Travelling the Thames

On June 3, 2012, the River Thames was host to one of the largest flotillas in history. Over 1,000 boats participated and the flotilla stretched 7 miles, from Battersea to the Tower Bridge. This pageant was part of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebration, and while it might have been one of the biggest, it was certainly not the first.

The River Thames has been the thoroughfare for many national events over London's long history. Everything from the lord mayor's show to state funerals have been held on the Thames. One famous funeral procession to take place on the Thames was Lord Nelson's. Kings and Queens have used the Thames for hundreds of years for celebrations and ceremonies. They felt that these events would bring the citizens closer to them and to their capital.

I spent some time on the River Thames today. After a failed attempt to view some of the Olympic Park, we ended up in Greenwich, home of the Prime Meridian and the National Maritime Museum. While the Royal Observatory is closed because of Olympics prep, we were able to pop into the Maritime Museum for a little while. I was inspired when I saw an exhibition sign on the entrance - Royal River: Power, Pageantry and the Thames. I will have to go back to view the exhibit, but it gave me something to think about while we took one of the Thames Clipper ships back towards where we are staying. I knew that the Thames had been used as a "road" to avoid the dirty, over-crowded streets of the city, but I never thought much about how it had been used for royal and national events. I was lucky to see some of the Diamond Jubilee flotilla on TV, but being on the river brings home just how big the event was. Below are some of my photos that I took while on the river.

Tower Bridge

Traitor's Gate - Tower of London

Shakespeare's Globe

The Search for Elizabeth I continues...

Westminster Abbey

I was excited for today's "field trip" to Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, and the National Gallery because I knew I would be able to continue my search for Elizabeth I.  

The day began with a wonderful tour of Westminster Abbey with Hugh, one of the "blue badge" guides.    Westminster was founded in the 11th century by Edward the Confessor.  This is the site of many royal ceremonies, including the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton last year.  

Westminster has been the site for every King or Queen's coronation since 1066! It is also the resting place for about 3,300 people.  Elizabeth I had her coronation at Westminster on January 15, 1559.  It is also where she was interred after her death in 1603. Elizabeth was buried in the same vault as her half-sister, Mary I; however, only Elizabeth's effigy appears on the tomb erected above the grave. Unfortunately, there is no photography allowed inside the Abbey, so I bought some postcards and took photos of those.

The Coronation Chair was built in 1301

Eiffigy of Queen Elizabeth I

After a lovely picnic lunch in St. James Park, we went to Trafalgar Square for some transportation photography.  Once I had my picture captured I ventured into the National Portrait Gallery to find some of my favorite paintings of Queen Elizabeth.  It was very exciting as I had only ever seen these portraits in books.  Seeing them life-size, and up close, was very cool!  As with Westminster Abbey, I had to purchase postcards of these portraits.  Photos that I took of the postcards are what appear below.  Enjoy!

The Coronation Portrait
Unknown artist, c. 1600
(copy of original c. 1559)

The Armada Portrait - attributed to
George Gower, c. 1588

The Ditchley Portrait
Marcus Gheeraerts
the Younger, c. 1592

 For more information about the portraits show here, visit: National Portrait Gallery - Room 2.

Weekend Fun

It is a rainy Sunday night in London and I am sitting with my flatmates, drinking tea, and doing homework.  This will be a bit of a long post since we did so much this weekend, but I will try to keep it entertaining!

If you have ever been to London, then you know how hard it is to figure out where to begin your adventures.   Fortunately, my flatmate Liz wanted to explore Kew Gardens and Brandy, Emily and I decided to tag along. It took us three Underground lines to get there, but it was well worth it!  The gardens themselves are beautiful and very interesting, however what I really wanted to see was Kew Palace. 

Kew Palace was built in 1631.

Kew Palace is the smallest of all the royal palaces. This residence was used by King George III, Queen Charlotte and their children. I am fascinated by our Founding Fathers and the early history of our country, so having the chance to walk through the home of the King who was on the throne when the Revolutionary War took place was awesome! As a student of American History, you don't hear too much about the real lives of the people on the "wrong" side of the war.  It was so great to be able to walk around King George's home and see what his personal life might have been like.  I walked through his daughters' bedrooms and saw where the King broke his fast in the morning. It is hard to think of someone as the "enemy" once you have seen such a personal part of their lives.

The best part was getting to see the Palace Kitchens, which only opened to the public in May. The kitchens are only partly refurbished, but they really gave a sense of what it was like to cook in the 18th century.

Brandy and I at Buckingham Palace

I think my adventures this weekend can best be summed up in a photo journal.  Enjoy!

