Last day in London :(

 

Tower Bridge
The blue line / circle on the sidewalk is how to get to the museum

We were up ridiculously early to catch our flight back to England, where we have a bonus day (or half day) since our continuing flight home (via Montreal) isn’t till tomorrow.   We intentionally booked a hotel right near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge because originally we didn’t think we’d have time to see either of those on the first part of our trip.   If you’ve been following along, you’ll know we *did* get to go to the Tower of London, so today we targeted Tower Bridge - specifically going up top.

We followed this guy for the whole adventure

So we did that — and it was honestly, underwhelming.  It’s one of the few things on this incredible trip that I’d say you could skip.  Walk the bridge, take pics from the ground, but no need to go up the tower.   

The view

However - we paid for it, so we did it, walked both sides, took some photos, walked across the glass floor - then promptly got told not to (which is mildly disturbing lol).  

The glass floor view

Included with the bridge admission is entrance to the engine room museum so we did that as well, which was actually fairly interesting - maybe more so for Chris than for me, but even still.

In the engine room

It is only about 15 degrees, which is legitimately chilly after Egypt summer, but also - lovely temp for walking around town.  After the bridge adventures we went to Westminster Abbey which Chris was hoping we’d be able to get in, but alas it’s closing time was different from when we checked it before the Egypt portion of his trip, so unfortunately still were unable to enter and went for a bit of a walk instead.   

Enjoying our stroll

Somehow in the time we were in Egypt, London exploded.  Feels like the same volume of people as the Cairo Bazaar (minus the crazy vehicles and driving!.   But by now we were both good at navigating crowds so just continued our travels.  Chris wasn’t with me when I went to the Globe, so since we were in the area we did a pass-by there again so he could say he'd seen it. 

One more quick visit ;)

Then we went on to very near where our first hotel was in London to meet Linda and Jamie (and their friends Nancy and Jim) for dinner at a pub.  Lol it’s wild to me that it’s actually easier to coordinate meeting up for dinner when our respective travels have us accidentally in the same city at the same time on the other side of the world, then to do so at home where we live all of an hour apart ;). But welcome to adulting.  Anyways - it was an extremely lovely way to end the trip.

London Bridge and Tower Bridge

Tomorrow we fly home, and I think both of us are ready to be there!

This guy amused me to no end.
I wish I'd stopped.

London Afternoon Adventures

Hope, the blue whale skeleton, was the main thing Chris wanted to see
You kinda can't miss her ;)

So after spending the morning doing our own things, Chris and I met up at the Natural History Museum, for which we had purchased tickets in advance, and went in with no problem.  This one does not have AC and was *hot*.  Hot enough that we were mildly selective about what we wanted to see and how long we wanted to see it.  But we caught some good stuff and it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re around.  Lots more people here than we’ve seen most places - but it was also like 2pm, so that could’ve added to it! 

I've been fascinated by giraffes ever since our trip to Tanzania
So this was super cool.

Once we’d seen what we wanted to see, it occurred to us that if we were quick, we could get in the Tower of London today as well.   So we hopped on the subway and were on our way!  When we got there, the ticket person warned us there was only 2.5h till closing and they recommend at least 3h.   Since we weren’t sure we’d have time on our trip back (or energy!) we decided we could definitely make that work.  We walk fast ;) 

Also, we were late enough a lot of people had cleared out!

Chris’ priority was to view the Crown Jewels.  I actually had v little interest in that but was super curious to see what else there was to see.   So the first thing we learned is “the Tower of London” is not, in-fact, one tower but rather multiple buildings and much larger than either of us had expected.   So we found the one that housed the Crown Jewels first and there was *zero* line which was lovely given that we could see the path set up for where people are supposed to queue when there is one, and it was most definitely NOT short lol.   Photography is prohibited in there, so once we were past the door, no pics.  

The last photo we could take

You follow a set past through several rooms, all the rooms are quite dark, which really lets the jewels sparkle.   They do all have info plaques, and while it wasn’t crowded comparatively (see “no line” above) it was still cozy and you would have to be a little patient to see every piece in detail, esp from multiple angles.  The display with the primary jewels had moving sidewalks on either side which made me chuckle and is a highly effective way of keeping the crowds moving.  Although I learned later C looped back so he could ride the other sidewalk and see the other side of the jewels lol.

You can get a bit of an idea of the expected queues....

Suffice to say, I lost C in there early on and got out well before him, so by the time he came out I had read the map and had some idea of things either of us might like to see while we were there.   The white tower - mostly for C cause it’s where the armour display was and partially for me cause I like towers ;).  I spent a lot of time taking random photos while I waited for Chris, who I expect could’ve spent even more time ;). 

This still makes me laugh ;)

The embattlements which you can walk along that were even more cool cause every room we came to had different and interesting information.   

On our way up to what was a much longer and more interesting walk than I'd expected!

The prisons and torture chambers cause psychology and morbid fascination.   These actually were mildly less interesting *except* for the graffiti carved into the wall by prisoners over the years.  And some of the displays had really interesting history / stories to read.  

