Last summer, Joey & I flew to London to meet with my aunt who was vacationing with her friends from the Philippines. As a typical overnight weekend trip, we wanted to make the most of the time: first flight out, last flight in! We've been to London before and did most of the sightseeing in that trip. So, our first day was more of a relaxed one. It was just to catch up with my aunt and collect the 'pasalubongs' she brought from the Philippines. For our second day, we decided to go to the countryside and booked the Windsor Castle, Bath & Stonehenge Coach Tour with Golden Tours (www.goldentours.com). The cost was £102 per person which included a lunch pack. Windsor Castle (Address: Windsor SL4 1NJ, UK) Our first stop was the Windsor Castle. The castle is just 23 kilometres from London Heathrow Airport. While public transport is available, its frequency may not suit the times of your visit. Hence, it is best to book a coach tour especially when pressed for time. We were fortunate to have a very enthusiastic guide, Graham. He has been a tour guide for over 30 years and very knowledgeable and entertaining. He talked us through the important mementos as we walked along Windsor Royal Shopping Centre. The shopping centre is the passageway to the Windsor Castle. This is also the stop when arriving via train. The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland This is used by Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to present in all her realms except Scotland. The Lion and the Unicorn are symbols of the United Kingdom. Quarterly, the 1st and 4th shows three lions representing England, the 2nd lion stands for Scotland. The 3rd quarter shows a harp which is the national symbol of Ireland. The words “Dieu et mon droit” is the motto of the British monarch which means ‘God and my right.’ Historical Pillar Postal Box Each box displays the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch. This is the box during the reign of Queen Victoria. In the lower part, it shows “V R”, which means “Victoria Regina”. Regina is the Latin word for “Queen” so the whole thing means “Victoria The Queen”. Hence, the symbol “E R” means “Elizabeth Regina” – “Elizabeth The Queen”. We arrived early and we were the first group of tourists in the queue waiting for the Castle to open at 9:00 AM. Windsor Castle is one of the official residences of The Queen and has been home to the Sovereign for almost 900 years. Traditionally, when in London, The Queen herself spends weekends at Windsor. The Queen also takes up official residence in Windsor Castle for a month over Easter, known as Easter Court . During that time The Queen hosts occasional 'dine and sleeps' events for guests, including politicians and public figures (www.royal.uk). Since this is a functional castle, it is expected that security is very tight. On our way in, we passed through an airline-style security. Our bags were placed through an x-ray machine and we walked through a detector door. So, what was it like? The Royal Standard Flag When we visited, The Queen was in residence, signalled by the Royal Standard flag that was flown at the tower. Our tour guide told us that when Princess Diana died in 1997, there was a public outburst as to why there was no flag flying at half-mast at the Buckingham Palace in London. He explained that there was no flag because the Royal Standard only flies when The Queen is in residence. At that time, The Queen was in Balmoral Castle. The Royal Standard can never be flown at half-mast since The Sovereign never dies, he/she is immediately succeeded. As a compromise, on the day of Princess Diana’s funeral, the palace hoisted the Union Jack flag in her honour. Since then, the protocol has changed. When The Queen is not in residence, the Union Flag flies and has flown at half-mast upon deaths of members of the Royal Family. Graham gave us 2 hours to explore the Castle. He told us not to miss the 3 most interesting areas: (1) Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, (2) St. George's Chapel, and (3) The State Apartments. With the allocated time, we explored these areas, unfortunately photography was not allowed inside the Castle. Hence, most of our pictures were taken around the Castle grounds. Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House Queen Mary's Dolls' House is a perfectly-crafted miniature palace given by the members of the Royal Family, including King George V to his wife, Queen Mary in the early 1920s. Queen Mary is Queen Elizabeth II’s grandmother. The viewing area is a bit dark but from what we have seen, the Dolls' House had a breath-taking amount of detail in it, working plumbing and electricity, elevators and flushing lavatories, miniature crowns with actual jewels on them. It is said that every item is made exactly to scale. Truly, a well-thought and brilliant piece of art! It is worthy to note that this was designed for a woman, not a child. On our way out, we saw an elegant display of royal dresses of the young Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, some were gifts from the French monarch. As photography is not allowed inside the Doll House, I'm sharing pictures from an article in the Daily Mail UK: St. George’s Chapel St. George's Chapel inside the Windsor Castle is the final resting place of many members of the Royal Family. This holds a special place for Queen Elizabeth II as this is where her parents, King George VI & Queen Mother Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret are buried. We couldn't help to feel uneasy seeing the tombs, but then again, it was like walking through so much history. There were plenty of staff who guided us through our tour. They were very knowledgeable and I even asked about the tombs of the characters in the film "The