Morning bus tour of London

Remnants of my first fish and chips in London

More crisps to try!

Pre-made and pre-packaged
cheeseburgers - yum!

Contemplation on Crisps

After spending the day visiting the Museum of London and St. Paul's Cathedral, we ventured into "The City" to find an historic London pub - Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese.  I have wanted to come to this pub since first finding out I would be spending part of my summer in London. 

My mascot and a pint of Samuel
 Smith  Old Brewery Bitter

This pub was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London (1666) destroyed the original.  It is of special interest to me because of all the amazing people who have visited the pub over its long history. Here are a few of the patrons you might know: Dr. Samuel Johnson, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Wilkie Collins, Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  However, the big reason behind me wanting to visit is because this was one of Charles Dickens favorite haunts. I just had to sit down in the Gentleman's Bar (it allows women now), and think about where he might have sat.  Turns out I should have had the guidebook - we sat at the table next to his favorite!

Five of us decided to visit the pub after the climb through St. Paul's Cathedral. We needed a rest and some fortifying crisps!  For you Americans reading, crisps are potato chips. As a rule, I'm a plain chip kind of girl. I might venture into sea salt territory, but that is as flavorful as I get. The one thing I have noticed about British crisps - they do not believe in plain! In fact, the crisps we enjoyed today were Roast Beef flavored!  I'll admit, the first bite was weird, but after that they were oddly delicious!  It was very Willy Wonka like - imagine the flavor of mashed potatoes and roast beef in crunchy form.

Upon further investigation, Walker's (Lay's in the US) has several interesting flavors: prawn cocktail, smoky bacon, and roast chicken are just a few. I have decided to venture into flavored crisp territory while I am here.  I will keep you posted on my gastronomical adventures!

Finding Elizabeth

"I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too." Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth Ornament - purchased at Tower of London 

Queen Elizabeth I, what a woman!  I have been obsessed with all things Elizabethan since I was a little girl.  Today I began my journey around London to seek her out.  

I spent my day exploring the Tower of London.  The oldest building in the complex, the White Tower was conceived by William the Conqueror in 1078. Since then, the Tower has served as a royal residence, a barracks, a mint, an armory, a prison, and housed the Royal menagerie. 

What, you ask, does this have to do with Queen Elizabeth I? Queen Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Queen Anne Boleyn.  King Henry VIII divorced his wife, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne.  Before her coronation, Anne spent time at the Tower of London.  She visited again, three years later, after failing to produce a male heir for Henry.  This visit was not as pleasant as the first, since she spent it in prison awaiting her beheading, which took place on May 19, 1536. Anne was buried in the chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula inside the Tower of London. We were able to go into the chapel, but there was no photography allowed.  However, I can show you a memorial on the Scaffold Green that was created to commemorate the executions of Anne and nine others that took place there.

Queen Elizabeth also spent time at the Tower as a prisoner.  Her half-sister, Queen Mary I, sent her there after Elizabeth was suspected in a plot against the Queen. She returned to the Tower in 1599 for part of the celebration of her coronation. Elizabeth continued to use the Tower as a prison during her reign.  

I look forward to exploring the rest of the city and seeing where I can find Elizabeth.  Stay tuned...

"George Washington Slept Here" - London Style

 If you travel anywhere in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic States, you are bound to see a "George Washington slept here" sign at some point.  Imagine my surprise to see a London version of this sign today while walking to the British Museum on Great Russell St.  Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a bright blue medallion on a green wall outside of a book shop. 

Sign outside Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers - 46 Great Russell St. London

I was so excited when I looked closer and saw that this was once the residence of Randolph Caldecott!  For those of you who aren't familiar with him, Caldecott was a nineteenth-century English illustrator.  He was known for his work illustrating children's books. Today the American Library Association awards the Caldecott Medal annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The Caldecott Medal is a big deal to children's librarians and seeing this sign made my "book nerd" heart very happy!  I can't wait to see what other surprises London has in store for me.

History of Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers

History of the Caldecott Medal

Adventures at the British Museum

It's my first full day here in London and already it was an eventful one.  I spent my morning at the British Museum - what an amazing place!  I think I would need to go there every single day that I am here in order to see everything that is there.  I kept my visit short this morning and tried to see the highlights - the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, and my favorite, the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos. It was mind blowing to see up-close and in person what remains of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World!  It is always humbling to see something that beautiful and old.  It really makes you think about the world we live in now. 


This picture shows two huge statues that were part of the Mausoleum.  They are believed to be Mausolus and his wife. 

I can't wait to go back and explore some more!  Also, I can't wait to visit the crepe truck outside the museum again - delicious!