DAY FOUR

Saturday 31^st December, 2016

Westminster Abbey!

I am not sure how to describe this structure. It is huge. It is tall, it is glorious, it is regal, it is royal! It took hours to go through! And yes, we are getting used to the queues for entry into historical and cultural aspects in London and again lined up but this time for over an hour, but that’s what you have to do!!
Westminster Abbey is a Gothic monastery church in London that is the traditional place of coronation and burial for English monarchs. Neither a cathedral nor a parish church, Westminster Abbey is a place of worship owned by the royal family. It dates back to 1050 , and contains some of the most glorious medieval architecture in London-So of course, we had to see it!

Following the crowds, we proceeded slowly in a royal procession formations past the burial place of Elizabeth 1 and her half sister Mary Tudor. We walked on the memorial and commemorative stones of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Lord Tennyson, the Three Bronte Sisters, and most importantly for me, Handel who wrote The Messiah. There were so many stones and plaques and memorials to important politicians like Sir Robert Peel from Queen Victoria era, too many to espy and far too many to name, but they were all inside this Abbey. Marc sought out the burial site of Isaac Newton and yes, there was one orb missing as per Davinci Code….(the apple was missing from his gravesite memorial stone). The Pipe organ and Quire were enormous!

Reverently, I walked on the parquetry flooring where Charles and Diana married and imagined the red carpet laid out for William and Kate. They also had such a long walk to the alter where they were married! It is so hard to describe this architecture, the immense size initially, the grandeur, the ceremonies that took place, and the history!

I was definitely in my element! Loving every minute of it!

With Hyde Park on the agenda, past the Royal Mews (which sadly were not opened) we began our journey to the north side of London. But….my heels inside my boots  began to feel the consequence of walking (and walking and walking )for miles. Two blisters later, one very unhappy Lyndell, we painfully limped through Hyde Park, (well I did anyway!),  along  the Prince of Wales road to another impressive icon! The Prince Albert Memorial!

What can I say about this icon? Now this is not a statue or a plaque to the memory of Prince Albert- Queen Victoria’s husband. No this is a shrine, a building all its own. erected in memory of her husband who died at Age 47. Interesting that it was by public subscription that money was raised to erect both the Hall and the monument but Queen Victoria spent the money raised ALL on the memorial leaving nothing left to build the Hall – all £180,000. Gazing up into the heavens we looked upon the face of Prince Albert, surrounded by 8 statuettes, enshrined in gold leaf coated and expansive in its magnificence!

The hall was built by selling seats on 999yr leases – still available for re-sale now if you happen to have spare money doing nothing – and was to be named something else – that is until Queen Victoria announced at its opening, surprising everyone (but no-one game to argue with her,) that the hall was to be called, The Royal Albert Hall! . Her contribution to the building being £200 – the cost of two boxes that she joined to make the Royal Box (bit of trivia here – when the Royals are not using the royal box – the seats are available to members of the Royal staff for £5 each compared to the general public’s cheapest ‘seats’ – £7 standing room only spots up in the top most gallery – nose-bleed territory- available during the Proms). We were seated in the box next to the royal box and took the photos…..well at least I can say I came close to royalty…even if it was their ‘box’.

But I was suitably impressed with the building. It is so huge. It is deceiving from the outside in terms of size. They have used it for so many different concerts and events, tennis matches, dinners, even filling the floor to make a moat for Madam Butterfly, for general concerts, orchestras, the Beatles, you name it, they’ve been there. While we were looking around with our guide, it was currently being set up for Circus Soleil! A wonderful construction and although so huge, you could hear the individual words of the workers below as they tended to their task of setting up. Interestingly, the acoustics were shocking until the 1960’s when they hung from the ceiling upside down numerous ‘mushrooms ‘to assist with the acoustics making it what it is today!

As you walked around the building everywhere there were photos of famous performers or people and yes…even Kylie Minogue was also in one of those pictures!

The historical aspects finished with catching a black cab home as I was not prepared to walk all the way back with two huge blisters! Not at all! Another ‘tick’ to add to our list of experiences – a trip in a real London hackney cab.

Another day immersed in history. Oh I am so blessed!