Statelady & Chezp's London Adventure: COMPLETED!!! About This Page:

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We stood outside Westminster Abbey for some time so Cheryl and I could get our much needed photo and video. Walking to the entrance of Westminster Abbey is an event- the building is so beautiful and massive, that it is almost too much to comprehend!











As we queued to pay our admission fees, I presented my University of Arkansas ID and found I would not be allowed a student rate as there was no date on it- which ticked me off at first at the policy but then at UA. Kevan and I had been doing extremely well on the budget so no big deal and I let it roll off my back.



There is so much to see and admire in Westminster Abbey. The architecture was incredible and at every turn, there was something new to admire and appreciate. In several of the areas that housed the tombs of rulers, there were tight spaces and hosts encouraged people to keep the lines moving which we thought was a good idea. We saw the burial places of many famous people including Mary Queen of Scots and Winston Churchill. It would appear that William Shakespeare also is buried here but in fact, the area devoted to him is a memorial as he is buried in Stratford upon Avon, some miles away in England.



We found our way to the Monastery portion featuring a museum in what used to be a recreation room- warmer than the other parts so that the Monks could seek solace from the cold parts of the Abbey. The focus of the museum was mainly on the history of coronations and there was a fantastic area all about Queen Elizabeth’s in 1953. Included in the display were “practice” scepters and a crown used in the rehearsals. A large display gave a play-by-play of that day in June. It also covered in great depth the coronation of Queen Victoria- turns out her coronation did not go so smoothly- it was not rehearsed and the ring placed on her finger during the ceremony was forced on as it was too small- causing her pain for days afterward!



Our final part of the tour included walking by the tomb of the unknown soldier and Churchill. Along the side, there were candles for anyone to light in remembrance of anything you chose- so I of course made my donation and proceeded to lit one in memory of my parents, particularly my mother, who loved London so much- I hope she was pleased!



We exited by this area and took a browse in the shop where of course, it was postcard buying time once more. I really agreed with Cheryl that they needed to be clear on the photo policy as she had had some trouble with videoing. Before leaving the area, we got several photos- of which this one of Cheryl and I is a favorite!





From Passporters to the best of friends!



“Maureen, close your bag”- was heard again- for some reason, I could not remember to flip the flap back over the bag when I was done getting something from it. At this point, it got to be kind of funny that they were having to get on to me!



Now I must begin to enlighten all on what has come to be known as the “Adapter Incident.” Previous to the trip, I purposely got a hair cut that did not require a curling iron. The hotel had hair dryers in the room so I just thought I was just one smart yank who alleviated the need for the adapter. Until I realized as I was taping the outside of the Abbey and the battery power quickly disappearing- that to charge it- would require our charger to be plugged in to an outlet! DUH! Cheryl and Mark suggested walking a ways to find one as we still had time before our afternoon activities.



We found a department store and as we made our way to the luggage section I could see in my head price tags of 25 GBP and such. You can imagine my shock when I flipped it over and the price tag said 4 GBP! Even with the conversion that comes to about $8 when in Wal Mart at home- they were being sold for $19.97!!! What a deal!



Mark suggested not using the LCD viewfinder to conserve power so I took his advice on that- and left the camera off for a good bit, hoping it would at least give me enough to take some footage on the London Eye and River Cruise.