Amsterdam

I have spent the past three days in Amsterdam. After a really long train journey from Germany (where there was serious panic as my first train arrived after my connection train was supposed to leave - fortunately connection train was late by 10 minutes) I found my way from Amsterdam Centraal Station to Maes Bed and Breakfast.  

My first impressions of Amsterdam were that the train area was extremely bust, so many people everywhere, I could hear a lot of different lanugages being spoken, and there was a sweet smell of - something - in the air every once and a while!  

The reputation that Amsterdam has, that I think most people will think of when they hear "Amsterdam", is that of the Red Light District and smoking pot. If that is the only impression that you have of Amsterdam, believe me, you are missing out on a great city. I am sure that people come to Amsterdam for those two reputed reasons only, me - not so much. My intention was first, to visit The Anne Frank House and second, to wander and explore.  

Maes Bed and Breakfast is located on Herenstraat, a road between two canals. The home dates back to the 1700s. As it is with homes in Amsterdam it is tall and narrow. The front of the house had only two sets of window marking its width. The stair cases in the home are steep and narrow. The four steps leading up to my room are a bit curved and seem to have melted at one end of the rise. My room consists of two floors. The first floor has my bed and tv and toliet and sink (in a small room). Curved stairs lead up to the shower, tub and sink. The back wall of my room is essentially all window and looks out into the garden of the home and over the gardens and back yards of a number of other homes in the area.  

On Thursday morning, after a lovely breakfast, I walked back toward the train station. That is where the Tourist Information Office is located as well as many places to purchase tickets for different tours going on in the city. I decided to purchase a combo ticket for a city bus tour and a canal tour. I figured that I could leave Amsterdam without at least traveling on the canals. So I did the bus tour in the morning and later in the afternoon, I did the canal tour.  

The bus tour, as always, was a hop on hop off tour. I hopped off at Vondelpark as I had arranged to meet up with Melanie, a gal who used to work at St. Joseph but who now lives in Amsterdam. We met up at noon and spent an hour chatting, catching up, and walking around the beautiful Vondelpark. It was wonderful to meet up with a friend and spend some time together. Melanie is expecting a baby in 8 days and actually biked to the park!  

On Friday, I visited Anne Frank House. I looked online for tickets a couple of days before arriving in Amsterdam and it said they were sold out for the days that I was going to be in town. Those were for tickets that reserved an actual time slot for the holder. Otherwise, you could enter but you would have to line up. I saw pictures of that line up. I read review that mentioned the line up. The owners of the B&B both warned me about the line up. They each suggested that I start lining up around 7:45 or 8am (the place opens at 9). I just did not have it in me to get up, miss breakfast, and line up that early. Besides, I have no real schedule for the day and have a lot of time on my hands. Plus, I survived The Tower of London line ups. I can queue for a really long time.  

I enjoyed a lovely breakfast once again on Friday morning and a pleasant chat with Kiki, another guest, and Vlad, one of the hosts. I made it out the door just before 10. The walk is about 5 minutes from the B&B to Anne Frank House. I figured I would time my line up and I had a book on kindle to occupy me if necessary. When I got to the house, the line up was there but it didn't seem too bad in my opinion. From the time I started lining up until I paid for my ticket and was in the doors was 10 minutes. So I think that I lucked out on this day!  

This past summer was the very first time that I read The Diary of Anne Frank. It was one of those books that I had always meant to read but just never got around to reading. I figured, if I am going to visit her hiding place, I should really read Anne's book. The idea of what I thought the book would be like and the actual reading of book turned out to be very different. I think that I had built Anne's book up to be some philosophical masterpiece. I was delighted to read the diary of a young girl. Anne wrote about, what I imagine most young girls would write about in a diary. She wrote about school, her friends, boy friends, her conflicts with her parents (mostly her mother), arguments with her sister, and self doubt. Anne wrote about her dreams for her future. Of course, Anne's writing takes place in a different context than that of most young girls' diaries, that of being in hiding and, at times, in fear. But her writing is genuine and, I found, representative of the thoughts and writings of a preteen girl.  

Touring the house takes a the visitors from the warehouse, offices, and storeroom at the front part of the house. Next, visitors head to the landing (where the actual bookcase still stands that was used to hide the entrance to the hiding place),  the rooms used for hiding by the eight people who lived there, the diary room, and the exhibition room.  

