Days Five and Six: Next Thing You Know I will be Dripping Brains from my Ears!

Two days together this time because last night was late, even by my standards, so you get a double-shot on Thursday.

Day Five: Wednesday, and Thursday for that matter, were days on our own. Since we had no set schedule we started out by sleeping in. I figure I am just keeping myself on East Coast time since there is a five hour difference. So getting up at 10 am here is the same as getting up at 5 am there.

Still with no rush, and the decision to leave Sarah behind to continue fighting her cold, we headed in to London Town with a plan to see Westminster Abbey. We arrived in good time and bought entry tickets and additional private tour tickets with a Verger—from Merriam-Webster: 1: chiefly British : an attendant that carries a verge (as before a bishop or justice)2: a church official who keeps order during services or serves as an usher or a sacristan.

The tour was very good and we were able to get a bit more of a ‘back scene’ look at the Abbey during the ninety minutes we spent with the Verger. Besides the primary site for Coronations and Royal Weddings it is also the burial site for over 3,000 individuals and there is a very broad English history associated with the place.

Originally built in 1065 and first used for the Coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066. All Coronations since then have taken place at Westminster Abbey. In 1560 Queen Elizabeth established the Abbey as a collegiate Church keeping it separate from Catholicism or forms of Protestant churches. The Abbey continues to operate as a college and the Deans Offices are show in the picture to the left. Through the archway in the center is a drive to the center yard of the college and surroundings of other buildings used for studies.

I didn’t take any pictures in the building, and from previous postings you know this isn’t because of any signs, it just didn’t seem appropriate.

We did hear much of the history and some of it was lost on me since I have a hard time remembering the order of all of our Presidents, much less trying to remember the English House of Royalty. Mary, Queen of Scots and a few dozen close friends are buried here in a very ornate chapel erected by her son King Charles. A separate Mary (this is where it gets real confusing for me since she was the same generation as Mary Queen of Scots) is buried here along with her sister Queen Elizabeth (also the same generation). This was significant because Mary re-accepted Catholicism and Elizabeth was against it, Protestant obviously, and they both ruled as Queens at the same time—where does Mary Queen of Scots fit in this (see what I mean)? The family decided that, along with making room for Mary Queen of Scots Chapel it would make sense to have them resolve their issues in eternity since they couldn’t do it while on earth.

Besides the Abbey and lunch at another pub (which I still have not gotten tired of) we toured through Regents Park up to Buckingham Palace. The Palace is in the background behind the monument to Queen Victoria. She is facing NE towards the mall and the home of the Horse Guards and surrounding the monument are the Angel of Justice (facing NW), the Angel of Truth (facing SW), and Charity (facing the Palace). On top is a Victory. All a very nautical theme—the whole sailors thing again—which is said reflects Great Britain’s naval power of the time.

Between Buckingham Palace and the Horse Guards is Spencer House where Royal Court is held. We don’t believe Court was in session, at least they hadn’t told me, but the Queen’s Guards still stand duty at the gateway. It continues to be very impressive how still and placid these individuals remain. There are two facing each other across the gateway and they only move every ten minutes or so to shift the rifle from one side to the other and take two large stomping steps in place; enough to keep the blood flowing. Suffice it to say that the weapons they are holding are not toys and people don’t cross over the simple chain draped across the driveway.

Later in the day we met Sarah near the Baker Street Station after she got out of a downtown class. Andrew caught up with us in the Station as well and we headed off to the West End for a theater night. We almost missed each other in the station, but as Cheri points out, my eagle eyes spotted Andrew coming up one escalator as we got ready to head down a different tunnel. The show we went to see was Traces which was very entertaining. I didn’t quite follow the story line (my fault since I didn’t look it up ahead of time), but the acrobatics were fantastic. It was quite enjoyable to see and Sarah had gotten us great front row balcony seats.

Following the show we wandered around a bit looking for someplace to eat. We worked our way down to Covent Garden and found Maxwell’s which I think is a bit of a US chain restaurant that found its way to the UK. Then it was onto the Tube and back to Harrow. By the time we got back it was late so no blog then…only now.

