London: Part Four

On Monday, we went to Windsor Castle!  There are so many great places to visit outside of London, so I was very happy we were able to fit one in.  Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world.  It is located in the town of Windsor, which is just 30 minutes west of London.  The queen and her husband spend many of their weekends here.

Unfortunately, Monday ended up being the day of a lot of mishaps, which we (or maybe just I) had to brush off in order to enjoy the day.  Let's face it, sometimes things just aren't perfect!  The mishaps began with me not correctly calculating how long it would actually take us to get to Windsor, so we arrived later than I had hoped, meaning we had less time to spend there.  I was trying to see the changing of the guard at Windsor Castle, but since we arrived late and the line to get in the castle was long, I knew we had missed it.  Luckily, we did end up seeing the guard process out of the castle, so we at least got to see something.  They had a marching band, followed by the guards marching.

The royal guard band

The guards marching, I bet they are hot in those hats

After that we walked around the grounds of Windsor Castle and listened to the audio guide that came with our entrance fee.  The audio guide explained that if the Royal Standard is flying from the Round Tower, then the Queen is in residence.  As you can see from the picture below, the Royal Standard was flying so the Queen was there while we were there, but we never saw her.

Hanging out with Queen

The original structure of Windsor Castle was first built in 1066 by William the Conquerer and has subsequently been added to or renovated over time.  It was built to be an impenetrable fortress, with very thick, high walls all around it.  It became a royal residence in 1100 and has continued to be a residence today, making it the longest occupied castle in the world.

All lamposts are adorned with a crown

Beautiful Wisteria growing everywhere

The once smelly moat has been turned into beautiful gardens

This castle is also very large, taking up about 5 acres, with more than five hundred people who live and work there.  This also makes it the largest inhabited castle in the world.  The picture below shows part of the State Apartments, which is where the Queen resides.

The State Apartments, taken from a closed gate

The funny thing about the castle today is that it is in the landing pattern of Heathrow Airport.  So every few minutes or so you would hear an airplane go by.  The planes can be quite loud, so I wonder what the Queen thinks about that.  It also seems like a security concern to have planes flying over where the Queen lives, but oh well.

Planes frequently fly over Windsor Castle, kind of a funny juxtaposition of old and new

One of the buildings you can tour on the castle grounds is St. George's Chapel, so we walked over to see that first.  The chapel is the place of worship for Windsor Castle.  You can attend the Sunday services even if you are not a resident of the castle.  The chapel is named after the patron saint of England, St. George.  Besides Westminster Abbey, this is another favorite location for the royals for weddings and burials.  Chances are if the king or queen is not buried at Westminster Abbey, he or she is buried at St. George's Chapel.  The famous King Henry VIII is buried here with his favorite wife, Jane Seymour.  There is also a small memorial chapel where Queen Elizabeth's father (King George VI), mother, and sister are buried.

The entrance to St. George's Chapel on the left

St. George's Chapel

We were also able to tour some of the State Apartment rooms, but obviously not where the Queen's private residence is.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, though.  There was actually a devastating fire in 1992, so it was interesting to see how they had tried to restore parts of the castle to it's original form.  After touring the rooms, we left Windsor Castle to get some lunch and souvenirs in the cute town of Windsor. 

Beautiful roses blooming at Windsor Castle

A guard at the exit to Windsor Castle

The exit

The cute town of Windsor

All the tourists enjoying the sunshine in downtown Windsor

We didn't have much time to get lunch since we still wanted to fit in another museum in London before the end of the day.  As we were walking around trying to decide on a place to eat, Right then, a pigeon pooped on me.  The combination of being hungry and having poop in my hair and clothes made me pretty upset.  Darren helped me to try and wipe it off and I was able to get most of it off in a bathroom after we had a quick lunch.  But we didn't really have time to go back to the hotel, so I wore poop clothes the rest of the day.

Imperial War Museum

We took the train back to London and went to the Imperial War Museum.  Darren really enjoyed this museum and probably could have spent the whole day there.  Even with my poop clothes, I still managed to enjoy it, too.  I didn't know much about the tanks and guns, but the World War II exhibit was fascinating.  It was really interesting to see how the war greatly affected the lives of regular British citizens.  They really sacrificed a lot.

