| I was the first to get out of bed around 9 a.m. We all
slept very comfortably. The bed for Lisa and me is nice. I'll
share the pictures of the apartment later. I walked up to
Picadilly and bought sandwiches for us at a Pret.
They were pretty good. After a quick lunch, Allison and I walked
back and purchases Oyster
Cards. The are Pikepasses for the Tube. Around 1 p.m., I walked Allison and my mom a few blocks to the London
bus tour. It's the one I have taken before, so I was
comfortable letting them go alone. I did suggest they stop at St.
Paul's along the way for a tour, which they did. I apparently
didn't give them enough instructions, but that story is later.
Lisa and I took the Tube to St. Paul's for a walking tour with London
Walks. I have done all my walking tours in London with them
exclusively and have always been very satisfied with the tours. I
have done so many now hat I'm afraid I'm going to repeat one
and not know until it is too late.
Here is a description of the Blitz tour from the London Walk's
brochure:
"The dome of St.
Paul's seemed to ride the sea of fire like a great ship. Ludgate
Hill was carpeted in hosepipes. Two hundred people died that
night. On the north side of the cathedral 63 acres became a waste
of smoking ash and rubble. Another 100 acres were completely
devastated in other raids that autumn. At the finish, out of the
City's tight-packed 461 acres, 164 were reduced to ruin. And this
was just 1940. And now, over to Helena, who's going to take us
through a great city in its finest and most desperate hour. Some
of what you see and
hear may be disturbing."
Our guide, Helena,
did a wonderful job describing what it was like during The
Blitz. Most of the tour was around St. Paul's. She talked
about the destruction, the different types of bombs, the kind of
shelters use, and the personal stories which made it all seem so
real. But here's the highlight of the tour...
MANY times, Helena
told us not to worry if the whole group didn't make it across the
street at a stoplight. Well, crossing one very busy street, one of
the ladies in our group tried to push her luck. Midway, a
bicyclist almost hits her, she stumbles, then she does a face
plant. Ouch. She is in the road and I help her to the sidewalk.
Luckily, her fifty-year old daughter is with her. She has a nice
gash above her right eye, and the blood is flowing.
Passerbys
start calling the ambulance, and one is quickly on its way. The
ambulance comes, she gets in, but Helena, always cheerful,
finishes the tour with Lisa and me. Everyone else took off.
Lisa's Comment:
My gallant husband, Mark, stood in the street by the lady, as she
was sitting down. He stood there fending of speeding cars as
they came speeding by. He wanted to make sure that the cars didn't
hit the injured lady. The lady is originally from OKC and
had moved with her family to New Jersey and then to Dallas. Small
world.
|
| Lisa and I stopped at a Tesco to purchase baby oil
(something had to be forgotten) and a Sprite for me. The Sprite is
different here - a little more citrus-y. We braved the rush hour
traffic on the Tube and arrived home around 5:30 p.m.. I
expected Allison and Mom to be back, but they were nowhere
in sight. About an hour later, they came rambling in. After they
had visited St. Paul's, they got back on the bus. But this time,
they got on the Red Line instead of the Yellow Line. "You are
on the wrong bus." After realizing their mistake, they had to walk
about 15 minutes to get back to where they wanted to be. All's well
that ends well. Mom is now on a curfew. Our order from Sainsbury
arrive at 7:10 p.m. We purchased food online and had it delivered for
free. Very convenient.
To finish off the evening, we took a taxi to the Tower of
London to watch the Ceremony
of the Keys. No pictures are allowed, so I didn't take my
camera. Here is a brief description from Wikipedia:
"Ceremonies known as
the Ceremony of the Keys are held in at least two locations
in the United
Kingdom: London,
and Edinburgh,
as well as Gibraltar.
Probably the best known such ceremony is the one that takes place
every night at the Tower
of London, and has done so in some form or another since the
14th century. At exactly 9.53pm, the Chief Yeoman Warder, dressed
in Tudor
Watchcoat, meets the Military Escort, made up of members of the Tower
of London Guard. Together, the CYW and the Yeoman Warder
'Watchman' secure the main gates of the Tower. Upon their return
down Water Lane, the party is halted by the sentry
and challenged to identify themselves:
-
Sentry: Who
comes there?
Chief Warder: The keys.
S: Whose keys?
CW: Queen Elizabeth's keys.
S: Pass Queen Elizabeth's Keys. All's well.
Following this, the
party makes its way through the Bloody Tower Archway into the
fortress, where they halt at the bottom of the Broadwalk Steps. On
the top of the Stairs, under the command of their Officer, the
Tower guard present arms and the Chief Warder raises his hat,
proclaiming:
-
CW: God
preserve Queen Elizabeth.
S: Amen!
He then takes the
keys to the Queen's House for safekeeping, while the Last
Post is sounded." |
