It finally happened. I finally got to go inside Westminster Abbey. I failed 7 years ago and I failed yesterday but today, today I succeeded. Man was it worth the wait. I also think I know why I was meant to go in alone: I spent 2.5 hours there. While I was off being a history geek, anyone with me would have been like "OMG CATY COME ON!" At it was, I was able to utilize my audio tour guide (narrated by Jeremy Irons) and take my sweet time.
I got to the Abbey at 10, so only half an hour after it opened. It was amazing first stepping into the Abbey and there being virtually no people in it. The enormous vaulted ceiling, the gorgeous stained glass windows, the numerous marble monuments, and best of all the High Altar where every monarch since 1066 has been crowned; all virtually to myself. OK, I will admit it, I cried a little bit. I'm sorry but it was just so amazing to be in a place that has been around in one form or another since the 1050s, so much time, so many stories, so much history. I couldn't believe that every monarch since William the Conqueror has been crowned in the same spot (well minus Edward V because Richard III killed him and buried him and his little brother under some stairs in the Tower and Edward VIII because he decided to marry Wallis Simpson for some inexplicable reason).
Another huge nerdy confession here: I took notes. Yes, I carried around my journal and paused the audio tour and wrote down what he had said. I had no choice, you aren't allowed to take pictures, so how else was I going to remember what I had seen? Some guy with an accent (Italian? Spanish?) laughed at me for taking notes in one of the chapels. Whatever, I wanted to remember the large black and gold fireplace-esque memorial was to Lord Hunsdon, one of QE1's favorites, and is the largest in the Abbey at 36 feet.
So Westminster Abbey is covered with memorials and tombs. I don't know how they find room for new ones. Every bit of wall and floor is inscribed with a memorial to somebody, extolling how awesome they were. In some cases, the people were only children when they died, yet their relatives were rich or important enough to get them a spot in Westminster Abbey. Personally, I feel you should have achieved more in your life than living to the age of 6 and then croaking to get a tomb in the Abbey, but maybe that is just me. Some of them are really quite interesting. Lady Nightingale's portrays her husband trying to fight off the skeletal form of death that has come for her. Romantic, if a bit macabre and strange. Lord Norris, another QE1 favorite, has his six sons kneeling around his and Lady Norris's effigies and since only one of his sons outlived him, he is the only one shown looking up towards the sky. Really, most of the people in the Abbey get more elaborate memorials than royalty. Some monarchs, such as Edward VI, Mary II, and Anne have nothing more than a slab on the floor with their name and the year to mark they're buried there. I actually missed them the first time around because who would think to look at the floor really?
Poet's Corner wasn't all that exciting. I mean come on, Jane Austen and the Brontes only got inscriptions? No busts or anything like the other dudes? So not cool. Scientist's Corner I also found interesting. There is this huge memorial to Darwin, yet isn't he supposed to be the blasphemous enemy of all that is Christian? You would think the guy who came up with the theory of evolution wouldn't be celebrated in one of Christianity's greatest churches.
I could go on (I took notes remember?) but I will bore you all no further. After returning from the Abbey around 1, I ran into a large group of girls waiting for some others to go out and just walk around. I decided to go with since I had been headed for Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park anyways and that is where they were going first. All of us then proceeded to walk the entire length of Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace to Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square to Chinatown. Basically, we walked A LOT. It was a gorgeous day out though, so it was very pleasant. Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park is incredible and definitely worth more exploring. The best part is that it is a 5 minute walk from Palace Court so any old day you can decide to pick up and go there. I still years ago. We also came across an open-air market in Piccadilly. I was shocked when I was able to browse through the stalls without anyone grabbing me or calling me "Pretty lady". It was slightly unnerving I must say. Also there is now a Ripley's Believe It or Not! in Piccadilly Circus. I love a Ripley's as much as the next person but they should be reserved for cheap, tacky, trashy places like Myrtle Beach and the Wisconsin Dells, not London.
All in all, it was a great day. I was glad to finally be getting out and doing things whereas the past few days have been more have to do this, have to do that. Tomorrow our graduate resident Philip is leading us to Portobello Road Market which I am incredibly psyched about. Haven't decided what to do with the rest of my day from there but that will at least cover my morning. So cheerio from bright and shiny (no one is shocked more than I) London.
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