There are photos and quotes from Anne's diary hanging on the walls throughout the building.  

Very steep stairs (almost ladder like) lead to the hiding rooms. The windows are all darkened in the rooms where Anne and her family and the others hid. Walking throught the hiding rooms, I got a very small sense of what it would be like to live in darkness, without seeing the sun or sky. I continually tried to remind myself that these few rooms were the only space available for these 8 for so long. I was trying to force myself to imagine not being able to move around or use water during the day for fear of being heard. I think that for a second, a person may think that they would understand the frustration, anxiety, and fear that may have been felt by those in hiding but that feeling is very elusive. I WAS able to walk around the house. I WAS able to leave when I wanted. And I KNEW both of those things.  

After the war, Anne's dad recieved Anne's diary from one of the women who had been helping them hide. Otto Frank was the only surviving member of the eight people who hid in that back of that warehouse. Otto made sure that her diary was published and worked to open the building up to the public. When the 8 people in hiding were found out, the Gestapo had all of the rooms cleared out. Otto Frank wanted the rooms to remain empty upon welcoming visitors in order to represent the void left by all of the people who were deported and never returned. There are, however, a couple of small scale models in the Storeroom that were built according to descriptions provided by Otto to give visitors and idea of how the space was used.  

The people who were visiting Anne Frank House were from all walks of life. All ages were represented. I was taken back by the silence that was maintained by all of the visitors as we made our way through the warehouse, the rooms used for hiding, the areas that housed the diary, and the exhibition room.  

The best part about Amsterdam is the wandering. I could wander around this city for hours. I love the canals, the buildings, the bikes, and of course people watching. After visiting Anne Frank House, this is exactly what I did. I spent my time wandering around the city. Back to the park, through the shopping district, over the bridges connecting the streets that line the canals, and absorbing all of the sights, sounds, and smells. I did all this because I CAN. Anne did not have the opportunity to do this as a teenager, an adult, or an old person. Her opportunities were stolen from her. I will take full advantage of my opportunities and try my best to live a life of gratitude.  

During my wandering, I happened upon a sign that says: every. day. counts. I thought it was a fitting reminder today, and a great thing to remember each day.  
Scotland tomorrow!

Vimy

I recently read that a poll of Canadians showed that many are unable to tell if the battle of Vimy Ridge took place during World War I or World War II. It is sad to me to think that the great sacrifices made and indeed the nation building that occured during Vimy is unremembered by those of us who are benefiting from the sacrifices and nation building.  

My next stop after Dieppe was a city called Arras. Arras was a two hour drive away from Dieppe and just south of Vimy.  

On Saturday morning I drove out to Vimy Ridge National Historic Site of Canada. I think that everyone is familiar with the look of the monument that stands at Vimy as it is on the Canadian $20. The first place that I encountered at the site was the Visitor's Centre. On the porch of the centre, I could just make out the top of the monument in the distance, over the hills.  

There is something about seeing things Canadian when you are away from home. Like the Canadian flag that was flapping in the wind outside the centre, the Canada logo, the distinctly Canadian feel of the Visitor's Centre, the uniforms that the staffers were wearing (remember the Parks Canada pants Kim? Very similar), and actual Canadians. As huge and varied as Canada is, it still felt like home.  

When I entered the Vistor's Centre, there was a student group who had just finished their tour and were heading out. I imagine that they were high school kids from Canada visiting with their class. Other than that, there was only one other gentleman, a man from Ireland, in the centre. The staff member told me that there would be an English tour at 11 and that Francois would be giving the tour. I thought, THAT is so Canadian - a guy named Francois would be giving the English tour.  

I had about 40 minutes before the tour and was able to walk around the centre, look at the pictures are read all of the statistics and information about the Battle of Vimy Ridge and its place in World War I. Vimy Ridge was a really important area of German defence. French forces had, in the past, attempted to take the ridge without success.  

There was a video that was playing in the centre. During the video, it was explained that Arthur Currie, the Canadian military commander, worked to prepare his troops for the battle. In a competely unusual manner, Currie told all of the men from top to bottom about the plans. He had his troops drill and practice in order to prepare for the battle. He handed maps to the men (which was unheard of).  

