Walking Through Westminster

Note: I'm publishing this post just a week after the 2017 Westminster terrorist attack. While this is an upbeat post about our time in London last spring, I would not hesitate to take the same trip right now. I refuse to let terrorists strike fear in me and stop us from visiting some of the most amazing places in the world.

Immediately after arriving in London on Sunday, May 22, 2016, we dropped our bags at our hotel and set out to be active and avoid jet lag. Our first stop was Hyde Park to check out Speakers' Corner. On Sunday afternoons, anyone can bring a stool to stand on and pontificate about any topic. Today, most were religious in nature. There was a Sikh, Muslim, Christian...and a man that could maybe be described as an anarchist. We watched for a bit. I particularly enjoyed some of the spirited questions and debate from the crowd. After a very brief stroll around the end of the park, we stopped into Prett to get a takeaway lunch. I was surprised that one of the smoothie flavors offered was rhubarb—it was quite good. We enjoyed our lunch on a bench right in front of the Marble Arch. I received an email indicating our room was ready, but we decided to stay outside in the sunshine. Besides, it was well after lunchtime and I had a 2:00 p.m. walking tour on our schedule!

London Walks: Westminster At War

We headed down Oxford Street to the Oxford Circus underground station, and caught a train to the Embankment. Here we met with Andrew from London Walks, who was leading the Westminster At War tour. These types of walking tours are great. They're somewhere in between the "free" city tours (which always require a sizable tip anyway) and a specialty tour pre-booked with a guide. For London Walks tours, you show up at the appointed place and time and pay £10 per person, and a knowledgeable guide shows you around for two hours with a compelling narrative. There were at least a dozen other folks joining us on this walk.

The walk took us through the Embankment park, past the back of the Savoy Hotel, along the River Thames, through Whitehall Gardens, and then past the ministries of peace to the Horse Guards Parade. Andrew told stories about the prepping and evacuation from the city during WWII, The Blitz, and the war effort. It was an interesting tour, but the story seemed to jump around and was a bit disjointed (that could have been due to jet lag and a lack of historical knowledge on my part, though). During this tour, some very quirky London things happened.

While we were admiring the the monument for Cleopatra...

...a man ran by, wearing only socks, shoes, and a box. This wasn't a very warm day. I would have been cold.

Then, at the Horse Guards Parade, suddenly a group of men wearing suits and bowling hats riding large old-timey bicycles showed up to play some polo.

I found this all very charming.

Churchill War Rooms

When the walk was over (it took about 2 hours and 15 minutes), Andrew walked us over to the Churchill War Rooms. There was quite a line, but I had pre-purchased tickets for afternoon entry (all part of the plan to fight jet lag), so we walked right in. This attraction actually has two components: the war rooms themselves where Churchill and his men were holed up during the war, and a Churchill museum. The rooms were interesting, and the museum was really well-done. However, I didn't have the energy or interest to give more than a cursory overview of the exhibits. I suspect Churchill buffs would love it. I did enjoy the war rooms themselves, though, and the included audioguide was informative and engaging. It took us about 75 minutes to walk through.

 Here I am peaking through the original door to 10 Downing Street, which is now part of the exhibit.

Westminster Abbey Organ Concert

While the sky looked a little ominous, the weather appeared to be holding, and we found ourselves just a stone's throw from the Westminster Abbey 15 minutes before the Sunday organ concert was to start. So, we crossed the street and got in a snaking line.

There was a replacement organist due to last-minute injury, but I certainly wouldn't have been able to tell the difference! He played two pieces - Academic Overture by Bach and the William Tell Overture. It was great to hear a familiar piece on the powerful organ, and get a peek at the abbey in the process. The recital lasted about 30 minutes, and then all the attendees were quickly ushered out—a long line had already formed for the prayer service.

On our way back to the tube I couldn't help but snap this photo.

Admitting Defeat: Room Service Dinner

We decided to forego our planned stop at a pub for dinner because we were hitting the point of exhaustion. Not seeing any appealing take-away restaurants on the walk back to the hotel, we decided to order room service. We each chose a curry from the menu, and it was delivered to our room around 7:45.

The presentation was quite impressive—a cart that served as a table covered in white linen, our entrees served with rolls and butter, pappadam and mango chutney, and two servings of hot rice. Aaron also had a large bottle of English Bitter, which he thought was quite terrible. The food, however, was good. We definitely paid for the convenience, but it was a great way to end the day. The steward picked up the cart at 9:00 p.m. and delivered some ice so I could treat my terribly swollen ankle (just a few weeks earlier I'd sprained it severely while working in the yard, so I was wearing a brace on this trip). We walked 16,840 steps today and climbed 18 floor, according to my Fitbit.

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