Look Kids -- Big Ben, Parliament

Our obligatory photo showing Big Ben and Parliament from the south bank of the Thames.

Greenwich

On Tuesday, Mom took a day trip to Paris.  She booked a group tour before we left that traveled on the Eurostar high-speed train through the English Channel straight to Paris.  We dropped her off at the St. Pancras rail station at 5:30am (yikes!).  Since we had the day to ourselves, Mona and I decided we'd take a day trip to Greenwich.

On either side of the Prime Meridian

Greenwich is home to the Royal Observatory and marks the Prime Meridian separating the Eastern and Western hemispheres and the basis for which all time zones are calculated.  The term Greenwich Mean Time refers to the time in Greenwich and is a single reference point by which everyone can calculate the correct time.  It's an absolute time that doesn't change with the seasons like when we change the clocks for daylight savings time.  The observatory sits on a hill overlooking the town and we hiked up the hill so we could each stand in a different hemisphere at the same time.

Giant Ship in a Bottle at the National Maritime Museum

Greenwich is a historic seaport on the River Thames just south of London, and is home to the tall masted ship Cutty Sark as well as the Old Royal Naval College.  No longer a Naval College, it's now the site of the University of Greenwich.  It's also the home of the National Maritime Museum.  We visited all of these as well as walked through the town and strolled along the river.  Greenwich is an easy day trip as it's

Cutty Sark

connected to the Tube system via the Docklands Light Rail (DLR).  Our week's travel card included riding the DLR so it made for a fun day without adding any extra expense.

Choir Memories

When I was a student at the College of William and Mary, I sang as a member of the Choir.  Frank Lendrim - "Doc" as we all called him - helped instill in me a great love of music that I carry with me today.  Every three years, he and his wife Betty Jean put together a tour of Europe where the choir would sing in some of the greatest venues including Westminster Abbey, the Madeleine in Paris, and Chartres Cathedral to name a few.  It so happened that the year of the European Tour when I was a student was my senior year.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church

The day after graduation, we left for a six week tour visiting France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and England.  While in London, we performed at Westminster Abbey, St. Martin-in-the Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, and the Chapel of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.  That was 21 years ago.  During our time here this week, we have attended an organ recital at Westminster Abbey and listened to a noontime concert at St. Martin-in-the Fields by a boys choir from Bromley.  We also had lunch in the cafe of the church -- another memory from choir tour.   Mona and I visited the Chapel at the Old Royal Naval College on Tuesday.

Chapel at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich

Some of my best and closest friends to this day are those fellow singers from the William and Mary Choir.  Returning to these places brought back a flood of memories of our time together on tour and how much fun we had performing and seeing so many different places.  That trip also had one other profound effect on me -- my love of travel.  I don't think I would have had nearly the level of interest to travel like I've had since then if it weren't for that European Choir Tour.  Thanks Doc. 

Changing of the Guard

Gathering in front of Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the royal family and it also serves as the

administrative headquarters of the Monarch.  Every day during most of the year, there is the Changing of the Guard ceremony where one regiment comes and replaces another as those who stand watch at the palace.  During the winter, this becomes an every other day event -- odd numbered days in December -- so we had to make sure we planned for the correct day.  We went on Monday and the weather was cold, but nice and sunny.

Right along the fence

Several thousand people crowd the front of the palace, the Queen Victoria memorial in front of the palace, and along both roads that pass by.  Other than the processional down the street and through the gates, most of the ceremony takes place inside the gates and is difficult to see unless you're right along the fence line.  We arrived at 10am for the 11:30am ceremony and were barely able to get Mom up front at the fence line.  She would have never seen anything otherwise.

Regimental Band

The regimental band plays a while and you see the soldiers parade through as one regiment relieves the other.  Since it's winter, the regiment was wearing their winter gray coats instead of the red coats we are accustomed to seeing.  It's definitely worth seeing at least one time when in London, but if you can't get up close and personal along the fence line, I'm not sure I'd bother with it.

Decked out for the Holidays

Oxford Street

One of the great things about visiting London during the holiday season is seeing the City decked out in lights and festive decorations.  One of the best places to see this is the Oxford Street/Regent Street shopping area.  We were able to maneuver through the throngs of shoppers and revelers out on a Monday night to snap a few pictures.

