It was a foggy morning here in York and was foggy for most of the drive, but fairly warm. Pat's parents and sister, Kathy, flew into London from the states that morning and met us at the hotel we were staying. By the time we got there and everyone was settled, we headed out for a late lunch at the very authentic "Tudor Rose" pub and set off to Harrod's to see some Christmas shopping craziness in full swing.
For those of you that haven't been, Harrod's is a huge, high-end department store complete with a gigantic food hall. It looks as though a Vegas casino got a hold of it and themed everything, but in a more tasteful way. There's a central Egyptian escalator hall and every section of the store is decorated with sculptures and reliefs from ceiling to floor. It was pretty impressive.
Now, before we really get into London, you have to understand a few things. We had a very unique experience since 1) it was the holidays and everyone abandoned London like rats abandoning ship 2) winter + holidays = more things closed and/or closing earlier than usual and 3) there was extreme fog.
Although the fog had cleared out by the time we got to London, it blanketed the city the next day and made it feel very cold. In fact, when we joined our "Hop-on, Hop-off" bus tour of the city with live guides, one said this was "the worst fog I've seen in London for 15 years." Another guide put a positive spin on it by saying it was "historically accurate fog" and allowed you to get a glimpse of what London would have been like on a more regular basis before the Clean Air Act when there were open fires, etc. That being said, it was a bummer for sightseeing, but put a beautiful, eerie twist on the city that made it more like what I would have expected from old movies.
(that's the only sun we saw that day and there's suppose to be a river beyond those trees)
Our big stop on the tour was the Tower of London on the bank of the river Thames. Not knowing much about London, I expected one tower, but it's really a complex of 19 towers, two concentric defensive walls and a moat. It's been around since the 1080s and currently houses the crown jewels, a military museum, a royal regiment museum, and the Yeoman Warders aka "beefeaters" and their families (they take care of the place and give tours).
(view of the Tower complex and super-modern buildings as seen on a clear day :)
(the central White Tower)
I don't pretend to know the extensive history of the place, but here's a few snippets:
• The Tower has been a prison, the Royal Armory, a treasury, the Royal Mint, a zoo, a public records office, and an observatory.
• According to Wikipedia, "The [zoo's] menagerie was open to the public by the 18th century; admission was a sum of three half-pence or the supply of a cat or dog for feeding to the lions."
• Anne Boleyn, one of Henry VIII's unfortunate wives, was beheaded inside the Tower. Private beheadings like that were rare and reserved for people of formerly high status. Henry even shipped in the French executioner Anne had requested—what a sweetie. She's buried in a church on site. She reportedly haunts the Tower and has been seen walking around with her head under her arm.
• Speaking of ghosts, the Tower is suppose to be the most haunted building in England.
• Our friend, Guy Fawkes, was imprisoned here after being caught red-handed trying to blow up Parliament. He was tortured and eventually hung, drawn, and quartered. (Word is he might have just jumped off the gallows to break his neck so he didn't get to the drawn and quartered part) According to the Tower website, "Even today, before the State Opening of Parliament, the Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster – where Fawkes was discovered and arrested – to ensure that there is no repeat of the Gunpowder Conspiracy."
• They have royal armor on display, including miniature versions made for princes and Henry VIII's armor with its ridiculously large armored "codpiece"—think male ballet dancer times five. (We already knew he thought a lot of himself) The museum also has some interesting interactive exhibits including one where you can try a bow to see the amount of strength needed and another where you could put your face inside a knight's helmet with the slits to see how incredibly little they could see out of it.
• And for those fellow feminists, in 2007 Moira Cameron became the first female Beefeater in history to go on duty at the Tower of London. Impressive since there are rigorous military requirements that rule out most women.
Okay, so once we left the Tower, there was still a lot to see. Unfortunately, it was covered by fog which had actually thickened during the day. You couldn't see Big Ben, you couldn't even really see the second floor of Parliament. The river was non-existent even though we knew we kept crossing it. Unfortunately that was the only day Pat's family was in town. They left on Christmas Eve for Munich and then Dublin. It was a short visit, but it was nice to see family on the holidays and brush up on Bridge :)
Our Christmas Eve was somewhat of a repeat of the day before minus the fog. We were able to take the tour again (luckily it was a 48hr. ticket) and the weather was much warmer. Only a small peak of sun, but no complaints. Here's a drive-by of what we saw...
Dramatic Christmas Decorations in Soho
Trafalger Square
Tower Bridge (not London Bridge as I thought)
Shakespeare's Globe Theater (reconstructed with a thatched roof like the original)
Big Ben & Parliament
Westminster Abbey
Buckingham Palace
Some miscellaneous things we learned about London:
• The phrase "it's raining cats and dogs" originated here. Apparently the animals were running around stray and storm sewers were non-existent or not functional. When it rained really hard, animals would drown in streets and alleys and their corpses would float around, hence the saying.
• 1/3 of the city was bombed out in WWII (you can still see pock marks on buildings)
• The Great Fire of 1666 started in a bakery on Pudding Lane (it sounds so innocent)
• More than 50,000 people were executed at Tyburn Tree near Marble Arch.
• Of all the embassies we saw, the US has the biggest, ugliest concrete monstrosity.
I have to say I had no expectations of London so I was pleasantly surprised. It's a very formal, refined city and is very majestic in that sense. It was nice that we were visiting it during the quietest time of year. I'm sure the hustle and bustle of a normal day would be much different.
No comments:
Post a Comment