45 Days in London: Day 42

Dover!

For our last day trip from London, we chose to take a train down to Dover.

There is so much to explore in and around Dover Castle. One of our favorite adventures there (besides the castle itself) was the underground war tunnels, including an army hospital. Sorry—no photographs allowed. They need to keep the location a secret in case they ever need to use the tunnels again.

The cab ride from the castle to the cliffs was only five pounds. We had a fantastic time hiking over and around the famous White Cliffs of Dover. At one clear point in the day we could actually see France beckoning from across the channel.

We got back just in time to make a screening of some short 1914 silent movies from the BFI archives (Chaplin, newsreels and more). Another perfect day!

45 Days in London: Day 41

After a strawberry-and-whipped-cream laden breakfast at Wafflemeister, we got to Buckingham Palace nice and early to stake out our space outside the gates.

Ever since I was a little girl and my grandfather sang the Christopher Robin songs, I've wanted to see the Changing of the Guard. The Ernest Shepard illustrations in the songbook make the dream even more magical.

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace. 
Brrrum-bum-bum-bum. 
Christopher Robin went down with Alice. 
Brrrum-bum-bum-bum

In all the times I've been to London, that has never worked out to see the changing of the guard until today. We loved the parade and the pageantry, the horses, the pennywhistles, the drummers and the marching band. Plus, what's not to love about red coats and tall black fur hats (unless you have to wear them in the summer in London!)?

Just before they make the official swap of fresh guards for sleepy ones, the band stands in front of the palace and plays a number or two. (Who knew?) Not sure whether this is for the queen's pleasure, or to gratify the crowd clamoring outside the gates. This morning they played a medley of numbers from the musical Les Miserables, which we thought was a little funny. Perhaps we were expecting something more regal? Or more British?

They exit to the right of the palace, and the crowds disperse.

From the palace we walked along St. James's Park to Trafalgar Square.

Just around the corner from the National Gallery is the

National Portrait Gallery. My favorite was the one of Paul McCartney, done by his brother's friend. (But for some reason I don't have a picture of it?)

The contemporary ones are by far the most fun, but it was also wonderful to see the faces of all those famous characters in British history, immortalized on canvas.

We went to Evensong at St Paul's this afternoon. I'd forgotten how stunning it is inside! It's also mind-blowing to think that there has been a church on that site since the year 600! While steeped in all that history and tradition, the service at St. Paul's was more liberal and progressive than at Westminster. No boy choir. Female pastor. Led almost entirely by women. It seemed to be all things green and fair trade and equal opportunity. Very interesting.

The sermon referred to a youtube video, where a young woman responded to some racist behavior (unaware that she was caught on camera) by asking, "Where is your great and loving heart?" She went on to plead for kindness, compassion, peace and healing. It prompted us all to look at the way we respond in heated situations, and how powerfully love can deescalate a tense situation.

45 Days in London: Day 40

Josh!

Our oldest son arrived this morning. It was so exciting to greet him at the tube station and wrap my arms around him. This was the first time he has traveled internationally on his own—no small feat. He's joining us for the last ten days of our adventure.

But first he has to take a nap.  :)

Meanwhile, the rest of us explored Hampstead Heath...a huge park with miles of trails winding through acres of woodlands. Keats' house is in desirable section of London. Jeff met Chris Clark (UVU theater prof) and had they enjoyed some fantastic pub food for lunch.

There are also several large ponds. And some are reserved for swimming. How fun is that?!? They even have Women Only and Men only swimming holes. We chose the one that was Mixed. :) Feel free to dive in!

We took Josh on a quick run-through of both the Science Museum and the
V&A (both are spectacular).

We were also excited to show him the city at night. The boys wanted to do something creepy/historical, like a walking ghost tour. We left the flat too late to meet an official tour guide, so we gave them our own version of a historical ghost tour, walking past the Globe theater, and through narrow alleys and brick tunnels near the Borough Market. Very Dickensian. Here we stumbled upon "The Clink" Prison Museum, London's oldest prison, built in the middle ages. This dungeon of sorts is the reason people today still call putting someone in jail "throwing them in the clinker." It got its name because of the constant sound of the blacksmith's hammer pounding on prisoners' irons...clink-clink-clink.

The museum showed actual living conditions of the prisoners (which was appalling), as well as providing stories of actual people--why they were incarcerated (some seemed to be the minutest infractions, including religious differences) and whether they survived or passed away there. I have to say, it was super creepy! There was a horrible spirit there. I was so relieved when we finally finished the tour and got back outside.

The walk across the Millennial Bridge to St. Paul's is always breathtaking at night. But it was especially wonderful and refreshing having just escaped from prison from prison!  :)  The sky alone was to die for. We had the loveliest walk across the Thames in the moonlight.

45 Days in London: Day 39

Cambridge!

I can't lie—I was a little bit disappointed at how completely overrun with tourists Cambridge was. It was even more crowded than London. People were spilling off the sidewalks into the streets, dodging each other like landmines. I was also sad that some of the lovely little shops have been replaced by major chain stores like Gap. 

But there were two parts that were exactly as I remembered: Punting on the Cam (see photos) along the Backs, and Sidney Sussex College (where I lived when I was a student there).