Yes, I grew up playing the English version of Monopoly. And now we were walking around the monopoly board in real life. Surreal. Thankfully I got over that feeling when we opened the doors and saw our accommodation for the next week - a spacious apartment on the Thames (at Odessa wharf near the financial district). Sometimes traveling is so hard!
Amanda was still feeling the effects of a tummy bug she suffered from while we were in Oxford. So leaving her to rest I immediately set out exploring the area. Truth be told I was just looking for a supermarket so I could pick up some basic food supplies for the week. However, if you were to chart my course on a map you would think I was exploring the area because I really had no idea where I was going and was wandering all over the place. Eventually I found myself at Tesco - our caterer for the week.
We had already become acquainted with the supermarket giant that is Tesco during our Top Deck bus tour through Eastern Europe. I use the word 'supermarket' loosely because there was a sports section with camping equipment. At first I thought this was the base camp where you could stay overnight before launching a trek to the non-perishables section, but then I saw price tags and realised I had to move on. Speaking of price tags, Amanda and I had been bracing ourselves for the infamously high cost of living in London. We were pleasantly surprised. The food was cheaper here than it was in Canberra. Rents might be high and you would need a lot of money or a very good reason to own a car in London, but food (and to some extent clothing) was definitely cheaper. With the Aussie dollar on steroids at the moment, our thoughts of eating bread and dripping all week were quickly replaced and our fridge well stocked. It was time to get out and explore.
Our first full day was a Sunday and we decided to go to church. I was interested in attending Holy Trinity Brompton (or HTB as the locals call it), which is where Nicky Gumble is the senior pastor and the Alpha course originated. Now, one of my good friends from Brisbane, Mike, had moved to London for a year. We hung out a lot as 18-22 year olds. Among other things we were in a band together...if you could call it that. But we had only seen each other a couple of times in the last 9 or 10 years. I was really hoping to meet up in London, but was also aware that 9 years is a long time and I had changed and grown quite a bit as a person and I presumed Mike had too. Add to that the fact that neither of us had really met each other's wives before and I wondered if we would all get on. Well, I've discovered there are some friends in life who you meet when you are younger and while it may be years between meetings, it feels like its merely been a couple of days. Catching up with Mike and Maureen felt just like this. Amanda and I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with them, hearing what God had been doing in their lives, learning about their plans and dreams and sharing ours with them. Of course, plenty of old stories were told too.
As it turns out, Mike and Maureen also regularly attend HTB and live not too far away. So we spent Sunday afternoon jumping in and out of some of London's excellent and free museums while dodging rain showers. Then we all went to church together. For those readers who also attend church, I was encouraged with the fact that HBT was an Anglican church with their own very successful music ministry and they were singing songs from Jesus Culture, Will Reagan, a few other places, and of course some home grown songs. They also left time in the service for the Holy Spirit to minister, which Amanda and I really appreciated and benefited from. I left with these words from one of the songs ringing in my ears, "Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me...because on and on and on and on it goes, until it overwhelms and satisfies my soul..."
We met up with Amanda's parents after the service as they were in England for a few weeks (her Dad was singing in a special international rugby choir event) and we were all staying together in London.
All of this is relevant to our traveling adventures because it reminded us that the relationships we make and the conversations we have while traveling are just as valuable, memorable, and worthwhile as the places we visit. In fact, they are much more valuable.
Now I'm conscious this blog post is at risk of ending up like the 'Hunger Games' movie - way too long on initial character development and plot set-up and not enough time on the actual action and adventures! (Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie. The book was just so much better.)
So, now to our adventures in the capital of the empire...
We arrived in London as the city was doing a final spit and polish a couple of weeks before the Olympics and about 3-4 weeks after the queen's big Diamond Jubilee celebration. However, the city's hang-over was still evident in the souvenir shops where you could buy a pack of thimbles - yes, thimbles (not helping my monopoly complex) - commemorating Queen Liz's 60 years on the throne.
While attempting to dart around the city, we discovered that the only darting you can do in London is in the pubs. Sure, using public transport was easy; it was just time consuming. Unlike New York and other cities we had visited where you could get to most places with a single journey, or at most one change, in London it was not uncommon to have to catch three or more different trains or buses. And it rarely felt like we were taking a particularly direct route. It's also the only place so far where they had an 'overground' that was actually a part of the 'underground'...? Go figure.
