Today we discussed Sucker Punch in the morning and then headed off for a tour of Westminster and the government/palace district with Roger Bowdler. After taking the tube, we met Roger behind Westminster Abbey, beside Parliament. He told us of the history of the city of Westminster and how it was gradually merged into London and became the central home of government and royal administration. We talked about the various different architectural styles one can see in Westminster Abbey as it was renovated and added on to under different monarchs, and also how the most recent style was used to rebuild the Houses of Parliament in the mid 1800s after they burned to the ground (Guy Fawkes succeeded 150 years later?) Westminster used to be dominated by a massive palace, Westminster Palace, which became the houses of parliament but then burned down in the 1830s.
We then headed over to White Hall and proceeded past a tent city that was set up in protest of Mayor Boris Johnson's conservative administration. His name only kind of makes sense to me.
On the way, we saw a very familiar face.
Apparently, the British government and people always loved President Lincoln for the way that he held the union together and erected this monument in his honor. This may be a good place for Americans to flock after world cup games.
We walked down White Hall and saw Prime Minister David Cameron's home and offices at 10 Downing Street. We saw the Cenotaph, the British Tomb monument for the unknown dead in war.
We also saw this nifty carving for our engineering friends.
We then went into the royal military courtyard and past a soldier on a horse who was wearing a woolen jacket, white leather pants, a heavy metal hat and heavy rubber boots. It was 75 Fahrenheit today.
Finally, we trekked through St. James' Park and got a view of St. James' Palace, the home of Princes Charles, William and Harry, and then followed the road up to Buckingham Palace, the home of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip.
After this monster tour, we walked over to a bridge to get beautiful views of both Westminster and Buckingham palace in the middle of St. James' Park and then took the tube to Holborn. There, we walked to Professor Cynthia Wall's flat and had tea with her. She graciously prepared two types of tea and laid out ginger snaps, cherries and strawberries, small sandwiches and little waffle cookies for us. Those bravest among us also sampled some quail eggs. I was not so brave.
When I got back to Regent's I started reading Mrs. Dalloway and discovered two things. 1) This is a book that is meant to be read outside in a park or a courtyard on a fairly warm and sunny day. 2) It's really good - her switching of character consciousness is really interesting and enlightening for the reader. I just hope she can sustain this novelty throughout the whole book.
Check back soon!
- Simon
No comments:
Post a Comment