The largest gun shell (?) from a German rail gun (?)

A World War II tank

The living quarters aboard a submarine, Darren and I wouldn't really fit

After the museum, we needed to find something to eat and I didn't have anything planned.  So that was stressful trying to find a place we liked at 6:30 pm on a holiday that wasn't full.  But we eventually found something and I had bangers and mash.  It was good, but it was a lot of sausage, even for me.  After that, we headed back to the hotel and I immediately changed out of my poop clothes and I felt better.

London: Part Three

On Easter Sunday, we did a lot of walking to see some sites and to enjoy the great weather.  We started from our hotel in the financial district and walked south across the Tower Bridge.  We then walked along the southern bank of the Thames, heading west toward Westminster. 

Heading towards Tower Bridge, looking back at Tower of London and the financial district

The Tower Bridge, one of many bridge on the Thames, but I think the coolest

The Tower Bridge was completed in 1894 and is a draw bridge.  The bridge used to go up at least five times a day when river travel was more important, but now it hardly ever opens.  As you can see in the picture above, there is a walkway connecting the two towers at the top that is now open to the public (for a fee, of course).  I'm sure it has great views, but it was a very hazy day (as you can see from all these pictures), so it wasn't worth it to go up there.

Darren in front of Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge from the other side of the river

Tower of London from the other side of the river

An example of how busy the attractions were: the line to get into Tower of London

The southern bank used to be where the poor lived and illicit activities occurred, but over the last 60 years, the waterfront was rebuilt with posh apartments and shops with a lovely promenade.  Several museums and attractions moved/were built here and the famous Borough Market is now a must-see for any foodie.  We walked along the promenade and took pictures of a few of the southern bank highlights.

Replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship he used to circumnavigate the globe, which you can tour

Shakespeare's Globe Theater, replica of the original, where they perform the playwright's works

Darren with the Millenium Bridge on the right and St. Paul's Cathedral in the background

The London Eye, built in 2000

Westminster Bridge and Palace of Westminster

Me in front of Big Ben on Westminster Bridge

We ended our four-mile walk at Big Ben and figured it took us about two hours to do.  We then took the subway back to our hotel to change into church clothes and left to attend a Mormon congregation in South Kensington.  After that, we went back to Westminster Abbey to attend a service called Evensong, which is like an evening prayer, I think.  The famous Westminster Abbey Choir performed several songs with an amazing organ and organist.  They also had a short scripture reading, a small (and entertaining) sermon, and some prayers.  We mainly went to hear the choir and the organ.  Darren used to sing in a choral group for services at the Harvard Memorial Church, so he enjoyed listening to the choir and even knew some of the songs the Westminster Abbey Choir performed.  I really enjoyed listening to large and powerful organ played by a very talented organist.  Organs are amazing instruments!

After the service, we did more walking!  We walked over to Hyde Park and sat for a bit enjoying the sun and the greenery.  Then Darren went over to see Speakers Corner in the park.  I don't know much about this tradition, but in 1872, London passed a law making it legal for anyone to address an audience in this corner of Hyde Park on Sundays.  I refused to go over there to see people making a spectacle of themselves and trying to get attention, but Darren went over an snapped a few pictures because he thought it was interesting. 

One guy addressing the crowd in Speaker's Corner

After that, we headed down Oxford Street (a shopping street) to find a fish and chips place I had picked out.  We walked for a long time just to find that the place was closed for the holiday.  UGH.  We just ate at McDonald's and called it a day.

Oxford Street

London: Part Two

Before I begin my summary of our second full day in London, I want to explain how crazy London was while we were there because of all the holidays.  So let me run through all the holidays that occurred:

Thursday: Queen's Birthday (celebrated with gun salutes and parades at multiple locations)

Friday: Good Friday (national holiday, processional and large ceremony at Westminster Abbey)

Saturday: St. George's Day (parade and concert at Trafalgar Square)

Sunday: Easter Sunday (big services at multiple famous churches in London)

Monday: Easter Monday (not sure what goes on this day, but still means every in England is off work)

Tuesday: Countdown to Royal Wedding (okay, not a holiday... well maybe to some)

We weren't even aware of some of these holidays until we got there.  So needless to say, even with my extensive research and meticulous planning there still were a lot hiccups in the daily itinerary.  A lot of times we would show up to a restaurant I had picked to find that it was closed the whole holiday weekend.  Or, we would show up to an attraction, like Westminster Abbey on Saturday morning, to find the line an hour long (or more) to get in.  Whoops.