We ventured down to the waterfront and walked out onto Tower bridge - often mistakenly thought to be London Bridge. Actually, I'm told that a wealthy American once bought the old London Bridge and shipped it home to Texas, thinking it was the Tower Bridge. I can only imagine his disappointment when he opened that particular package... So, now the original London Bridge is somewhere in Texas. But that's ok, because it was tower bridge we wanted to see.
We then wandered around the waterfront a little and found a bus back home. This in itself was an exciting event for us because it was one of London's iconic red double-decker buses. So naturally we had to sit upstairs.
The next day we discovered that we had over exerted Amanda while she was recovering, so she sent me out on my own while she rested. She was determined that we wouldn't both waste the day. Back in Australia, both my former boss and my soon-to-be boss had given me mud maps of good walks you can do in London to orient yourself and get a feel for the town. So, I grabbed my London tourist and public transport maps and ventured out.
A bus and two or three trains later and I found myself staring at Big Ben and the houses of parliament from the shadows of Westminster abbey. I just sat there, pondering life and politics and history and careers. I walked past a bronzed Winston Churchill standing in the sun towering above citizens and travelers alike. I wasn't really sure what to do with myself at this point, so I walked down fleet street thinking about the history of journalism and tabloidism so closely associated with the street; passed Downing street where there was an excited commotion as a car approached only for the crowd to realise it was in fact not the Prime Minister, but someone else; past West End and up to Leicester Square and Picadilly Circus. Of the many things to do there, I chose the national art gallery having carefully agreed with Amanda which places she would want to visit when she was well enough.
While inside, I was impressed with the number of well known artists represented, but being somewhat uninformed about painting in the renaissance period and before, the magnificence was lost on me. I knew there were two rooms with Van Gogh and Monet paintings in them (I'm a fan of both), so saving them for last I snaked my way around the other rooms.
I then slowly remembered something about myself - I must have a little bit of obsessive compulsive disorder or an unhelpful streak of perfectionism or something. I felt as though I had to see every room and glance at every painting to ensure I had really seen the museum. Of course, that meant I wasn't even looking properly at many of the paintings, so it kind of defeated the point, but at least I could linger longer over those that appealed to me or that I could understand! I also learnt an important lesson when visiting museums - if there is something in particular you want to see, then see it first. I tend to 'save the best for last' but then I often run out of time or am tired, or 'museumed out' by the time I get there. Despite these learnings, it was a great gallery. Well worth visiting.
Next stop on Jahda's big day out was Buckingham Palace and then Westminster Abbey. Walking past Buckingham palace, I tried to imagine a frenzied crowd staring at the famous balcony and how William and Kate must have felt standing there after their wedding. Most of us like attention now and again, but I couldn't help think that would be a lot to take in. And before you ask, Buckingham palace was also on Amanda's list of places to see, so we came back together on our last day in London - we inadvertently timed it so we were there for the changing of the guard. As we approached we noticed the massive crowd and thought something special must be happening. We knew it was the first day the palace was open to visitors this summer (we couldn't get tickets though) and wondered if there was a special ceremony. Nope. Just the changing of the guard, which really is not that impressive. We had more fun looking at the crowd than the soldiers. There were even traffic police directing the crowds!
We had heard that if you didn't want to pay for a tour of Westminster abbey, you could attend evensong, which is held at 5pm each day, for free. I thought this would be a great way to experience the abbey being used for its original purpose - as a place to worship God and pray. I had also heard they invited different choirs from English colleges to lead the singing each service, so I would also get to hear some high quality music... Sign me up, I thought! You can imagine my disappointment when I discovered it was a 'spoken service' only on that particular day. I still enjoyed it, but really wanted to hear singing in the abbey so Amanda and I came back the next day, along with her parents, and we were not disappointed. We thoroughly enjoyed the music, the abbey, and another chance to reflect on life and what God might have us do in the world.
