Greetings from London

March 21, 2012
Greetings from London
Both the Crandalls and the Browns arrived in London after smooth and uneventful flights from Michigan and Florida. We arrived a couple of hours ahead of Cathy and Gerry so we arranged for their travel tickets for London public transportation (Oyster Cards) and had a coffee while awaiting their arrival. We all took the Tube into London and went directly to our hotel which is located just around the corner from the Earl’s Court Underground Station. We took 30 minutes to settle into our rooms and then headed off, the first stop being Westminster Abbey. On arriving at Westminster Abbey we discovered there was to be an Evensong service at 5:00. As it cost 16 pounds each to get into the Abbey during the day but was free for the service, we decided to go to the service. Westminster Abbey is directly across the street from the Houses of Parliament so we went there next. Lady Luck was smiling on us and we were able to get into the visitor’s gallery at the House of Commons without waiting. The Deputy Prime Minister was answering questions while we were there so the Members of Parliament were in their full glory jeering at the opposition as they offered opinions on the question at hand. We had witnessed this on a previous visit but it was all new to Cathy and Gerry. They were amazed and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We were also able to spend some time in the Stranger’s Gallery in the House of Lords. The Lords are a more sedate and dignified group but it was still fascinating listening to a discussion on the high amount of food waste in the restaurant and catering industry and what to do about all of this waste. Upon leaving the Houses of Parliament we took Cathy and Gerry to their first pub. Gerry obviously enjoyed the pub because he wanted to stay for a second pint rather than go back to Westminster Abbey for Evensong. He was outvoted 3 to 1. The Choristers of the Abbey, the boys’ choir from the school affiliated with the Abbey, sung at the service. The purity of the voices of these young boys was breathtaking. After the service we all went to a pub we have visited before for an excellent dinner of fish and chips and mushy peas (Madison – this is the pub near our hotel when you were with us). Following dinner we took the bus back to our hotel, by the great circular route so that we could see some of London after dark, and called it a night. All four of us were exhausted.
Today, Tuesday, started with a trip to The Tower of London. The Tower was built during the 12th century and was originally the castle for the King or Queen of England. It was more infamously known as a prison and today its claim to fame is the repository of the Crown Jewels and Yeomen Warders, better known as Beefeaters, who conduct the tours of the Tower. Tim joined Gerry and Cathy in the Tower while Lynda sat in the brilliant sunshine at a nearby park and read. The Beefeater who conducted our tour was very entertaining and the Crown Jewels were a marvel. Lynda then joined us for a tour of the Tower Bridge located next to the Tower of London. The Tower Bridge was the first draw bridge built across the River Thames. It was built in 1891 and allowed larger ships to navigate farther up the Thames. Part of the tour took us into the engine rooms. The engineering of this bridge was quite amazing. From here we took a train out to the Docklands where we enjoyed a light lunch outside and then got back on the train and went up to the site of this summer’s Olympic Games. It was fun for us to see how much has been done since we visited last May. Unfortunately, there appears to be much work left to do. We took the tube back to St. Paul’s Cathedral. We were only able to peek inside just a little as there is also a high admission charge for St. Paul’s outside of service times. Gerry and Tim also walked part way across the Millennium Bridge. Cathy was having trouble with uncomfortable shoes that were making walking increasingly more difficult so the next order of business was to find her new shoes. This quest ended at Harrods. Darn! New shoes were successfully found and then we took the obligatory tour of the food halls. We know we have said this before, but the food halls at Harrods are quite astounding.
Today is Cathy and Gerry’s 30th wedding anniversary. We found a nice pub in which to celebrate. The pub was located in Covent Garden. It was a beautiful evening in London so after dinner we took a leisurely walk from Covent Garden through Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus before taking the tube back to our hotel.
It has been fun for us to watch Cathy and Gerry experience London for the first time. They are both enjoying the experience although Gerry does occasionally sound like his father, questioning why the British do some things so strangely. Tomorrow’s schedule includes the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and a VIP reception at an Art Gallery in Notting Hill that we visited last May. We are leaving the afternoon open in case we bump into the Queen at the Changing of the Guard and she invites us into the Palace for lunch!
Cheers until next time.