Other Boleyn Girl". He showed us Henry VIII grave next to Jane Seymour's. He said that Anne Boleyn was buried in the grounds of the Tower of London after her execution. The chapel also houses an amazing collection of the Royal Family's religious possession. To this day, the chapel holds service and worshippers are welcome to attend. It is closed to visitors on Sundays. The State Apartments The State Apartments holds some of the finest works of art from the Royal Collection, including painting by Rembrandt. One of the rooms has the statue of King George VI with military weapons hanging on the walls and suits of armor displayed. Nowadays, it is also used by members of the Royal Family for official ceremonies, for entertaining or for hosting events in support of organizations which they sponsor. Since The Queen is in official residence, we were treated to a colourful spectacle in the quadrangle – the Changing of the Guard. We have never seen a castle with such grandiosity. This is by far better than Walt Disney’s because this is real! We were served with our lunch packs on the bus; it was a delicious portion of a ploughman’s sandwich, packet of crisp, a cookie and pack of nuts. We drove for 1.5 hours and continued our tour to Stonehenge, our second stop. Stonehenge (Address: Amesbury, Salisbury SP4 7DE, UK) A UNESCO-listed world heritage site, Stonehenge is an ancient temple aligned on the movements of the sun. The stones were raised 4500 years ago, by prehistoric people. For some, these may just be a circle of standing stones and may not be even worth the travel. Nevertheless, we are amazed by how this sophisticated monument was built with exact precision, considering the technology available during that era. The history of Stonehenge remains a mystery. There are theories that it was used as a religious centre and as an astronomical observatory. People flock to see how the stones are aligned in the direction of the sunrise of the summer solstice and the sunset of the winter solstice. Key to Stonehenge 1 – The Stonehenge Avenue 2 – Arrow showing solstice alignment 3 – Heel Stone 4 – Stone hole marker 5 – Slaughter Stone 6 – Station Stones 7 – Station Stone markers 8 – Sarsen stones 9 – Blue stones 10 – Horseshoe of sarsen trilithons 11 – Aubrey Hole markers 12 – Bank and ditch The biggest of Stonehenge's stones, known as sarsens, are up to 30 feet (9 meters) tall and weigh 25 tons (22.6 metric tons) on average. It is widely believed that they were brought from Marlborough Downs, a distance of 32 km to the north. Smaller stones, referred to as "bluestones" (they have a bluish tinge when wet or freshly broken), weigh up to 4 tons and come from several different sites in western Wales, having been transported as far as 225 km. (https://www.livescience.com/22427-stonehenge-facts.html) The Roman Baths (Address: Stall St, Bath BA1 1LZ, UK) On to our last stop, we drove another hour to reach the City of Bath, a city with rich history and has been home to famous Bathonians (term for somebody who comes from Bath) like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Manolo Blahnik (the shoe designer), Tears for Fears (musical group), among others. According to the legend, as retold by our tour guide Graham, then Prince Bladud had a skin disease and was banished from the court. One of the pigs also contracted a skin disease and got cured after rolling in the mud near the springs. So, Prince Bladud did the same, bathed in the waters and was cured. He eventually returned to court and when he became King, he transferred his palace to the place of his cure which was near the spring. He built spas (the word “spa” comes from Latin which stands for “Salus Per Aquam” or ‘health through water’) and baths around the city. He called it "Aquae Sulis" or "Waters of the Sun". When the Anglo Saxon gained control of the city, it became known as 'Bath'. We toured The Roman Baths. It is not safe to drink, swim or even to touch the water in the Great Bath because it is completely untreated. However, there is a drinkable spa water within the restaurant, which is included in the price of the admission ticket. Some tourists described its taste as “unusual”; Joey and I did not taste it. The thermal water is said to contain over 42 different minerals, the most concentrated being sulphate, calcium & chloride. The water is believed to be rainwaters that fell on the limestones of Mendip Hills near Bristol. Over 1 million litres of this mineral-rich water flow from the springs each day and are treated to make it safe for bathing in the nearby Thermae Bath Spa. "In Britain are hot springs adorned with sumptuous splendour for the use of mortals. Minerva is patron goddess of these." - Gaius Julius Solinus, 3rd Century AD During the self-paced tour, we also saw silver Roman coins on display. When the coins were excavated from a street in Bath in 2007, they were packed in 8 separate money bags, then joined together. This stock of money consists of 17,577 silver Roman coins spanning from the period from 32BC – 274AD. Though we spent nearly two hours inside The Roman Baths, it was still not enough to go through the numerous exhibits. We took a quick stroll to the city centre, treated ourselves with the famous cornish pasties (like Filipino Empanadas) before we headed to the airport for our flight back to Dublin, Ireland. It was certainly a day well-spent! Get 10% back from your Hotel Booking when clicking this button ->
October being a special month, it is always never too late for a last hurrah before the glitz and glamour of winter darkness engulfs us. We skipped the planning, packed our bags and went! Where to? London! You can never go wrong with London. It's only around the corner but it has everything on offer. Let us take you there!
