Day 119 ~ London & The Wit and Wisdom of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

May 8, 2022

Low 60's, bright sunshine, a light sweater kind of day.

Queen Elizabeth II walked into a shop with her body guard. The shop girl did a double take and exclaimed, "Ma'am, do you know you look exactly like the queen?"

"How very reassuring," Her Majesty said.

Still not realizing who she was talking to, the sales clerk went on, "Have you ever met the queen?"

"No." Her Majesty waved a hand toward her bodyguard. "But he has."

~ A couple of actual queen jokes shared by our London guide Vanessa

Located on the bank of the Thames, the Tower of London is much more than a tower. It's a palace/fortress/prison originally founded late in 1066 after William the Bastard became William the Conqueror.

Today we're in docked in Tilbury, a bedroom community on the industrial outskirts of London. But our included excursion takes us by coach on a drive to the heart of the city. People have been living in the area since about 4500 BC, but there was no city until the Romans invaded Britannia in 43 BC and founded Londinium four years later on the broad tidal river that provided both access and protection. 

Sorry about the quality of this shot-from-the-bus photo, but here's section of a Roman wall still standing. (Those guys really got around, didn't they?)

We visited the beautiful St. Paul's Cathedral, but as it happened during the other time we tried to visit we weren't able to go inside. It is Sunday and we were not dressed for worship. But if we'd not been with a tour group, we'd have attended the service and worshipped with our Anglican brothers and sisters. 

Our tour guide told us that the Brits love to give buildings nicknames. The high rise in the distance with a noticeable bump out is called the "Kim Kardassian."

Charming old pub on the corner

Our next stop was near Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Parliament building. The old cathedral is over 1000 years old, and the last time we saw it, the exterior was black from years of pollution and neglect. It looks wonderful now.

We attended a "sung service" here when our daughters were very young. Sitting in that cavernous sanctuary, bathed in the light of glorious stained glass, and listening to the angelic voices of the boy's choir--it was a deeply moving religious experience and is one of my favorite memories of all time.

We only had about 30 minutes of free time to wander in the area. That is one of the problems with ship's tours. There's never enough time for us to explore on our own in areas where there is more to do than shop or sip coffee. We drove past the Museum of London several times and I remember enjoying that institution with our daughters very much. Why couldn't we have been given more time there? 

Big Ben in the background isn't the clock. Or the tower. It's the 13 1/2 ton bell, the largest of the five in the tower. And like our Liberty Bell, it has been cracked in the past.
  
It was lovely to be London again, but it made me wish we could rent a flat and spend a month wandering around the town, going to West End shows, becoming friends with the Tube and the train system to take day excursions out of town. 

Maybe we'll get adventurous some time and go it alone, but it really has been wonderful the way Viking has delivered this chance to explore in comfort and safety even in the time of Covid and war. It's just what we needed.

More soon...