I loved the random animal sculptures throughout,
a reference to the menagerie that used to live there

And of course the medieval palace for Chris ;). 

Those who lived like kings, might've lived like this
I'll keep my indoor pluming and internet thanks ;)

There were random houses on the property with “private property” signs that we never really figured out who they belonged to.  And the Ravens of Poe’s legend continue to attack tourists ;)

Beware the Ravens

After the Tower of London we went for a stroll across Tower Bridge - we couldn’t go up it as it was already closed, but still nice to walk across and take some photos :)

Yes I quite happily walked across it again :)

Really long, jam-packed, day.  But was so incredibly worth it.   We can sleep on the plane tomorrow ;)

Independent London Adventures

View of London from across Tower Bridge

So today Chris and I went on different adventures for the first part of the day to see our own things, with a plan to meet up a the Natural History Museum mid-afternoon.  Chris was visiting a craft store and then the Wallace Collection (medieval armour) and the Victoria and Albert museum.   He’s not a blogger so that’s all you get of that adventure :). I can tell you the store errand was successful and he enjoyed the two museums.  I get the impression the Wallace Collection was slightly disappointing only because a section of it was closed for research, and he loved the V&A; but you’d have to ask him.

Random side-street on the commute to the office

For me - I took up commuting again ;).  My job at RBC I worked closely with some people in our London office, so I went to visit.  There are a few I’m really going to miss now that I’m moving to a new role, and I got to see most of them today, if only briefly.  The commute in was like every commute ever.   Crowded and busy with people very focused on getting where they’re going — be it coffee or office.  The subway was sardine-packed, not even enough room to read your phone.   The walk to the office was not far from the station, but what I really enjoyed was how the new and the old have combined over time.   Plaques remembering what was there before the great fire of 1666 alongside new skyscrapers under construction.   And some random streets or areas that just don’t seem to fit the hustle and bustle of office life at all.

Office Patio - pretty civilized!

The office itself has far more security than we do in Toronto - in any of the Toronto offices that I’m aware of (and I’ve been in a large number of them lol).  Apparently terrorism was a problem for a while, so it was unfortunately deemed necessary.   I needed to be on a list, then - even with a Visitor pass - Peter (my colleague) had to come down and escort me upstairs.   Can’t even get to an elevator without a badge.  This office is also significantly nicer than our Toronto ones ;).  Lol it’s newer than most, so fair enough, but still mildly envious.   Not envious enough to give up the upcoming remote role though!   

The old city wall and a random other building...

I had a tour of the office, got to see the lovely outdoor patio, chatted with some people, then Peter and I went for a walk around the area.   We stopped in this tiny random museum I would never have even noticed (also free) that is all about the City Wall that used to exist, and still does in places.  

There's a walk that you can follow where it used to be, but sadly didn't have time for that today.  

I loved this sundial, that's surrounded by England's history.

Shakespeare section for reasons that will be obvious shortly ;)

We continued our wandering and he was remarkably patient with my touristing as we passed the Tower of London and walked across Tower Bridge.  I was taking ALL the photos lol.

On Tower Bridge

Eventually it was time to head back.  I got to connect with one other colleague who wasn’t available in my earlier tour that I really wanted to say hi to, and then I had to head off because I had tickets for…

Pretty much exactly as I'd imagined it

A tour of the Globe theatre!   For those who don’t actually know me in person, I’ve studied a LOT of Shakespeare in my background (although you may have got that from the Chaucer infatuation in Canterbury lol most people don’t get to Chaucer without going through Shakespeare first).  It is, obviously, not the original - although you can see the site of the original from it.  The first one burned down - more than once I believe ;).   Being made of wood and with a thatched roof.   At some point someone shot a cannon from the upper level as an effect during a play and, well, it didn’t end well ;-P.   Anyways, a while back they decided to rebuild it using original materials and construction — with the addition of sprinklers and fire retardant covering in the thatched roof!   Apparently after the first season or two, they also changed the footing of the ground level to be concrete cause the dirt floor got dusty and miserable and/or turned into a mud pit when it rained.   Fair.   They do run all weather - comparing it to going to a concert in the rain.  It’s an experience.  The only exception in very recent years is they cancelled a couple due to extreme heat.

