Day 6 of London

(Originally Written April 8, 2015)


Day six of London was a feast of English history! It started out with a tour of Saint Paul's Cathedral, inside and out. The Church is incredible and would've been incredible even without the impressive dome. We toured the crypts to the top of the dome. Among the highlights were a statue that I said looked an awful lot like George Washington, only to comment that I doubt that he would be given a place of honor for wrenching the United States out from England only to find another statue that was of George Washington honoring him for his achievements in life. Also in the crypt I found the inscription, which I'll paraphrase here, on the tomb of Christopher Wren, the architect. Many of the inscriptions were lavish and had statues and other adornments, but Wren's was plain and said to the effect if you want to see the celebration of my life in my tomb, simply look around this whole church. Boom. Up top, the whispering gallery was pretty neat although I had to speak in a soft tone for Erin to hear me across the way. There were too many others in the church to actually hear a whisper. Then the views from the top (after an incredible number of stairs) were pretty breathtaking.

From there we went on to the Tower of London. Seeing the torture rooms, the impressive walls of the fortress and the ravens was pretty excellent. But, seeing the crown jewels was pretty amazing. You see them via a slow moving automated walkway like in the airports (only much, much slower paced). After Erin's second and third pass at seeing the jewels I realized that I would have to start pocketing away as much money as possible to give her something remotely close to those - or pocketing enough money away to purchase a private army to conquer some unsuspecting weak nation that is rich in jewels. Both are as likely to happen as the other though neither is likely at all. But who knows what the future may hold.

After that we went on to the Tower Bridge and gave it a walk. It's very impressive and colorful but after walking it, I felt like I had just walked a bridge. That's not to diminish it at all, but the majesty of the jewels in the Tower of London, its history and a stroll through its armory were a hard act to follow for a bridge.

Then it was on to Westminster Abbey which had me giddy. Seeing the area where Edward the Confessor was laid really reminded me of the age and majesty of the building. Unfortunately, as was the case with St. Paul's cathedral photography was forbidden. But, being the rebel I am I snapped a photo in the whispering gallery of St. Paul's and Erin and I together in the Poet's Corner in Westminster. Luckily we weren't drawn and quartered.

After this we went to Fortnum and Mason where I proceeded to beg to be able to buy a Victorian picnic basket and was mocked mercilessly. I left with a bunch of tea and a basket shaped hole in my heart. Then it was dinner time and we went to the Fryer's Delight for some ... fish and chips. These were the best Fish & Chips I had on my visit, though the mushy peas were not as good as the other pubs. Unfortunately the Fryer's Delight did not serve Cask Ales or any beer at all, but I had managed a couple of pints anyhow in the day, so that wasn't as disappointing as it might have seemed.

Of course now that I've mentioned the Taboo photographs I can't find them, but I did snap this photo near the London Bridge and while in hindsight it probably had something to do with a medical condition at the moment I just thought it was odd...