time I was here with the Brother and we scoured every inch of the place. This time we had to follow a prescribed path (COVID) and one important (for me) area was closed – Elizabeth I tomb was not accessible. It is a very small area, so I understand, but I was sad. Every English monarch since 1066 (William the Conqueror) has been crowned at Westminster. And the chair used at every coronation since 1308 is there too. It’s pretty awesome.

The amazing ceiling in the Lady Chapel (King Henry VII is buried in here)

Tombs along the high altar (Earl of Pembroke d. 1324 and Earl of Lancaster d. 1296)

Peaking along side the tomb of Henry V into the shrine of St Edward the Confessor (the only British monarch to be canonized). We were unable to go into the shrine as it is 1,000 years old and quite fragile in there.

Geoffrey Chaucer – Tales of Canterbury d. 1400

Entry to the Chapter House – this is one of the oldest bits of the Abbey (original build – around 1050ish))

This was just a little shrine to the Virgin tucked into a corner. It really spoke its age – based on design and style I estimate 1200.

This made me sad😕 But it is a very small space.

I do have to say that it took immense restraint not to post hundreds of photos of Westminster…

Okay, on to other places. The British Museum was having two exhibitions that we both wanted to see: one on Nero (emperor of Rome as opposed to awesome little black kitty – miss him so much) and the other on St Thomas a Becket. We didn’t have enough time to see both on a single morning – so, two more trips to the BM! The first one was the exhibit on Nero, and it took a very different look at his life than we have encountered previously. This exhibit took the approach that the awful things history has recorded regarding Nero were done as a smear campaign against him. Hmmm. Whether true or not, it was a beautifully presented and well explained exhibit!

Statues of Nero from various periods of his life

A gladiator’s shin guards. These looked like there was no reason someone couldn’t wear them today!

Tiles from one of Nero’s palaces. Each color and design is a separate piece of stone. Incredible workmanship!

After this, the Husband whined that I was running him ragged so he was allowed a day off from being on the go ☺Only one day off though as we went back to the BM for the St Thomas a Becket exhibit. I’m not going to try to explain too much of the history here as I am long winded enough without expanding on subjects that I find extremely interesting – yes, this is me utilizing brevity. So, for your own education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Becket . A very brief summary: in 1170 King Henry II and the Archbishop of Canterbury (Thomas Becket) were feuding over the dividing line between the Crown and the Church. One day King Henry (possibly) said “will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”. Four of his knights decided to take matters into their own hands, rode to Canterbury Cathedral and killed him in the church. In Henry’s defense he does seem to have been rather horrified by their actions – not that they killed Becket, but that they did it in the church.

A reliquary that held something of St Thomas’s, or a bit of him

The Great Seal of Thomas Becket. This photo did not capture it, but you can still see his thumb print in the wax.

Another reliquary, this one has a bit of the clothes he was wearing at the time of his murder.

On Friday we just did a bit of wandering over in the Sloane Square/Belgravia area. I do believe this is the area of London with the highest concentration of Rolls Royce/Bentley/Lamborghini in the city. Did you know that Lamborghini makes an SUV? Yep. I’ll try to get pictures of one at some point! We also made the Husband’s inaugural visit to Harrod’s. The following is just random photos we took that day –

Harrod’s doorman constructed out of Legos. Lots and lots of Legos as he is full size!

This was interesting. They were farther apart than they look but we still held our breath!

And then there was the trip to Greenwich. I really like Greenwich. I’m not so sure I would like it on a summer’s day with the normal volume of tourists, but it is a super cute place with loads to see. It’s easy enough to travel back into the main part of the city – I would consider staying out that direction.

The Cutty Sark. She was one of the fastest ships on the seas in the latter half of the 1800s. She is beautifully displayed and the tour is highly educational.

Looking at the ship from the underside (down in the structure built to hold her)

A model of what she looked like with all of her sails

The fast boat to and from Greenwich. There’s a slower one too…no thank you.

The Greenwich market is great fun and I highly recommend it. Yummy food and a wonderful array of crafts.

The other thing Greenwich is known for? Greenwich Mean Time of course! This is the Prime Meridian. The line in which the world’s clocks base their time on.

The Royal Observatory Museum is utterly fascinating. I had no clue about the history of keeping time! This is the chronometer that finally allowed sailors to keep accurate time on board a ship. This was important as it aided in reading maps and determining the true location of the ship. A lot, a really lot of ships crashed into rocks and other items because of the inability to judge exactly where the ship was.

Our time in London is half over! And this week…79,057 steps. Still so much to see…I know I won’t get it all done but I’m trying.

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