Our Day 10 Ad 11 In London

National Gallery, Chicago and St. Paul's Cathedral

Yesterday was a long and full day.

I have always been told that London is expensive. Yes housing and transportation is relatively expensive, but I cannot say that I have really found that London is expensive. Especially when you consider that so many wonderful museums here are free.

Yesterday, we decided to visit the National Gallery (no photos allowed inside).

Once again we made our way to Trafalgar Square wher the National Gallery is located. There is no entrance fee, and it is a real treasure. Had I more time, I would revisit this gallery several times, as there is way too much to absorb in one visit. The Audioguide is well worth the small cost. We followed the recommended printed tour that took you around the gallery to see some of the highlights. But the audioguide will discuss any piece of art you see, just key in its number and listen, something we did do when particular paintings struck our fancy.

From Botticelli to Van Gogh, and everyone in between. With over 60 rooms filled with paintings, one could easily spend a day fully appreciating a handful of rooms at a time. And with free admission, if you had the time, you could in fact do this.

What I most liked of the National Gallery, was that it felt comfortable. It does not feel stuffy and high brow. It is airy and very friendly, bringing high art, down to earth for everyone to enjoy and appreciate.

After a bite to eat, we were off to the Cambridge Theatre to watch "Chicago."

We had seen the movie which is based on this musical. We had considered several other theatrical works playing in London, but decided on "Chicago." We were not disappointed. It was a fabulous performance.

We regularly attend theatre back home, and I cannot understand why people do not attend theatre more often. If I could have people watch the "movie" and then the "performance" of "Chicago," I am sure I could convert many to attend live theatre more often. The movie is excellent, but the live performance is exhillarating. One cannot emotionally connect to a movie as one can connect to a piece of live theatre.

Again, had we more time, we would love to attend even more performances.

We crossed the street and entered a pub as we talked about the great show we had just enjoyed. Late at night, we made our way home on bus 23 as it rained.

Today, we were off to St.Paul's Cathedral. (Again, no photos are allowed inside.)

St. Paul's is in many ways the heart of London. This is the fifth cathedral to be built on this site since 604. There was a Saxon Cathedredral, then a huge Norman Cathedral that was the largest in Europe. By 1666, this Norman cathedral was starting to fall in disrepair, and the King hired Sir Christopher Wren, who had never built a building in his life, to be in charge with its restoration. Soon thereafter, the great fire of London in 1666 not only burnt down the old Norman Cathedral, but most of London itself along with most of its churches. While not an architect, Sir Christopher Wren at 33 was already accomplished in a multitude of fields including astonomy, physics, math and medicine. And his ability to get along with others, and organize people, convinced King Charles II that Sir Christopher Wren was the right man for the job. And he did not disappoint.

St.Paul's Cathedral is his crowning achievement, building what is the fourth largest church in the world. Although it is huge, it also feels warm and intimate, which demonstrates the genius of Sir Christopher Wren. He did not want the average man to feel small in the house of God.

The iconic Dome of St.Paul's that is characteristic of London's skyline, is another example of how he wanted to create something grand, but still keep the people feel they are within reach. He created a dome within a dome. The inner dome feels grand and high, but it still feels within reach as one looks up. However, he realized that "big" was a matter of perspective, and for an onlooker from the outside, and taller dome was needed for it to feel big and grand. Thus the outer dome is for the benefit for someone looking at the church from the outside, and the inner dome is for the benefit for someone inside the church.

St. Paul's Cathedral is also iconic for London's more recent history. During WW II London suffered the German bombings, then the Blitz. Once again, the area here was more or less levelled, and while the Cathedral did get some direct hits, it stood tall amongst the rubble. Defiant against Hitler, St. Paul's kept standing bravely, like Londoners did, and the rest of England.

St. Paul's is also where Nelson's and Wellington's tombs are located. Blake's and Florence Nightingale's tombs are also located here.

We did spend more time here than we had expected, as has been true for most placed we have visited in London.

Taking a quick ride in the Underground, we got out in a shopping area that we passed daily on our bus route. Hera found a couple of outfits, and though we could have spent hours more if not days, it was time to go home.

Photographer's note: During these two days I carried only my new smart phone Samsung Galaxy SII. In other words, I was free of any other camera. All the photos you see in this Blog were shot with my smart phone, edited in smart phone. Amazing, isn't it? They were only re-sized for web and my signature was added in PhotoShop. I love few of the applications I had bought prior to this trip. One of them being HDR. HDR actually shoots minimum 2 shots, like a true HDT shot. You have to hold the smart phone without moving away from the composition. Then you have several other bottons to adjust the final touch.

