I See London (Part III)

Day Five started with a train ride to the upstream section of the Thames. We were headed for Hampton Court, Henry VIII and William III's palace.

But first, a side note: We arrived at the train station around 9:00AM. There were thousands of people coming in from outside the city. The bus dropped us off near where everyone was waiting for buses to different sections of the city. We saw people standing in line. The lines continued down the stairs into the train station. There were at least 200 people. All standing IN LINE. In two lines, really. No pushing, no shoving, two orderly lines with plenty of space for people to walk around. And when someone arrived at the front, they walked all the way to the back to get in line. A and I looked at each other in disbelief. Seems one stereotype of London is true - everyone is very polite! (This would not have been the same in America!)

On to our outing... when we arrived at Hampton Court, we first headed for their famous hedge maze. We wanted to beat the tourists and also it was going to get up to 85° that day! (They had record-breaking heat for two days.) Unlike Disney World, they give you no hints on which way to go - you truly have to solve it yourself!

We stuck to our plan of attack and found the center!

Then we walked through the rest of the beautiful gardens. I tried to persuade A to commit to trimming our future trees in this shape. He wasn't too excited about it.

Something we did not realize is Hampton Court is home to the Largest Vine in the World! This is just half of it... they even have about a quarter-acre of land they never plant because it's home to the vine's roots.

Hampton Court is a very interesting building. It was built during the Tudor period and used frequently by Henry VIII to escape from central London. Then it fell into disuse and when William III decided to make court there, he wanted to demolish the entire building and start over. Thankfully for us, he didn't have enough money. So instead he added on a wing for his rooms in the Baroque style. It's a huge contrast.

I loved the Tudor chimneys! They were mostly unique - not many repeats.

We made use of the audio guides (free!) and took multiple self-tours. Here are some highlights.

This is Henry VIII's Great Hall. It's decorated with his hunting trophies as well as very old tapestries.

This is the entrance to William III's court rooms. The entire entrance room is painted.

The first greeting room for William III held weapons to show off and also keep in easy reach.

William III had many throne rooms. The further along you went, the more well-liked you were by the King. You could end up in his public bedroom. It even had a bed and the King greeted his close courtiers in it!

We looked around for a boat to Kew Gardens, but were told the only ones were leaving much later. So instead we took a bus, which was quick and easy. Kew Gardens are huge! There are many interesting things, including a pagoda which some royal family member decided they wanted.

They have a treetop walkway. It's pretty high, but A was brave and we took a walk around.

One cool thing we saw were plants which looked like rocks. Amazing!

After heading back to the city, we walked and sat along the riverfront and watched it go from day to night.

The next day was dedicated to two famous institutions: The British Library and the British Museum. I have no photos from the Library (not allowed and it was very dark). The Library houses world treasures such as a copy of the Magna Carta, the original Beowulf manuscript, an original copy of Canterbury Tales, Jane Austen's notebook, and a Gutenberg Bible. Among many other precious works!

We walked to the British Museum next. While we are very glad we were able to see so many fantastic treasures, we had to keep in mind these are really the spoils of robbery. I wonder if there is a marker in Egypt saying "Here is where the Rosetta Stone was rediscovered." Because the artifact itself is in the British Museum:

I have many, many photos of the amazing things in the museum. I won't bore you with those (go see them yourself sometime!). But we loved the Egyptian artifacts.

They really do have the best mummies.

We took a break at one point and headed to our fancy lunch for the trip. We knew we wanted to eat at one of Gordan Ramsey's restaurants while in London. The Savoy Grill was our choice and it did not disappoint!

We stayed at the museum until they kicked us out. The entire trip we were very thankful for the clear walking directions.

We hung out in St. James Park until dark. Not being very hungry (giant lunch!), we wandered over to Leicester Square and found this guy cooking Chinese food in a glass box. It's called Wok to Walk (did you just laugh? I did). So we munched on take-out noodles and watched the people go by.

On Friday (Day 7), London finally broke it's summer weather and it rained. But just in the morning. Luckily, our plan was to head to Westminster Abbey.

Upon arrival, there was a line of tourists. But it was fast-moving. Having learned our lesson earlier in the trip, we opted for another private tour. There were eight other people in our group, and we were the youngest by far. The tour allowed us to go into the Shrine of Edward the Confessor, which is otherwise off-limits to visitors. I was bad and took a photo from the hip.

Many kings and queens are buried in the Abbey. Many famous people as well, including Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. There are so many people buried there, they ran out of room!

In one room, you could see paintings from the 14th century!

Next, we headed to one of London's most beloved museums: The Victoria & Albert. Informally called the V&A. There, we had afternoon tea. They had delicious food.

And beautiful tea rooms.

We joined a free tour whose guide ran us around as quickly as possible to show us some of his favorite pieces. The museum is huge! And has quite a varied collection. One of our favorites were Tipu's Tiger, a wood carving which winds up and then moves while playing sounds of a tiger and a British soldier crying out in pain. Well-loved by Tipu Sultan, an Indian ruler. And then by the British soldiers who conquered him.

