Monday 7th April: Westminster Abbey, Thames House, East End

Our last full day in England, and of the many places we have yet to visit, the last one is going to be Westminster Abbey, site of coronations, weddings and funerals for a thousand years.

The Nave picked up from Google images

Famous front view of Westminster Abbey

We set off after 10am by bus; that trusty 23 again with a first stop at the Scottish store opposite Selfridge's on Oxford Street in search of a gift for Jamie who is kindly caring for our cat while we're gone.

We hopped on another bus to Victoria station, a tube for the last half mile or so to the Houses of Parliament, and across the street to the Westminster Abbey. Admission is close to $30 per person, and the place was packed with people. We took an interesting audio tour guide and walked around speaker to ear, like everyone else. No pictures were allowed inside; lots of docents everywhere, so unlike St. Paul's where everyone ignored the signs, I didn't see anyone doing that here and didn't try to get any.  This one of the nave comes from Google images!

Our big plan for this trip was to have a commitment ceremony here and exchange our rings; we both believed that this would be a very special place for it. There was no such thing as a quiet corner, so we sat near the high altar, where 38 English monarchs have been crowned; it was to was towards the end of the day and with the crowd subsided, we made our promises and exchanged our rings sitting by the steps just below the12th century Cosmati pavement below the alter.  We were both ecstatic about that and then dreamily adjourned to the little cafe downstairs for a gourmet lunch.

We were seated at a community table, and were soon joined by a group of four Americans from Boston; we had a nice chat with them.  They were staying at The Strand Palace a five star hotel on "the Strand", and getting around by taxi; no buses and tube rides for them!  We had a nice lunch and conversation, then entered the obligatory gift shop, where I found some peppermint chocolates for my mom, and bought a picture guide to the abbey so I'd have some decent photos.  Our next stop is going to be Thames House, site of MI5 HQ in London as shown on the British spy series (MI5) each episode.  So we were looking at our map and trying to figure it out, when a distinguished looking gentleman, an Abbey docent named James, asked if we needed help; when we told him what we were looking for, he appeared bemused and it turns out he used to work at the "Foreign Office", code for MI5!  I asked him what he did there, and he told me in mock seriousness, "If I told you that, I'd have to kill you!"  He was quite charming and showed us exactly where it was, a short walk away, so we thanked him for his help and made our way out the side entrance, where the picture above was taken--a wet and cloudy day, enhanced a bit in PhotoShop!

We found Thames house soon enough, and took several pictures out front without being arrested.

Infront of MI5 HQ, Thames House

The front of Thames House

We had seen a PBS documentary before we left the US featuring some skyscrapers around the world, one of which was  the Leadenhall building in London, commonly referred to as the "cheesegrater" because of it's angled front. Essentially built offsite in pieces, it was then transported to the site and assembled, the first of its kind in the world and we've seen the building from afar many times, and even came close on the bus (it's near St. Paul's). I wanted to get up close, so we took another bus ride to within a couple of blocks and walked over.  It's still not quite finished and due to open in a matter of weeks; the the front is still all fenced off but it was interesting to see it along with the dome-like building nearby called  "the pickle".

Cheesegrater and Pickle buildings
with strange public artwork

The "cheesegrater" is unique in that all of its services and elevators are in the attached structure (right side), and the office space is supposed to be more open and airy because of it.  The dome contains private offices, no public admittance.  I was hoping there would be a restaurant up top and we could get up there but no luck.

We had a nice lunch at one of the "Pret a Manger" (Ready to Eat) shop nearby, and then got the tube home along with the rest of the commuters in London.  Had to stand part of the way but it wasn't a problem.

We relaxed a bit at the hotel, then started in with our packing before taking a dinner break.  We chose the just re-opened Garfunkel's right next to the station, and I had a nice steak while Evie chose fish cakes. It was very crowded when we got there at about 8 o'clock, and still nearly full when we left near 9:30.  We stopped at one of the little stores nearby for some ice cream and goodies, then back to the room to finish packing, since tomorrow morning we have to leave for the airport by 7:15AM!