Wednesday, May 28
After a plenteous English breakfast in the hotel, we started our day by heading to the Tower of London, a castle whose architecture is comprised of myriad time periods–including early Saxon fortifications and nineteenth century additions–but made famous and built primarily by William the Conqueror in the eleventh century. We had the chance to tour the Tower–though only part, sadly–and therein saw sundry royal crowns and jewelry (no photographs allowed). The tour guides are called ‘beefeaters.’
Next, we saw the Church of All Hallows, wherein John Quincy Adams was married, and upon the tower of which Samuel Apes [this could be the wrong last name] observed the Great Fire of London in 1666. After our tour of the Tower, we a grabbed a quick lunch (I ate ate Eat, an organic fast food restaurant, much like Pret a Manger), and then saw Jenny Deloach, who was with Franklin High. [Jenny used to go to FCS – small world, huh?]
We then headed to Westminster Abbey–perhaps the most glorious sight I have ever seen. I saw Poet’s Corner, England’s Coronation Chair, many tombs of kings, and intricate architecture everywhere. The splendor of the abbey made me excited about heaven, thinking what it might look like if we humans can create such beautiful structures. We then made a short stop at St. James Parish, what Christopher Wren considered his greatest work.
After logging on in the Apple Store, I did various shopping, buying a chart of royal England, a London jacket, and two books: The Crisis and The Crossing.
~James C.
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- A two-story Apple store on Regent Street
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- A traditional English telephone booth (they have these everywhere)
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- Part of Westminster Abbey
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- The Tower bridge, on the Thames and right across from the Tower of London
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- A frontal view of Westminster
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- Part of the Tower of London
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- The tympanum of Westminster (notice the great attention to detail)
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- St. James Church
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- Some [tiny] steps in the Tower of London
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- A small, extremely detailed niche on Westminster
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- The Tower of London
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- The Tower of London, again (look how green the grass is!)
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- All Hallows Church, a few hundred yards from the Tower of London
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- A wall near the Tower of London, dating from the time of ancient Rome (a statue of Tiberius stands in front)
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
One thing I’ve noticed about the architecture in England, is the extraordinary attention to detail. For this reason, I would suggest clicking on some of the pictures to see a larger image–you’ll be able to see the architectural intricacies better.
That detailed niche is amazing! Are there people who still do such detailed art?
The buildings are beautiful!
Very nice photography.
James, I like the way you recount the journey and I love the pictures.
Dad
I wish people still made such detailed art and architecture. I’m sure some do, but find me one modern building that looks as beautiful and functions better than Westminster Abbey… I think you’ll be hard pressed to find anything at all. For that reason, this trip actually made me want to become an architect 🙂 I’ll probably just stick with linguistics though…
Unfortunately, I don’t think this modern world would be willing to pay for such detail.