More photos with captions

 I slept in this morning—until 8:30, having gone to bed at 12:30–but can’t afford to do that tomorrow as I am meant to be taking a local train to St. Alban’s at 9:30 from St. Pancras Station. Even I can’t get dressed and out the door in half an hour—well, at least not when most of my clothes are piled in my suitcase on the floor. So I need to go to bed.

I had thus planned to post my photographs with captions and not do a lot of writing tonight. Now, however, 45 minutes after having written the above, I find I have written quite a bit. Couldn’t resist once I saw the photos and remembered my happy day.

Between waking up at 8:30, spending an hour trying to figure out the Day 2 COVID test, assembling and reassembling the cardboard box to mail it in, and having breakfast at Paul Boulangerie across the street from the hotel, I arrived at Victoria Station at 11:10.

I stopped at Buckingham Palace long enough to admire the facade, watch the Horse Guards ride by, and reserve a time to see the Queen’s Gallery Collection at 3:00. I had had grand plans to walk from Buckingham, to Westminster Abbey and then to St. Paul’s but I soon realized it was just too much as it was already 11:45.

I decided that if I at least saw Westminster Abbey, it was close enough to Buckingham Palace that I would be able to get back there in good time to see the Collection without racing across London. Which was getting slightly painful as I was wearing new ankle boots. Good shoes, a make that I normally wear, but I haven’t worn “leather” shoes all summer. My feet were already starting to feel closed in. And despite my dark clothing and what the sandwich board outside the pub said, it is still very warm in London!

It only took 10 minutes to walk down to Westminster Abbey. I thought of William and Kate’s wedding day and the crowds that lined the Mall as they rode the carriage from the Abbey. That was my favorite Royal wedding. 

There was a Eucharist Service going on when I arrived just after noon and I sat down to participate. So much to be thankful for thus far on my trip! After it finished, I walked around the Abbey. I think what sets it apart from other cathedrals is all of the memorials in it. To think of the grand tombs of people who nowadays are barely remembered—a lot of the tombs of military generals and minor nobility are larger than the tombs of the more well-known nobility, like Elizabeth I. And then there is Poet’s Corner to the famous composers, poets, authors…. I could have gone quite crazy and photographed them all but to what end? So here is what I decided to photograph; the things that caught my eye the most in the Abbey:

Leaving the Abbey at 2 p.m., I walked back up to Buckingham Palace through St. James’s Park which was beautiful. So much greenery! I also bought a Cornetto as I didn’t have time for lunch. One note: merchants do not like cash. In fact even the ice cream man didn’t take cash. It’s “tap your card” everywhere. Such a change from back home where they normally don’t like you using your card for a purchase under $5. 

Arrived at Queen’s Gallery at 3 o’clock for the wonderful exhibit of just some of the paintings that usually hang in Buckingham Palace. Because the Palace is closed to tours, the curators of the art collection have gathered together different exhibits and arranged them in three rooms in a small wing of the Palace accessible from the street. 

Right now, the exhibit is of works by Dutch/Flemish painters such as Van Dyke, Rembrandt as well as some Italian. It’s small but I realized that I appreciated seeing just three rooms full of paintings, with excellent descriptions written beside as well as an audio tour of a few. The audio tour explained some of the things about the paintings I would certainly have missed just going from painting to painting—how some were actually unfinished, or the painter had painted over something after he had changed his mind about the composition. Why some paintings were of ordinary scenes, some were maritime…. I learned SO much! I won’t mind now not getting to the National Gallery (in favor of visiting more with relatives) because I certainly have a reawakened appreciation for great art.