Rich boxes to the left :)

In the tour they’d park us somewhere to tell us stuff, and then move us to a different section to do more of that.  So we saw top row centre, middle row side, and ground floor other side, right by the stage.   This was actually incredibly effective as it let you get a feel for what it might’ve been like.   Some interesting pieces I found — the seats are wooden benches with no backs (with the sole exception being the royal boxes), and when you buy tickets you can rent a pillow to go along with it — definitely recommend this option.   But in reality, I would try very hard to get a front row balcony seat, cause (and I did this sitting in one) you could lean forward on the railing as a reasonably comfortable way to sit when you can’t lean backwards.  The ground level is an interesting idea and would certainly be a good view - but you can’t leave during the performance, so unless you’re willing and able to stand on concrete for a couple hours straight, I’d probably skip this option!  From today’s perspective, the historical “gentleman’s” boxes would be in a less-ideal location; we’re used to the point of going to a play is to watch the play, so front and centre is good.   But here, part of the point of going to the play was see and be seen, so the prime real estate is up a level immediately beside the stage.  Found that mildly interesting :).  But if you buy tickets, those aren’t the most expensive, cause you won’t actually have a great view of the stage.    The stage itself has two levels and trap doors both in the floor and from the ceiling.  The underneath of the ceiling is painted to be a night sky.   All of this based on drawings and notes from the period.  

The stage is broken in to three:
Heaven (above)
The Earth (stage level)
Hell (underneath - used for things like the burial scene in Hamlet)

By far the coolest part of this whole thing though is that while we were getting this tour, the cast was rehearsing for the play that’s opening next weekend.  This significantly contributed to the experience, because we got to watch part of actual play — so details that would never have occurred to me, like when ten people stomp on a hollow wooden stage at the same time, it makes a significant amount of noise.   And seeing how the actors adapt their performance for a round stage — for instance, some of the ones that had their backs to us when we were sitting far stage right, were doing things with their hands behind their backs or other random things that you wouldn’t see (or need) straight on but added an excellent nuance here.  We were asked not to take any photos of the actors, so use your imagination ;)

Anyways - it was really cool to see, the tour was interesting, but watching the rehearsal made it really amazing.  And constant flashbacks to some parts of my uni days that I really enjoyed :).  My Shakespeare prof in undergrad was incredible and really shaped my love for that work.

So after that, I found my way back to meet Chris (the hardest part of which was actually finding the subway 😂- had to go upstairs and cross a train platform before going back underground), and we had almost perfect timing meeting up which was convenient. 

Tower of London - which I didn't know then, I would see more of later that afternoon!

Chris does Canterbury

This definitely felt like a fun town to explore

The main reason for the stopover in England is that for Chris’ 40th birthday, he really wanted to see the tomb of the Black Prince.  If that isn’t your first choice of birthday destination, I can’t imagine why not ;-P.   Lol anyways, it’s a historic figure from the time period C is super interested in who died young, before he had the chance to ruin his reputation.  

Canterbury Cathedral

He is resting permanently at Canterbury Cathedral, and while churches aren’t my thing, English is and, well, Canterbury Tales ;). So I was just as happy to tag along as well.

Randomness inside the Cathedral - was actually really interesting to explore

The first challenge was getting there.  Not an insane challenge given public transit availability, but we didn’t realize the tap on / tap off part only works in London proper.   So when they came to check tickets on the train we tried to tap and that definitely didn’t work.    Fortunately the fare checker is clearly used to tourists and was super kind and polite - no snarkiness or fines or anything for what was legitimately an honest mistake.  Just sold us the round trip tickets so we don’t even have to figure it out to come back.

Chaucer Statue

Train ride itself quickly took us from city-London to farmland that felt very much like farmland at home.  When we got to Canterbury, almost the first thing was saw was the city gates that definitely looked appropriately castle-esque ;) 

Probably wouldn't have been nearly as charming if we were an invading army ;)

I had a Let’s Roam for Canterbury (well two actually lol), one of which referenced the Black Prince’s tomb, so we started with that one and found the start - on the way there, passing a statue of Chaucer. But the Let’s Roam wasn’t great and when we got to the Cathedral we realized they weren’t being precious about going in only when your assigned time was (we had tickets that were for later) so we prioritized that and went in to explore the Cathedral.   Some parts we could take photos, others (such as the Crypt) we could not.  Very cool and almost incomprehensible to consider how much history has happened in that one spot.

Chris meets his idol

After Chris finished his visit with the prince, we toured the rest of the Cathedral (there’s a library here too!  Alas, we couldn’t go in), and then continued on our Let’s Roam (which did not get any better - was super disappointed actually).   

View from the City Jail

The old city jail is in the tower entrance, so we went and visited it - some interesting history and good view of the city from the top.  Mildly amused that they have a plaque documenting the two people who escaped - one by attaching a rope and climbing down, and one by jumping into a passing hay wagon ;).  They also, amusingly, have an escape room which we did not attempt.

The leaning house amused me; it has a bookstore inside it

We explored the town for a while - like many places, most shops and touristy stuff was in one area, but the really cool old buildings / architecture / streets / etc.  We had lunch at the Old Weavers House - like really old.  1500.  Like a couple *hundread* years older than our country.  

We had lunch at the building on the left

Then we had time to kill before our train so we went for a walk along this really lovely trail we’d found earlier until it was time to head back to the station.

The trail followed the river, and these boats were ferrying tourists along...

Such a cool little town with so much history.  I’m really glad we got to see it.

History marks the spot where Thomas Beckett was murdered

At the foot of the Black Prince.   Couldn't have been all bad ;)