The battle took place on April 9, 1917. Four Canadian divisons and one British division stormed the ridge that morning. Before storming, there was an artillery barrage. By the afternoon, the Canadians had capture all but Hill 145 (which was gained the next day). Although this battle is considered a major success, it came with great costs. There were 10 602 casualties. Of that number, 3598 were Canadians.  

I met Francois, with a group of others, at the Canadian flag, as instructed. The time I had spent in the Visitor's Centre saw the arrival of a number of other visitors, including a couple of other school groups. I could no believe how busy this place was.  

Francois explained that he was first going to take us into the subways that the Canadians had used during World War I. A system of connected tunnels were dug by Welsh miners. These tunnels were used for communication purposes and in order to pile soliders into prior to going "over the top". Standing in the tunnels, there was 8 metres of land above our heads. This depth was significant as mortors would not be able to read the men this deep.  

The tunnels are well lit and reinforced today. During World War I, there was underground lighting, however, it was extremely dim in comparison to our tour lighting. I know because Francois turned off the tour lights and showed us what it would have been like in 1917. The walls during the war would have been chalk and the floor, dirt (mud).  

We saw an undergroud rail system made of wood since that was quieter than metal. All of the soldiers had to work quietly underground as there may have been Germans underground in close proximity to the Canadians in their own tunnels.  

Our group was taken to a dead end of a corridor which opened up into a small room which would have been a location for communcations. Behind this small room was a smaller room with two sets of bunks. These bunks would have been used by the runners - those soliders who volunteers to run messages. The runners life expectancy was extremely short as they would be running messages in extremely dangerous situations. Despite this, there was never a shortage of volunteers, mainly due to the bunk they got to sleep in and the 6 times pay they received as compared to a regular soldier.  

Francois led us out of the tunnels and to the trenches. We walked through the Canadian trenches. Each of us were able to jump up on the step up - the step that the soldiers used in order to look out for Germans. When we exited these trenches, we were able to see a landscape that is green and grassy but extremely hilly, a really large crater in front of us, and a forest surrounding it all.  

The hilliness of the area is a result of the effects of the artillery shelling that took place during World War I. The result is a bumpy looking landscape. The green grass is currenly being mowed by a lovely flock of sheep. The really large crater that we were stading in front of was a result, not of a German offensive, but rather, a bit of Canadian defense. The Canadians strategically shelled specific spots of land due to the back lash that resulted from the blast. Land would blow out of the hole and create a man made defense that the Canadians could look out from behind.  

Francois pointed out that we were standing in No Man's Land. I was really amazed when he pointed to the German trenches - they were mere metres from the Canadian trenches. I hadn't realized that the trenches were so close together. But it was made clear to us that they was unsual as well. Generally, the opposing sides were not so close together. I also had the opportunity to walk in the German trenches. Their look outs were a bit more sophisticated than the Canadian look outs (remember the step up?) as they had acutally built pill boxes with with to peer out of.  

This was another eye opening tour. At the end of the tour, I chatted with Francois about how and why he was here. He explained to me that as a Canadian univeristy student, he had the ability to apply to the Federal Government for work experiece overseas. Francois is studying history. He told me that he has always had a deep interest in military history and that he was enjoying his experiece. Any Canadian university student, no matter what they are studying, may apply. You do need to be bilingual though. Any student who comes to work will be at their job for four months. I think that it is so wonderful that students have this opportunity. I am pleased that Canada encourages young Canadians to know their country's history and share it with others.

After the tour, I headed up to the monument. The monument is located down the road from the Visitor's Centre. It is surrounded by grass and then a circular, paved walking path. This monument is impressive. There are two tall pillars on top of a rectangular set of steps. The rock is limestone which came from Croatia. There are a number of figures carved on and around the pillars. The figures in turn look mournful, fearful, sorrowful, and thoughtful. The names of the 11 285 Canadian soldiers that were killed in France and whose final resting place is unknown. The monument is dedicated to the over 66 000 Canadians who died during World War I.  

I was able to walk up onto the monument and then chose to walk the paved path that circled around it. Unbelievablly, the areas on the other side of the path are marked with repeated warnings not to cross over as it is still possible that there are undetected and therefore undetonated, mines in the land surround the monument. One hundred years after the start of The Great War, the past is still present.  

