July 8: Lollygagging in London

After an early wake-up and toast for breakfast, we made our way via the Great Northern railway line to visit the famous Tower of London! This historic site dates back to the 11th century, and was founded by William the Conqueror. Nothing in Canada is that ancient (except perhaps our indigenous peoples, but they were not apparently in the habit of building structures to last like they have in Europe). The Tower of London has had several functions over the centuries, including a fortress, a palace, and a prison. In modern times, it is a treasured historical site, and it houses the Crown Jewels - crowns, sceptres, orbs and swords that have been used in coronations of British monarchs, dating from back in the mid-1600s until Queen Elizabeth II in 1952.

The first part of the exhibit we toured was a brand-new-this-year initiative called Superbloom. The moat around the fortress used to be filled with water, but in more recent years was drained and covered with grass. The whole moat was seeded with millions of perennial wildflowers, meant to provide a place of beauty for visitors, and a feast for pollinators like bees and butterflies. It was beautiful!

Upon entry to the Tower of London, we aimed first for the line-up to see the Crown Jewels. This was a good call, as the line only got longer as the morning passed. Photos of the Jewels are not permitted, unfortunately. Two cool trivia highlights, however... The head of the royal sceptre is the world's largest cut diamond, weighing in at over 500 carats. And the coronation spoon - used to anoint the new monarch with oil (just like Saul or David in the Old Testament) - was forged in the 12th century (the oldest item in the collection).

We also explored the central White Tower, which contains a display of royal armoury dating back to the 1600s, including armour for the king's horses! Probably the most fun exploring of the Tower was in the ramparts - the walkways along the fortress parapet walls. We snacked on some potato chips and cold sandwiches from the Tower's cafe. We could have stayed longer to view the prison cells and medieval torture instruments, but we weren't too interested. We said goodbye to the Tower of London by crossing over the Tower Bridge, a classic London sight. This structure has a drawbridge function that can allow larger watercraft to pass through.

Lunch was at the Borough Market, a trendy area of tightly packed food stalls. The kids kind of hit a wall, not being able to decide what to eat, so parents chose for them; mac & cheese, shawarma wrap, iced lemonade and iced coffee, fruit smoothie, Japanese rice bowl, strawberries with melted chocolate. Not exactly a bargain, but you don't really find bargain prices here.

We continued walking along the south shore of the Thames, along a picturesque path called the Queen's Walk, commemorating the Queen's silver Jubilee (25 years) in 1977. The Queen just celebrated her platinum Jubilee (70 years) in 2022! This walk took us past the Globe Theatre (made famous by Shakespeare in the 1500s). We crossed back over to the north shore via the Millenium Bridge to walk towards St. Paul's Cathedral.

St. Paul's is the world's largest Anglican cathedral. There has been a church of some kind on this site since A.D. 604! This was back when London was part of the Roman empire, and called "Londinium". Visiting here might have been our family's highlight of the day. You could spend hours just sitting in the space, observing the elaborate artwork, being reminded of God's majesty and holiness. We also climbed the CRAZY spiral staircases to the observation decks, something like 30 stories high! Hot and sweaty and chest puffing, but so fun!

The most amazing part of St. Paul's was staying for the Evensong service. We got to sit in the actual choir risers, behind the altar! It was amazing to hear the choir (mostly made of boys and men) in a space built for such sound, with music composed specifically for this kind of service. I liked what they wrote in the service leaflet: "When you come to Evensong here, it is as if you were dropping in on a conversation already in progress - a conversation between God and his people which began long before you were born and which will continue long after your death. So, do not be surprised or disturbed if there are some things which you do not understand straight away. For a brief moment, you step into the continual stream of worship which is being offered today and which will be offered to the end of time. You are one with those who worship here on earth and in heaven."

The day was capped off by dinner at the Punch & Judy Pub (founded in 1787) in Covent Garden, then taking the Tube back to Pauline & Dave's. Beth's pedometer clocked in at over 25000 steps! A full and tiring day!