Abbey Road (s)

Exterior shot Randy took

Bright and early we arose and headed to Westminster Abbey which is my second visit but every bit as astonishing as Randy found it to be. There were no lines! We ducked inside and just in time to pick up a personal tour by a guide with a great love of history and just the right touch of reverence. It was a fantastic tour. 

Westminster Station in the Tube

Westminster Abbey is immense. The ceiling is over 400 ft high with many chambers and chapels and hallways. It is easy to miss important relics and religious paintings along the way, even with a map.

Westminster sprang from a modest beginning of being first consecrated by the Benedictines in 1065. The first big event was in 1066 when William the Conquerer was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Each transept and tower is more grand than the last; and it is immediately apparent The Abbey reflects the boundless growth and glory of England itself.

The chapel of Edward
the Confessor

No cameras are allowed inside but there were some on the net to share. The modern look of The Abbey is due to remodeling efforts on and off between the 13th - 18th centuries and has a strong French influence. This is the resting place to some of the world's most influential contributors including ruling monarchs. We were moved by the poignant tributes to Martin Luther King, Jr. and FDR near Winston Churchill's resting place.

Coronation Chair

The guide led behind velvet ropes to sit in the Quire just steps from Queen Elizabeth II's royal seat when she attends mass three times a year. We were shown the exact spot she was crowned Queen in 1953 and how The Abbey was closed for a full year to build massive bleachers for thousands of spectators.

We spent time in the closed-to-the-public Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor. The Coronation Chair was off site and undergoing a restoration to remove graffiti left by unattended English school boys in the 1970s.

Henry VII's chapel is just past the marble tomb of Elizabeth I and her half sister Bloody Mary I, who remain symbolically at odds even in death, and the remains of Edward V and Richard, the young princes killed by their uncle, Richard III, to ascend to the throne.

Tomb of Sir Issac Newton

Poet's Corner overflows with honorary tributes to England's best, beginning with Chaucer in 1400 and shared by Blake, Milton, Austen, Coleridge, Jonson, Wordworth, Keats and so many others, including a tribute to Shakespeare and one to American author Charles Dickens. It is easily my most favorite spot. Elsewhere are tributes to scientists James Watt and Sir Isaac Newton.

We covered as much of The Abbey as possible, and learned about some of the beautiful sculptures and frescoes, and saw Dean's Yard, the chapter house and Abbey Museum. We reverently stood next to the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior before reluctantly heading back to the Tube and into the next leg of our day, a Beatles tour of London.

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The Changing of the Guard and Tower of London

Buckingham Palace CotG

The double decker bus was our first activity of the day, and with limited time it was an excellent choice to see as much of the city as possible and get our bearings.

The day began sunny and crisp as we headed out with a backpack full of maps, water bottles and jackets for a day of exploring in this unpredictable English climate. Within minutes we were standing in front of Buckingham Palace with the throng of others waiting for the Changing of the Guard.

Beefeater with Randy

The shift change happens three times a day but only twice a week is the formal Changing of the Guard ceremony performed at 11:30 am, weather permitting. It is full of utterly British pomp and circumstance and a hush fell over the crowd as they approached and formally transitioned their posts.

Afterwards, we took a leisurely walk through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to rest our feet and enjoyed the unexpected parade of off duty guards heading right through the park with a full military band escorting them from the Palace to the Guard House.

Included with the bus trip was a short ride up the Thames from the Palace to the Tower of London and a wonderful vantage point to enjoy the varied skyline with its old and new.

Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park

We floated past the Globe theatre that was painstakingly reconstructed after it was lost in the famous fire of 1666. It is said that the four day fire, which began in a bakery, consumed 85% of the 80,000 inhabitants' homes and destroyed nearly all of London's West Side.

We passed the Golden Hinde and under the London Bridge to the Tower Bridge with its bright blue steel girders, and disembarked.

The West Side and Globe theatre

The sky was darkening and the wind had picked up some but we pressed on to the sights within the walls. The Crown Jewels are here in the - aptly named - Jewel Tower with Queen's Elizabeth II's coronation footage playing in the background. It was thrilling to be here.

Small display of the crowned jewels

Visitors approach the Crown Jewels from two sides and slide gently along on a moving escalator. The precious stones each have a story and it was interesting to see where they were acquired and the variety of crowns and sceptres used through the centuries.