Between the monument location and the Visitor's Centre are two cemeteries were some of Canada's war dead are laid to rest. As with all of the Canadian War Cemeteries, they are peaceful, well maintained places where people can pay their respects.  

Once again I was amazed that a place that had seen such bloodiness and horror was now, so peaceful. The forest is beautiful. The sheep peacefully meander over the mounds of earth. It is quiet on Vimy Ridge

Mont-Saint-Michel

In deciding what I wanted to do with my remaining full day in Caen, I figured, that since I had access to a car, I should travel around, see the countryside, and get to places that may be a bit tricky relying only on public transit. So, I thought that I would go to Mont-Saint-Michel.  

Mont-Saint-Michel is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of National Geographic's top places to visit in Europe. It is an island commune and is about a two hour drive to the site. The highway speed limit is 130km/h! Love it. The French countryside is beautiful. I saw a rainbow. That makes at least the 12th rainbow that I have seen since I have been away from home. Unbelievable.  

Mont-Saint-Michel is a Benedictine Abbey that is located on top of a rocky island. The original abbey dates back to 708 and became a focus of pilgrimage. It wasn't until the 10th Century that the Benedictines settled in the abbey. This was when the village began to grow up around it. During the Revolution, the abbey was used as a prison.  

Driving toward the site, you are able to see the abbey for quite a distance. On the rocky island, around the base of the abbey there is a town. And although you are able to see the abbey from quite a distance, you can not reach it up close by car. There is a parking lot about a 40 minute walk or 10 minute shuttle bus away from the abbey. I hopped on the bus and was at the base of the abbey in minutes.   As you enter the walls of the town, you can feel the shadow of the abbey casting down on top of you. No matter where you journey on this island the presence of the abbey is constant. As you can imagine, the town winds around the island in a circular path that is constantly moving upwards. The streets are for pedistrians only and are lined with shops and restaurants. There were even a couple of hotels on the island. There are not vast spaces on the island. Everything is well crammed together. The shop lined streets reminded me of The Shambles in York.  

I continued the climb, either by sloping, cobbled roads or by stairs, until I reached the entrance to the abbey. The abbey has a wall that circles it as well. I paid admission and grabbed a pamphlet that outlined different parts of the abbey that were numbered for me to read as I toured through. The entire places is beautifully made, has a complicated floorplan (nothing regular about the plan), has gardens on a couple of the roof tops, and contains a great pillared crypt, which was my favourite room in the building. Obviously, once I reached the top of the climb, and headed outside, the views were spectacular. I was able to view out over the ocean and the French countryside.  Another highlight of the abbey was being able to walk around the tops of the walls and look out over practically all sides of the island.

I was pleased and rather surprised by Mont-Saint-Michel. I love being able to visit those UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Juno Beach

Devon is a very beautiful place. The B&B that I stayed in was comfortable. It was a super old farmhouse. The owner was delightful. I slept so well. There was absolutely no noise. It was a complete contrast from my stay in London and a welcome respite.  

My purpose for heading to Totnes was to visit with Nell, my grandmother, who is 98. Nell has dementia. It has been a few years since I have seen her. I am really glad that I had the opportunity to visit with Nell although it was difficult.  

Totnes has a lovely city centre. It is rather bohemian. There are lots of music shops, fair trade food, vegetarian restaurants, cafes, and shops selling interesting and unique items.  

My B&B combined with the English countryside and the lovely town was an excellent way to spend the last couple of days I had in England.   

Saturday and Sunday were travel days:  

Saturday: Train from Totnes, Devon to Bristol Temple Mead.  

Train from BTM to Portsmouth.  

Stay in a tiny hotel room overnight - no sleep due to my inablity to not worry. Will my alarm go off? Will the taxi ordered by the hotel show up? Will I get to the ferry on time?  

Sunday: Of course, the taxi showed up on time, got me to the ferry very early, and I caught the ferry without any issue. So, lost sleep for not reason. I will never learn.  

The ferry ride from Portsmouth, England to Ouistreham, France took just over 5 hours. The ferry was not busy at all. I was able to enjoy a lovely cooked breakfast, so not so lovely coffee, and then time reading and watching shows on my tablet.  

I caught a shuttle bus (the company was called Twisto which I think is a really neat name) to Caen. I was dropped off at the city centre and made my way to my hotel. This room was lovely and comfortable and almost a wee bit luxurious.  