We enjoyed it so much that we decided to attend evensong at St Paul's Cathedral later in the week - which was equally enjoyable and beneficial. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside either church, so if you haven't been there you will just have to imagine massive open spaces bordered by impressive walls with riveted columns and alcoves rising up past stain glass windows, statues, and alters. Oh, make sure you overlay this image with the sounds of an all-male choir ranging from boy sopranos to older baritones. It was an experience to savour. In both places, there was also a genuine desire to serve and honor God.
After Westminster, I decided to visit that other great religious institution in London - Harrods. It was something to behold. I didn't know there could be so many purveyors of chocolates, jams, and other fine goods in one city, let alone in one room. How one chooses I'm not entirely sure. I also noticed that the items for sale were not cheap (I've developed an eye for these sort of things while traveling). There were even several food halls, each appropriately segmented into differently themed culinary experiences and each way too expensive (eg a basic Caesar salad for 18-20 pounds or $26-30 AUD).
This was no shopping centre fast food hall. I think I paid 3 or 4 pounds for my 3 small bite sized pieces of chocolate - I just wanted to buy something at Harrods! Despite this, each eatery was doing a roaring trade. I later discovered Harrods was in one of the more exclusive parts of London and I did see the odd Lamborghini and Ferrari driving around. Maybe it's all a matter of perspective. Definitely worth a visit. Just don't buy too much!
I left Harrods and meandered up to Hyde park. I liked it. Of course, it was summer so it was still light out. Plenty of swans and ducks in the lake, the sounds of children and families picnicking, joggers running past, and, further on, people playing sport together - football, touch football, cricket, and whatever else took their fancy.
Once Amanda was well enough, we went to the tower bridge and saw the very impressive crown jewels. To keep crowds moving, there is a travellator (flat escalator) that takes you past the crowns and the very big Culinan diamond - we rode it several times to get a better look. The items that took us a little by surprise were the very very big golden punch bowls, platters, and other party gear. We wondered how often they are used and at what kind of events! I could just imagine a young Harry or William petitioning the queen: "oh, please Grandma, let me use the good tableware, all my friends from school are coming over...". We took a free guided tour of the tower and brushed up on our British history and saw where Ann Boleyn was beheaded and buried.
We also watched the hit musical 'Wicked' at the famous Apollo theatre in West End. We both thoroughly enjoyed it. For those who haven't seen it, the musical is a wonderful twist on the Wizard of Oz story. It tells the tale of Elphabar - more commonly known as the Wicked Witch of the West - but shows it from her perspective and shows her actually trying to be a good person. Besides, the music is fantastic and includes the now famous song, 'Defying Gravity', which we first encountered while watching Glee! (And yes, I'm not ashamed to say we watch Glee.)
Lastly, Peter (Amanda's dad) and I went to Wimbledon. Mike had told us that if you go late in the day you can queue up and buy evening tickets for a greatly reduced price. We both jumped at the opportunity to attend one of the truly classic sporting events on the planet. We tried to convince Amanda and her Mum, but they were having none of it - to be fair, Amanda was still recovering because she did too much too soon. We had planned to meet Mike and Maureen, but by the time we got there, those plans had vanished as quickly as Nadal's tilt at the title.
We arrived the entrance... to the queue. The queue is long and just keeps on going. If you are not inside the ground by a certain time they shut the gates. We were warned we might not make it in, but still we queued. It was at the start of this hour+ wait that we were helpfully given a little booklet by one of the attendants. The cover was a photo of people playing tennis and I saw the word 'Wimbledon' in big type. I was getting excited - something to read while standing in the queue. Then I read the sub title: 'Wimbledon - a guide to queuing'. How thoughtful. How very British.
Upon reading the inside front cover (it was a long queue after all), I discovered that I was in fact standing in The Queue - that's right, it was a proper noun with capitals and everything. I also became familiar with and observed The Queue Code of Conduct. It's a good thing I did, because the booklet advised me there were stewards, security officers, and police on hand to enforce the code of the queue. We did finally get inside Wimbledon and it was great to see the place and experience the atmosphere even just for an hour or so. But I feel my English adventure was made complete by my time in The Queue, which I survived courtesy of that little booklet.
Our next stop was Paris - a city less renowned for their orderly queues. Despite this, we decided to brave it. Or as the British say, we decided to 'keep calm and carry on".
J.
No comments:
Post a Comment