Londres!

Last weekend I went to London with my Mom. She came over to see me for the weekend, and stayed on a few extra days to see some friends. We stayed in Sloane Square. We both arrived Thursday night and celebrated with a first late dinner out, which was soon followed by several other late night “out-on-the town” dinners.

We spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday getting the most out of that beautiful and grand city. Friday began with a long walk through London’s central parks – Hyde Park (with a stop at Serpentine Lake), Green Park (with a stop at Buckingham Palace), and St. James’ Park (with a stop by some beautiful swans), which brought us to the Westminster Abbey area. We spent a bit of time in the Parliament buildings – perusing through the ancient building, hearing a debate in the House of Commons, and checking out the House of the Lords. After walking and touring all morning, we stopped at a traditional English pub for a quick bite to eat before checking out Westminster Abbey and St. Margarite’s Church, that lies just “à côté.” Westminster Abbey was jam-packed with ancient gems – tombs of Richard III, Queen Elizabeth and her half-sister Mary, Mary Queen of Scott’s, Henry IV... memorials for Poet’s like Dickens, Shakespeare, and more... I was blown away. After touring the cathedral itself we took a peek at the cloister, the Abbey’s museum (full of ancient clothes of the royalty listed above), and England’s oldest door – a wooden, worn away door supposedly dating back to 1030... Our day was topped off with a viewing of the musical, Hairspray, a musical that will never grow old. It’s hilarious moments, upbeat music, and treatment of issues of race and beauty image in the 60s make it a highly enjoyable experience... that is, if you’re one for cheezy musicals :)

Saturday. Saturday started off with a bang with a successful voyage on the Tube, and a tour of the Globe Theatre in Bankside, London. After a few moments in the Globe museum, we bustled to the artificial tree in the middle of the museum to meet our tour guide. The theatre was incredible. I loved its thatch roof and open ceiling. Images of Shakespeare’s plays sprawl before your eyes in the creative space ... even images from Shakespeare in Love! After our tour, Mom and I headed to the St. Paul Cathedral. This – like Westminster Abbey – is another sacred space full of ancient treasures. With a much more modern feel than the Abbey, this light, enormous Cathedral houses the tombs of other famous figures such as Florence Nightengale, William Blake, and the Duke of Wellington. In this Cathedral lies the famous “Whisper Gallery,” which you can access by climbing up a decent amount of stairs, to the first of several higher galleries. Mom made the trek up. I rested on the first floor, staring up at the massive dome, before heading down to the crypt. After the Cathedral, mom and I headed over to the Bond St. Tube station to see the Wallace Collection. We had a brief lunch there, and then spent a couple of hours looking through the free museum. What a collection! The mansion is stocked with Rembrant, Titian, Boucher, and Fragonard paintings, ancient furniture and portraits of various royalty... It was impressive. Saturday was topped off with a visit to another show – Billy Elliot! Although a bit more somber than Hairspray, it too was enjoyable – 13 year old dancer tore the floor apart with his accomplished tap, jazz, modern, and ballet dancing, as well as bits of gymnastics and singing here and there! “Dancing... it’s like electricity!”

Sunday. Palm Sunday. Mom and I went to Church at the Trinity Church of England in Sloane Square. It was a nice service. The Church was big, but small enough to maintain an element of coziness. After Church, we headed to the Charles Dickens museum. Oh, this was such a cool thing to do! I loved it! The museum was founded in 1925 in the second house that Charles Dickens lived in after moving to London. He lived there with his wife Catherine around the age of 25 for a couple of years. He wrote all of Oliver Twist while living in this house, some of his earlier, minor works, as well as the Nicholas Nichleby series... Original manuscripts of his works are housed there, including a rare, experiment copy of his Christmas stories, with a title page that was printed in red and green. After the museum, we headed back to Sloane Square to have some “down time,” and for me to get ready to go. We had an early dinner on King St. (which runs off Sloane Square) at a yummy italian restaurant, and then packed me on to the tube in time to make my night train back to Paris.