Touring London

As I stated in last week’s blog, I went to the UK with my daughter. She went for a conference; I went as a travel companion. After her conference, we spent three days in London seeing the sights. Hubby and I were there ten years ago so I knew a little about how to get around on the Underground. Emphasis on the word little. Things have changed in the past ten years.

We stayed by Paddington Station because that’s where Hubby and I stayed before and found it to be safe and comfortable. The train, buses, and Underground stations are all in one place so it’s easy to get around. London is the largest city in Europe with eight million people living there. I’m not a big city person, but it’s nice to visit a few days and get out.

We visited the Tower on a very busy afternoon. A yeoman gave us a tour and explained the history of the place. It was built by William the Conqueror in 1044 to impress people. I was certainly impressed. I’d been through most of it and enjoyed the warm day in the shade while Daughter went in and out White Tower and other buildings. We had a small lunch there before standing in line to see the Crown Jewels. They were as shiny and pretty as I remembered, and Daughter found them fascinating. They were used just last year during Charles III’s coronation.

The British Museum was on my bucket list, and I checked it off in 2014. I never dreamed I’d see it again. We spent all day in the enormous building seeing the Rosetta Stone, panels from the Parthenon, the gates of Nimrud, statues from ancient Egypt, the mummies, cuneiform tablets about the flood and captivity of the Jews in Babylon, a jade serpent from Middle America, an Easter Island statue, and so much more. We didn’t see it all, but all that meant the most to us and more than I’d seen on my last visit. I love museums.

The next day, we hoped on the second level of a bus even though it was sprinkling rain. The front two rows were under a cover and luckily, we managed to get seats there. The rain didn’t last long. For three hours, we let someone do the driving as we listened to our stops through the provided earphones. We went past a Sherlock Holmes statue on Baker Street, past the base of Big Ben (which is beautiful!), past Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St Paul Cathedral, over Tower Bridge, and countless other places. They pointed out where parts of Harry Potter were filmed. It was a fabulous tour. We went back around later when we decided to ride back around to Buckingham Palace and saw the balcony the Royals come out on when they appear to the crowd. A very ornate place, a lot of people were there to see it. We saw the guards in the bearskin hats and even saw the guards with the heavy-duty guns when some idiot started climbing the fence.

Daughter had to leave a day before me. It was the one place on our previous trip I’d wanted to go but never got there. I’m not a brave person in a large city, but I summoned the courage and embarked. It was crowded when I arrived but having bought an entrance ticket before, I got in quickly. At Westminster, William and Kate were married and Charles III was crowned, and it was fun to walk over the same path they did. Otherwise, it’s a creepy place. It’s basically an indoor cemetery. All kinds of famous people are buried there, but I missed the ones I wanted to see most, Isaac Newton and Steven Hawkins. I walked right by Newton’s but didn’t recognize it. The oldest graves were in Latin and not being bilingual, I didn’t realize what it said. I did find Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, George Handel, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Henry VII, and many others. By the time I left, I was thoroughly creeped out until some of the outdoor corridors reminded me of a Harry Potter set. That cheered me up. On the way out, the coronation chair was on display.

I flew home the next day. The airplane food was not moldy and was pretty good. My last leg from Denver to Rapid City was delayed for three and a half hours. We sat on the concourse for 45 minutes before being taken back to the terminal and unloaded. About an hour later, we reboarded the same plane, repaired and refueled, and made it home. Everyone on the plane cheered when we finally landed.

It was an enjoyable trip, but I was glad to be home. The jet lag was easier than expected, taking only a couple of days to get in rhythm again. Thanks to Daughter for asking me to come along.