The Tower of London

The Bloody Tower got its name partly from the slaughter of Edward IV's two young sons the eldest of which was heir to the throne. It was widely believed that the boys' uncle, Richard III, had them killed in order to take the throne for himself, which he did in 1483. The boys' remains were eventually discovered in the 17th century during a remodel of the tower. In one of the upper rooms, a video clip from Shakespeare's Richard III continually plays.

The Bloody Tower

This is the room where Sir Walter Raleigh lived until his execution in 1618. 

The White Tower has beautiful displays of weapons and armor used through the centuries by its most famous kings and warriors.  There is even armor for children!

Part of an extensive display

We were invited behind the velvet ropes to peer down through a plexiglas floor to where the Rack stood centuries earlier, and saw cannons that had melted together from the heat of bombs dropped during World War II.

There was a wooden door still in use that dates to 1066 when Charlamagne began construction of the Tower as a keep and grand royal palace. It was centuries before it came to be known as a notorious prison and remains a fallback location for the Royal family in turbulent times.

Private residences

We stood in Anne Asher's cell and imagined her torture and death for being a devout Protestant.  Beefeaters still guard the Crown Jewels and outbuildings today.

We dined at Shakespeare's for world famous fish and chips and a pint before hopping on the bus to see the rest of the city and eventually settling down for the night. What a great day.

Parliament Square, London (Day 1)

Outskirts of London

 The transport from Treviso to London was with an intracontinental airline that caught our breath with an abrupt wing shift just before landing, but was nearly on time and we arrived in one piece to Stansted Airport at the north of London proper.

A forty minute speed train took us to our hotel which was in the midst of a complete and thorough remodel and highly unacceptable for a comfortable and quiet stay.

A friendly Bobby

Once again we were encouraged by strangers and found a better hotel more centrally located and comfortably quiet.  The taxi driver who took us there was a

chatty and friendly man who lives in the sleepy town of Canterbury one-and-a-half hours to the north. He travels to London 2-3 days a week and stays over with his mum when in town. He said he is a fisherman by trade and taxi driver by necessity. We enjoyed his stories of local fishing competitions and discussed politics briefly, his and ours.

Along Trafalgar Square

It was easy to acclimate to the Tube (also known as the Underground). For 5.50, a 24 hour day pass gives you unlimited hops on and off most everywhere in Central London. It is immaculately clean and on time, and a wonderful way to travel to all parts of London. We ate in a pub and made our way to Trafalgar Square and Big Ben.

St Michaels and the Houses of Parliament

The sun was setting as we made our way towards Big Ben, St. Michaels and the Houses of Parliament, and the buildings became uplit at twilight. It was beautiful and majestic.  

England is days from the big vote for Prime Minister and many seats in Parliament are up for grabs. The flag flies proudly at the top of the Parliament building and Big Ben is lit when Parliament is in session and we enjoyed the cool, clear evening for some beautiful shots.

Big Ben by night

We continued past St. Michaels with its incredibly ornate Gothic spires that seem to go on for miles and they do in a way, for the Parliament buildings intersect. Eventually we met up with the Victorian Gardens overlooking the River Thames. There in the gardens was a stunning reproduction of the sculpture The Burghers of Calais by Auguste Rodin, purchased by the British Government in 1911 and positioned there in 1915.

The Burghers of Calais by Rodin

The story goes that during the Hundred Years' War Calais was under seige and Edward III overtook the French port on the English Channel and offered to spare the city from plunder if its leaders would surrender themselves, presumably to be executed. The Queen did eventually prevail upon the King to spare their lives but the sculpture captures the men with defeat deeply etched in their faces as they willingly chose to sacrifice their lives for the good of their citizens.  

Peaceful Protesters

In the center greenbelt of Parliament Square was a makeshift camp of protesters, tents and signs and megaphones shouting out their passionate dismay for the Greek economic crisis and the war in Afghanistan. 

 

It was interesting to hear British citizens exercising their freedom of speech just like their American cousins do.  We aren't so divergent after all.

Murano, San Marco Square, Venice

Murano Glass Factory was just a short 15 minute boat ride to a nearby island in the harbor of the Grand Canal. There are several islands along the Grand Canal.

