Nice Luncheon at the Eiffel Tower

Stratford out of the way, we got up early the next morning for a ride to St. Pancras International, the train station that is the London terminal for Eurostar. The high-speed train hits 185 mph and takes people through the Chunnel, making the time between the two capitols only two hours, fifteen minutes. An adventure in itself.

Arrival in Paris at the Gare du Nord was followed by an informative hour on a tour bus, seeing several monuments and buildings on the way to a wonderful luncheon. More on the tour in the next post.

Oxford University

On the way to Stratford we had a nice stop at Oxford. While the tour members who are Harry Potter fans were excited, I neither read the novels nor watch the films. Still, it was a nice morning's stop, fully steeped in British history and tradition. And anyone who spent a career as a teacher must feel awed to be present at one of the great universities of the world.

Trinity Church

Our tour to Stratford had made a stop at Oxford earlier and then taken us through the Shakespeare birth home. It was midday and of course, everyone was hungry. We were turned loose for 45 while minutes on Henley Street, outside the Shakespeare home, for a pleasant lunch and for some souvenir shopping. That is what most of the tour members thought. Having been told that there was no time on the itinerary for a visit to Trinity Church, we walked into a restaurant, ordered paninis to go, and ate lunch at a brisk walk.

The effort certainly paid off. The sense of pilgrimage could not have been completed without seeing the famed injunction not to 'digg the dust encloased heare.' With the walk, we had time to see the ancient churchyard, see the gravesite right front in the chancel, view the baptism and burial records on site, and look at the renovation underway at the old church. The pilgrimage was complete.

On Avon

For a literature teacher, for a drama teacher, for anyone who loves great writing, a visit to Stratford-On-Avon is more a pilgrimage than a tourist visit. Not much looks surprising, as we have seen photos of Shakespeare's birth home right in the midst of town, and we have seen pictures of the Hathaway house and flower garden out in a more rural area. We have seen it all, we recognize it, and yet we walk there in awe.

Truly our visit to the Globe Theatre two days earlier was more important, more alive, more of the essence of Shakespeare. Every time actors breathe life into Romeo and into Juliet, the spark kindles the flame and Shakespeare lives. Every time I have a ticket to a Shakespeare play I learn something new about the characters, people I know, and myself. But touching base with Stratford was very special.

Tower Bridge, not London Bridge

Among the interesting things to learn in London is that the London Bridge, the one that replaced the old London Bridge now located in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, is NOT the bridge most people think. It is a bridge or two down from the Tower Bridge, seen here, which is also NOT named for the Towers you see rising from the Thames.

Rather, it is the bridge that leads directly to the Tower of London, on the north bank and just to the left of the bridge as depicted here. And none of the bridges in London appears to be in danger of falling down.

Another location of wonder on our trip, visited just before tea at Harrod's (loved the scones!) was St. Paul's Cathedral. The central dome as seen above is just one of many jaw-dropping vistas in this, known more as the People's Cathedral. It is not to be missed.

Next post is on toward Stratford.

Certainly Not the Queen

We had a lunch break that allowed for a quick walk to Trafalgar Square. Along the way we saw a horse-mounted guard who guards a castle that is no longer a castle (but the guard is a popular photo opportunity!) and we saw the Queen. Well, certainly NOT the Queen, but an actress playing a reasonable facsimile.

Filming was taking place for some television or movie scenes and I was quickly shooed off. But my disarming 'Sorry, silly tourist' look worked as it always does.

Buckingham & Downing Street

We were rushed from the Tower by our Tour Guide, as we were scheduled to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, a short rainfall cancelled the event, though it could have been staged, with our guide suggesting there had been no rain and no cancellations and a Monday morning was vulnerable to a quick cut. We did see the Palace, though, which was quite close to our hotel, and did see a changing later in the week at Windsor Castle.

Buckingham Palace looked quite splendid in the sun. Despite the necessary security fences, all present were able to see the building and get pictures of the Queen's balcony, the guards on duty, and the gardens around the building.

The same need for security means that Downing Street, where the Prime Minister leaves at the famed #10, is no longer open to tourist traffic. The dead-end street is gated and closed to the public, so this is the best I will get as a view to #10.

Our guide did add an interesting note, hard to comprehend by an American so used to the deadly opposition of the political parties. When Gordon Brown became PM, succeeding Tony Blair, he did NOT move into #10. These men, members of opposing parties, had swapped living addresses long before. It appears that Brown, with a larger family, swapped places with Blair for the convenience of the families. A nice touch of cooperation among opponents that might be lost on an American audience loving the nasty interaction of political enemies.