On my trip to London, the first place we went to was Buckingham Palace. To me, it looked more like a very large mansion then a real palace. They didn't have the changing of the guard on the day that I was there, unfortunately. I think they did it just to spite me. However, the trip was well worth it, if only to see those gates! They bear the coat of arms of Elizabeth the II. What I found interesting was that the lion wears a crown, while the unicorn is chained. After we did that, we walked to Picadilly Circus. While there, a street march was going on. At first, it was led by a police officer, then people carrying posters of dead young people. I wondered what was going on, then I saw the reason why. Apparently in England, the pedestrian doesn't have the right of way. If you're crossing the street, the cars don't slow down. So over 300 people die a month in London. I suppose the police escort was in part to protect the street marchers from getting hit by cars..

We then took the Underground to the Tower of London. It was very impressive, all the history in it! Henry the VIII had two of his wives beheaded there. Lady Jane Grey, the Queen just before Elizabeth the I, was beheaded there as well. We had a 'Beefeater', or a Yoeman Warder who looked like Sylvester Stallone and he knew it too. In the Tower of London, there are several intersting facts and points to the place. They always have Ravens on the grounds of the Tower. There was a prophecy made that should the Ravens leave the Tower of London, the monarchy would fall. Since then, they've always had six pairs of birds living there.

The Tower of London is also the home of the Crown Jewels. Let me tell you, they were amazing! It's also the home of the Cullinan I-IX, nine diamonds that were cut from the largest diamond ever found, called the Cullinan diamond. It was over 3,000 carats. The Cullinan I and II are still the largest cut diamons in the world. Both are found in the Royal Regalia. Another diamond that the royal family has is the Koh-I-Noor diamond. It's a legendary jewel from the collection of the last Maharajah of the Punjab. It was described as 'worth half the daily expense of the world' in the 16th century. It was recut in 1852, where it lost 43% of its weight, but was still over 100 carats. I wish they allowed us to take photos of these things, because I'd put them up here. But alas, they didn't.

London bridge wasn't impressive at all. I must say, we were disappointed in it. However, Tower Bridge, just outside the Tower of London, was very nice looking indeed. After the Tower, we went to Westminster Abbey. Just outside the Underground station is Big Ben. But when you get out, you don't really notice it. You rarely look up. However, you see open area off to the right, streets and some buildings, with a larger building hogging up your left field of vision. If you look up (and up and up), you'll notice it's Big Ben. After Big Ben, we went to St. Paul's Cathedral, but it was closed. After that, we headed home. The next day, I went to the National Gallery with some friends. It was just room after room after room of paintings upon paintings upon paintings. They even had some Van Gogh! And Picasso, yuck. Sorry, but Picasso just annoys me. Those were the only two times I went to London. The city basically reminds me of a smaller, cozier, version of Manhattan.

© 1997 kithan@hotmail.com

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