Our final day in London Town. I woke up with a mix of emotions. While I was sad to think of our trip coming to an end, it felt like we had been gone from the kids for a month!
Westminster Abbey
We grabbed breakfast from our favorite stand and ate next to the river across from the London Eye. We walked down the street to Big Ben and then Westminster Abbey.
It is gorgeous. It is arguably London’s top sight. It is considered the greatest church in the English-speaking world and where kings and queens have been crowned and buried since 1066.
Memorials
There are memorials everywhere. It is like a who’s who of Britain.
Nave
The nave at Westminster is the tallest in England – 10 stories tall! It is considered the religious heart of England. Edward the Confessor was the king who built the Abbey. On the floor is the flower-lined Grave of the Unknown Warrior – one ordinary soldier buried in soil from France made from lettering made from melted-down weapons from that war. It is a moment to think of the 800,000 men and women from the British Empire who gave their lives.
Choir
The carvings on the wood are amazing. This is where monks once chanted and now Abbey boys sing the evensong.
Coronation Spot
The area right in front of the high altar is where every English coronation since 1066 has taken place. This is also the location of weddings and funerals for many royalty.
Shrine of Edward the Confessor
This area is not open to the public, but you can see the top of his tomb – the man responsible for Westminster Abbey. It was finished just in time to bury Edward and crown his successor, William the Conqueror in 1066. After Edward died, people would come to pray at his tomb and so many positive things occurred that he was made a saint. His tomb is surrounded by eight other kings and queens.
Tomb of Queens Elizabeth I and Mary I
Both daughters of Henry VIII (by different mothers) and very different from one another. Mary was Catholic and had a short reign of only five years. Elizabeth was strong and Protestant and steered England towards Anglicanism. She was crowned when she was 26 at Westminster Abbey and reigned from 1559 – 1603. She ruled during one of the greatest times in English history, when England ruled the seas and Shakespeare began his career.
Chapel of King Henry VII (or the Lady Chapel)
Tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary was held under house arrest for 19 years by Queen Elizabeth I, who considered her a threat to her sovereignty. Elizabeth heard of an assassination plot, suspected Mary was behind it, and had her beheaded. When Elizabeth later died childless, Mary’s son, James VI, King of Scots – then became King James I of England and Ireland. He buried his mother here in Westminster.
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Gallery
We then went upstairs to tour the Queen’s gallery (no pictures are allowed). The best part is probably the views that you can see (it is 70 feet above the main floor). But there are several other artifacts and bits of history up here. It is like a mini-Westminster museum.
Poets’ Corner
England is passionate about the written word. Many writers are here (like Chaucer, Lewis Carroll, T.S. Eliot, and Charles Dickens) and have plaques and monuments. Something I was surprised about is that few of them are actually buried here – they just have memorials here. Shakespeare is remembered by a large statue that overlooks many of the others.
Great Cloister
These buildings housed the monks. This was a place to walk in peace while mediating on God’s creations.
Coronation Chair
At the very end, you see a gold-painted oak chair that kings and queens have sat in during their coronation. This chair has been used for every English coronation since 1308 (except for two). The chair’s legs rest on lions, a royal symbol in England.
Café in the Crypt
We walked up to Trafalgar Square to eat lunch at the café in the crypt of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. I must admit, this felt strange and a big disrespectful. I don’t know why, I just couldn’t get into it. The food was good and it was unique, but I don’t know if I would do it again.
Churchill War Rooms
We then walked back down to Westminster to tour the Churchill War Rooms. Oh goodness, the history! It was fascinating to learn about this maze of rooms below London that made so many critical decisions during World War II. Plus, we got to learn more about our friend, Winston. He interests me more and more. There were many stories about how he could be rude and demanded a high level of work, yet everyone was so quick to share how much they respected him and were fiercely loyal to him. I am excited to learn more about him on my own.
The museum is divided into two parts. There is the war rooms themselves and then a large museum dedicated to Winston Churchill.
Cabinet War Rooms
These 27 rooms were used from 1939 to 1945. During the 1930s, the British Government worried about the growing threat of war with Nazi Germany and feared bombers would attack London. It looked for a safe place underground. By September 1940, the Germans started bombing London. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his War Cabinet moved their meetings to their underground bomb shelter here. These War Rooms were operated day and night and many of the rooms are exactly as they were left in 1945.
Map Room Door
Only a small number of staff were allowed access to the Map Room.
Churchill Museum
This museum goes into so many details of Churchill’s life. Winston said, “You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory.”
National Gallery
After the Churchill War Rooms, we walked back up to Trafalgar Square to the National Gallery. So many amazing works of art. It has European paintings from 1250 to 1900 – everything from Leonardo, Botticelli, Velazquez, Rembrandt, Turner, Van Gogh, and the Impressionists. I wish I could have come here when I was a senior in high school and studying art history and knew more – but it was still beautiful to see. My favorite will always be Monet. I was so happy to see a whole room for him. Another favorite that came from this day was The Hay Wain by John Constable from British Romantic Art. Mark and I agreed we could put this up in our home.
Leicester Square Kitchen
We then walked over to eat dinner at Leicester Square Kitchen, which is a Peruvian and Mexican restaurant. The food was really yummy, but the service was really bad. Our waitress messed up our order (and from what we heard from everyone around us, she messed up everyone’s order). She overcharged us and the wait time was ridiculous (and this was after 10 days of getting used to the wait times being long). It was uncomfortable to hear her getting in trouble, but she also wasn’t doing anything any better. We ended up just leaving cash on the table and leaving. It was pretty bad.
We got some queso with chorizo and tortilla chips for an appetizer (to get a little Mexican). And then Mark and I both had Peruvian food for our main course. I got chicken in a parmesan and chili lemon panko crust and Mark got grilled wagyu and chorizo chili cheese sliders with Monterey Jack cheese and yellow anticucho mayonnaise. We got chocolate fondant with volcano habanero ice cream for dessert.
Harrods
The night continued to go a little downhill. I was starting to get a little frantic that we didn’t have much to bring home to the kids (and both Mark and I were hoping for a couple things as well). So, we googled shopping places and went on the tube down to Harrods. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that! Holy smokes, I have never been in a nicer shopping area.
Maybe it was just because we were tired, but it was a little overwhelming. And not what we were looking for. We wandered around a bit but weren’t finding what we wanted. The one exception is we were on the hunt for an ornament (it is tradition on our trips), and we found a beautiful one there.
Big Ben
We left a little discouraged but luckily Mark pulled me out of it. He LOVED Big Ben and wanted to go see it one more time. So, we walked over to Big Ben and out onto Westminster Bridge. It was beautiful and helped end things on a good note. We walked back to our hotel along the Thames, got in our cozy hotel robes, and got excited to see the kids the next day.
