A TRYST WITH ENGLAND : PART 2
A TRYST WITH ENGLAND : PART 2
After a good night's sleep and a typical English breakfast of muffins, poached eggs , bread , hash browns ,fresh orange juice and coffee , we imaginatively used the red " hop on hop off " open top bus to take us to where ever we wanted to go. That was our strategy to be where we wanted , at our own time , without the limitations that a London cab or any public transport would have imposed on us. It worked perfectly well. All you need is to time your visits . it does not matter if you do not stick to it, in a sense. Not unless your objective to to cover all the places. Ours was not. We soaked in each as much as we wanted and then went to the next. There was history to be immersed in and silent conversation to be had with Kings , likes of Shakespeare , Newton and Charles Dickens. Fortunately for me , my son , too felt so, more out of curiosity than a sense of history I guess!
As the Big Ben's chimes sounded out the hour, the Parliament house did seem to proclaim itself , in true majestic splendour, as the seat of Democracy, for all of the world. No where else can one feel the shear might of " power to the people" than in this edifice. A chat with the guards helped me understand the enumerable entrances and hall ways. All seen from the outside, as visitors were not allowed on all days.
Parliament started life as more of a talking shop for the kings and clergy and later morphed into the form seen today.
The Houses of Parliament, otherwise known as the Palace of Westminster, symbolises Great Britain. Decisions made in its corridors of power have shaped Britain, past and present.
The building that sits proudly on the banks of the Thames is the New Palace, built around 1840's.
The Palace was remodelled many times and when a fire destroyed most of the old structure, today’s Perpendicular Gothic building was constructed , containing 1,100 rooms around two courtyards covering eight acres with an impressive 266m river frontage. Standing proud of the main building is the clock tower, home of the bell, affectionately known as Big Ben.
Westminster, across , had its own charm. The area is the centre of the UK government, with Parliament in the palace of the Westminster and most of the major Government ministries known as Whitehall. Stand close to Number 10 Downing street, if you can manage , the residence of the British PM since 1905, you may see in your mind, Margaret Thatcher emerge from the ornate and wood door . Close by , few blocks and streets away, after a few minutes walk , you come across Churchill's war room, where an underground cellar ,he conducted and supervised the War for the allies while Hitler bombed the hell out of London , at will.
The awesome Westminster Abbey, deserves more space and will be dealt in part 3.
A walk through Hyde park , spread across over 600 acres ,including the Kensington park ,acres of wooded thick greenery , will remind you of its past. This was originally a hunting ground in the sixteenth century and now is a Center for staging demonstrations. You come across the " Speakers Corner" which allows anyone to stand on a small elevated block and speak against or for any subject under the sun . You are not allowed to instigate anyone though! This is a immensely satisfying walk with breath of fresh sweet air.
At one end of the park you can have your rendezvous with her Majesty the Queen of England. The Buckingham palace , spaced over 77000 sq Metres, is the Queens residence. It was constructed in the1830' s or so . Hitler managed to land a few bombs during the war and the place probably underwent quite a few renovations. The queen does not own it though! It belongs to the government. That surely is convenient ,I thought. She does not have to maintain it !
Once again the British keeps preserving their history while embracing modernity. You see that in the Changing of the guards every morning , in the forecourt of the palace. Every day during summer and alternative days during winter. Our timing turned out to be wrong as we came on the wrong day. We made do with the place guards instead. The guards for the famous attraction are picked form various regiments and are from the Scotts, Welsh, Irish and Grenadiers. And here is a secret: they can be identified by the way and the grouping of the buttons on their coats and a different coloured plume on their helmets . Don't ask me how i know this! Shhh.. Ok...
the queen told me. Ha ha.
A bunch of school kids , in grey uniforms and red scarf's , led by their teachers ,were singing , chatting and emersed with them self, least enamoured by the queens residence. Maybe, one of them could end up occupying number 10 and thereby advising the queen , I wondered.
After a long walk around the palace we returned to Hyde park. Formally and informally dressed Brits, men and women, tourists , all came from wherever and sat on the numerous benches at the park and munched their lunches. And not a square inch of litter anywhere! I grabbed a burger and French fries from the only eatery nearby while the youngster picked up Fish and chips. All washed down with coke and Americano. We too sat on a nice little bench , nice and relaxed , watched the world go by, as we munched our lunch. I took in the beauty and history of the park and of the British monarchy and a few hours of some finest moments went by.
We spent some moments in St Margaret' s Chapel. One of the oldest churches , built in the 12th century and rebuilt later in the 16th, is located in the Westminster Abbey. Several British royals got married here and so did Churchill. It's Flemish stained glass looked unique. The actual Abbey deserved a more leisurely visit and was thus kept for the next day.
A drive through Kensington informed us how the rich and famous reside. We peeped into Harrods, Harvey Nichols of Lady Diana fame, and some other famous stores. Window shopping , mind you. Beautifully constructed houses, more tastefully designed , stylish and contemporary than our Lutyens Delhi, was originally patronised by royalty .
Another part of the city known for theatre and art forms , Piccadilly , did find us hurrying through. I said hello to Napoleon's ghost as we walked past Waterloo. A quick tour of the Science museum , a visit largely influenced by the real size replica of the moon lander , could have been more satisfying if we had a full day to spend there. For me at least!
We resisted the temptation to check out what was a station called East India doing in London.
As time flew, London's treasures seemed to satisfy my earlier expectation. Thank you sirs!
Hope my readers will stay with me as I may try to narrate about the London Tower, bridge and the Abbey in part 3. Goodbye for now.
