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It had rained while we were in the Abbey, but it was nice and sunny when we came out. This kind of weather was typical, but fortunately, we were usually inside during the rain showers. |
Day 2 - Friday, May 14
When we finally arrived at Gatwick there was a traffic jam on the tarmac. It was maddening to be that close to your destination after nine hours on the plane, only to be strapped into your seat for yet another half hour. We had quite a few chores to take care of at the airport. The first was to find the toilet. Then we had to claim our luggage, have someone stamp our passport, get cash from a money machine, and buy tickets for the train to London. Since our hotel was near King's Cross Station, we took the Thameslink train. We arrived at the platform just a few minutes before the train left. I quickly learned that it was important to have your watch set accurately as British trains run on time. If you are trying to catch the 11:30 train, you had better be there by 11:29!
The train ride to London from Gatwick takes about 45 minutes. During that time, we saw a bit of the countryside, although we noticed that this part of England looks a lot like home. There were, however, beautiful Horse Chestnut trees in full bloom everywhere. As we got into the city, I observed that traveling by train takes you through the scruffier parts of town. British junk yards look a lot like American junk yards. When I saw the tall buildings of The City out the window, I knew we were getting close. We caught of glimpse of the Tower Bridge out the train window. It was very exciting to see, in person, such a recognizable landmark.
We arrived at our stop and walked up to the street. I had heard this station was in a rather bad part of town, but we never felt uncomfortable walking around central London. It was about a 15 minute walk to the hotel, which given our level of fatigue, was about all we could handle. It was very warm and humid and at one point we were ready to hail a cab, except we would have felt foolish taking a two block cab ride. We checked into the Euro Hotel on Cartwright Gardens. This is in a row of small, old hotels opposite a private garden with tennis courts. It had been recommended by several guide books and people on the Internet. The staff was very friendly but the accommodations were a bit more rustic than I had anticipated, considering these are mid-priced hotels (we paid about 80 pounds/night for a double en-suite room with full breakfast). Nevertheless, they are conveniently located on a nice quiet street near train and tube stations.
We washed up and rested a little, but we had to get moving since conventional wisdom says that if you fall asleep the afternoon you arrive, your biological clock will be out of whack for days. We walked south from the hotel down a very nice shopping street with lots of pubs, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. We stopped at a sandwich shop for lunch. British sandwich shops were a great discovery. They have all sorts of very interesting and inexpensive sandwich options. They made excellent lunches throughout our trip.
We had intended to take the tube from Russell Square to Westminster. However, when we got to Russell Square, we couldn't find the tube station, even after asking for directions a from a couple of shop keepers. We were now worried that we weren't going to get to Westminster in time, so we decided to take a cab. This was a wise decision, as getting from Russell Square to Westminster Abbey by tube requires a couple of transfers or a lengthy walk, for which we had neither the time nor the energy. The cab ride also let us see a bit of central London (the theater district, White Hall, 10 Downing Street) we otherwise would have missed.
When we got to the Abbey, we were shocked to see hundreds of tourists
queued up around the block. We walked up to a guard who was tending
the queue and asked him where we should go if we had reservations for the
2:30 tour. He looked at his watch (2:15) and look at the line (several
hundred people) and told us to go right in the side door (advanced planning
pays off!). At 2:30 a verger showed up to take a group of about 25
on a "private" tour, at least as private as you can get with thousands
of tourists milling about.
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It had rained while we were in the Abbey, but it was nice and sunny when we came out. This kind of weather was typical, but fortunately, we were usually inside during the rain showers. |
The Abbey was, of course, spectacular, not only because of the beautiful building, but also for the tremendous history of the place. Gothic cathedrals are marvels of engineering even by today's standards. How it was done 700 years ago is beyond me. Some people have commented that they didn't like Westminster much because of all the monuments, but I was awed by being in the presence of Edward the Confessor, Elizabeth I, and all those great poets, musicians, scientists, etc. The only drawback was the crowds who milled through like rats on a treadmill. I was glad we paid extra for the tour. It slowed us down and separated us from the rat race. We also got to sit in the quire and listen to the organist practice.
Outside, we took some pictures of the Abbey and the clock tower of Westminster
Palace (perhaps London's most recognizable icon). Our original plan
was to do a walking tour of this part of London and end up back at the
Abbey for the 5:30 Evensong service. But we were more exhausted that
we had anticipated, so we decided to go back to our hotel after a leisurely
stroll through St. James Park up to Buckingham Palace and down Pall Mall
to Trafalger Square. Trafalger Square is a riot of activity with
hundreds of people and thousands of pidgins. From there we caught
the tube.
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The palace is a huge complex. What you see here is Victorian, but parts are as old as Westminster Abbey. This picture was taken from the same place as the Abbey picture above. It would have been nice to walk closer to get a better view, but we were too tired. Big Ben refers to the bell which strikes the hour in the clock tower.
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In the tube station we bought tickets for the ride back to Russell Square as well as weekend travel passes, which we would use for all our tube travels on Saturday and Sunday. Riding the tube was very easy, although sometimes it seemed like we walked more than we rode on the long underground passages that connect stations. When we emerged at the Russell Square station we discovered why we had not found it earlier. The only access at this station is by lift from a building off a side street. We had walked right by the station without seeing it because I was looking for a hole in the ground with stairs.
We walked back to the hotel, rested some more, and got advice on places
to eat. The desk clerk recommended three places, serving Indian,
English and pub cuisine. She also said that I looked very tired.
We opted for the pub. Pubs are a British institution and highly acclaimed
as a great source of hearty, inexpensive food. However, we didn't
have that much luck eating in pubs. Most of the ones we tried were
either too crowded or too smoky. Nevertheless, the Goose and Granite
served us one of out best pub meals. My Cumberland sausage with onion
gravy with mashed potatoes was hearty and inexpensive, as promised.
I also had my first ever real ale. I have been a home brewer for
some time so frequent samplings of cask conditioned ales were a major priority
for me. After dinner, we went back to our room and collapsed.
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