Day 2 – Westminster Rules

Our first full day in London! We woke up with a mix of anticipation and exhaustion. Note to self: Do not put in 60+ hours at work just before a major international trip. Our first stop that day was Westminster Abbey. That morning we armed ourselves with London A-Z Map, Oyster Cards, knowledge of the tube journey previously downloaded from TFL’s Journey Planner (I loved our apartment’s Broadband Internet!), umbrellas, and rain jackets. Yes, you guessed right, it was raining…again. I’ve read about the first view when coming out of the Westminster tube station but nothing could have prepared me for the sheer height and size of the tower that houses Big Ben. I couldn’t stand there for very long as the crowd started pushing their way out of the station, heading towards the Abbey. I had to smile as I observed large groups of Japanese tourists with their brightly-colored rain ponchos and huge DSLRs hanging from their necks. I prefer my compact Canon and my sleek black rain jacket. I couldn’t say whether I blended more with the locals or not, that was not my intention, but I did notice a lot of people wearing black in London.

Making our way to Westminster Abbey wasn’t hard, there were clear signs guiding us to the right direction (no, no more silently polite British gentlemen). Again, the initial sight was of awe and wonder as we entered the Abbey grounds. What a spectacular building, I wish I could take a photo of every single architectural detail. We entered with ease as I had printed out the 2-for-1 offer beforehand, and was only asked to show proof that we had purchased 7-day Travelcards. We were pleasantly surprised to find that there were very few visitors in the Abbey. I guess it did pay to arrive fairly early in the morning (they opened at 9:30 am). As we were going through the vast collection of monuments, tombs, effigies, and chapels we were guided by the audio tour. A couple of times as we entered a few small chapels the audio guide would urge us to move along as fast as we could because it might get crowded in there. We looked around us, “What crowd?”. It was very pleasant indeed! As the day progressed, more and more people came in but still no suffocating crowd as we’d expected (this positive experience soon eclipsed by the crowd at The National Gallery). We were interrupted a few times by calls to prayer, which was no big deal as the prayers were short and devoid of evangelical propaganda, i.e. no “Convert to Christianity now, you heathens!”. Instead we prayed for world peace, God bless England, world peace, and oh world peace again. One prayer totally confused us at the end because of a “double amen”, the priest had said amen, we started walking around again, then she continued with more wishes for world peace, finally ended by another amen. I did like the fact that the prayers were announced because they did serve as reminders that the Abbey is still a house of worship and not a religious theme park.

I was so excited when we finally arrived at The Nave, around the area often referred to as “Scientists Corner”. What an honor, being able to stand there amongst monuments remembering Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Ernest Rutherford, and Paul Dirac with his famous equation inscribed on his memorial stone. These are the giants whose shoulders I stand on, whose works enable my own work to progress. Along with “Scientists Corner”, my favorites were the tomb and effigy of Queen Elizabeth I (buried on top of her half-sister Queen Mary I), and the dramatic Nightingale Monument. The Cloisters provided an opportunity for me to take photographs, so I was delighted when I found Edmond Halley’s comet-shaped plaque on the wall. The British have certainly made significant contributions to science, and Westminster Abbey can testify to that.

We were starving by the time we’re done with Westminster Abbey. So we found a bench in St. James Park and ate our packed lunch there. It was so much fun to watch people around the park, especially since we were there around lunch hour. There were a lot of people jogging, and we couldn’t help feeling terribly guilty as we were munching on our crisps, watching London workers huffin’ and puffin’ their way through the park, having a much healthier lunch hour than we were. Not everybody opted to sweat profusely as they exercised, there were people in their work attire, wearing their trainers (sneakers), and just walking around the park. Some of them seemingly talking to themselves as they had the Bluetooth headset on.

