Pre-Tour: LONDON

Sept. 2-5, 2008

After months of planning and two long flights, we arrived at Heathrow Airport at last! Overheard in the airport: a British woman suggesting that her little boy use the restroom before the next leg of their journey. His reply, in his lovely British accent: "Oh, Mum, I cawn't be baw-thed." I knew we were really in London!

We spent four days touring London on our own before joining our Rick Steves tour in Paris. Gene had laid out an ambitious sightseeing plan for us, using Rick Steves' England 2008 as a guide. It worked great!

Our centrally-located Cherry Court Hotel, near the Victoria Underground Station, was warm and cozy. We did have a little trouble getting to our hotel, though, because there were no street signs in London! Eventually we realized that street signs were often placed high on the sides of buildings. Can you see "Hugh Street" written above the pink flowers on St. George's Tavern?

Lunch in a friendly, neighborhood pub near our hotel helped take the edge off jet lag. Revived, we set off eagerly to see London's famous sights!

After a short ride on the Underground, we popped back up to street level, and there, right before us, stood Big Ben! Attached to the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben is the world's largest four-faced chiming clock. Its minute hand is fourteen feet long! A very impressive first landmark.

We drank in the architectural details of the Houses of Parliament from every available angle, taking care in crossing the busy streets full of traffic heading in the opposite direction from what we are used to in the States.

Right across the street from the Houses of Parliament is the famed Westminster Abbey, an enormous Gothic church that dates back to at least 1066. We took an audio tour of the Abbey, which is absolutely packed with history.

We marveled at the more than 3,000 tombs located all around the building's interior, including the Poets' Corner (see postcard on right) where Chaucer, Dickens, and other famous literary giants are buried.

Later, we attended an evensong service at 5:00 PM inside Westminster Abbey. The service began as an all-male choir entered in solemn procession, their crystal-clear voices preceding them into the sanctuary. The majestic tones of a huge pipe organ filled the Abbey. It was an unforgettable experience. (Photography was not allowed inside the Abbey, but this postcard gives you an idea of the church's ornate interior.)

The ensuing three days found us marveling at most of London's famous landmarks, all easily accessible by public transportation. After making the adjustment for street sign location, Gene quickly became a pro at navigating the city streets as well as the Underground with our Rick Steves maps. We covered a lot of territory in our four days in London!

We loved watching the children scampering off to school each morning in their bright uniforms, mums and siblings in tow!

Our Beefeater tour guide delivered a lively and graphic tour of the Tower of London, which once housed numerous ill-fated prisoners including Anne Boleyn, King Henry VI, and St. Thomas More. You could almost feel the ghosts of the past in this historic location. On a more cheerful note, the Tower of London is also home to the Crown Jewels, which are on display in glass cases in one of the buildings. Visitors are funneled past the display on moving sidewalks. I was so impressed with the beauty and grandeur of these jewels, I rode past three times!

In Rick Steves' England 2008 guidebook, he suggests grabbing a bite of lunch and munching it while taking a Thames River cruise. We did just that! It was a great way to get off our feet for awhile and yet continue to enjoy the ever-changing view. Notice Gene's sandwich on the seat beside him.

Another fun way to get an overview of London is aboard the ubiquitous Original London Sightseeing Bus.

Tower Bridge London Eye the National Gallery

From our top-deck perch on the bus, we feasted our eyes on the Tower Bridge, the London Eye, the National Gallery—and so much more.

We hopped off the bus just in time to march alongside the Palace guards and band on their way to Buckingham Palace. Perfect timing!

One of our favorite stops was the British Museum in north London. There, in one huge building, were relics from throughout the history of the world. We saw the Rosetta Stone, which provided the key for historians to unlock ancient hieroglyphics.

We also saw the Elgin Marbles, which are pieces of the Parthenon from ancient Athens. These sculptures date back to about 450 B.C. It gave me a fresh perspective on my own entry into merely a new decade! Amazingly, the whole British Museum is free!

On another day, we toured the magnificent St. Paul's Cathedral, where Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married in 1981. Gene climbed all 528 steps to the top of the dome, the second-largest in the world, while I stayed in the sanctuary below, relishing the ornate décor. The High Altar was breathtakingly beautiful. It seemed every inch of ceiling and wall space in the entire church was layered with murals, statues, and works of art of every description. It was just magnificent!

We also meandered through the National Gallery, and, later, the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, where we caught a glimpse of World War II from the British perspective. Fascinating!

We even managed to squeeze in a play at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The play, Timon of Athens, was beautifully staged with characters periodically scrambling onto the nets above the stage, much to the delight of the audience. Seat-cushion and back-rest rentals were pounds well spent. What a thrill to see Shakespeare enacted in this spectacular, open-air venue!

Overall impressions of London from a first-timer's perspective:

an amazing, bustling city

rich in history

a very efficient public transportation system

the people were friendly, helpful when we occasionally got lost, and trim from walking up all those steps!

there's so much to see here—we barely scratched the surface!

Sign in restroom: "Nappy Changing Station"

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