I was really tired but needed to find some dinner first. I walked to the local supermarket which was closed. It seems like a lot of places are closed on Sunday around here. However, there was a restaurant close to my hotel that was open. Since the town in located around a harbour I thought that there may be some sea food. I sat outside at the restaurant and enjoyed shrimp with asparagus, salmon with goat's cheese (and an apparent unlimited quantity of bread), and a 1604 beer. It was a delicious meal.  

I was in bed and asleep early.  

Monday: I picked up a rental car for the week! It is great to be driving again after 5 weeks. I feel a bit of freedom. And I feel like there is way less planning to do. I don't have to spend time checking out public tansit services, making connections, being limited about where and how far I can do. AND I don't have to carry my pack very far. I will totally take advantage of the car this week!  

My first stop was Courseulles-sur-Mer in order to visit the Juno Beach Centre. The Juno Beach Centre opened in 2003. Back then, Canadian schools were asked to raise funds to help build the centre. I was put in charge of organizing the fund collecting. St. Joseph School raised $500. That was the amount that would allow us to have a plaque on a monument at the centre. Our school also received a wooden replica "brick". Of course, I wanted to see this plaque in person.  

More importantly, I wanted to visit Juno Beach. I truly feel that it is so important to remember, reflect, show respect, and learn and relearn to appreciate the sacrifices of others. I have always found the concept of freedom a difficult one to come to terms with. Thankfully, I have never had to experience the opposite of freedom. But that lack of experience makes me wonder if I truly understand and truly appreciate freedom. I am not too sure that those who have always lived so comfortablely and without the threat of war are really able to appreciate freedom.  

The Juno Beach Centre is fantastic. It is comprehensive and beautiful. As you enter the first part of the centre, you are greeted by a film that surrounds you on three walls. This was a brief introduction to the connection between Canadians and Juno Beach. From there, I entered into a room that was dedicated to educating people about Canada in general, and more specifically the state of Canada during the years leading up to World War II.  

Following through a corridor, there were a number of old fashioned radios set up that were "broadcasting" speeches from the different leaders of the time as they addressed their respective nations about entering war. This was a really effective part of the museum. All of the broadcasts were original recordings so at the end of the corridor the speeches were printed up for everyone to read in a variety of languages. Speeches included Hilter, George V, William Lyon MacKenzie King, Charles de Gaulle, and Winston Churchill.  

The next section focused on the army, navy, and air force. Before World War II, these were relatively small and completely unprepared in any way for a full scale war. The information provided demonstrated how Canada prepared for war, how many people volunteered to fight, and how, by the end of the war, Canada's army, navy, and air force had completely changed. Many of the statistics kept repeating things like, "by the end of the war, Canada had the fourth largest involvement in ship building..." Whatever the statistic was, we were always the fourth largest. There was so much information to read. And I read it all. Like I said, it is a very comprehensive museum. I needed to take a break for lunch. Luckily, I was able to leave and return and complete my visit.  

When I returned, I picked up where I left off. The next part of the centre focused on the major theatres of war that Canada participated in. For instance, the Italian theatre, Normandy (including the Dieppe landing and D-Day), The Netherlands, the build up to the end of the War, and victory. Especially touching were the videos of veterans that were telling of some of their experiences in the different parts of WWII. It is always enlightening to hear, first hand, from those who have lived through these horrible experiences.  

The centre did a wonderful job including the role of women, Canadian contributions on the homefront, as well as the role of First Nations during World War II.  

The next small room had a projection on the ceiling that slowly scrolled through the list of those Canadians that had lost their lives during WWII.  

A short film called "They Walk With You" is shown every 20 minutes or so in the theatre. This is a very moving film. First, we are shown battle film from WWII and the Juno Beach landings. It is graphic. It is loud. It is heartbreaking. Also of interest were the scence of Caen, where I was staying, after the city had been decimated by bombs. The city was rubble and totally unrecognizable. The last to sections of the film were the most movie though. Still photos of soliders were shown, posed as if these photos had been taken as a group of friends would take a picture. Slowly, some of the soldiers in the photos faded away. Generally, about half of the men disappeared from each picture. The last scence showed a Canadian family visiting Juno Beach in the present day. The family discusses why they are visiting and what had occurred on the beach 70 years ago. The boy askes he parents how long do they have to walk on the beach and the dad answers that he guesses it depends on how much appreciation he wants to show. As the family is having this conversation, faded images of soldiers begin to follow them along the beach. They Walk With You.  