The Big Ben When I was in USA for a work assignment in 2001, I frequented a shop named "Dollar Tree". Unknowingly, in one of my visits, I bought a metal-craft bronze Big Ben souvenir. After 13 years of owning it, I finally got to see the gigantic Big Ben in flesh! It was love at first sight; we did not seem to get enough of it. During our stay in London, we always ended up walking near the Big Ben, night and day. The Big Ben is one of London’s most resounding landmarks. You'll know that you have truly arrived in London when you see the Big Ben. It was featured in British films such as “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, “Notting Hill” and “Love Actually”. The Big Ben was the name originally given to the largest of the clock tower’s bells. Now, it's named as the Elizabeth Tower in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.
Big Ben Facts (Source: Visit London)
Houses of Parliament Next to the Big Ben is the Palace of Westminster, the official name of the Houses of Parliament. This is because it was the royal palace before the king moved to Whitehall Palace in 1529. Now the palace is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Buckingham Palace
We explored the iconic London Residence of Her Majesty The Queen. We visited early morning to skip the crowds. Obviously, everyone had the same plan and it was already busy when we arrived at 8:00 AM. With its elegantly-designed facade, the palace, which is perhaps the city’s most famous sight is truly "fit for a Queen". Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of the UK’s sovereigns since 1837 and today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch. It is used for the many official events and receptions held by The Queen. Queen Elizabeth II to Queen Victoria: How are they related? (Source: ThoughtCo) 1. Elizabeth's father was George VI. 2. George VI's father was George V, Elizabeth's grandfather. 3. George V's father was Edward VII, Elizabeth's great grandfather. 4. Edward VII's mother was Queen Victoria, Elizabeth's great great grandmother.
Buckingham Palace Facts (Source: Royal UK)
London Bridge vs. Tower Bridge
As we hopped on a London Night Bus Tour, we were beaming in anticipation. The bus will pass over London Bridge. We know by heart the nursery rhyme "London Bridge is falling down ..." and always consider London Bridge as a symbol of London. A mistake made over the world, confusing London Bridge and Tower Bridge. So, which one is which?
London Bridge – This is really just an ordinary bridge, sang in a song over and over as we were growing up.
Tower Bridge – Tower Bridge is clearly a more beautiful and stunning bridge than London Bridge. When you see the Tower Bridge, London always comes to mind. We walked over London Bridge to get a good view of the Tower Bridge.
We walked over London Bridge to get a good view of the Tower Bridge.
Tower of London A short walk from the Tower Bridge is the Tower of London which has served as a fortress, palace, and prison. The Tower of London, officially Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England.
We were there during the commemoration of the centenary of the outbreak of World War I. The area was installed with ceramic poppies.
London Eye
Things We Didn't Know About The London Eye (Source: www.EF.com)
Chinatown
Asian food is comfort food for us. And Chinatown in London certainly has something to help us hit the spot. Luckily, Chinatown is a very popular neighborhood and it is very easy to get to. Get off at Leicester Square Tube station, walk for 3 minutes following the signs and you'll be on for a treat. We grabbed some siopao, dumplings, noodles and duck dishes for our dinner.
London Borough Market
After strolling the banks of River Thames, we headed to this market for lunch. This is by far one of the best markets we've ever visited. A foodie haven with lots of stalls selling hot food, fruits & vegetables, olives, cheeses, meats, chocolates, coffees, breads and so much more. We walked around tasting a variety of things before deciding what we would buy. We made it a point not to eat before going!
The Market is located next to London Bridge station. If you're using the Tube, check the signs when choosing an exit.
