Pirates, and Pickles and Puck. OH, MY!

Well Travelers, it's been ONE whole week, packed with adventure, history, cycling, new friends, family and LOTS of theatre. London has stolen my heart! It is such a beautiful city and in honor of that I will fill you in on the rest of the week pictorially.

Inaugural trip:

On day 3 I decided it was time to stop fiddling with bank accounts and telephones and cut out into the wild. As a precursor I should state that all of these adventures were done without modern smartphone technology, just lil' ol' me and my tube map! Before I cut out I did a bit of research and decided begin my adventure in the heart of London at the Westminster Station, my only plan was to enjoy myself rain or shine!

Debden Tube Station, the stop closest to my house where all my journeys begin!

Inside the central line tube. I love to watch the scenery go by, listen to the accents and different languages of the people around me and read a book. I always considered commuting a nuisance, but I have really come to like it. It is a nice little, (or sometimes big) pause in the day amid all the hustle and bustle.  

When I got on the tube in Debden we were above ground, we stay that way for about half the journey but eventually we head deep underground. It happens so gradually that, apart from the change in light, you hardly notice the decent. When I got out of the tube station I was amazed at how many escalators I had to ride to get back to the surface. Once at the top I followed the yellow signs pointing the "Way Out" and emerged to this glorious sight! It was like I had gone back in time. I was nearly paralyzed. Big Ben has become, to me as for so many others, a sentinel of london!

Big Ben, I learned from the tour I covertly followed for about a half an hour (sneaky me), is said to be named after a champion heavy weight boxer beloved of the time. I kept waiting for Peter, Tink and the gang to fly by! 

These are the houses to parliament adjacent to Big Ben.

Houses of parliament, double decker busses and the tour I followed huddled in the rain to the right.

Westminster Abby. There is no possible way for me to capture the grander and intricacy of this building! When in London it is a must see. Because it is an active place of worship they don't allow photographs of the inside, (and frankly they wouldn't do it justice), so I took many of the outside.

This Gothic architecture dates back to the 1245, but the Abby itself began in the 10th century. Edward the confessor began the Abby and was later canonized. His shrine is in the center of the building. The current building was commissioned by Henry III. Henry was enamored with Edward the Confessor, this inspired the building. Henry III requested to be buried near St. Edward and their tombs lay near one another in the interior. The Building has been added to and changed over the years but it remains largely the same. It has been house of English coronations since the 10th century as well. It has also been the location of 16 royal weddings including, most recently Charles and Diana and William and Kate. Amazingly it was relatively unscathed during the air raids of WWII. There are a few holes in the thick walls that have been covered over with glass, memorializing the strife of the time. The walls are so thick it is amazing to think anything could penetrate them. 

Detail of arch doorway. The building is laid out in a cross and has many pockets, nooks and crannies, each one filled with tombs. The official site says there are an un-numberable amount, I couldn't find any count and I am not surprised because literally every paved stone has a name on it.  Some of the most noteworthy tombs and memorials, (aside from the expected Monarchs, in my opinion), are Isaac Newton, Handle, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, Jane Austen, J.M Berrie, Chaucer,  Dickens, Kipling, Tennyson and the last person to be buried within the walls, Actor Sir Lawrence Olivier. One of my favorite parts of the Abby was the Lady Chapel where Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scotts lie side-by-side. Death is the great equalizer.  Literally tripping on history as I went I spend 2 hours there. I was filled up with the place, overwhelmed with the history and awed by the grander.

If I've peaked your curiosity and you want to see the inside, this link will take you to a pretty good website. 

I stood with my head bowed in the Lady chapel as one of the clergy gave the traditional hourly prayer, the clouds parted and the sun came out. It stayed out the rest of the day.

With the sun out, it was time to trek across the city to my next destination, Shakespeare's The Globe! I took my time and walked along the thames about 2 miles. Pictured here is the London Eye.  

Here I met up with a new friend from school Ras from Missouri. Ras will be getting his Masters in Directing at East 15. He is an intrepid soul and has been spending the past month Youth Hostel jumping. We waited in line for an hour for 5pound groundling tickets. 

Shakespeare's Globe was set up in tiers, with the richest in the highest level, all the way down to the poorest or groundlings. The Groundlings stand in the Stocks the entire show. These were the tickets I got. I've been to 3 shows so far at the Globe and once did 2 in one day back to back (roughly 7 hours of standing), it even rained for an hour or so, LOADS of fun (I am being totally serious)! You meet lots of people standing in the stocks, I even met a former Student from East 15 who is now a professor at a University in Manchester.  Theatre in Shakespeare's day was very different from now. Sets were minimal and the configuration of the stage stationary. There would have been vendors and all manner of debauchery in the lower section happening during the productions. Not only did the actors have to fight the elements in their performances but, they also had to speak over all the rowdy talking of the peasants.

