The evening was beautiful. Our apartment was located on Tooley Street, about three blocks from London Bridge.
London Bridge
I made it to the Bridge just in time to see the drawbridge opened for a three-masted sailing ship pass through.It is difficult to imagine, that just a few hours ago, I was still packing madly at our home in anticipation of our three-week holiday.
Today, we visited several of the main tourist attractions in London - the London Tower, London Eye, and Camden market. Each offered a unique perspective of London, and the history that has shaped it over the centuries.
London Tower
I cannot fathom what life was like in the 1300's, when London was still the most powerful city in England. Through the centuries, the Tower of London has sent two powerful messages to anyone who was sent there: incredible power, and unspeakable cruelty. Power is represented, however, even today by the display of ancient armaments, by Beefeater solders that have been guarding the Tower for hundreds of years, and by the opulent Crown Jewels.
But it is power with cruelty that has persisted over the centuries. Monarchs and traitors, queens caught in adultery and prisoners of conscience were kept at the Tower.
Some were kept in solitary confinement for the rest of their miserable lives.Some were tortured on the rack, or compressed with knees folded against their chest, until they died, or held for hours by the arms with metal clasps designed to cut into the wrists.
Two children, aged twelve, were imprisoned there after being (wrongly) declared illegitimate and a potential danger to the king of the time. The children were later murdered in the tower. To this day, no one knows for certain who ordered their death, as they had several enemies, including the king, who had a motive.
The history of the London Tower is ever present and made me want to learn more.
London Eye
Two children, aged twelve, were imprisoned there after being (wrongly) declared illegitimate and a potential danger to the king of the time. The children were later murdered in the tower. To this day, no one knows for certain who ordered their death, as they had several enemies, including the king, who had a motive.
The history of the London Tower is ever present and made me want to learn more.
London Eye
The London Eye was simply a spectacle, a huge enclosed Ferris wheel that provides a 360 degree view of the city in one long circle ride that lasts 30 minutes.
I enjoyed it, if nothing else, because of the vastness of the city that laid before me.
Afterward, we took the Tube to Camden Market, which offered a unique perspective to the city. London is composed of a multi-cultural fabric of people of all walks of life. I heard at least a half dozen languages spoken on the street today.
Camden Market
Camden Market displayed their wares. Oddly, there were few Chinese vendors. Most were Malaysian, Indian or from somewhere in the Middle East. The diversity of goods, most hand crafted from around the world, was amazing.
Camden Market has quite a history in London, as it was the nexus of the train, a river lock system that linked ocean traffic from the Thames and the train and horse-drawn carts that distributed goods and produce throughout England. With the advent of trains, however, it was quickly found that horses and busy train tracks were fundamentally incompatible.
Eventually an extensive series of tunnels were built under the tracks. These were used to both to interconnect carts to train platforms and to keep horses underground.
Part of these tunnels still exist at Camden Market, where horse stalls have now been converted to vendor stalls. It is a remarkable, and little known part of London history. Today, Camden market is a edgy, exciting place - young kids in spiked haircuts, reggae musicians spontaneously beating out rhythms with friends inside and outside the stalls, and the heavy rock filled the air. As a fifty one year old guy, I felt both out of place, and exhilarated at the same time. I like to think I'm young enough to enjoy this. Rebecca and Naomi, of course, loved it.
Camden Market
Camden Market displayed their wares. Oddly, there were few Chinese vendors. Most were Malaysian, Indian or from somewhere in the Middle East. The diversity of goods, most hand crafted from around the world, was amazing.
Camden Market has quite a history in London, as it was the nexus of the train, a river lock system that linked ocean traffic from the Thames and the train and horse-drawn carts that distributed goods and produce throughout England. With the advent of trains, however, it was quickly found that horses and busy train tracks were fundamentally incompatible.Eventually an extensive series of tunnels were built under the tracks. These were used to both to interconnect carts to train platforms and to keep horses underground.
Part of these tunnels still exist at Camden Market, where horse stalls have now been converted to vendor stalls. It is a remarkable, and little known part of London history. Today, Camden market is a edgy, exciting place - young kids in spiked haircuts, reggae musicians spontaneously beating out rhythms with friends inside and outside the stalls, and the heavy rock filled the air. As a fifty one year old guy, I felt both out of place, and exhilarated at the same time. I like to think I'm young enough to enjoy this. Rebecca and Naomi, of course, loved it.
And so, I am now writing this entry, at the end of a long day. No doubt, it has been made a bit longer due to lingering jet lag.
Tomorrow, we will be spending a bit of time in the morning in and around London. However, we will be leaving in the early afternoon for Crewe, an English village near Chester, located outside of Manchester. We will be taking a three hour train ride through the English countryside to get there. We will be met by friends who have now moved there, Claire and Brian, with their two children, Owen and Laura. Laura is Rebecca's age; Owen is a bit younger than Naomi. It will, I believe, offer yet another perspective of British life
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