The photo below is an HDR happy mistake. I moved the camera during its second layer. Voila. Amazing isn't it? It created a dimentional illusion. Yup, it is my feet on a patterned floor.

Cheers,

Hera & Anthony

Our Day 9 In London

Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum

Yesterday was a writeoff.

Hera awoke feeling nauseated, and then vomitted several times that morning. We spent the day at home resting.

Today she awoke a bit shakey, but she wanted to go out. So we headed off into town to see the Cabinet War Rooms. Hera was not too sure about it, but knew I wanted to see them, and in the end she agreed that it was worthwhile.

World War II was a pivotal time for the London and the British Empire. For centuries, the two super powers France and England vied and fought with each other for control of the world. But soon into the war, France signed an armistice, leaving England alone to fight off Hitler. Russia was still an ally of Germany, and the USA was trying to remaing neutral.

The Cabinet War Rooms gives us a sense of life during this time. Like the fire of 1666, London was leveled, with the exception of St. Paul's Cathedral that remained standing. Below grounds, people lived and worked fighting the War. The tour takes you through several of the rooms, with interactive displays that are entertaining to us, and extremely informative.

Part of the tour includes the Churchill Museum. Most people know of Churchill, but there is so much more to the man, and the museum does a wonderful job in bringing him back to life. From childhood photos with a lock of his hair, to various radio speeches as one walks under them. His political carreer as well as his military carreer. Again, the interactive nature of it all adds to the fun.

Atfter the museum, we again found ourselves meandering through part of St. James park before we spilled onto the Mall, and looked back towards Buckingham Palace. We walked across Trafalgar's Square and into the streets of Soho.

After refreshing ourselves with some food at a pub, we again hopped onto our familiar bus 23 towards St. Paul's Church, as we wanted to cross over the Millenium Bridge.

Built as part of the millenium celebrations, it was know as the "wobbly bridge" when it first opened, as it wobbled when people walked on it. It was briefly closed, as it was stabilized further. Today, it is a lovely pedestrian bridge that lets one walk easily from St. Paul's across the Thames to the Tate Modern Museum and Shakespeare's Globe.

We walked around the Globe and made our way back across the Millenium bridge, and soon took our bus 23 bus back home.

Hera is still not in top form, but is much stronger today.

Cheers,

Hera & Anthony

Our Day 7 In London

Westminster Abbey

As the plane circled over London, Hera asked me if there were any important cemetaries near London. I replied, that the most important was Westminster Abbey itself. And that was where we were headed for today.

But we had to do some shopping first. Hera had forgotten her small external hard drive at home, and this old lap top has a tiny 60 Gb hard drive, that quickly fills with her photos. So we quickly went on-line, found a computer store, and headed there first, and picked up a tiny external 1 Terabyte hardrive.

Getting about London is quite simple. I cannot stress how important it is to learn and use the transit system of whichever city you visit, and London's system is very efficient.

During our day, as well as throughout our visit, we have noticed how polite and helpful the citizens of London are. "I'm sorry" is often heard for even the mildest bump even in very crowded quarters. It is very sad that this very polite city and nation is being portrayed world wide in such a negative light with the recent riots.

I do hope the ones responsible for these crimes are not only caught and punished, but I hope that they are also forced to "pay back" the full cost of their actions. I would go even further, and add that they should have to wear a "dunce cap" for at least a year.

Getting to Westminster Abbey a bit later than we had hoped, we had to wait a bit in line. But it moved fast, and soon we found ourselves inside this magnificant place.

Like the Tower of London, Weminster Abbey too recounts the history of the nation.

God had told King Edward the Confessor to visit Saint Peter's in Rome. Worried about the French Normans who were threatening invasion, he decided to stay home and build a church (minster) dedicated to St. Peter, west of London, thus the name Westminster. Not obeying God is dangerous in itself, and the Normans did invade. The French Duke conquered the Island and crowned himself (William the Conquerer) King of all England here at the new Westminster Abbey.

Unfortunately photography is prohibited at Westminster Abbey as well as in many other places in London, like the Crown Jewels yesterday.

Since William the Conquerer, this Church has been the site of the coronation of Kings and Queens for the past millenium. The simple wooden coronation chair can be viewed here. It was construced to sit atop the Stone of Scone that the English King Edward I took from Scotland. The Stone of Scone has an even older history, and meant much to the Scottish people. A 2008 movie called "The Stone of Desitny" (another name for the Stone of Scone) recounts the true story Scottish students trying to bring the stone back home. In 1996, the British government decided to let the Stone return back home to Scotland, as long as it can be borrowed for future coronations.

