Back From My UK Visit

Hi everyone--I do apologize for being so late in sharing my UK trip.  But now I have home Internet access, so Forums and Pictures posting will be so much easier to do!

 Where do I begin to share?   I guess my first stop will be Westminster Abbey: the first historic site in London.  It was just blocks from my hotel, along with the Houses of Parliament and Whitehall.   When I paid my admission and went in, all I could do was look up and stare, at all I was seeing.   It's a good thing the Abbey has provided these hand-held mobiles, with descriptions of the sites you were seeing.  That way, you could go at your own pace, and not be disturbed by a guide droning on.  

I stood in front of the High Altar first, and imagined the major moments held there: Royal weddings and funerals (particularly the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997).   Then, I wandered behind the Altar, and noticed all the Royals buried there: Richard II and Henry V, for starters.  I also glanced at the shrine of St Edward the Confessor, but didn't climb the stairs to see it up close.   That would come a few days later!

 I then found my way to the Henry VII Chapel, and was absolutely gobsmacked at the stunning beauty: the fan-vaulted ceiling seemed to explode with light!  And combining that with the colorful banners of the Knights of the Order of the Bath above my head...well, you get the picture.  I especially found the RAF Memorial Chapel, behind Henry VII's tomb, to be very moving indeed.  I noticed the small hole in one of the walls: German bomb damage from the Second World War.  It is a miracle that the Abbey suffered only minimal damage.

From the Henry VII chapel, I stopped to see the Royal tombs of Queens Elizabeth I, Mary I, and Mary Queen of Scots.   Just seeing these tombs in person, after merely seeing photos of them in books, was wonderful!   How did they get crammed into what seemed to be a small chapel?   And such beautiful artistry in the tomb sculptures, too.

Now, it was on to Poets' Corner, to see who is buried there: Dickens, Tennyson, Robert Browning, Chaucer, just to name a few.   There is also a moving memorial to the First World War poets, such as Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and Laurence Binyon; this memorial looks to be fairly new?   And nearby were the graves of George Frederick Handel (one of my favorite composers), and Lord Laurence Olivier.  I paid my respects to all of them.

After a short trip to The Cloisters and the Chapter House (where I saw some very interesting medieval frescoes on the wall--ones that Oliver Cromwell's forces didn't succeed in destroying!), it was back inside at the West Door.   I made it a point to stop at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior-and I nearly shed a few tears.   There were a few poppies sprinkled on the Tomb, along with a couple of children's drawings.  I imagine they were left there in remembrance of their fathers who were killed either in Iraq or Afghanistan: I couldn't read the written inscriptions on them.

Nearby, in a glassed-in room, I noticed that the Coronation Chair was inside, being refurbished and regilded.   And you could watch the restoration work being done!  That was rather exciting.

And that was just the first place I visited on my first day in London!   From there it was a walk down Whitehall, past The Cenotaph and No. 10 Downing Street--and a short visit to Horse Guards, where I took numerous photos of the gorgeous black horses and their riders.  

I just missed seeing the Guard shift-change, but the horses didn't seem to mind the hordes of tourists taking their photos.  And the young soldiers sitting on their backs kept their stoic looks on, and the horses steady.   Needless to say: I had my photo taken next to one of the horses (who decided to try and take a sniff of me!).   I have a horse-mad sister back in the States, and I promised her I'd get lots of photos of the horses. 

By this time, my feet were SCREAMING at me to stop.  But I did manage to cross Horse Guards Parade and get some photos before finally calling it a day.  I can't get over how large Horse Guards Parade is.  

So that's my first day in the UK.  I've already got a few photos posted to the site, and I promise I'll put more on!

I though so too Patricia. You'll have to come back in the summer for the Queen's official birthday and the Trooping of the Colour at Horse Guards Parade with lots of horses for your sister.  On the video below, the first march is the quick march of  the British Grenadiers which my dad was in in the 1950s. Mum used to take me down to Buckingham Palace to see him at the changing of the guard too. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enhJd3ssUGg

Oh, absolutely--in fact, when I watch the Royal Wedding, I'll be able to point out where I sat during the Remembrance Sunday service!     It's unbelievable, that only a quarter of England's population has ever visited Westminster Abbey!  Why is that, I wonder?

I am very proud of the young soldiers at Horse Guards.  They have nerves of steel enough to put up with over-eager tourists trying to make them smile for the camera....or get too close to their horses.   The discipline it takes is incredible!   I wonder how many 'average' tourists realize these Guardsmen are serving soldiers? 

I'll soon write more about my visit.  Hope I'm not putting anyone to sleep with too much detail... 

While down the road a St James' Palace,one Guardsman clearly thought the tourists had over-stepped the mark..........

 http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23895000-the-moment-a-palace-guardsman-blew-his-top-with-tourists.do