Clouds forming above the thatched roof.

The pre-show musicians for Midsummers Nights Dream playing traditional period instruments. Excellent and whimsical production. These musicians stood on the second story balcony of the stage and provided musical accompaniment the entire show.

The set for Henry VI. The actors in the this play were on stage nearly the entire show playing multiple characters, (one actor died 4 times in part 2 as 4 different characters). When the actors weren't engaged in a scene they were beating on drums and percussion instruments stashed all over the stage and sometimes the stage itself. The level of energy this constant percussion added to this war drama and was incredible(lost of beheading)! One of the most engaging well staged and performed plays I have ever seen. 

Outside The Globe post show.

St. Paul's Cathedral and the Thames outside The Globe

My view on the Millennial foot bridge on my walk back to the St. Paul tube station.

Millennial Bridge with St. Paul's Cathedral in the distance, the Thames below.

Close up of St. Paul's, (I've kind of fallen in love with it if you cannot tell). It is massive, no photo can show it but, it is 111 meters or 364 feet tall! That is over half a mile! I cannot wait to go inside!

The Long Walk:

The next day was time for a break. I stayed home much of the day writing my first blog, (your welcome), and taking care of more boring but necessary business. Those who know me well know that I am no good at sitting, so towards the end of the day I decided to take a leisurely 1 and a half hour walk to Loughton which is about 1.5 miles from my house. These are some of the things I saw.

Sir Winston Churchill, the local pub.

Way off in the distance behind the houses you can see the London skyline.

 Sunday and Monday:
On sunday I attended church in South Kensington, which is a 1hour 15min tube ride from Debden. The church is located in-between the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and across the street from the National Science Museum.  The congregation I attend is made up of several hundred single college students and young professionals between the age of 18-31. This particular congregation, due to it's location, is made up of people from all over the world. Everyone was very friendly! The next day I attended an evening scripture study meeting and made some new friends. They took me to an amazing Creperie that had Gluten free Crepes, (I think I could get used to this)!

The Beautiful Natural History Museum at twilight.

Victoria and Albert Museum.

The amazing Gluten Free Crepe. Chestnut puree, cream and butter. YUM!

Creperie

The Royal Bike Tour:

My Cousin Lindsay, her Husband and their kids Charlie (3) and Clair (8mos) live in Norway. For Lindsays Birthday they decided to visit London. We met up, went on a 4 hour bike tour of London and had some delicious Indian food!

Kensington Palace. The current residence of William and Kate. It is located at the edge of Hyde Park. When it was built  it was in the country, not any more! 

Hyde Park where J.M. Berrie sat and wrote Peter Pan

Biking through London traffic is a daring adventure!

The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square. Atop this monument is a statue of Admiral Nelson, who most famously defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson died in battle and his troops didn't want to bury him at sea, so naturally they decided to pickle him in a barrel of Alcohol.  When they got back to England they opened the barrel to discover a perfectly preserved Duke BUT, 2/3's of the Brandy was gone. Turns out to honor their Admiral, his men drilled holes in the barrel and sipped out the alcohol. TRUE STORY (I mean the tour guide from Australia said it so it must be true). Pretty incredible. All of the bronze was cast from the melted down canons of the Defeated French Navy The hight of the monument, from statue to hat, is the hight of the masts on tall ships used in the battle.

Here is a link with more about the pickled Admiral  and other english oddities.

Beautiful Clair on a rocking horse in the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Hyde Park. Coolest playground I've ever seen!

That's right it has a HUGE pirate ship with working rigging, steerage, a really cool brig AND best of all.....

A crows nest you can climb to the top of!!! All my childhood dreams came true. The entire park was loosely themed after Peter Pan, it also had a crocodile water park, tipis,  a tree house and really cool tree tunnels. 

Charlie and Tyler captain the voyage!

Clair swings in the trees with Dad!

After some incredible Indian food we traveled by tube to St. Paul's (I know I am obsessed!) and the Millennial bridge to enjoy the skyline at sunset. This is Charlie and I near the steps of the Cathedral. Mary Poppins any one??? (HAHA now you have "Feed the Birds" stuck in your head!)

Lindsay and I on Millennial Bridge at sunset. Lindsay has been an inspiration to me my whole life. She and her sister Tara helped me make the decision to go on my mission and Lindsay encouraged me to take the leap into Grad-school! Glad she did! I love their family, it was hard to say good-bye but I promised to visit them in Norway, which will be amazing for sure! 

So, as you can see I have had an incredible week! Tomorrow I am off to Bristol for a few days and then back to London with one of my previous exchange students from Germany, Hannah! Expect more in a few days!

Cheers!