The last room in the centre was interesting to me as a Canadian, in that there were quotes from different Canadians from all walks of life about being Canadian. It was interesting to read how different people from different nations had immigrated to Canada and their feelings about Canada and being a Canadian. Also, in this part of the centre were different items that anyone may thing of as being typically Canadian: the canoe, curling rock, hockey, out health care system, our natural resources, our environment (no Tim Hortons but that is just me - totally have been missing my Tim's coffee!)  

Outside of the centre, there are path ways that lead you to the beach. On the way, there are bunkers from the war that you can walk down and look in to. The Canadian flag flies proudly beside the French flag. A narrow passage leads you to the beach.   In places where there is lots of history, I have had the experience of feeling the presences of others. Walking down the streets of The Royal Mile in Edinburgh, climing the spiral staircases of a medieval castle, staying in a farmhouse that is a few hundred years old, you can feel the history. I recognize that people have been here before. Hands were used to place each stone that build the castle or laid the cobbled road. Many have walked the path before me. After seeing the film and then stepping out on to Juno Beach, I could definitely feel the presence of those who came before.  

In complete contrast to the footage that I had just seen of the D-Day landings and have seen in the past, the beach was empty but for some seabirds, beautiful, as is often the case where land meets sea, and smelled wonderfully of salt sea air. The sky was cloudy with some ominous looking clouds that addes to the dramatic feel of the place. But above all else it was peaceful. And, in the end, I guess that is truly what these soldiers that were walking with me along this beautiful beach had faught for.  

Thank you

London Calling Part 5 Wandering

This will be my last London post. I broke the blog postings up so as not to overwhelm.  

Tuesday and Wednesday turned into two days of wandering. I guess when you are visiting infamous cities there are certain iconic landmarks you "have" to visit. So, I set out to see Selfridges and Harrods, which are within walking distance of each other. I expected shopping but I did not expect what type of shopping. Both stores are massive. They both have high quality goods for sale. Both stores feature brand names that I could never afford. Needless to say, I did not do any shopping and really high tailed it out of both places as soon as. Really not my scence, but there you go. I can say I have visited both places. *Harrods was especially recognizable as the scene of the imfamous Mr. Bean Christmas, which our family MUST watch every year on the insistence of my mom.  

The walk to get from one store to the next was through Hyde Park. Once again, it was a beautiful, sunny day out in London and many people were taking advantage of the day by strolling through the park, running, biking, picnicing, and hiring boats. Hyde Park is a massive park in the middle of the city and is a wonderful retreat from the business of London.  

Later on Tuesday afternoon I went to The British Museum. This museum started off with a meger 30 artifacts in 1753. It now has over 8 million works. It is a beautiful building inside and out. It is massive now. I think that I could visit there everyday for a year and still visit and learn new things. I enjoyed a bowl of salad and a cup of tea at the Museum Cafe and then headed up to Room 40 for a guided tour of the room which house Medieval English artifacts. The women who was the guide was really informative and added to my visit of the museum. The room was not too large, but she took us to a number of different aritfacts within the room and explained the historical significance.  

Famously, The British Museum is home to the Rosetta Stone. So, just like when I visited the Lourve and HAD to visit The Mona Lisa, I visited the Rosetta Stone. It is truly fascinating to see something first hand that dates back to 196BC. The stone is covered with three writings: Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic script,and Ancient Greek.  

On Wednesday, my main goal was to head to King's Cross Station to visit Platform 9 3/4. It was a rainy day in London but where I was heading I really could get to indoors all the way. King's Cross Station is a beautiful and huge train station. It was not too difficult to find Platform 9 3/4 as there was a line up of excited people (of all ages) roped off. At the front of the line, there was a cart with luggage and a caged owl that had halfway crossed from London to Platform 9 3/4 to journey on the train to Hogwarts. Everyone was welcome to take pictures. There were also two employees working, offering a House scarf to wear and taking an official picture. I had a couple of gals in line take a picture with my cameras but I ended up buying my official photo also. I collected the photo from the Harry Potter shop located just beside Platform 9 3/4. That was a fun morning.  