Natural History Museum
If you saw the movie Night at the Museum filmed in New York, you may remember Sue (the T-Rex). But did you know that Sue is also in the Natural History Museum in London? The 3rd installment of the movie Night at the Museum - Secret of the Tomb was filmed here. Since we had few hours to spare, we stopped by and snapped some photos.
On the outside, the museum with its Gothic and Romanesque-style architecture looked like a church. In a way, it's a cathedral, but of nature. There was a massive stretch of queue, but it moved so quick that 15 minutes later we were in. We were greeted by crowds especially near the dinosaur section where Sue is the main attraction. There were plenty of things to see, souvenir shops and restaurants.
The Admiralty Arch
This marks one end of The Mall. Elegantly and beautifully-crafted, King Edward VII dedicated the structure to his mother Queen Victoria. It is not just a passage way; it holds office spaces, residences, and a soon to open five-star hotel. We walked through the arch from Buckingham Palace. A Latin inscription pays tribute to Queen Victoria where it says "ANNO DECIMO EDWARDI SEPTIMI REGIS VICTORIÆ REGINÆ CIVES GRATISSIMI MDCCCCX", which can be translated as "In the tenth year of the reign of King Edward VII, to Queen Victoria from a grateful nation, 1910".
Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Abbey The Abbey is an example of England’s ecclesiastic architecture; a feel of being taken back to medieval Europe. This Anglican Church is the heart and soul of Great Britain's spiritual life. It has played host to 26 royal weddings and 38 coronations and the final resting place for hundreds of Great Britain's legendary figures.
Westminster Cathedral
We attended an early Sunday morning mass at this Cathedral. Not to be confused with the more famous Westminster Abbey, the Westminster Cathedral is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain. Its full formal name is the Cathedral Church of Westminster. The Cathedral was dedicated to The Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to his Blessed Mother, his Foster Father St Joseph and St Peter, his Vicar. The Cathedral with Byzantium architecture might lead you to think you were in Venice.
West End Theater Land
A theater lover? Welcome to London's WestEnd! From Miss Saigon, Mama Mia, Lion King, Wicked, Annie, Matilda ... name it, London has it! If you're looking to book last-minute London theater tickets, go to the stalls in Leicester Square. They offer half-price and discounted theater tickets on the day of the show.
The Gherkin
30 St Mary Axe is a skyscraper in London's primary financial district, the City of London. Much of the building is used for offices and residences. It is informally known as The Gherkin since it resembles a pickled cucumber in the center of London’s skyline. More information: 13 things you didn't know about the Gherkin.
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is one of the world’s most famous stages. Opened by Queen Victoria in 1871, the hall hosts more than 360 events a year, including classical music, jazz, world music, circus, rock, pop, opera, dance, comedy and tennis. The Hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband consort, Prince Albert who had died six years earlier.
10 Downing Street
Say "Hello" to Prime Minister David Cameron (now Theresa May). 10 Downing Street in London has one of the most photographed front doors in Britain. The famous black door, made with a bomb-proof metal and coated with a high-gloss paint is said to only open from the inside. The brass letterbox (3) is engraved with 'First Lord of the Treasury'. The 'Second Lord of the Treasury' is the Chancellor next door at No.11. Since 1735, it has been both home and office to the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Important announcements have been made to the nation from here. Some of the most famous British political leaders have lived and worked in Number 10, including Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.
Paint them Red!
Q1. Can I still find a red telephone box? A1. Sure, can! We spotted one on the other side of the river from the County Hall. It's near the Westminster Bridge, coming away from the Big Ben.
Q2. And the red double-decker bus ride?
A2. It was sweet!
D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) Tips
If you are planning a trip to London, you may find these tips helpful:
Musings London with its openness and diverse culture is truly a heaven of impressive landmarks. I am always fascinated by stories about Kings & Queens, their palaces & castles; Prince & Princess and their happy-ever-afters. London and its Royal Family is the closest thing to my fairy tales. I would not mind going back to this beautiful city again in the future.
In The Press
Published in Travel Plus Magazine (Manila, Philippines) Issue 1 (Year 2018), Volume 9 Series 1 https://www.facebook.com/travelplusmagazine/ Published in Roots & Wings Magazine (Stockholm, Sweden) July 2018 Issue, Pages 25 to 33 http://www.rawmags.com/ |
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About MeI am a software engineer based in Ireland; a qualified accountant who made a 360-degree career shift to Information Technology during the Y2K era. Joey (my husband) and I have big appetites for travelling, learning new cultures, and a passion for experiencing varied cuisines. Follow us as we chronicle life's little perks! |