Last Day in London
Jun. 29th, 2007 11:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brassangelWe all slept in today. The plan was that we would split up and each couple would decide what they wanted to do on their own. We discovered there were some difficulties with our travel arrangements to Ireland and we had to iron those out. Once everything was organized it was too late for some of the plans we had so we stayed to gether and decided to head to St. Paul's Cathedral.
Our first stop was the Fireman's Memorial.
Byron and Tim climbed all the way up, but the rest of us went to the Subway nearby and ordered lunch. Byron and Tim got certificates showing they had made the climb.
After lunch it was on to the cathedral we made a stop at All Hallows by the Tower,
the other place we knew of that allowed rubbing, but their rubbing centre was shut down as well. From there we moved on to St. Paul's.
I had not known the steps of St Paul's were the ones in the pigeon scene in Mary Poppin's.
Jim and I, and Leisa and Tim, just barely managed to get into the cathedral, as they had just shut it down for filming. But they had already let Rowena and Byron in, and when we told them or friends were already in there, they let Jim and I in, and Leisa and Tim a few moments later.
Also due to the filming, we were unable to go up to the dome. We were restricted to the first floor and to the crypt. The crypt was amazing though. Cook, Nelson, Churchill, and so many old old stones. I was somewhat surprised to see a pentacle in the part of the cathedral dedicated to American servicemen.
After St Paul's we took the tube over to St James' Park
to see Buckingham Palace,
and the palace of the HorseGuard.
I was more impressed by the latter. It was much prettier.
After walking past Buckingham we headed across the park, past the Ritz and to the nearest tube stop. We were rushing because we were trying to make it to the Blood and Tears Walk.
http://www.365tickets.com/proddetail.cfm/productid/60
We were routed past King's Cross station, where we were supposed to transfer, for dubious reasons. The announcement when we reached the next station was that it was for safety equipment failure. we wonder in light of the bombing attempts in Piccadilly square. By the time we were about to exit that station they announced that King's cross was open again so we turned back around and tubed back there. That particular tube station was HUGE! We were running late and amazed to find the Tour Guide, Declan, was still there. He even waited for us to make an emergency potty run before he started. And we had to search for a place with a restroom, and then pretend we were actual customers at the bar we finally wound up in, so it was very nice of him to hold up for us.
Declan is a former actor, a historian and an author who is writing a book about Jack the Ripper. He took us on a walk around and about the oldest part of London showing us where William Wallace was drawn and quartered,
the Old Bailey, and Newgate Prison. He told us a story about a prisoner who actually managed to escape from Newgate only to get caught, drunk, in the same neighborhood, taken back to the prison, and then executed. Across the street he showed us St Sepulchre outside Newgate
and told us about the tunnel that runs under the street, into Newgate, and how a man would go from there to Newgate with a bell, ringing it on Sunday night's to let prisoners know they were going to die in the morning and it was their last chance to repent. He told us about a serial killer who used to keep the corpses of the men he killed as company. Also about a man named Thomas Cream who killed using strychnine and claimed in his last moments to have been Jack the Ripper. He also told about Jack the Ripper, of course, and took us near the home of the man he theorizes was the real Jack.
My favorite bit was when he took us down the alleyway that is where Sweeny Todd's story is supposed to have begun. He showed us the address where the barbaer shop would have been, right next to St Dunstans, and around the corner where the Meat Pie shop would have been.
After the tour, we went to a place called the Ultimate Burger for dinner,
http://www.ultimateburger.co.uk/index.html
then trudged home to collapse into bed.
Here is the very last picture I took in London:
And I'm still sick!
Our first stop was the Fireman's Memorial.
Byron and Tim climbed all the way up, but the rest of us went to the Subway nearby and ordered lunch. Byron and Tim got certificates showing they had made the climb.
After lunch it was on to the cathedral we made a stop at All Hallows by the Tower,
the other place we knew of that allowed rubbing, but their rubbing centre was shut down as well. From there we moved on to St. Paul's.
I had not known the steps of St Paul's were the ones in the pigeon scene in Mary Poppin's.
Jim and I, and Leisa and Tim, just barely managed to get into the cathedral, as they had just shut it down for filming. But they had already let Rowena and Byron in, and when we told them or friends were already in there, they let Jim and I in, and Leisa and Tim a few moments later.
Also due to the filming, we were unable to go up to the dome. We were restricted to the first floor and to the crypt. The crypt was amazing though. Cook, Nelson, Churchill, and so many old old stones. I was somewhat surprised to see a pentacle in the part of the cathedral dedicated to American servicemen.
After St Paul's we took the tube over to St James' Park
to see Buckingham Palace,
and the palace of the HorseGuard.
I was more impressed by the latter. It was much prettier.
After walking past Buckingham we headed across the park, past the Ritz and to the nearest tube stop. We were rushing because we were trying to make it to the Blood and Tears Walk.
http://www.365tickets.com/proddetail.cfm/productid/60
We were routed past King's Cross station, where we were supposed to transfer, for dubious reasons. The announcement when we reached the next station was that it was for safety equipment failure. we wonder in light of the bombing attempts in Piccadilly square. By the time we were about to exit that station they announced that King's cross was open again so we turned back around and tubed back there. That particular tube station was HUGE! We were running late and amazed to find the Tour Guide, Declan, was still there. He even waited for us to make an emergency potty run before he started. And we had to search for a place with a restroom, and then pretend we were actual customers at the bar we finally wound up in, so it was very nice of him to hold up for us.
Declan is a former actor, a historian and an author who is writing a book about Jack the Ripper. He took us on a walk around and about the oldest part of London showing us where William Wallace was drawn and quartered,
the Old Bailey, and Newgate Prison. He told us a story about a prisoner who actually managed to escape from Newgate only to get caught, drunk, in the same neighborhood, taken back to the prison, and then executed. Across the street he showed us St Sepulchre outside Newgate
and told us about the tunnel that runs under the street, into Newgate, and how a man would go from there to Newgate with a bell, ringing it on Sunday night's to let prisoners know they were going to die in the morning and it was their last chance to repent. He told us about a serial killer who used to keep the corpses of the men he killed as company. Also about a man named Thomas Cream who killed using strychnine and claimed in his last moments to have been Jack the Ripper. He also told about Jack the Ripper, of course, and took us near the home of the man he theorizes was the real Jack.
My favorite bit was when he took us down the alleyway that is where Sweeny Todd's story is supposed to have begun. He showed us the address where the barbaer shop would have been, right next to St Dunstans, and around the corner where the Meat Pie shop would have been.
After the tour, we went to a place called the Ultimate Burger for dinner,
http://www.ultimateburger.co.uk/index.html
then trudged home to collapse into bed.
Here is the very last picture I took in London:
And I'm still sick!