Carnaby Street

Regent Street

Carnaby Side Street

Tower Bridge & Thames River Cruise

Tower Bridge seen from our Thames River Cruise

The Tower Bridge spans the River Thames adjacent to the Tower of London and is the city's most famous and iconic bridge.  The drawbridge raises and lowers for ships and other large boats to pass while the walkways across the top allow for great views up and down the river.  As with the majority of London bridges, you can walk as well as drive across (the Millennium Bridge is pedestrian-only).  Many people picture this bridge when they hear the name London Bridge and the song London Bridge is Falling Down.  However, London Bridge is a much plainer bridge.  The old London Bridge was dismantled and sold to American Robert McCulloch who had it shipped to the United States and

London Eye

reconstructed in Lake Havasu, Arizona where it stands today.  Legend has it he thought he was purchasing the Tower Bridge, but he supposedly denied that to be the case.

We took a Thames River Cruise in order to see the city from a different vantage point.  From the river, we got excellent views of the Tower Bridge.  Mona and I walked across Tower Bridge, exploring the areas on both sides so we only sailed from Tower Pier to Westminster Pier next to Parliament.  Mom did the full cruise experience and sailed up to Greenwich from Tower Pier and then all the way back to Westminster.  During our cruise we got great views of the London Eye, the Customs House, the Tate Modern, and many other buildings too numerous to mention.

Selfie outside Westminster Abbey after
the organ recital.

We capped off our Sunday evening with a visit to Westminster Abbey for a free organ recital.  Although we were not able to tour at that time, it was nice to be inside and listen to such a grand organ in a glorious space.  This year's current organ scholar Jeremy Woodside played for 30 minutes. His first piece was actually an arrangement of Sleigh Ride -- certainly not what I was expecting to hear - and the other two were 20th century classical pieces I was not familiar with but were enjoyable.  The finale was just what you wanted to hear -- loud and sustained so you could experience the fullness of the space and reverberation of the sound once the piece concluded.  A nice way to cap our Sunday night in London.

Tower of London

Tower of London along the River Thames
as seen from the Tower Bridge

The Tower of London is probably best known today as the location where the Crown Jewels are kept.   However, throughout history it has been used as a royal residence, a prison, a place of execution, and even the royal mint.  The Tower is actually a castle and is considered to be one of the Historic Royal Palaces just like Hampton Court or Kensington.  Built by William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest of London in 1066, it is a complex of several buildings surrounded by a double perimeter wall and a double moat, although one moat is dry today.  You can read a much better description about its history here.

Given the crowds we've been experiencing, we decided to visit the Tower of London right when they opened on Sunday morning at 10:00am.  I booked the tickets online the night before so we wouldn't have to stand in the ticket queue, and that turned out to be the right call.  We arrived a few minutes before 10 and after picking up the tickets at the Group Ticket window and bypassing the long lines waiting to purchase tickets, we were able to get in the queue waiting to enter the castle.  Bryan - 1, Crowd - 0.  

Where the Crown Jewels are stored

Mom's top priority for visiting the Tower of London was to see the Crown Jewels.  I suggested we do that first before the crowds built up.  Outside the building where the jewels are stored is a Disney World-style maze of stanchions and pipe that lead you in a zig zag pattern that makes you feel like the line is never going to end.  There was not a soul in that area and we walked right into the building.  Bryan - 2, Crowd - 0.

As we walked through the area where the crown jewels are kept, we learned about their history and use.  We saw coronation crowns, scepters, maces, plates, and the largest punch bowl I have ever seen -- over a meter wide and deep enough to hold 144 bottles of wine.  I'm not sure they still actually use the punch bowl because it looks like it weighs a ton and must be a pain to keep polished.  Unfortunately, they don't allow you to take pictures so I don't have any to share here.

Mom with a couple of Yeoman Warders,
more commonly referred to as Beefeaters

Once we finished seeing the crown jewels and exited the building, the Disney World-style line maze was completely full of people.  By the time we were finished with our visit, the line left that area and went down to the other end of the complex and doubled back upon itself.  If I had to guess, it would have been a minimum of a two hour if not three hour wait to see the Crown Jewels.  Bryan - 3, Crowd - 0.

Mona and I also toured and climbed through the various floors of the White Tower which is where the Tower of London gets its name.  We saw many displays of armament  and weaponry used throughout the centuries.  There is also a small chapel on the top floor that had a very simple elegance to it.  We even got roped into joining a group of reenactors who were demonstrating Christmas customs and traditions from the Norman period.  All in all a great visit on a very crowded day.  Who says you can't beat the crowd?