So yesterday (Friday) Ann and I walked down the Thames over to Westminster Abbey. I've been there before, and it's amazing. We walked around and looked at all the graves, headstones, monuments, etc. There are a LOT of dead people in there. I kept wondering how sanitary it is to be walking amongst all of these dead people. I doubt they had very good sealing devices back in the 1200s, etc. I'll bet I was inhaling a lot of old gross stuff I won't get into here.
At any rate, I meandered around Poet's Corner, and paid my respects to Charles Dickens, Ben Jonson (ahhhh-- sigh), Rudyard Kipling, etc. Oddly enough Charles Darwin is buried there. He doesn't have a neat epitaph or anything...just a name and dates. I suppose that's all the church could go with though-- seeing as they really thought he was full of nonsense (putting it nicely).
From the Abbey, we hopped on the tube and had lunch over at the Victoria and Albert museum. It was the first proper meal I'd had in a while-- lamb and vegetables. I think my body went into shock from the nourishment of broccoli. I have been eating a lot of meat and bread....I hope I don't come home with scurvy.
From the V&A we walked through Hyde Park, past the Albert monument into Kensington Gardens.
At any rate, I meandered around Poet's Corner, and paid my respects to Charles Dickens, Ben Jonson (ahhhh-- sigh), Rudyard Kipling, etc. Oddly enough Charles Darwin is buried there. He doesn't have a neat epitaph or anything...just a name and dates. I suppose that's all the church could go with though-- seeing as they really thought he was full of nonsense (putting it nicely).
From the Abbey, we hopped on the tube and had lunch over at the Victoria and Albert museum. It was the first proper meal I'd had in a while-- lamb and vegetables. I think my body went into shock from the nourishment of broccoli. I have been eating a lot of meat and bread....I hope I don't come home with scurvy.
From the V&A we walked through Hyde Park, past the Albert monument into Kensington Gardens.
The Prince Alfred monument is in Hyde Park, which is somewhat attached to Kensington Gardens. I've posted two pictures of the Alfred Monument here. I hadn't ever seen it before and was absolutely awestruck by it's massive size. Apparently Queen Victoria was devastated when her husband died (I think he died pretty young) and she erected a monument with representatives from each continent in the world at his feet. It's stunning and somewhat out of place amongst all of the green in Hyde Park, but I had to include another picture from far away to attempt to show the magnitude of its size.
Ann is a Princess Diana freak, so we went into Kensington Palace, which was pretty neat...though they had this weird shrine-type exhibit of her dresses and pictures of her...and even wallpaper with her image all over it...very strange. But I'm glad we went. Then we had tea & scones at the Orangery (picture), which used to serve as a greenhouse on the grounds of Kensington Gardens. It was a beautiful day, and did I mention that I love tea breaks? hahaha. I do have pictures, and will put them up soon. 
Then we came back home to rest before walking down the Thames in the other direction to take Ann down to Doggett's, a pub right near Blackfriar's Bridge. It's so beautiful to just walk down the river, half of the fun is just getting where you're going. I don't know how I'm going to appreciate my grandview walks after the ones I get daily here.
At any rate, we eventually parted ways. I wanted one more pint so I headed to the Stamford Arms and met some really nice people. One much older gentleman who wouldn't let me walk home alone. Really, he had a cane and terrible osteoporosis, so I offered to help HIM walk halfway home.
I adore the terms of endearment people say to me all the time. I like being called "love", "dahlin", "sweets", etc. Why can't we adopt this type of speak in the states? It's really good for your self-esteem, even if they don't really mean it.
Alright I'm going to go meet Ann and let her know that I got us tickets to see Mary Poppins tonight! Hooray! More later....
xx
Then we came back home to rest before walking down the Thames in the other direction to take Ann down to Doggett's, a pub right near Blackfriar's Bridge. It's so beautiful to just walk down the river, half of the fun is just getting where you're going. I don't know how I'm going to appreciate my grandview walks after the ones I get daily here.
At any rate, we eventually parted ways. I wanted one more pint so I headed to the Stamford Arms and met some really nice people. One much older gentleman who wouldn't let me walk home alone. Really, he had a cane and terrible osteoporosis, so I offered to help HIM walk halfway home.
I adore the terms of endearment people say to me all the time. I like being called "love", "dahlin", "sweets", etc. Why can't we adopt this type of speak in the states? It's really good for your self-esteem, even if they don't really mean it.
Alright I'm going to go meet Ann and let her know that I got us tickets to see Mary Poppins tonight! Hooray! More later....
xx
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