Welcome to our England blog, the modern-day slideshow of our trip!
Feel free to scroll as fast as you like or pore over every picture (I know who you are, Mom).
We had an absolutely brilliant time ("brilliant" being the word du millenium in London, natch).
A.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Somewhere Over Iceland 5/12
British Airways kindly provides a package that includes toothbrush and toothpaste for your flight, because, well, you get a bit rank after 10 hours in a plane.
London 5/12
Just landed in London, at our amazing art deco hotel in Park Lane. Our room was full of nooks, and walls that jutted in and out. Including closet spaces, our room had 29 distinct walls. In short, it was not square and boring in the least. I guess I'd call it a 29-agon.
I would come to learn that London is one of the nook-iest and cranny-est places on earth.
I would come to learn that London is one of the nook-iest and cranny-est places on earth.
London 5/13
Tower of London, haunting and wonderful. We saw the crown jewels here (you move pass them on these odd little people movers, so no one hogs space), but the best parts were not the showiest. Rather the sad and scary history of the Tower, as well as the resident ravens, caught my eye.
Oh, we chatted up some friendly British tourists in line from Bath -- Chris gave them his old umbrella when we upgraded to a larger one at the gift shop, due to the copious amounts of rain -- and they were delighted to hear I'd grown up in Tucson. Turns out their brother lives there and likes to play cowboy. I guess the exotic is often where you aren't.
Oh, we chatted up some friendly British tourists in line from Bath -- Chris gave them his old umbrella when we upgraded to a larger one at the gift shop, due to the copious amounts of rain -- and they were delighted to hear I'd grown up in Tucson. Turns out their brother lives there and likes to play cowboy. I guess the exotic is often where you aren't.
London 5/13
Wet cobblestone. We walked on A LOT of it during our trip. Those of you who know and pity my penchant for klutziness should know I didn't once slip, which is a shocker, really.
London 5/13
Chilling Traitor's Gate, where the condemned entered the Tower from the Thames. You had to be VERY disappointed when your boat stopped here.
London 5/13
One of the things I'll remember most about all the places we visited in England, and Chris too, I think, is the desperate and mournful graffiti in Beauchamp Tower, where prisoners were kept before heading to the chopping block. Hundreds of years old, the graffiti says goodbye, pleads innocence or talks about the unfairness of it all.
London 5/13
Petulant raven lurking in the scaffolding around Beauchamp Tower. There are six ravens at the Tower of London, all with wings clipped, because the legend has it that if the ravens leave, the crown will fall. Does this raven know the immense responsibility on his feathery head?
London 5/13
You could cast a vote, electronically, for who murdered the little princes in Bloody Tower. No comment.
London 5/13
Tower Bridge, not London Bridge. There is a London Bridge still, but the more famous London Bridge is now located in the party town of the Colorado River, Lake Havasu. No karaoke or bikini contests here, just rain, soggy shoes and tea.
London 5/13
The great glass-and-steel ceilings of Victorian London -- say in Paddington Station, Waterloo Station and here at Covent Garden -- were among my favorite bits.
London 5/13
Traditional Punch and Judy show in Covent Garden. Chris and I might have laughed the loudest, although the kids went nuts, too. In a Punch and Judy show, of course, everything ends badly for everyone involved, with several of the characters being made into sausages. Grim, hilarious and very English.
London 5/13
Space is at a premium in London. These wee half sinks in a pub were some of the smallest I've seen (made larger by the mirrors reflection).
London 5/13
London Eye, the world's tallest observation wheel. Those of you who know I can lose my cool on fairground Ferris wheels will be surprised to learn that I held it together very well on the Eye. I mean, Peter Pan flew over London, why shouldn't I?
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