I could tell about our time in Holland but I think I will wait until after I write about London. We got here Friday night July 22, arriving at Victoria Station, one of several enormous London transport centers/train stations. It was raining. We didn't know how to use the transit system. We couldn't figure out where we were. We ran into a couple of dodgy characters whom I can't describe in a "family" blog. Thank goodness for Connie, who reads maps, reasons things out and points the way. I trot along behind. We didn't get to our hotel until 11:30 and the door was locked. Finally we rousted the night manager and were let into our room--which turned out to be just fine. We slept in a little, then got up and attacked London town.
Frankly, we're just doing the things you have to do when you come here. We visited the Tower of London (across the Thames from where we're staying), where we saw the crown jewels and the place where British kings used to torture their subjects in the bad old days. I must admit that buildings from the 11 and 12-hundreds no longer impress me. Israel and its ruins make everything else look almost new. However, the Tower of London is impressive and absolutely central to the story of Great Britain.
After the Tower of London, we took a long walk along the Thames, west toward Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, etc. It was a fabulous view. The Tower Bridge (looking very medieval), the London Eye (a giant ferris wheel erected not so many years ago), St. Paul's Cathedral (more about that later). Time was getting away from us so we hopped a (not-so-fast) bus and eventually got over to Westminster Abbey, where as you may recall, Prince Edward married his Kate a couple of months ago.
Westminster Abbey is in one sense a grand cathedral. In that sense it is like Notre Dame in Paris. What makes it different from Notre Dame is that it functions as Britain's cultural memory bank. So you have all these famous people who are either buried there or memorialized along its walls, with a plaque or perhaps an opulent statue. Some of those honored seemed appropriate in a church: T.S. Eliot, G.F. Handel, Isaac Newton, to name a few. Others, though, seemed like they should have been elsewhere: D.H. Lawrence (Lady Chatterly's Lover) and Charles Dawin to name a couple. Oh, well. Needless to say, Britain is not a Christian nation these days and in some ways the Abbey makes that clear.
However, the church's worship life goes on without missing a beat. We stayed for evensong at 5 p.m. (basically music and scripture readings). There was a marvelous guest choir; we got to sit in the choir stalls right next to them. It's just an incredibly magnificent church that truly soars; we felt transported. Required for all London visitors!
Afterwards we walked by Downing Street (which is blocked off). Just beyond we took a detour and wandered into the area where they're building the beach volleyball venue for the 2012 Olympics (they'll be held in London). There's Olympic construction underway in various parts of the city; the tube system (subway) is being upgraded, with the result that some lines are closed, especially on weekends. By the way, the London mass transit system, like that of Paris and Rome, is highly developed, highly reliable and generally inexpensive. The trains run on time, they're clean and seem very safe. We ended the day with a walk up into London's West End Theater District, where we bought tickets for a musical.
Today turned out to be sunny and mild, our first such day since we left Chambery, France. The high was near 70, which is about as warm as London gets. First thing, we got on the tube and went to St. Paul's Cathedral (where Prince Charles and Diana were married many years ago). It's the largest Anglican Cathedral in the world (truly gigantic), was designed by the famous architect, Christophere Wren, and is another of those "must-sees" if you're a church person. We attended the11 o'clock service which was basically traditional Anglican worship on steroids. Full orchestra, choir, preaching, holy communion and just for the icing on the cake, the communion service was accompanied by Beethoven's "Mass in C Major." You may be familiar with such-and-such a composer's "Mass in G" or whatever. Well, those were intended to be used as part of an actual communion service. So that instead of saying the creed, the choir and the orchestra would perform it, etc. And of course if you're talking about worship on steroids, you might as well have composer on steroids, too, which fits Beethoven to a tee. So it was pretty special. What's more, we got there early and got to sit in the first two seats in the front row. Right under the enormous dome of St. Paul's (as big and beautiful as the U.S. Capitol). Pretty good for a couple of rubes from Portland, Or-a-gone!
This afternoon we tubed over to the British Museum, arguably the greatest historical museum in the world. We didn't have enough time but we saw some great stuff, including the Rosetta Stone, which is how archeologists learned how to read Egyptian hieroglyphics. Then, just to prove we aren't so terribly serious, we went to our musical. It was called Jersey Boys, basically the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the rock band from back in the '60s. Light, frothy, with familiar music (Sherry! Sherry Baby!, etc.) and basically just good fun. Then we had burritos at Chipotle (yes, we broke down and ate American food) and took the tube back to our hotel.
Don't ask me what we're doing tomorrow because I can't think straight right now.
Just a word about London: one travel writer says that Paris is an urban garden, but that London is an urban jungle. I agree. Not because London is dangerous, but because it is all jumbled together in a manner that's not quite coherent. Old buildings stand next to new ones and they don't fit. Of course, this kind of juxtapositioning can be done so that the results are pleasing to the eye. But it hasn't worked that way in London, at least in my opinion. On the other hand, the city is so energetic, so filled with people, so multi-cultural, that you get caught up in the spirit of the place and it's a joy to be here. I must say I like it better than Paris, but of course that is my taste. Maybe part of it is being back where everybody speaks English. It is true that England is more like America than anyplace else we've been.
No comments:
Post a Comment