GOING IT ALONE

 Yesterday I took you up to the front of the British Museum. Today we are going inside.

I had already been to the Smithsonian in D.C. but when I saw that fantastic British Museum I had to admit that it's a lot more spectacular than ours and that's hard for me to say. Anyway if you have not been but do find yourself in London some time, be sure to go. The architecture is stunning and the displays are so well organized that you cannot help but learn about so many peoples and places in our world. Unfortunately,  I don't have any pics but of course you can google it. I had planned to say more about the Museum but found that I have no words to describe it. So we move on to yet another place I went to by myself. 

After the Museum I got on a ferry boat that took us up to the Tower of London. Riding on the Thames we passed Shakespeare's Globe Theater. It's the only wooden structure allowed in London because of the Great Fire in 1666 which gutted the entire city. The original theater burned down in 1613 but was rebuilt. We passed under London Bridge and then turned around and docked at the Tower of London where they off loaded Anne Boleyn. That is an amazing place as you might imagine. As you cross over a moat, there are hundreds of red ceramic poppies floating there which look positively real and gorgeous. There are guards on either side of the entrance and it is an eerie feeling to enter into that historic place. It is really a castle and the only one in the city of London. No need to go into any of the history because most of you are probably familiar with it. Suffice it to say it is an eerie place but I'm certainly glad I went.  

As I said before, my daughter was working so she couldn't go with me to all these interesting places so off I went one day to Windsor Castle. The church I had been attending had a bus tour to the castle so I went along even though I have never liked tours. I was very glad I did this one though because it was wonderful. On the way to the castle we passed Runnymede where to Magna Carta was signed in 1215 and we crossed the River Thames. There were many tour buses in the large parking lot near the castle and they have little shuttles that run back and forth. Near the entrance to the castle there are many, many vendors selling just about everything British and it's hard to pass them up. There is also a town at the base of the castle. The scope of history surrounding Windsor was almost too much for me to take in. It helps if you have read some of the history of the place because you can then really appreciate the way things are displayed there.   A moving walkway that takes you past the Crown Jewels at a pace that is not too fast with narration regarding them as you go along. Talk about heavy! No wonder they say "heavy is the head that wears the crown"! 

The view from the hill where the castle is located is stunning. But of course, most of the English countryside is stunning. It would be impossible to visit all the rooms open to the public in one day, but I did enjoy the ones I saw. Also visited Lady Chapel where Henry VIII is buried and saw his crypt. The word "chapel" is deceiving because it's really an huge lovely church about the size of a cathedral. There are many other notables buried there as well. 

I know this photo is tiny but I can't conquer my machine! Also I can't find all the photos I took on this trip so my words will have to do. My memory bank is almost empty and I'm tired so that's it for today.








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