In London: May You Kneel Where My Knees Knelt

Kudos to all of you in the Blogoshpere! I want to thank some of you for the feedback you sent to Tish509@comcast.net which actually identified a life-long Tish Challenge... Okay. You're ALL correct! Too "many" of my Blog Entries are too long!! So today, I'm going to work to make them shorter!! I'm going to try!!!!!!!

Anyway, I wanted to take you back across the pond today... This time to London! This destination was the second stop of our whirlwind 12 Day Tour of France and England and once again eleven hours of walking per day, (step, step, step...) trying to cover as many of the 66 square miles as possible of this enchanting city cut in two by the Thames River and lined with beautiful parks, gardens, 17,000 historic buildings, and 200 museums. The first question: Where on earth do we start?!!

Oh my gosh - after checking into our hotel at The Royal Horseguards - we loved every minute as we walked through the heart of every place we had ever dreamed of: Hyde Park, the Piccadilly Circus Area, Trafalgar Square and beyond... We were exhilarated and somber all at once as we tracked the great palaces of the City of Westminster. We went from Buckingham Palace, to Big Ben, to Winston Churchill's underground bunker in the Imperial War Museum, to Parliament and its amazing Victoria Tower (the largest square tower in the world!). We stood at 10 Downing Street as Tony Blair prepared to exit his residence on his last day office. The press was everywhere as his motorcade escorted him to Parliment to deliver his last speech. The new Prime Minister Gordon Brown was on the way... We couldn't believe it - historic sites and history in the making! It was just great!

Then on to Shakespeare's Globe, Thames House, The National Gallery... and onward to the utterly amazing and haunting Westminster Abbey - where world history, faith, all art forms, cultures, and the light and dark sides of humanity collide under one roof. I don't know how to explain it, but we were both left with a strange sense of tension that lingered for hours after we finished this tour. But no worries - a ten minute cab ride across London lightened the mood as we enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes Museum and later laughed uncontrollably as Harry acted out a Sargent Pepper Trek across the real Abbey Road! As horns honked, we got the message that locals would have much preferred we go home and "Let It Be!"

The mind-boggling and gruesome history of the Tower of London stopped Harry and I in our tracks... Harry was mesmerized and all day he really missed the kids as he tried to imagine what their reaction would be to this unbelievable country. I actually felt a tad ill as we passed through chambers filled with the olden day tools of torture in the White Tower. I literally walked off the tour a few times to get some fresh air. But the Tower Bridge and all its splendor of Victorian architecture was a beautiful diversion to focus on when the history of William the Conqueror got to be too much! It was so emotional... One minute we were caught up in the artistic wonder of what we were staring at and in the next moment the history simply blew us away! It was literally exhausting at times.

And there we were again with a view from the top-of-the-world on The Modern Day Eye - that huge Ferris Wheel built for the Millennium celebration. This wonderful experience with my Harry somehow usurped my fear of heights. Those who know me would absolutely call this a miracle! (Oh yes - I had a rough time at the Grand Canyon and on that glass escalator in Trump Tower in NYC!) But here... I felt no fear. Encased by glass and encircled by this view, I was grateful for this moment.

We took buses through the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. On our way to Shakespeare's birthplace @ Stratford on the Avon and Exeter University in Oxford, our guide provided an awesome listening tour-through-time highlighting what was special about each suburb. We loved it as we travelled through a collection of charming villages - each with its own unique history and character. To impress our Kate, we also shopped at Harrod's and had dinner at Gordon Ramsey's where we pretended we were the #1 Fans of his hit show, Hell's Kitchen. My gosh - it "literally" cost a King's Ransom, but we ate like an English king and queen for sure!

For me, our stop at London's 1400 year old St. Paul's Cathedral was the personal highlight of my summer journey. During our exploration of the massive Dome, all the Crypts and Galleries surrounding the Nave, and the Quire, this place of peace, retreat, and worship (Here I go again...) literally moved me to tears. Harry climbed the 163 steps to the incredible Whispering Gallery in the Dome itself. I did not. No steps for me after the Arc de Triomphe just to to be safe, so I walked alone for a while. Nothing could prepare me for what I would feel as I reached the back of this cathedral... nothing.

In back of the highest alter I'd ever seen and tucked behind the Roll of Honor in a place called the Apse is the American Memorial Chapel - the people of Britain built this chapel as a gift to America to honor our men & women who had fought for peace during World Wars I & II. I stood silent inside this place of reverence with chills running up-and-down my spine as I read the inscriptions on the walls honoring those who gave all so others could live. It was humbling that our great nation had such a meaningful place in this cathedral and her 1400 year history.

Every aunt, uncle and friend who had ever served in the Armed Forces found their way to me in this chapel and my heart was engulfed by their presence and warmth. What their sacrifices and service meant to people of other nations was never more succinctly clear to me. This was my moment - a miraculous and all-consuming feeling swept me away to a beautiful place unknown which connected every cherished dot in my life. When I exited that chapel to reunite with Harry, physically it felt as if I had just climbed the 163 steps to the Whispering Gallery. (Wow - I've been trying to describe what happened to me in the American Memorial Chapel @ St. Paul's Cathedral for almost 3 years and I think I just did it!)

I can't wait until Kate and Scott kneel where my knees knelt on that beautiful June day in 2007.

How about if I start my "shorter" Blog entries tomorrow - okay?

Best regards,
Everybody's Cousin Tish
Score: 20/51

Quote of the Day:

"This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,--
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England."

William Shakespeare, "King Richard II"