Another amazing piece is a fully intact Persian rug called the Ardabil Carpet. It's about 35 feet long by 18 feet wide. Very beautiful. They only keep the overhead lights on for 10 minutes every hour to minimize damage.

After the clouds cleared, we walked to Kensington Park where we found the Albert Memorial. Can you tell how much Victoria loved and missed her husband?

The gardens were gorgeous.

Kensington Palace (home to William & Kate!) also had beautiful gardens.

We headed back toward Piccadilly Circus where we watched the street performers and picked up ads for comedy clubs. 

We chose a club and headed there. Usually we're more fans of improv than stand-up, but all of the comedians were hilarious. Even the jokes about Americans. :)

Coming Up: A famous market!

I See London (Part II)

Day 3 in London was a busy one! We started off on the grounds of Buckingham Palace. It was actually lucky we went in September because the Queen is away on vacation. Which means you can tour the staterooms of the palace!

But first stop was the Queen's Gallery. It's a museum which rotates the Queen's collection of art and artifacts. They say she is just keeping hold of them for the nation. One of their most famous paintings is The Man in Red. Not confirmed, but most likely Henry VIII.

Next we headed to the Mews to see all the royal carriages. Very fancy!

This one is the coronation carriage. They only use it for coronations. It's extremely old.

Last stop was Buckingham Palace itself. We have no photos from inside because they don't allow them and are really watchful. As soon as we walked in, A made the comment "This is just like Disney World. Except it's real." It is difficult to believe someone lives there!

Here's what some of the rooms look like (courtesy of the internet):

After the palace tour, we went on a hunt to find Sputino. Thankfully it was where we expected, because we would not have found it otherwise. No sign, just a hole in the wall. It looks like just a small bar, but serves delicious food. The pickled melon salad was particularly tasty.

We were close to Leicester Square, so we headed over to see if we could score cheap theater tickets.

We were in luck! 3rd row orchestra seats at half-price for 39 Steps. My friend had recommended the play when she heard we were visiting London.

They were setting up for the world premiere of Rush. Look, red carpet!

Our next stop was one of A's favorites of the trip: The Churchill War Rooms. Besides the War Rooms, it includes a museum of his entire life with many of his things, including some of his famous coats.

It brings history to life to see the Map Room.

And Churchill's bedroom.

It was a beautiful evening, so we walked over towards Chinatown to find dinner.

We actually ended up at a Malaysian restaurant, something we haven't tried before. Super yummy!

39 Steps is a mash-up of Hitchcock's spy films. It was very entertaining and the actors had us laughing the entire time. Again, another beautiful old theater.

We started the next day early at the Tower of London.

A Yeoman (aka "Beefeater") named Andy led our group around and entertained as well as informed us. The Yeoman and other Tower personnel (including the doctor) actually live on the Tower grounds. 

This is the White Tower, which was built by William the Conqueror in 1078. It's almost a thousand years old! The Tower itself has been a royal residence and a prison.

It was in a stairway in the White Tower where they discovered the remains of two young boys who are believed to be the sons of Edward IV. They were put in the Tower for "safe-keeping" by the man who stole the throne and never seen again.

Something amazing is the armor collection has been a tourist attraction since the 1800s!

Sometimes you have to stop for a bathroom break.

Being good tourists, we saw the Crown Jewels. No photos allowed, of course. They are very impressive.

Another fun fact: Buried in the chapel are three wives of Henry VIII who died (two by beheading). Anne Boleyn was beheaded on the Tower grounds.

Having had enough history for the moment, we found what claims to be the "oldest pub in England" (there are many which have the same claim) and is a popular tourist destination: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. A had bangers and mash.

St. Paul's cathedral was our next destination. Again, no photos inside, but this time because we made sure to join a tour led by a member of the clergy. Our guide was very knowledgeable and fun. He quizzed all 8 of us in the group during the tour. Without him, we would never have seen a rocket hidden in an intricate wood carving for the memorial to U.S. troops who aided Britain in WWII. It's a rocket pointed to the stars - seems the wood carver believed the U.S. would win the space race!

The cathedral dome is the second largest in the world (St. Peter's Basilica is the largest) and you can climb it! We climbed to the first level, the Whispering Gallery, then up to the second. We didn't go to the very tip because the view was beautiful enough!

We headed towards the river to cross over and visit the Tate Modern museum.

Turns out some Londoners (or tourists) want to make the pedestrian Millennium Bridge similar to the one in Paris with all the locks.

The Tate Modern is another free museum. Very much as we expected - some very strange art. They do have pieces and artists we recognized (Picasso, Mondrian, Monet). But some pieces just boggle the mind.

For dinner we were intent on finding a good Indian restaurant called Dishoom. Thanks to the medieval street patterns we got lost, but happened to walk down the correct street. Super delicious! We were also grateful many restaurants stay open until very late in the evening on weekdays, since we were so busy walking around London we almost forgot to eat!

Coming Up: K's favorite site and the spoils of robbery