After a good night's sleep and a typical English breakfast of muffins, poached eggs , bread , hash browns ,fresh orange juice and coffee , we imaginatively used the red " hop on hop off " open top bus to take us to where ever we wanted to go. That was our strategy to be where we wanted , at our own time , without the limitations that a London cab or any public transport would have imposed on us. It worked perfectly well. All you need is to time your visits . it does not matter if you do not stick to it, in a sense. Not unless your objective to to cover all the places. Ours was not. We soaked in each as much as we wanted and then went to the next. There was history to be immersed in and silent conversation to be had with Kings , likes of Shakespeare , Newton and Charles Dickens. Fortunately for me , my son , too felt so, more out of curiosity than a sense of history I guess!
As the Big Ben's chimes sounded out the hour, the Parliament house did seem to proclaim itself , in true majestic splendour, as the seat of Democracy, for all of the world. No where else can one feel the shear might of " power to the people" than in this edifice. A chat with the guards helped me understand the enumerable entrances and hall ways. All seen from the outside, as visitors were not allowed on all days.
Parliament started life as more of a talking shop for the kings and clergy and later morphed into the form seen today.
The Houses of Parliament, otherwise known as the Palace of Westminster, symbolises Great Britain. Decisions made in its corridors of power have shaped Britain, past and present.
The building that sits proudly on the banks of the Thames is the New Palace, built around 1840's.
The Palace was remodelled many times and when a fire destroyed most of the old structure, today’s Perpendicular Gothic building was constructed , containing 1,100 rooms around two courtyards covering eight acres with an impressive 266m river frontage. Standing proud of the main building is the clock tower, home of the bell, affectionately known as Big Ben.
Westminster, across , had its own charm. The area is the centre of the UK government, with Parliament in the palace of the Westminster and most of the major Government ministries known as Whitehall. Stand close to Number 10 Downing street, if you can manage , the residence of the British PM since 1905, you may see in your mind, Margaret Thatcher emerge from the ornate and wood door . Close by , few blocks and streets away, after a few minutes walk , you come across Churchill's war room, where an underground cellar ,he conducted and supervised the War for the allies while Hitler bombed the hell out of London , at will.
The awesome Westminster Abbey, deserves more space and will be dealt in part 3.
A walk through Hyde park , spread across over 600 acres ,including the Kensington park ,acres of wooded thick greenery , will remind you of its past. This was originally a hunting ground in the sixteenth century and now is a Center for staging demonstrations. You come across the " Speakers Corner" which allows anyone to stand on a small elevated block and speak against or for any subject under the sun . You are not allowed to instigate anyone though! This is a immensely satisfying walk with breath of fresh sweet air.
At one end of the park you can have your rendezvous with her Majesty the Queen of England. The Buckingham palace , spaced over 77000 sq Metres, is the Queens residence. It was constructed in the1830' s or so . Hitler managed to land a few bombs during the war and the place probably underwent quite a few renovations. The queen does not own it though! It belongs to the government. That surely is convenient ,I thought. She does not have to maintain it !
Once again the British keeps preserving their history while embracing modernity. You see that in the Changing of the guards every morning , in the forecourt of the palace. Every day during summer and alternative days during winter. Our timing turned out to be wrong as we came on the wrong day. We made do with the place guards instead. The guards for the famous attraction are picked form various regiments and are from the Scotts, Welsh, Irish and Grenadiers. And here is a secret: they can be identified by the way and the grouping of the buttons on their coats and a different coloured plume on their helmets . Don't ask me how i know this! Shhh.. Ok...
the queen told me. Ha ha.
A bunch of school kids , in grey uniforms and red scarf's , led by their teachers ,were singing , chatting and emersed with them self, least enamoured by the queens residence. Maybe, one of them could end up occupying number 10 and thereby advising the queen , I wondered.
After a long walk around the palace we returned to Hyde park. Formally and informally dressed Brits, men and women, tourists , all came from wherever and sat on the numerous benches at the park and munched their lunches. And not a square inch of litter anywhere! I grabbed a burger and French fries from the only eatery nearby while the youngster picked up Fish and chips. All washed down with coke and Americano. We too sat on a nice little bench , nice and relaxed , watched the world go by, as we munched our lunch. I took in the beauty and history of the park and of the British monarchy and a few hours of some finest moments went by.
We spent some moments in St Margaret' s Chapel. One of the oldest churches , built in the 12th century and rebuilt later in the 16th, is located in the Westminster Abbey. Several British royals got married here and so did Churchill. It's Flemish stained glass looked unique. The actual Abbey deserved a more leisurely visit and was thus kept for the next day.
A drive through Kensington informed us how the rich and famous reside. We peeped into Harrods, Harvey Nichols of Lady Diana fame, and some other famous stores. Window shopping , mind you. Beautifully constructed houses, more tastefully designed , stylish and contemporary than our Lutyens Delhi, was originally patronised by royalty .
Another part of the city known for theatre and art forms , Piccadilly , did find us hurrying through. I said hello to Napoleon's ghost as we walked past Waterloo. A quick tour of the Science museum , a visit largely influenced by the real size replica of the moon lander , could have been more satisfying if we had a full day to spend there. For me at least!
We resisted the temptation to check out what was a station called East India doing in London.
As time flew, London's treasures seemed to satisfy my earlier expectation. Thank you sirs!
Hope my readers will stay with me as I may try to narrate about the London Tower, bridge and the Abbey in part 3. Goodbye for now.
Very vivid description, reminded me of a holiday I had there soon after I finished MSc. I hope you got the time to visit one of their univs Oxford or Cambridge
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