Burano is famous for its lace museum and shops along the main streets and also the far side of the island with its beautiful pastel houses and old ways.  

Torcello is known as the birthplace of Venice and is the least developed island and furthest away. But today our interest was in Murano and its famed glass factory.

The Vaporetto took us efficiently to the main dock with the glass factory just steps away. Along the docks and walkways were restaurants and hundreds of shops, as you might imagine. We were channeled by vendors into the factory first, and watched glass blowing and an artisan at work.

Afterwards, we walked carefully and briefly through the overpriced showrooms and high pressure salesmen to the shops beyond and a great lunch at a sidewalk cafe.

It was interesting to learn about the craftsmen who each have their own distinctive style and with a few souveniers headed back to Venice. It is beautiful art and we were impressed by its variety and intricacy.

The Basilica de San Marco (St. Marks) is in a grand piazza surrounded by official buildings, the church and campanile and definitely our next stop. The church has the largest display of restored mosaics in all of Italy and even from a distance you can see it majestically gleaming.  Venetian architecture is a unique combination of Gothic and Byzantine (ala Charlamagne) but at San Marco it is designed after basilicas in Constantinople and more classically Byzantine.

This church was built initially in 829 to house the remains of St. Mark. It currently stands from the 11th century reformation.

What a sensory experience to step inside with its golden mosaics on the walls and Gothic pillars, and stone and marble mosaics covering the floors. There are exquisite mosiacs the stories of Noah and the Ascension in the main church and more stories in adjacent rooms that display sculpture and paintings that celebrate a rich Catholic heritage.

Up top of the bell tower are magnificent views of all of Venice. We stepped out of the elevator just as the clock struck. It was awesome! Just below we could see the Clock Tower and two Moorish figures that have swung their clappers to chime on the hour and quarter hour since 1499. 360 degree views and from this vantage point Venice is beyond compare.

Afterwards, we spent an hour people watching at an outdoor cafe while listening to a classical quintet (two violinists, an accordianist, a bassist and a pianist). It was a beautiful way to spend the last afternoon. 

There were so many places we were unable to see except in a cursory way, the Doge's Palace and grounds, the Rialto Bridge with its fascinating shops, amazing world-famous mask shops and bookstores, the Bridge of Sighs and adjacent prison, and the eclectic Farmer's Market. 

We wanted to explore cubism in the Peggy Guggenheim, the Accademia, the Customs House with Atlas atop the dome, and the San Giorgio Maggiore church that sits majestically at the tip of the residential island of Giudecca.

It is hard city to capture and a hard city to forget. Venice is an intensely personal experience as you stand on the bridge and look at a world self-contained and eminently inhabitable. I connected to whatever is in the air and in the climate and on the faces of the people in this busy port at the edge of the world. Can we move here, please? 

We were reluctant to see the day end and that our time was up. We took one last leisurely Vaporetto ride to enjoy Venice by night and headed home to the Hotel Kette to pack.

Tomorrow begins early at 06:00 with a taxi ride that will link water to land to sky to take us to London, and that will be one of the highlights of the trip.

Arrividerci, Venezio! We will be back for a longer stay.

The Car

This is hard to admit being from the country that mass produced the automobile, but I have fallen out of love with it. Do I need to relinquish my citizenship? Until recently, I truly earnestly believed that to give up my car would give up my freedom. But no more.

I grew up in the suburbs and always loved the convenience of having a car. I biked a lot when I was younger, but my experience with public transit was limited to an extremely unsatisfactory Greyhound Bus trip to the Midwest and the occasional fun excursion on BART into The City. If someone took the bus, I always asked if their car was in the shop.

It was a somewhat more organic trip of Europe which included all kinds of public transportation. Planes, buses, lots of walking, metro and underground, Vaporetto (water buses), and rail. This was going to be a real treat and with my husband's experience with public transit in San Francisco, I had faith we would get along.

Here, from my mouth to yours, is the truth about European public transportation: delightful! It was fun figuring out the timetables and how to read the wall maps on the Underground. It was fun learning how to get from a train to a bus to a metro all in one day. It was even fun hauling luggage up and down stairs and over and under bridges and to discover trains have little luggage alcoves built in. We felt like locals as we sprang on and off boats in Venice and took ourselves down uneven stone streets on flimsy luggage wheels that held up remarkably well. We did, too!