I was able to purchase a London City Mug from Starbucks and decided to mail it home with a few other items that I have purchased for some really special kiddos. I think The Post Office and The Royal Mail is like a religion to the Brits. The Post Office was so busy that I had to pull a ticket. There were 22 customers in front of me. I am truly not saying this as a complaint merely as a surprising comparison to home where, when I visit the post office, it is rarely busy at all.   After my visit to The Post Office, I walked to St. Paul's Cathedral to walk the grounds and have a look at the church. When I was on the original bus tour of London, I can remember the guide pointing out a building near St. Paul's with a damaged wall. I was trying to find this wall again in order to photograph it. The wall had been damaged from mortar shells during the Blitz in World War II. The damage had not been repaired to act as a reminder of the war. Unfortunately, I was unable to find this elusive wall again.  

My check out time was 10 am on Thursday morning and I wanted to get laundry done prior to leaving London. That is how I spent my Wednesday evening.  

Next stop Totnes and Nell

London Calling Part 4 The Tower of London

One of the main attractions I wanted to see when in London was The Tower of London. Having already seen the poppy installation and walked all around the grounds, I knew that it was busy and that I should get to the site early. I bought my ticket online hoping to avoid ticket puchasing line ups. This turned out to be the only line that I avoided all day.  

I did not realize that it was half term when I booked my week in London. But it seems that everyone who visited London this week was at The Tower of London. So, although I had smartly prepurchased my tickets, I then had to line up in the ticket holders line, which was long. The major bonus of the day was that it was 20 degrees, sunny, cloudless, and overall just beautiful.  

The Tower opened at 10 am and I wanted to participate in a guided tour. I think that I was finally on the grounds and ready for the 11 am tour. Our guide was a Beefeater, or a Yoemen Warder. The guard actually live on the grounds of the Tower, with their families. They must have served in the forces for 20 plus years, have a clear record of service, and no criminal record. Bob was an excellent tour guide who mixed humour and intrigue into his tour.  

Bob explained about the history of The Tower. It had once been a mint, was and still is considered a palace, a jail, and obviously a holding place for those who were to be executed. As  most people were rather interested in hearing about the gory history, Bob spent some time explaining how a person would be executed. The vast majority of the executions did not occur inside the walls of The Tower, rather, when the time came, the large tower bell rang, the condemned was marched from The Tower, up the hill, to a scaffold that was built for their hanging. Some people were hanged until dead. Other, mainly those convicted of treason, were hanged, brought down, stretched on the rack, drawn, and quartered. Their heads would have rested on a spike outside of The Tower and the parts of their bodies would journey throughout the country, on display, to act as a deterent to all citizens.  

After that lovely chat, we were led to the centre of the grounds. We were taked to the place of The Tower were executions took place inside the wall. Here, only 6 executions took place. They were all people who were considered friends of royalty (so two of Henry VIII's wives). Down from this place of execution is the Tudor style home that was built for Ann Boleyn as a gift from Henry VIII at their wedding. Unfortunately, Ann was beheaded prior to seeing this home completed.  

We were led to the inside of The Tower Chapel. This chapel is still a place for prayer. Burried under the ground were many of the people who had died within The Tower, including Ann Boleyn and her sister.  

At the end of the tour, Bob recommended that we line up for The Crown Jewels. He noted that the day before, the line ups were taking up to two hours and speculated that it may only be a half an hour line up presently. He was off by about 30 minutes. I took his advice and lined up. This line up took about an hour. The Crown Jewels are housed in a building inside a walk in safe. The rooms that they are located in are within a built in safe. I walked through the steel safe doors that were at least two feet thick. The attraction within were jewels that have been used by different monarchs over the centuries. Also included are those items that may have been used for such things as coronation feasts, such as massive gold punch bowls, goblets, and the like. This area of The Tower was mildly interesting to me.  

After this line up, I joined a few other line ups to see other parts of The Tower. Firstly, was the line up to get up onto the wall, then the line up to get into The Torture Room, then the line up for The White Tower.  