The west entrance on Westminster Abbey on a very warm, but hazy day

Westminster Abbey West towers, completed in 1745

The press box across the street for the royal wedding

Can't see the whole door because Darren is avoiding having hundreds of tourists in our pictures

Looking at the West towers from the north entrance

After looking at the long line, we decided to move Westminster Abbey to another day and to take a tour of Parliament next.  This also had a (smaller) line to get tickets, but you can't really complain about having to wait outside when it's 78 and sunny in London. :)

The Jewel Tower (part of an old medieval castle) and the line for Parliament tickets

The Houses of Parliament are located in the Palace of Westminster, first built in the 11th century.  The palace was originally a royal residence, but after a fire occurred in 1512, it stopped being a residence and was rebuilt to become the seat of the two Houses of Parliament.  The palace has been destroyed by fires and was even bombed during World War II, but it has always been rebuilt.  Most of the building we see today is from it's major reconstruction in 1834 during the reign of Queen Victoria.

The clock tower with the Big Ben bell inside in the foreground and the London Eye in the background

Other side of the building, Darren really enjoyed the architecture

We went on a two-hour tour of the inside of the building with a fantastic British guide who kept calling us "Ladies and Gents" and said "Par-lee-ment".  Our guide told us about the history of the palace and how it functions today as the house of Parliament.  We really enjoyed the tour and would recommend it to anyone.  We couldn't take any pictures inside except for in the Westminster Hall.  This is the only surviving room from the original construction of the palace back in the 11th century.  Most of the roof that you can see below is the original 14th-century hammer beam roof.

Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster

Pictures of us after the tour to prove we were there

Just up the street from Parliament is 10 Downing Street, where the British Prime Ministers have lived since 1732.  You used to be able to walk down Downing Street, but twenty years ago they put up a gate, so now you can only peer down the street.

Downing Street

We then visited Trafalgar Square and ran into the St. George's Day festivities.  Our Parliament tour guide  explained to us that England's patron saint is George, just like Ireland's patron saint is Patrick.  So secularly, St. George's Day is like St. Patrick's day, meaning people just celebrate it by partying.  A concert and parade were going on in the square, so we just ducked into a pizza place to get some lunch.

Statue of Admiral Lord Nelson, who defeated Napoleon (but died) at the Battle of Trafalgar

We left Trafalgar Square and walked along the Mall (or as you might have heard the British pronounce it on Friday the "Mal", as in malpractice) towards Buckingham Palace.  This was the route the royal wedding procession took to get to Buckingham Palace.  On the left is St. James's Park and on the right are all government buildings, with Buckingham Palace at the end of the road.

St. James's Park

The best picture we could get of Clarence House, where Princes Charles's family lives

Buckingham Palace is where the Queen and her husband, Prince Phillip live.  Their children all also have apartments here for when they around, but the rooms are mostly used for state functions such as banquets, and ceremonies, and of course, for royal wedding receptions.  You can't go inside Buckingham Palace except for in July and August when the Queen goes Scotland.  In other months, the only thing really to do is to see the exterior.

The front of Buckingham Palace, six days later there were one million people out here

The balcony where the two famous kisses occurred, can you tell I watched the royal wedding?

The two-story press box across from the palace constructed for the royal wedding

After seeing Buckingham Palace we walked around to see yet, another palace.  This one is the St. James Palace, which was built by King Henry VIII and was mainly used as a residence by Queen Elizabeth I.  This isn't a very well-known attraction, but after reading about it in our guide book, I had wanted to see it.

Me in front of St. James Palace

We spent the rest of the late afternoon going to see Piccadilly Circus, which is like Times Square, and to the National Gallery.  When we got out, it was actually raining a bit.  This was the only time it rained our whole trip!  We didn't have jackets or umbrellas, but it was still really warm outside, so we just walked quickly to a restaurant I had picked and got a few sprinkles on us along the way.  Another great day in London!