The picture above, is of Westminster Abbey, a church, a museum, and a place where famous monarchs, writers, and scientists are entombed. Queen Elizabeth I is buried with her sister, Mary (often referred to as Bloody Mary) buried right underneath her. On top of Elizabeth I's tomb is a life-sized sculpture of her laying down. At her death, her attendants laid a mask across her face, shaping it into her likeness. This death mask enables us to look back over the centuries at what she looked like in that moment. I have already visited here twice, but am always fascinated by the lace ceiling in her chapel, carved from marble; poet's corner, where Geoffrey Chaucer is buried; and I still haven't found the exact location of Sir Isaac Newton, who is also buried here. London is where we will start our trip on Sunday!
June 12: Hi Caleigh and Hannah! I am on the airplane right now heading for London. Share the site with anyone you know would be interested, and if they leave a comment for me I will address what I think you all would like. Wyat would probably be interested too. I have lots to tell you about poet's corner. Catch you all next from London!
June 14: After flying all night we landed at 6:30 in the morning London time, but 2:30 in the morning Raleigh time. The London Heathrow is a fast train that took us right into the heart of London, where we rolled our suitcases right out of the station and onto the London streets. I am typing this on my phone right now as we speak.
Yesterday, we must have walked 15 miles. It was misty rain all day, but the day that was going to rain the least of all the time here.
Highlights of the last two days:
The British Library: Imagine walking in one small room where so many of the most important books in history are gathered, where they have one of the original copies of the Magna Carta right next to a Papal bull annulling it (a paper from the Pope). Bibles and religious books both hard written and drawn, illuminated manuscripts, documents from around the world, and part of a Shakespeare first folio! We were not allowed to take pictures, so take a look at some of the sights in the streets:
The gentleman above is a Beefeater, a nickname for the yeoman wardens, all with exemplary service in the military. He was a hilarious guide through the tower, which is actually a fort built after the French William of Normandy conquered England in 1066.
The sculpture of the pillow represents the people who lost their heads inside the fort. Most traitors to the crown were executed outside, but a few notable ones, two wives of King Henry VIII for example, were probably innocent, and were given some consideration of their rank as queens. I will have to tell you that story when I get back!
Below is the facade of Westminster Abbey, the place where many kings and queens have been christened, coronated and buried. Cassie and Hannah, you asked about poet's corner. Just before Geoffrey Chaucer died in1400, he asked if he could be buried in a corner of the abbey. As the father of English poetry and comedy, his request was granted. Now many poets, musicians, and at least two great actors are buried or recognized here. There was a debate about whether Shakespeare should be moved here, but about one hundred years after his death the debate was settled and they erected a monument to him instead. Robert and Elizabeth Browning, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and John Milton are some of the great English poets memorialized here. Charles Darwin and Sir Isaac Newton are also buried here, but my favorite sections are the queens chapels with its creamy marble lace ceiling and three women who battled over England buried within a few feet of each other; in fact on right over another. Can you guess who they are?
I love walking on streets that were named in favorite books or seeing where the history I have studied actually happened. Let me know your questions! I have enjoyed looking for things for you. And finally, the pictures posted! Now on to Italy, and more pictures or Caleigh.
June 19: I have to catch you up on yesterday and today, but first an answer to a few questions. Hannah was right about the two queens buried one over the other. Queen Mary, Henry VIII's oldest is buried underneath her sister Elizabeth I. The Tudors were not a safe family to be born into. Their father declared his marriage to Mary's mother invalid after more than 20 years, married Elizabeth's mom, Anne Boleyn, and then later had her executed. Caleigh, the gelato is ice cream, but because it has less cream, the favors come through more, plus it is often homemade--yum!
Yeaterday Chaz and I traveled to Cinqe Terra, or Five Lands. These are five little towns that have remained mostly unchanged for four hundred years, until tourism hit about fifty years ago. They are little fishing villages, carved out of the cliffs in northwestern Italy before the French border. They have terraced the sides of the mountains to farm them. They are protected by Unesco as a world heritage site, and we had to travel by bus, train, and ferry to get to all of them.
On the way back, our guide pointed out the mountain above. The white is not snow, but a marble quarry--the same one that may tile a counter top of someone you know, but also the same one that Michelangelo used to create one of his masterpieces, David. And that almost leads me to today's adventures. I hope you are still reading. I am thinking of you and hoping you will plan adventures of your own. When I was your age, I wanted to touch every continent, and I haven't done it yet, but I will. Take a moment before you read on and post an adventure you want to take or an experience you want to try. Sometimes putting your idea out in the open presents new opportunities and things start coming your way. Besides, then I can help you get there.
Today, we started with a the piazza San Giovanni (well named, don't you think, Gia?) which blends into the Piazza Del Duomo.
We then climbed the bell tower. The white building is the Baptistery from above.
A fabulous reality while we were on the steps:
The tower is so high that as you climb and reach an open level, you think you have reached the top. People around who have already been to the top, in any language shake their heads and say things like"half way" or simply "more". The staircase is skinny, enough space for one and a half people. They spiral around so one side is wide enough for a foot, but the inside is only as wide as a few inches. At the open spaces the wind billows around, the seven bells suddenly ring out right above your head, and you can see for miles the terra cotta roofs, the museums and piazzas are pointed out, but people are specks of color.
On the way back down I caught up to two Italian men who suddenly stopped. In Italian, the lower man says in surprise, "It's a girl!" He booms a deep laugh as she scurries under his belly to climb the narrow staircase, pig tails bobbing. Behind her are her mother and father who call to her in Chinese to stop and wait. The Italian friend says, chucking, "too much spaghetti." The Italian says, "you are right!" and tries to hug the outer wall laughing so hard he is shaking. Mom squeezes past. By this time we are all laughing hard and then we see the Chinese father, try to reach over the belly with a backpack on. This causes roaring laughter to echo up the stone passageway. Dad takes off his backpack, passes it over and climbs under the belly.
Some views from the Italian countryside, and at the end, an adventurer, another famous Giovanni. That makes three--a saint, an explorer, and a Medici!
Below: The Trevi Fountain, one of the most beautiful fountains in Rome, a city that celebrates both the beauty and engineering of water.
The oculus in the roof of the Pantheon. Megan, this is open to the air, a natural air conditioner. Rain does come in, but the marble has remained intact for over two centuries.
smallest region of Italy. You would love the drive here Hannah, passing through fields of sunflowers, hills and towns nestled together.
Parking: this is the middle of an intersection.
One reason to wait to reflect on these as a whole is that one experience shouldn't be what we base a generalization on, but after many it is easier to see patterns. People have been kind and generous to us everywhere we went, even chasing us down to return change when we misunderstood the amount and overpaid. Plan an adventure for yourself. I would love to hear what your goals are!