The walk on the wall was short. Part of the walk included walking through the king's chamber. The Torture Room was a very small tower that showcased different types of torture, for instance, the manacles (like handcuffs that a person would be hung from), the rack (previously described), the scavanger's daughter (the opposite of the rack where a person would be folded in three and compressed). Finally, the White Tower, which housed the most artifacts and I found to be the most interesting, is where all of the armoury is held. Espcially interesting was Henry VIII's early versus later in life suits of armour. Also, interesting was the wooden models of horses that had been used in order to model and create armour for horses.  

Of course, The Tower is well known for the ravens. And there were ravens a plenty. Up close, they are quite large. Apparently, their wings are clipped in order to keep them at The Tower.  

I think that a well spent time at The Tower of London can be completed in about two hours. I visited from 10 until 5. It was an exhausting day.   On my way out, I was able to watch a Yoeman Warder and a horn players gather among the poppies. Each night as the sun sets, a number of names of war dead are read out and remembered. The Last Post is played. It was unbelievable to see how many people came out to witness this event and to pay their respect.   We will remember

London Calling Part 3 Changing of the Guards

The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace takes place every other day at this time of year. On Sunday I decided to head to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. I had read that it was important to show up early as there were generally a lot of people who wanted to watch this event. The guards change at 11:15am. I thought that I would be at the gates about 10:30.  

Although I arrived with plenty of time and found a spot right at the entrance gates, there were hundreds of people already milling about all over the grounds. The police were keeping everyone under control and ushering them to stand in the appropriate areas in order to leave a very large pathway for the guards. At 11:15, a parade of guards began marching from the Mall toward Buckingham Palace. There was a guard band playing and marching as well. The guards were flanked by police on horses. The procession entered the gates where I was in an excellent position to see them. After that, there was not too much that I could see as I was behind a hoard of people who were taller than me and everyone had their hands in the air recording the guard change on their iPhones. I could still hear the music which was nice.  

Since I wasn't seeing anything up close, I decided to head around the grounds to tour and see what else was worth looking at at the palace. At about noon, the guards who were coming off of their shift along with the marching band exited the opposite gates and marched out toward their barracks. The band continued to play as they marched with them. The mounted police escorts lead and followed them once again.  

As the crowds dissipated, I was able to more easily see Buckingham Palace and the two guards who were now standing in guard after the change. On Saturday, the bus guide had informed me that the hats that the guards wear are black bear fur from Canada! The men and women do look very impressive in their uniforms.  

Adjacent to the palace was Green Park. London has a number of very large public gardens that people really take advantage of every day. I wandered around the park for a while. I crossed the park to a shopping district in order to get some supplies from Boots and then headed for a Starbucks.  

Once I was suitablely caffinated, I headed back to Green Park. In Green Park, I found some gates that opened up to Buckingham Palace that were called Canada Gates. So, obviously, I had to take pictures of these. I don't really know the story behind them at all but It is always comforting to see a bit of Canada when I am away from home.  

I continued to walk around the perimeter of the park. The park is beautiful. The trees are huge. There were kids all over the place who were diving and hiding in piles of leaves. It was awesome to see the kids having such a great time.  

At one corner of the park was a newly installed war memorial. The memorial consisted of pillars that had the names of Commonwealth countries on them. These pillars were to commemorate those who had faught with Britain in past wars.  

Farther up from this memorial was another memorial. This was a newly dedicated memorial to those who served in the air force. There were 6 large statues of men in various air force uniforms inside of this memorial. Canada helped to support the building of this memorial. It was very moving.  

Next up for the day was a Political and Historical Walking Tour of London. We were to meet at the corner of Green Park. Our guide, Becky, met us there at 3pm. I am becoming a really big fan of walking tours. This was another case of an exceptional tour that lasted two hours. The guide took us through Green Park, the grounds of Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, past the house of the Prime Minister at 1 Downing Street (where there was a very busy political protest happening), toward Winston Churchill's WWII bunker, past St. James' Park, around the grounds of Westminster Abbey, and finally left us a The Parliament Buildings. The clock tower was lit up as it was now starting to get dark (due to last week's time change) and the effect was really stunning. All along the route, Becky told us interesting stories about Kings, Queens, Prime Ministers, and prominent historical figures.  

Even though it was Sunday, and my "usual" underground route was not in service, I was able to make my way home easily from Westminster Abbey to Aldgate East using my alternative route. I was learning!  

What a great day out in London.