Two close calls

We spent a lively morning at Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill. This market goes on for blocks and blocks down Portobello Road and has antiques, clothing, food, music and lots of other stuff. It is literally wall to wall people in the street between all the vendors, SO busy but so fun.

After we were done shopping we went back to the hotel to drop off our purchases then headed to the tube station to go to Waterloo train station to go to Winchester. We got to Waterloo and found a train to Winchester that left us about 1 minute to run from platform 1 (where the list of departures was) to platform 12. So we ran to the platform and jumped on the train just as the doors were closing, close call #1. Once we got on the train and found seats we looked at the ticker that listed the stops and we didn't see Winchester on the list but the train had already left the station so we were stuck. A small moment of panic.  But then the ticker started over again and Winchester was at the beginning of the list, close call #2. We almost had a misadventure. We did indeed make it to Winchester to see Winchester Cathedral.

Winchester Cathedral is the longest medieval cathedral in Europe owing to extensive remodeling over the centuries. Construction on the cathedral began in 1079 and changes and additions continued until the 16th century.

My favorite part of this cathedral is that we were allowed into the Triforium Gallery. This is the area behind the second set of arches:

Some architectural trivia for you: the bottom level is called the arcade (this is the ground floor), the second level of arches is the triforium gallery and the third and highest level of arches is called the clerestory. We were told this in one of the churches we visited but I had to look it up to double check...

We got to see the original wooden beams and ceiling while we were in the triforium gallery.

Looking down

The other really cool part of our visit was that the local choir and full orchestra were rehearsing for a concert this evening so we got to listen to beautiful music and we wandered around the cathedral.

The choir

 Here are some other pictures around the cathedral:

We ate our lunch on the grass 

The nave

A memorial to Jane Austen who is buried here

The font

Have a good weekend!

A church, a horse, a museum

We spent the morning in Westminster Abbey, along with about 1,000 other people... Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures so I don't have any to show you. This was our second time inside Westminster Abbey and Tommy and I decided that it should be our last. There are so many memorials and stuff packed into the Abbey that it's hard to maneuver around and see the cool tombs and architecture.    Also, admission is quite pricey.

After the Abbey we decided to walk down Westminster Bridge a little bit to get a better look at Big Ben and Parliament as well as the Thames.

The London Eye, take a ride for almost $30 a person...

We were here

some new stuff

We also walked past the Horse Guards (I don't know what they are guarding).

The Prime Minister lives down here, past the man with a very large gun:

Then we headed to the Victoria and Albert Museum. There is everything from Samurai armor to china to rugs to costumes.  Hope you have a wonderful Friday!

France sent their children to Canterbury

Today we visited Canterbury Cathedral. We got up early so we could catch the train that only took 1 hour to get to Canterbury instead of 2 hours. As we were walking from the train station on our way to the cathedral we happened upon the prettiest park EVER called Westgate Gardens!

Does anyone want to give me lots of money so I can buy that house?

Weird tree

After we were done moseying through the park we headed towards the cathedral.

Quick rundown on the history of Canterbury Cathedral. Saint Augustine was sent to Canterbury in 597 by Pope Gregory the Great as a missionary where Saint Augustine established his seat. In 602 St. Augustine dedicated the church to Jesus Christ and the cathedral is now considered the mother church of the Anglican communion. The cathedral has been added onto by a few different archbishops. The Quire was completed in 1184 and the existing Nave was completed in 1405.

Among the important people buried in the cathedral is Saint Thomas Becket. He was the Archbishop from 1162 until he was murdered in 1170. He disagreed with King Henry II about the rights of the church and was murdered by some of the King's followers in the cathedral in this very spot:

A shrine for St. Thomas was built using money from all the pilgrams that made the treck to the cathedral to pay respects to St. Thomas. The original shrine was was destroyed by Henry VIII and a candle is always lit where the shrine stood:

Also buried here is The Black Prince, the Prince of Wales. He was a great military leader and was very popular. He died 1 year before his father, King Edward III and is the first prince to not become king.

Here are some more pictures from inside the cathedral.

The Nave

The Quire

The only thing that marred our day in Canterbury were the hordes of French school-aged kids. They were EVERYWHERE. I'm pretty sure there were no children left in France...

Tower of London

We spent today at the Tower of London. William the Conqueror began building the tower in the 1080's and successive kings added on to the tower.  Henry VIII added on the royal residences for Anne Boleyn, however she didn't have the chance to enjoy them... Henry VIII used the tower as a prison to house religious and political prisoners as well as Anne Boleyn and Jane Grey.

Here are some photos.

Traitor's Gate

Waterloo Block, home of the Crown Jewels

One of the Ravens. I named him Bill.

The ravens are a big part of Tower legend. The legend is that Charles II was told that if the ravens left the Tower, the kingdom would fall. Our Yeoman Warder tour guide told us that the flight feathers have been clipped on the ravens. He also added that if you think it's animal cruelty you should know that the ravens at the tower live from 5 to 30 years compared to about 5 years in the wild. Also, they get a hard boiled egg every other day in addition to high quality meats.

Prisoner carving by Sir Phillip Howard, Earl of Arundel

Some prisoners hired stone masons to carve.

View from the entrance. Our Yeoman guide told us they drained the moat so they could mow the grass today...

Tower Bridge

Tomorrow we are heading to Canterbury for the day, the headquarters of the Anglican Church.

The British Museum and Around

Hello! Sorry about the delay in posts. Two days ago we left York for London on what should have been a 3 hour tour, a three hour toooour... When, apparently all the signals at Kings Cross station in London failed so no trains were allowed in or out of the city. We ended up being on the train for almost 6 hours before they let us off at some station outside of London where we were able to get on the tube and ride that to our hotel. Then last night I (Libby) ended up with a really bad migraine so I didn't write a post.

I do have some pictures from yesterday though. We went to the British Museum which is a really fun museum with artifacts from all over the world and all through history.

Rosetta Stone

sarcophagus 

Nereid Monument

Easter Island statue

mummy

After we were done at the museum we decided to take to tube to the Westminster area and see Big Ben and Trafalgar Square.

Westminster Abbey

National Gallery behind the fountain

Tomorrow we are going to the Tower of London! Hope you are having a good week so far!