A Jaunt Around London

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

Westminster Abbey

Wednesday, I woke up a bit early because I was going to Westminster Abbey and I wanted to give myself plenty of time to get through the church before having to head back to school for my exam. I decided to go by myself because, after being around so many of the same people for so long and being stressed about exams, I wanted some quiet time to myself, and I figured going to a church, which is naturally a quiet place, would give me a good place to just be by myself for a while and recharge. As I entered the abbey, I grabbed an audio guide and headed off to explore the historical and religious treasure trove that is Westminster Abbey.

There were so many cool things about the abbey, that I’m not sure that I can really pick one as my favorite, so I’m just going to describe some of the things that I thought were really interesting. The first thing that really caught my interest was the high altar, which is where coronations take place, and most recently, where Prince William and Kate Middleton were married. It was really interesting to see the altar up close, knowing what it looks like from seeing it on TV and in pictures. But what TV and pictures can’t capture is the detail of the altar. The floor itself is an intricate mosaic made out of exquisite marble. The back wall of the altar, which is covered in gold, was absolutely breathtaking.

Another thing that I thought was interesting were the tombs of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. The two women, who were rivals for the throne, are buried in rooms that are opposite from each other; in fact, Mary’s tomb mirrors the position of Elizabeth’s in the room just across the hall. Especially interesting about Queen Elizabeth I’s tomb was the figure on top. According to the audio guide, the carving is supposed to be an excellent likeness of the queen. I’ve only ever seen painting of Elizabeth I, so it was interesting to see another take on her image.

Westminster Abbey

Thirdly, I really enjoyed Poets’ Corner; in fact, if I was pressed to pick a favorite, Poets’ Corner would probably win. The Corner began when Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote the Canterbury Tales, was buried there. From then on, it became a kind of tradition to bury famous English authors and poets there, or at the very least, memorialize them with a plaque or statue. Some of the notable people buried in Poets’ Corner are Charles Dickens, Laurence Olivier, and Rudyard Kipling, amongst others. The literature nerd in me had an absolute field day seeing all the names of people whose works I’ve read. Also, while not buried there, Shakespeare has a large memorial in Poets’ Corner. According to the guide, someone (I don’t remember which king or queen it was) wanted to have Shakespeare exhumed from his grave in Stratford-upon-Avon and brought to Westminster Abbey to be buried among the other great authors of the country. However, the idea was vetoed by several groups, and so she had to settle for the monument. Another interesting fact was about how Dickens came to be buried there. Evidently, he did not want to be buried in Westminster Abbey, he wanted to be buried in his hometown of Rochester, in Kent. However, following his death, Queen Victoria decided that he was too much of national hero to not be buried in Poets’ Corner, and thus demanded that his body be laid to rest in Westminster Abbey.

10 Downing Street

Even though I gave myself so much time to get through the Abbey, following the guide, it only took me about an hour and a half to see everything that I wanted to see – I think it helped that I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, because that cut my time down significantly. However, instead of heading back to the college, I decided to take advantage of my unexpected free time and the proximity to other sights in London, so I headed out into the city. My first stop, 10 Downing Street, was just down the street from Westminster. 10 Downing Street is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Great Britain, and as such, it is guarded by a lot of policemen. However, I knew that going in, so I was content with pictures of the black gates, which are really what people associate with the address.

Horse Guard

Next on my list was Clarence House, so I set out down Whitehall towards the Mall, which leads to Buckingham Palace. On my way there I passed the Horse Guard Parade Grounds, which is guarded by two mounted guards. The guards, clad in armor, holding big swords, and mounted on massive black horse, were absolutely intimidating. They scared me, and there were signs that said that the horses might bite, so I kept my distance.

I continued down the street and turned onto the Mall, but about half way down, I got diverted, and couldn’t go any further down the road. I’m not really sure why, but the Mall is closed until September. I think it might have to do with the Olympics, but that’s just my guess. Because the Mall was closed, I wasn’t able to go the way I had planned to Clarence House. I tried my best to find an alternate route using my map and the street signs that showed the alternate route to Buckingham Palace, but all I ended up doing was getting lost. I went down at least two or three dead end streets and had to turn around a lot, but I never found it.

Victoria Memorial

Buckingham Palace

By that time, I had veered off the route towards Buckingham Palace, which was the next place on my list of things to see. Finally, when I was about to give up hope and get on the next Tube I saw and ride it to Green Park, what did I happen to stumble upon but Green Park itself. So I walked through the park up to Buckingham Palace. It was late enough in the early afternoon that the crowd from the Changing of the Guard had dispersed, so I was able to get really good pictures of the Victoria Memorial and the Palace itself.

When I finished taking all my touristy pictures, I headed back to the college so I could take my exam, which went really well. It’s been an interesting challenge balancing schoolwork with all the sightseeing and touring, so I was really happy that my exam seemed easy enough.

After exams, the entire group, all seventeen of us, plus the two professors who came over with us, headed out to dinner for one last meal with all of us. We ended up going to a noodle house (and not a pub – we’d been to enough of those already) and had a great parting meal. I can’t believe that just six short weeks ago, the good majority of our little group were absolute strangers to me. Now, I know I’ve gained sixteen new friends.