Sunday, as promised, Maria, Kyle & I had brunch at Belsize Kitchen, where Kyle had the luxury of eating food that he didn't have to prepare himself. Maria & Kyle had the "Full Belsize" which translates as the traditional "full English"; I opted for the eggs benedict and we all left full & happy.
Then it was on to the St. Paul's tube station to meet the tour - which we almost didn't, as "scheduled works" on our branch of the Northern Line delayed our trip. But we made it just in the nick of time and were so glad we did. Our tour guide for "Shakespeare & Dickens' London" was an American from the midwest named David. He's clearly been in the UK for awhile and he was terrific. The tour lasted a bit over 2 hours and stayed pretty much in the vicinity of St. Paul's. We saw several buildings that pre-dated the famous London fire of 1666, as well as spots that Shakespeare & Dickens would've either themselves frequented, or referenced in their writing during their respective times in London. Since none of the three of us can remotely call ourselves any sort of authority on either Mr. Shakespeare or Dickens, we didn't get as much from the tour as perhaps we could have, but it was enjoyable nonetheless and David (who also teaches Shakespeare to American college students) kept us very entertained. Also featured during the tour were surviving sections of the "London Wall", the defensive structure that the Romans had built around "Londinium" in the 2nd or 3rd century.
Following the tour, after stopping for a tea & coffee break, we visited briefly the spectacular interior of St. Paul's Cathedral, then walked across the Millenium Bridge and popped into the Tate Modern before it closed. The Tate Modern displays the works of international artists from 1900 and beyond and we did see a few Picassos and a Jackson Pollack among others. I must say I prefer the less contemporary art for the most part but you know, it's in the eye of the beholder and all that. We then continued walking along the South Bank of the Thames as it had turned into a very nice, albeit cool afternoon. (Sitting on the patio of the Anchor Bar was mandatory as it overlooked the river and the sun was out, and you can't sit on the patio unless you buy something, so... you know the rest.) It was another good, full day.
As I write this, it's Monday evening and Maria & I are chilling after another event-filled day. We met another London Tour group at 10:45 this morning, this time for a tour of Westminster Abbey, which I've been by myself many times but hadn't yet toured. Once again, the interior of this magnificent church really took our breath away - by the end of Maria's visit she & I will both be pulling around oxygen tanks at this rate. Not only is it HUGE but it's so darn ancient and beautiful. Today's tour guide was Chris, and although she didn't have the entertainment value of David, she clearly knows her stuff and gave us more information than I fear we can hold in our brains. The site of coronations and royal weddings, the Abbey is also the burial place for many well known Brits (and not), royal and not, including: Elizabeth I, her half-sister Queen Mary and her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, Charles Dickens, George Handel, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin, just to name a few, and in absolutely no particular order. Also entombed there is the "Unknown Warrior" who was an anonymous soldier killed during World War I and who gets the highest honor and respect of any others buried there. It was a really great tour.
Following it, we grabbed a bite and walked around Westminster in order for Maria to take the cumpulsatory photos of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and 10 Downing Street. We also timed our walk past the Horse Guard nearly perfectly and were able to catch the hourly changing of the "mounted boxmen" guards (in this case, 4 out of 5 participants were women) which was kind of cool. Then it was up to Trafalgar Square, a peek into Saint Martin-in-the-Field church and back to the tube. We are tired!
http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/MariaVisitIIStPaulSWestminsterAbbey#
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