Westminster Abbey is also the final resting place of many monarchs. King Edward the Confessor is here, as well as Queen Elizabeth I who lies over her half sister Queen Mary I, and across the way from her cousin Mary Queen of the Scots whom Elizabeth had imprisoned for years and then executed.

Many other notables are also here, Newton and Darwin, Chaucer and Dickens, Livingston to General Wolfe, and many, many more.

Leaving the Abbey, we listened to Big Ben chime once again, and then walked along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, then onto the lively Soho to find a pub for a refreshing drink.

Photographer's note: The photo above of The Big Ben was shot with a 20mm Lumix lens. The photo below was shot with Samsung Galaxy SII smart phone.

Cheers,

Hera & Anthony

Our Day 6 In London

Tower of London

Today was our day to learn the Underground. We could have taken a scenic tour across London with the bus, but this morning we wanted to get to our destination as quick as possible, in which case, the Tube is your best bet. A tunnel is a tunnel, but the Tube does get you across distances fairly quickly.

We were off to the Tower of London.

The story of the Tower of London, is the story of England. When the French Norman, William the Conquerer invaded and conquered Britain, he built the original Tower, now called the White Tower. King after King, with a few notable Queens, all played their parts here at the Tower of London.

Being a tourist site we expected line ups, in which case it is always best to get there early. We like to take our time, and not rush, so we expected lineups. We were pleasantly surprised to wait only a few minutes to purchase our tickets.

There is much to see at the Tower of London, but we were advised that to beat the crowds, we should go and see the Crown Jewels first. Finding the place on our map, we made our way there. We still had to walk quickly up and down the crowds control barriers, but were so happy that there were no crowds. Inside, we again had to zig zag through a couple of rooms filled with crowd control aisles. We could only imaging how tiring it would have been had we had to wait.

The highlight, is a row of cases displaying the various crowns and regalia. Two moving side walks carry on lookers either behind or in front of the case. A third walkway in front has panels describing each case and it contents. Take a first pass on the moving side walk and be amazed. Then walk back and read the panels for a deeper understanding, and then again take a moving side walk and appreciate them fully.

While the Crown Jewels might be the highlight, there is so much more to see.

We looked across the lawns were Queen Anne Boleyn among others lost their heads. Now a memorial sculpture commemorates this place of execution, as ravens alight nearby. A lone guard stands in front of the Queen's House, while other Beefeater Guards give entertaining tours and answer questions.

Next we decided to head to Bloody Tower. Walking to it we passed Traitor's Gate, the boat entrance from the Thame's were prisoners were brought in.

While the Tower of London was built as a defense and palace, it has so often been associated as a prison. If it is hard to get in, it is equally hard to get out.

Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned here more than once, spending 13 years of his life here. His wife, was allowed to live with him, and his son was born here. Bloody Tower gets its name because of some notable and questionable deaths that occured here. The most famous of which is the probable murder of the 13 year old future King Edward V and his younger brother. Shakespeare has King Richard III as being the one who ordered their deaths.

We next visited the Beauchamp Tower. Why it is pronounced BEECHum completely escapes me, after all, all these early Kings were more French than English. The tower held a multitude of famous prisoners, many of whom scrawled graffitti on the walls that survives to this day.

The Central White Tower was the orginal Keep, and the rest was built around it. Today, it holds the White Tower Museum. As you make your way through it, you encounter Suits of Armour, including King Henry VIII's armour when he was a fit and slim 25 year old, as well as his older armour when older, overweight, and much less fit for any real battle. Those with a military interest will enjoy the displays that demonstrate the evolution of weaponry. Also in this museum is the actual chopping block and ax that beheaded so many.

We walked along the walls of the castle, taking in the sights of the castle grounds, as well as of Tower Bridge. We also noted how large the crowds now waited to gaze upon the Crown Jewels.

The last place we visited was the Royal Chapal of St. Peter ad Vincula where the headless bodies of those who were beheaded were buried in unmarked graves. Queen Anne Boleyn is said to haunt this chapel. (She apparently is occiasionally seen in the White Tower carrying her head in her arms.)

We were surprised that we spent the whole day here, but there is indeed much to see and appreciate.

We found a pub, to rest, eat and drink. Hera ordered a typical pub grub, a delicious Indian Chicken Tikka with hot nan bread and basmati rice. London food has definitely changed.

After our meal, we took a bus and got off just before Trafalgar Square and headed into Soho. The place was alive with people milling about, and others dining outdoors, while musicians played and entertained.

Our last task of the day was to purchase our tickets for a show. We decided on Chicago, and will see it in a few days.

Pleased with our day, we made our way back home.

Photographer's note: This last shot below was shot with Samsung Galaxy SII smartphone. It is our shadow.

Cheers,

Hera & Anthony