We sent out our last little update as we were on the crossing from Calais, France to Dover, England. Heather got to see her white cliffs.
So London
Shakespeare Globe was quite cool, our tour guide was so enthusiastic. It turns out that this is the third globe to be built in this spot. The first one was burnt down. Yes that seems to be a thing in London, 1666 was a not so good year.
Tate modern is a very hip new art gallery next to the Globe. Unfortunately both Heather and I decided that we were in fact not really into that kind of modern art as such we didn't last long. The London bridge experience was quite interesting they had put a lot of effort into creating a interesting albeit 'authentic' experience. Not for the faint hearted.
Tower bridge is quite interesting, quite amazing to think it was built in the 1800s. We were in for a treat as we managed to see it open as well.
The Bloody Tower, better known as the Tower of London was amazing. Even to think the guards live there, apparently the crown jewels need guarding encase the huge safe is not secure enough. Sorry was not allowed to take photos of those. Warning to those embarking on a tour leave the most part of a day for this as our few hours didn't cut it.
Parliament house and Big Ben are an exquisite view first thing in the morning (7am) before all the crowds come to take their photos...which is exactly what we were doing. We also managed to get to Buckingham Palace before the crazy crowds got there too.
Westminster Abbey is gorgeous with beautiful high ornate ceilings, amazing stain-glass windows but unfortunately, a million and one people and no photography is allowed :-( Churchills War Rooms are an amazing underground system of tunnels, including ones reinforced with thick concrete, which give an understanding to what it was like in the tunnels during the Second World War. They show where everyone slept from the soldiers to Churchill himself, as well as an interactive history on Churchill.
We stopped in at the Australian War Memorial which listed the names of soldiers lost at War in combined efforts with the British Forces. It has flowing water to remind everyone of the sacrifices made by our soldiers. It was great to see that there was wreaths there from ANZAC day.
We explored Hyde Park on our way up to Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Palace. The London Transport Museum was full of interactive exhibits and real life old transport. It was great to see a museum that had been designed with families in mind.
We stopped in to see St Christopher's Chapel, located in the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, which is the smallest Chapel that we have seen as it only has 5 rows of pews that can seat 3 to a pew at a squeeze.
When you're a tourist in London there seems to be some things you have to do. Going to Abbey Road and getting a Beatles Cover shot is one of those things. Heather politely walked across the crosswalk a few times so I could try and get the shots I needed. Just down from Abbey Road is a small patch of grass known as Lords Cricket grounds. For some reason we needed to visit that as well.
Camden Markets are just on the edge of the canals and were the place of our first coffee and snack spot for the day. They included lots of souvenir clothes and so much yummy smelling food.
The London wetlands centre and Kew gardens were both good to visit and fortunately were less busy than some of the other attractions we had been to.
Stonehenge yep. On the way we stoped in to see Windsor Castle and Oxford. We stoped in at the St Christopher's Chapel, while there it seemed an appropriate place to light a candle for our friend who passed last year. I got my first beer at an English pub in the Eagle and Child in Oxford. We got to Stonehenge just as the weather cleared which was amazing. And we got to spend half an hour walking amongst the stones in a smallish group. It was great.
So we are currently staying with with some friends, Rachael, Kim, Molly and Jack, in Wallingford, Oxfordshire. Great to slow down for a little bit and catch up with ourselves. Next we are headed off to Wales to check out the home of Dr Who and hopefully get some rock climbing in.
Thank you for being interested enough to read up to this part. Until next time. Love Heather and Haydn
Credits:
Swag Man Photography