February 19, 1999

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London Travel Journal

Friday

We wake around 7am, shower (the "shared bath" on our floor is no problem; to date, I've not had to wait), and bounce (well, kind of) down the lovely stairway to the Breakfast Room for breakfast. The Full English Breakfast, which is included in the room price, is ~ without exception ~ perfect every morning. The tea is served in an individual restaurant-style teapot, and is PG Tips (bagged), a standard British everyday tea. The Full English Breakfast consists of choice of cold cereal or porridge; grapefruit sections or eggs with bacon or kippers; wheat toast with jam; coffee/tea. It is very good and quite filling. And ... I tried the kippers and survived!

The weather is wonderful today ~ sunny and mild! We ride the tube to Westminster Station, hoping to catch the House of Commons in session. They are, however, not sitting on this particular Friday. I am not prepared for the breathtaking site as I step out onto the pavement ~ Big Ben! Oh! What a sight! Magnificant and majestic, towering above people and buildings, buses and cars. The sun shines just right and the gold around the clockface glistens! The Clock Tower ~ the symbol of London ~ dates to 1858 and contains the 13-ton bell known as "Big Ben," which chimes on the hour and the quarter-hour.

We walk past the Houses of Parliament, properly known as the Palace of Westminster, established by Edward the Confessor in the 11th century. I notice the statue of King Richard the Lionheart. Ah, yes, statues ... statues are everywhere in London. I see an imposing Winston Churchill and others in a park across the street...

Approaching Westminster Abbey is thrilling! It is beautiful. After paying the £5 entrance fee, we decide to take the audio tour (an additional £2) which proves to be an excellent decision. (We can't wait on the next guided tour because of a 3:00 tea reservation.) The audio tour is super. I learn so much ~ founded in the 10th century, Westminster Abbey is the tallest Gothic building in the British Isles; almost all the monarchs of England have been crowned in the Abbey and most are buried there. It remains a living church, belonging to The Church of England.
My favorite place in the Abbey is Poet's Corner, an area immortalizing the great poets, writers, and composers of Britain. I feel an aura as I approach. This is where Chaucer is buried, as well as Tennyson, Robert Browning, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, and others; composers buried here include George Frederic Handel, Benjamin Britton, and Henry Purcell. I must touch, feel the tombs and monuments; looking isn't enough. So awesome. Here are also memorials to others ~ Lewis Carroll, D.H. Lawrence, W.H. Auden, Jane Austen, and The Bard, to name a few. And, of course, looking down the Nave I can't help but remember the funeral of Princess Di. I relive that moment in time in my mind. Westminster Abbey is almost too much to "digest" at one time. All around me are magnificant sculptures of saints, philosophers, and kings. There are a lot of people here today, but walking is not at all uncomfortable. The audio tour allows me to move along at my own pace, which I rather like.

Leaving the Abbey, we pop into the church next door, St. Margaret's, site of the wedding of Winston Churchill, and parish church of the Houses of Parliament. A lovely little church, with individual needlepoint kneeling cushions in every row. Sir Walter Raleigh is among the notables buried here, minus his head, which had been removed at Old Palace Yard, Westminster, and kept by his wife, who was said to be fond of asking visitors, "Have you met Sir Walter?" as she produced it from a velvet bag. Talk about that British sense of humor!

Afternoon Tea beckons, so we tube to Hyde Park Corner Station and walk to The Dorchester, London's opulent hotel: 1,500 square meters of gold leaf and 1,100 of marble gild! We have a 3:00 tea reservation. This is the one I have been waiting for, and I am not disappointed. What a lovely place! I feel like royalty from the moment I walk in. Mary and I check our coats and bags (we're so grown up!) and do the obligatory Ladies' Room check. We could have stayed there all afternoon! Lovely little room, with a dressing table, linen hand towels.
We are seated at a table for two along The Promenade, where tea at The Dorchester is traditionally served. It is so much fun watching others having tea ~ a mum and her young daughter; a Japanese man and woman; two women; two men; a young man and woman. Such a lovely, refined atmosphere. Our server, Carleen, from Austria, is very knowledgeable and kind. The table is set with a beautiful Wedgewood service. The linen napkins, which Carleen places in our laps, are embroidered, "The Promenade." We order our tea: The Dorchester Blend. Again, a hot water pot is offered. (I like this. It's something I never see in America.) Everything is excellent! Sandwiches include: smoked trout; salmon; egg salad; cucumber; and chicken. The scones have a "dinner roll" quality, two are plain and two contain raisins, and are offered wrapped in a linen napkin upon a separate plate. Of course, jam and clotted cream are offered. Desserts are The Dorchester's signature fancy white chocolate "parcels" wrapped around amaretto cherry mousse; miniature coffee "eclairs;" coffee and chocolate torte; almond and fruit tartlets; and orange citrus cake. The sandwiches and desserts, laden on large silver trays and served with silver tongs, are presented by servers, table by table. It is hard not going for seconds (or thirds or fourths) of everything! The price is £19.5, which includes the service charge. I highly recommend Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester. It is exquisite.

With full stomach's, it's back to the hotel for a short rest (literally, minutes) and a change of clothes, and then out we go again, headed for an evening guided walking tour. It is drizzling, so we cleverly wear our clear plastic drizzle boots (you know, the kind your grandmother used to wear?) so we won't have to worry about wet feet while on the walk. (We bought these at Wal-Mart before we left for about $9, and they prove to be worth their weight in gold tonight. While others are trying to dodge mud puddles in the dark, we confidently march on!)

Alighting from the Tower Hill Station in the rainy darkness, we join up with a group for the infamous "Jack the Ripper Haunts" walk through London's East End. Our guide is a retired City of London detective, and recognized expert/author on the Jack the Ripper crimes. He is an excellent storyteller and speaker for the walk, which lasts about 2 hours. The entire area is still very much like it was in Victorian England .... dark, seedy, almost scary! This is so much fun! The London Walks organization hosts a number of fine walking tours.

After the walk, we stop in for a cider at the well-known Blackfriar Pub, with its inlaid mother-of-pearl, wood carvings, stained glass, marble pillars, and reliefs of monks, fairies, and friars ~ satirically ecclesiastical! We then head "home," and call it a night.