Day Six: As I said above today was again on our own, so again we didn’t get seriously moving until 10 am. Our thought this day was to explore a little bit of the outskirts of London, at least for a little while. We hopped on the Tube for a couple of stops and then changed lines to a more local train service that took us to West Hampstead. Then we changed to the Overground train to make our way to Hampstead Heath. A Heath is a park area and this one is only four miles from Trafalgar Square, but you feel like you are well into the country.

We got off the train and worked our way over to the park area (after asking for some directions). The trails are mostly paved and they cover a very hilly terrain. We started out following a couple of interconnected ponds and then went up through a field that heads to the highest point in the area. The rise is called Parliament Hill and the views back to the city are protected such that certain sites seen from the hill can not be blocked by new construction. You can see by the picture that the view wasn’t very clear, but we could make out St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye through the haze. On a clear day it must be a great sight.

We walked around the Heath for about an hour and then decided to head into Hampstead Heath to find someplace to eat. Our wandering took us by several places until we found The White Horse pub. We expected typical pub food but we were pleasantly surprised to find Thai food on the menu. It was great! The V shaped building was well windowed so we could watch the activities in the square and it is a lively place that seems like it would be enjoyable in the evening as well. Cheri had the Pad Thai which had only one pepper next to it while I opted for the Pad Grapow which had three peppers. The food was fabulous! After I had eaten half of it I told Cheri that my nose was running, with three quarters gone my eyes were watering and just before my last bite I said to Cheri, “Much more and my brains will start dripping out my ears.” It wasn’t spicy hot, it was spicy flavor-able and very good. I recommended to Sarah that she take Jess there in March. I also had a chance to try some more English Ale (as in most pubs) and they serve a Doom Bar Ale that is from Cornwall and quite good.

With full bellies I made Cheri walk up the hill to Hampstead to catch the Tube into London Town. The Hampstead Station is about 200 feet below ground and you have to take an elevator down to the train platforms. During World War II this station was used as a bomb shelter because it provided such good protection.

We rode the Tube back into town and tried to figure out how to get to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Not knowing any better we got off at Charing Cross (which is near Trafalgar Square) and started walking along the Strand. After a few mistaken turns and no Cathedral in sight I finally asked a doorman if we were anywhere near St. Paul’s. It turned out we needed to continue walking down the Strand about another fifteen minutes and it would come into sight.

Since I had a couple of pints with lunch I also needed to find a loo so we headed down the Strand with two purposes—St. Paul’s and a toilet. Fortunately, the Brits do the public toilet thing exceptionally well. They provide free sites every few blocks and they are well maintained and clean. We found a spot and when I came back out there was Cheri standing in front of the home office for Twinings Tea. This is the longest standing, family owned business continuously operating in the same spot (since the 1700’s).

We went in and the aroma as soon as you enter the shop is wonderful. The selection is great and we were only disappointed that they do not have a tasting room, so we settled on purchasing a few items instead. Just as there is a picture of me leaving the Whiskey Shop, here is a picture of Cheri outside the Tea Shop with her bag in hand.

From there it wasn’t much further before we could make out St. Paul’s dome through the buildings. It really is a magnificent building and it stands out well among the surrounding buildings. We walked all the way around before going up to the entrance and then found out that it was closed for a service until later in the early evening. That helped us to decide on making a return visit sometime in the next two days so we can spend a fair amount of time exploring the Cathedral. Plus, we needed to head back to Harrow to meet Sarah after her class and take her out to dinner.

When we first walked around Harrow with Sarah I had seen an Indian restaurant that looked good and said I wanted to try it before we left. Tonight was the night and it was well worth the wait. This restaurant rivals the India Quality in Boston (one of our favorite Indian restaurants). We had a great meal with again just enough spices—not eye watering or brains from the ears—to make it enjoyable.

Another great day in this adventure.