London – Valerie's Voice

England, Part II

About that special birthday trip…

I mentioned the special trip my son gave me as a birthday gift one year, before either of my sons were married. It was a significant birthday and my oldest son said he’d like to take me to London. I had been there once before, when we visited him after his semester studying at Oxford University. I enjoyed London a lot and was excited to be going back. This was a wonderful, thoughtful gift. What I didn’t know is I was in for another amazing gift, and a great big surprise while in London.

An enchanting evening…the London Eye under the full moon, a photo from a page in my album.

Michael and I had spent a lovely, long day in Oxford the day before so we were having a leisurely breakfast the next morning. It was a traditional English breakfast, buffet style, at our hotel. After our first trip to the breakfast bar my son said he wanted another bowl of muesli and I got another cup of coffee. A while later he said he wanted a third bowl of muesli so I had another cup of coffee.

Little did I know he was stalling….and during that third bowl of muesli in comes my younger son. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Tim was living in Mozambique, Africa at the time and in he walks, up to our breakfast table in the London hotel, to surprise me… and I was 100% totally surprised!!! What a moment. I started to cry and then laugh and then excitedly I settled down to visit (my husband had known all about this rendezvous and managed to keep their secret).

My two sons and I spent a few more days together in London and some very special memories were made for this mom, that I will never forget and always treasure. My heart was full.

London is…secretive.

Before we left Minnesota we decided on what play we would like to see while we were in London.

A promo for Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” hanging in tube station.

We chose an Agatha Christie murder mystery, The Mousetrap. playing at St. Martin’s Theatre. It happens to be the longest running play in London…It’s first performance was in 1952!

We enjoyed the play and didn’t know “who done it” until the end. I was so worried I would overhear someone talking about the ending… and I didn’t want to know! But I never heard any clues… and we were surprised when the murderer was revealed. I like surprises.

At the end of the play, as the performers were taking their bows, the culprit stepped forward and said now we were all partners in crime…and he asked us not to disclose the secret of “who done it” to anyone, so as to preserve the suspense of the play.

On a street corner in London is this memorial to Agatha Christie, an English author who wrote over 80 mysteries.

This request must work…it’s been playing for 67 years, and we didn’t know “who done it” until the end of the production.

London is…home to St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Another place I wanted to visit while in London was St. Paul’s Cathedral. We saw St. Paul’s from on high, from the Sky Garden. St. Paul’s Cathedral is one of the most famous sights in London. It has a long and rich history. The current cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was built in the 1700’s, but there has been a church on this sight since 604. St. Paul’s is England’s national church. After leaving the Sky Garden we walked towards this majestic building.

Outside the front entrance of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Little did we know it would be closed to tourists that day, however, “if we wanted to participate in an Ash Wednesday service we were invited to enter and join in”. Of course, we would love to participate in a service there, especially for Ash Wednesday!

It was a gift to worship in this magnificent cathedral. There were ongoing services held throughout the day with different leadership. Our sermon happened to be on The Light of the World, a painting by William Holman Hunt, which was hanging right in the cathedral so we were able to see it after the service.

“The Light of the World”, by William Holman Hunt.

There is a lot of symbolism in the painting, which was addressed in the sermon. And Rick Steves explains it this way: “In the dark of night, Jesus – with a lantern, halo, jeweled cape, and crown of thorns – approaches an out-of-the- way home in the woods, knocks on the door, and listens for an invitation to come in.”* It was inspired from Revelations 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…”

It was meaningful…and remarkable…and memorable to experience one of Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpieces, and most famous churches, in this way…an authentic worship service.

*Rick Steves London, 2017

London is…fun to explore.

After two days of graduation activities we started exploring the different sights we wanted to see while we were in London.

The “Walkie Talkie” building and an iconic double decker bus.

One highlight for me was the Sky Garden on top of the skyscraper nicknamed the “Walkie Talkie” (because that is what the building looks like).

A view of the Sky Garden on the 35th floor of the”Walkie Talkie” building, which offers scenic overlooks of London.

The elevator quickly brought us to the 35^thfloor, to the viewing platform where you see terrific views of London from on high. There is also an indoor garden on top, which was very pleasant.

On a side note – I asked a question of a man standing next to me looking out over London, and after talking awhile I found out he grew up in Northfield! And the amazing thing is, the last time I was in London in 2013, when I was still working at St. Olaf, a student recognized me on a street corner in London, and came up to talk with me. It’s a small world.

Outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. The Queen was not in this day.

On this trip we also visited Borough Market, the oldest fruit-and-vegetable market serving the current community for over 800 years, but it started in a different location over 1,000 years ago*. There were many stalls with all different types of food offerings, in addition to fruits and vegetables. It was a great place to walk around and buy lunch before going to the Sky Garden.

We also walked to Buckingham Palace, toured Westminster Abbey, rode the London Eye and went to the Natural History Museum.

A partial view of the front of Westminster Abbey (north).

Inside the north door of Westminster Abbey.

The London Eye is a “revolving observation wheel.” The glass enclosed capsules move slowly and continuously. As a capsule reaches the bottom platform there are two sides: on one side people enter the capsule and on the other side people exit the capsule, without it stopping. It’s an interesting experience and offers more unique views of London. It is on the Thames River.

The Natural History Museum is mammoth (it holds 50 million specimens) and is housed in a beautiful Victorian, Neo-Romanesque building that was built in the 1870’s specifically for the museum. Although it’s been awhile since I’ve toured a natural history museum, which I enjoy, seeing this magnificent building was the highlight of the museum for me. It was stunning.

The magnificent Natural History Museum building.

An interior door in the Natural History Museum.

The kids looking at a display in the Natural History Museum.

Additional Photos:

The changing of the Horse Guards, a daily ceremony before heading to Buckingham Palace.

A view of the Tower of London, along the River Thames, from the Sky Garden.

*Rick Steves London, 2017