Europe, Day Fifteen
These so-called vacations will soon be my death. I’m so sick from the drink, I need home for a rest…
Ahh, Spirit of the West, you wrote it well! I can’t believe it’s been over two weeks now since I left the fair city of Chicago. Make no mistake, we’re still having fun, and still checking out sights.
Today, we spent the afternoon at Westminster Abbey. At our stop in Belgium, meeting up with Pat in the Delrium Cafe, he made not of the fact that he had pretty much seen enough cathedrals. I can understand where he’s coming from — I think I’m museumed out at this point — but I’m glad we went to this cathedral.
The included audio tour is read by Jeremy Irons, so it’s like being led around the cathedral by a charming Brit with a fantastic voice whispering the details in your ear. I definitely recommend it.
The Abbey itself has a fantastic history, and you see so many tombs, memorials, and shrines, it’s impossible to recall them all without cheating. The ones that stand out in my mind are:
- Mary, Queen of Scots
- Elizabeth I
- Edward the Confessor
- Oliver Cromwell (sort of, since his body was, a few years after burial, removed, hanged, decapitated, drawn, and quartered.)
- William Shakespeare (memorial)
- Handel
- Sir Lawrence Olivier
- Sir Isaac Newton
- Charles Darwin
- Winston Churchill (memorial)
- Franklin Roosevelt (memorial)
I wonder how many anti-science zealots would be surprised and appalled that Charles Darwin is buried adjacent to an altar in a holy Christian cathedral.
After the tour, we braved the on-and-off rain, made our way up to a shopping district for tea, and so Tisha could check out some of the stores that aren’t in the US. We had lunch/tea at Selfridges, then she did a little shopping while I wandered.
Following that, it was off to the pub. We stopped in at the Doric Arch again, since we knew it had free WiFi and I could find the next pub from there. The place was packed, due to the Ashes being shown. No, it wasn’t a cremation, or anything, just the biennial Test Cricket contest between Great Britain and Australia. And, I’ve tried very hard, but I still have no sweet clue what the hell is going on in a cricket match. All I know is that there’s a ball, a wicket, and it takes days.
Still, we looked up and found the pub I’d read about earlier in the week, the Bree Louise. This pub won the CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ales) pub of the year award for 2009/2010. And rightfully so!
16 real ales, 11 of them gravity, 5 on pump! 8 ciders on cask! Fortunately, or possibly unfortunately, I discovered my favorite beer there on my first pint! I tried some others, but I kept coming back to Dark Star Old Chestnut. Sooooo good.
We stayed for supper, then made our way back to Euston Station. Unlike in the song above, the train journeyed south, taking us to Victoria Station, and a short walk to the hotel.
Love this city!
Our last day begins tomorrow. I’ve no idea what we’re going to do, but the safe money is on some more beer.
‘Night!