There were memorable people along the way. It was even ok to wait in lines for tickets and advice. It was good to recognize and appreciate the hard work of those who kept the trains on time, safe and clean. And the biggest discovery was the myth that this kind of travel is hard or inconvenient.

A few American cities have put top notch public transit systems in place, but there are woefully few of them and often not self-sustaining by the people it serves.

It was wonderful to observe a successful system that attracts people from all walks of life, who good naturedly spend part of their day together every single day. The families we met have cars for weekend excursions but chose public transportation as a daily routine.  It is hard to imagine how transformed our country would be with this type of national option.

Every type of public transportation was clean and free of graffiti and vandalism. Look at them! There was no trash in the aisles, no guards. It's as though traveling on a well-devised system breaks down the barriers within the community and brings out the best in them. People in Italy and England recognize and respect the system itself, something we definitely could benefit by learning.

And that brings me back to our insane love of cars. How unfortunate it is to have such an affordable option as owning a car and being a solitary driver and be willing to sit five lanes wide in traffic for hours wasting gas and without the benefit of meeting or talking to or learning about anyone around us.

Life (and the environment) would be so much better off if we would.

Venice: Impressions

I loved Venice best. All the authors that described it in elegantly decay and on the way to its demise couldn't have stood on the bridges breathing in the Mediterranean scents having just stepped off a Vapporetto bus and past artisans that are absolutely everywhere.

How can we convey what Venice is like? Try to imagine being in a place that seems too beautiful to be real, Disneyland times 100 because it isn't contrived or recreated, and the patina is earned and the city teems with the sounds and smells of life. That is Venice.

It was sensory overload, a world where man's will fights to survive every day. Travelers make their way on foot or by boat, there is no other choice. Deliveries arrive by boat and then transported by hand truck to the shops and restaurants. The work is hard.

Streets seem only necessary to connect travelers to bridges, to piazzas, to lagoons and spill together into wide boulevards that line the Grand Canal. It is exciting to watch how the Venetians have adapted and celebrate life. Boats are tied along canals like cars in carports at the end of the day.

Venice is relatively new compared with other cities in Italy (somewhere around 700 AD the first ruler was elected) but it feels older because it is unspoiled by the passage of time. There are remarkable landmarks at every turn, constantly being maintained to cope with the salt water and flooding and the ravages to the stilts and infrastructure that takes place.

Residences live alongside businesses in these tall, narrow buildings. How can year round residents not tire of the millions of annual visitors, even those of us who traveled just off season of the crush of crowds, and yet we found the pace to be leisurely and wait staff friendly and attentive. We most enjoyed late evening walks on nearly deserted streets.

Impressionism is big in Venice, as it is elsewhere in Italy, but what a canvas! How can one go wrong in Venice? The beauty actually made me believe I could be a Monet. I mean, really, isn't impressionism just painting something and then smudging it up?! (Ha! I wish...)

The Uffizi and Beautiful Florence

The Uffizi and the Accademia are the two galleries to see, and with our limited time we had to make a choice, even knowing that missing one would mean bypassing important works we very much wanted to see. 

The Accademia has Michaelangelo's David, for instance, and specializes in famous sculpture; the Uffizi has Botticelli's Venus and specializes in famous painters. We had seen quite a few sculptures already and copies of David in the courtyard just outside the Uffizi along with Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus and Giambologna's Neptune. And in this way it was decided to concentrate on the Uffizi.  

The Uffizi was astonishing. It houses the world's most complete collection of Renaissance paintings that transformed the world. With a little review about perspective and the growth of the Renaissance style, we were able to look at the medieval and baroque periods, even being rushed through the rooms.

Sculptures line the long hallways that take you from room to room and through the different historical periods: Gothic and Byzantine, and into Reiaissance and then Florentine. Raphael, Salvi, Michaelangelo, Titian, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Botticelli and Di Vinci, all represented with works fresh and vibrant and beautifully preserved.

The tour itself was uninteresting and I'm sorry to report the guide didn't inspire us to linger in the wonders I'm sure the Uffizi has to offer. But we did stand before Botticelli's Venus and the magnificent works of Michaelangelo and look closely at works of Rosselli and Salvi and other masters we would like to study.

With a suitable docent I am sure the Uffizi would come alive. Perhaps we will return someday to discover that.