After lunch we strolled along the park until we reached Buckingham Palace. The Queen’s residence…..quite a disappointment after Westminster Abbey. A bit anticlimactic if you will. I remember thinking that the Queen will more than likely occupy a grander space when she expires than when she’s alive. We didn’t linger here, there was not much to do other than stand by the gate getting soaked by the increasingly heavier rainfall. So we started walking towards Trafalgar Square, again observing some runners/joggers…now soaking wet and looking quite miserable. As we were leaving the Buckingham Palace area, we heard drum rolls and shouts of what sounded like military commands. I still don’t know what this building is exactly but there was a sign that said “Guards Museum” near the gate. From what we saw the guards were practicing but we’re not sure what they were doing other than march back and forth in formation. We never saw Changing of The Guard while we’re in London (on our list but not a priority for us), so perhaps that’s what they were practicing for.

When we arrived at Trafalgar Square the space was noticeably empty as it was still raining. The peace and quiet we enjoyed in Westminster Abbey was not present in The National Gallery as half of London must have taken refuge here during the rain. I couldn’t imagine how much more crowded this space will be during peak season in the summer. As it was I felt that some of the art was lost in the sea of people. Nevertheless, I enjoy art especially paintings and sculptures so it was a treat being able to visit the masterpieces of the gallery. We decided to go on the audio Highlights tour as it’s impossible to go through every single work of art there. My favorites were Holbein’s “The Ambassadors”, Rubens’ “Samson and Delilah”, Wright’s “An Experiment on A Bird…”, and being a fan of the Impressionists…most if not all of Van Gogh’s (e.g. Sunflowers), Degas’ (e.g. Combing The Hair), and Seurat’s (e.g. Bathers at Asnières) paintings. I could go into in-depth analysis as to why they’re my favorites, but this journal entry is going to be twice as long and half as fun to read . So I spare you the details and let’s move on to our next activity: a casual afternoon tea at the National Dining Rooms. In between the queue to see a painting, and gazing of said painting, and gawking at an artist du jour trying to copy one of Rembrandt’s work (“Saskia van Uylenburgh…”), we managed to take a break and enjoy a few cups of tea. We opted for The National Afternoon Tea: Smoked salmon, cucumber, and egg sandwiches, a buttermilk scone with clotted cream and ‘England Preserves’ and a selection of cakes and pastries; Bakewell tart, raspberry tea cake, apple slice, millionaires short bread. Very tasty! I was particularly impressed by the Peyton and Byrne Original tea blend. It’s a black tea with heavenly aromas that I couldn’t pinpoint exactly, unlike the rather singular scent of bergamot from an Earl Grey.

We considered going into the National Portrait Gallery, but decided to just go back to the flat and rest our poor feet. We had reserved a table at Rules Restaurant and needed some time to freshen up. It was my birthday so a celebratory dinner was in order. Instead of being crammed like sardines in the tube (Piccadilly Line, how I loathed thee sometimes), we opted for a London black cab. It was a pleasant trip, with the cabbie recommending a couple of walks. The cost seemed very reasonable, from Knightsbridge to Covent Garden (right in front of Rules) cost us a little less than £9. More expensive than the tube, but we just wanted to experience riding inside a black cab. The restaurant had a very warm, friendly atmosphere, with a decor reminiscent of Antiques Roadshow, but quite tastefully done in my opinion. Most people dressed smart casual, an interpretation taken way too lightly by a couple sitting next to us. The young woman was dressed in a track suit and her companion in polo shirt and jeans. Our waitress was very friendly and accommodating. My partner ordered gull eggs for starters, a brave choice but they tasted yummy (the yolk had a creamier consistency compared to chicken eggs). I chose Stilton and watercress soup….very delicious. For our main entrée, I had the West Devon Lamb and my partner had a venison dish of some kind. He didn’t like his very much (too dry in his opinion, but he’s too polite to send it back), but I liked mine very much. I had a glass of Pinot Noir to accompany my lamb and my partner savored an ale (Fuller’s London Pride), which he then poured into a wine glass and proceeded to educate me on the difference between ale and lager (rolled eyes). For dessert, we dug into the very sweet Sticky Toffee Pudding, decorated with a “Happy Birthday” written in chocolate, and a candle on top. As I closed my eyes and blew out the candle, I can tell you that I either wished for clear skies for the rest of our trip, or…world peace .