First thing this morning, we accomplished the second most important thing to do on our trip. We got tickets to Fulham's football match against Brighton and Hove Albion! The first most important thing? Getting there tomorrow.
After securing the tickets we headed for the Westminster. As soon as we got out of the station, bam! There's Big Ben.
We spent a fair amount of time just walking around the Houses of Parliament admiring its elaborate architecture, along with the adjacent buildings. Our walk took us to Victoria Tower Gardens where we got our first look at the River Thames.
Next stop, Westminster Abbey. It cost 10 pounds to get in and 5 pounds for the guided tour by one of the Abbey's vergers. (Yes, I had to look up what a verger is too--not a British word for tour guide.) I couldn't be happier about our choice to take the guided tour. Of course, I would have been amazed by beautiful architecture, memorials, and tombs regardless but the historical context our guide provided really made the experience. Plus we got to go in some areas that are restricted to the general public, mainly the tomb of Saint Edward the Confessor (who founded the Abbey) which is the centerpiece of the the Church.
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Aside: this got me thinking, why doesn't everyone take guided the tour? (I'd say less than 5% of the people there took the tour.)
1. They do their research and know what they're looking for and looking at.
2. They don't know what they're missing out on.
3. Tours take over 1 1/2 hours and people don't want to spend the time or money.
Call me cynical but I think the answer is (3). We didn't plan on taking a tour but once we were inside we were both overwhelmed--there was just so much to see and we thought "it's really beautiful but what's its story?" It was pretty clear that we were missing out on something so that rules out (2), in my opinion. And I'm definitely too cynical to consider (1). So why do I think (3) is probably true? I think people probably just go because it's one of the places you *have* to go. Having gone, they can say they did and (truthfully) say they were impressed by all the sights without having to do any learning.
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Some neat trivia our guide provided:
1. Rich folk could pay for memorials or burials in the Abbey. This is why there is such an enormous number of beautiful sculptures all over the church.
2. Benjamin Johnson (author of The Alchemist) really wanted to be buried in the Abbey but, despite his early success, he didn't have much money as he was making arrangements for his death. He could only afford a 2 foot by 2 foot square for his burial in the Abbey. They had to bury him standing up.
3. King Edward I, "Longshanks," tomb was the plainest and raggediest of them all but this was intended. He wanted to be moved to a grand tomb in Edinburgh once England finished taking over Scotland. He's still waiting.
Okay, this is getting long so I'll be brief in describing the rest of the day. After we left Westminster Abbey we spent a lot more time just walking around taking in the sights. We ate pasties. Cheap and British. Perfect, we thought. I got the steak and Guinness pasty while Jenise got cheese and bacon. Pretty tasty too--very similar to a Hot Pocket but heartier and more British. Refueled, we headed for Notting Hill--it was as trendy as I expected and more. Unfortunately, most of the stores were closing up already. (I really wanted to go antiquing!) A little later we hit a local pub for a pint and fish and chips.
After securing the tickets we headed for the Westminster. As soon as we got out of the station, bam! There's Big Ben.
We spent a fair amount of time just walking around the Houses of Parliament admiring its elaborate architecture, along with the adjacent buildings. Our walk took us to Victoria Tower Gardens where we got our first look at the River Thames.
Next stop, Westminster Abbey. It cost 10 pounds to get in and 5 pounds for the guided tour by one of the Abbey's vergers. (Yes, I had to look up what a verger is too--not a British word for tour guide.) I couldn't be happier about our choice to take the guided tour. Of course, I would have been amazed by beautiful architecture, memorials, and tombs regardless but the historical context our guide provided really made the experience. Plus we got to go in some areas that are restricted to the general public, mainly the tomb of Saint Edward the Confessor (who founded the Abbey) which is the centerpiece of the the Church.************************************************************************************
Aside: this got me thinking, why doesn't everyone take guided the tour? (I'd say less than 5% of the people there took the tour.)
1. They do their research and know what they're looking for and looking at.
2. They don't know what they're missing out on.
3. Tours take over 1 1/2 hours and people don't want to spend the time or money.
Call me cynical but I think the answer is (3). We didn't plan on taking a tour but once we were inside we were both overwhelmed--there was just so much to see and we thought "it's really beautiful but what's its story?" It was pretty clear that we were missing out on something so that rules out (2), in my opinion. And I'm definitely too cynical to consider (1). So why do I think (3) is probably true? I think people probably just go because it's one of the places you *have* to go. Having gone, they can say they did and (truthfully) say they were impressed by all the sights without having to do any learning.
************************************************************************************
Some neat trivia our guide provided:
1. Rich folk could pay for memorials or burials in the Abbey. This is why there is such an enormous number of beautiful sculptures all over the church.
2. Benjamin Johnson (author of The Alchemist) really wanted to be buried in the Abbey but, despite his early success, he didn't have much money as he was making arrangements for his death. He could only afford a 2 foot by 2 foot square for his burial in the Abbey. They had to bury him standing up.
3. King Edward I, "Longshanks," tomb was the plainest and raggediest of them all but this was intended. He wanted to be moved to a grand tomb in Edinburgh once England finished taking over Scotland. He's still waiting.
Okay, this is getting long so I'll be brief in describing the rest of the day. After we left Westminster Abbey we spent a lot more time just walking around taking in the sights. We ate pasties. Cheap and British. Perfect, we thought. I got the steak and Guinness pasty while Jenise got cheese and bacon. Pretty tasty too--very similar to a Hot Pocket but heartier and more British. Refueled, we headed for Notting Hill--it was as trendy as I expected and more. Unfortunately, most of the stores were closing up already. (I really wanted to go antiquing!) A little later we hit a local pub for a pint and fish and chips.
4 comments:
Find any "cold" beer yet? When we were there, the only beer served chilled was Carling's "Black Label" beer!
On the guided tours: I think it's a combination of 1 and 2. A lot of people are probably trying to travel on the cheap and saving their money for other tours or souvenirs or whatever. And it's hard to know the quality of the tour before you take it unless you get a review from someone. I've been on some tours that definitely weren't worth the money.
On the cold beverages: I recommend a shandy, very refreshing.
Love the pics and narrative!
Someone send Jason a camera...I think his broke, I've only seen a couple photos???;)
Cold beer will have to wait for me at home. On a related note, when we got our pasties yesterday we had grabbed a couple sodas to purchase and the cashier asked us if we wanted some cold ones. He grabbed some from the back for us.
I can see your point, Sarah. But it's just so crazy to me that the it increases the cost 50% while it increases the fun by like 400%. I feel like our London book should have told us this.
And Matthew, I'll try to do better. Probably not today but maybe tomorrow.
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