London Pass Day 2; sightseeing with Maddy

Big day today. Actually quite tired.

Started off by running late, cos the DLR is actually quite slow, and took a longer time than I thought it would. Took HALF AN HOUR to get into the city. Taking the National Rail next time from Lewisham instead.

I was meeting Maddy from church, who also happens to be sightseeing in London on her own. I found this out on Facebook. We were going to meet at 10 at Royal Albert Hall, to get tickets for a tour at 10.30. Just as well we aimed for 10, because I got there at 10.20 and she got there at 10.25. Terrible.

The Royal Albert Hall is amazing. It was built during the reign of Queen Victoria, because her husband Albert wanted a place for the arts and sciences in London, but he died before any of it was built. Inside there are grand red velvet seats and curtains, and it looks like a little opera theatre. The Royal Albert Hall is actually used to host all sorts of events, from classical music concerts to rock concerts to debuts to the tennis. Our tour guide was quite animated and quite funny. We sat in on an orchestra rehearsing, and the music was so good. I don't actually think I've heard an orchestra live before, it was pretty amazing.

After that we walked through Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens to Kensington Palace, best known for being the home of Princess Diana before she died. The Palace has actually housed many princesses, like Charlotte, Victoria, Caroline and Mary. There was some work being done at the Palace, and the exhibition was done up as "The Enchanted Palace", and it was really pretty and fairy-tale like. There were lots of fake roses, dark messy rooms with books and dressers and pretty evening gowns, and some sound effects. I discovered that Princess Margaret (Queen Elizabeth's late sister) was actually really pretty when she was young.

I do not know if she is actually wearing clothes, and I do not know the reason for her seemingly unprofessional lack of clothing :| The photo was up at Kensington Palace, so I'm guessing it IS an official photo of some sort.

The palace itself is actually like my dream house. Just maybe not so big and elaborate. But it had flocked wallpaper! *excited*

Then we decided to walk to the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising in Notting Hill. It doesn't sound like much, but it was quite an interesting walk through the history of consumerism, from Victorian times to the current era.  It was about a half hour's slow walk slightly northwest of Kensington Palace, and we quickly stopped by a little bakery so that Maddy could buy some lunch. We walked through a REALLY nice area. The houses were all white, or cream, and they were all neatly lined up shoulder to shoulder along the street. The people were all dressed in nice coats with heeled boots and little umbrellas and classy looking bags. It was nice.

The museum was small and quiet, tucked away in a little corner of Notting Hill. It just had all these tins, and bottles and wrappings and toys and even like radios and little gas ovens. It was nice to see familiar brands like Cadbury, Heinz and Omo (which has been around for surprisingly long). At one point in the exhibition they had a lineup of the same product going back as far as possible, like Cadbury Drinking Chocolate. It's quite interesting to see how the logos and packaging have evolved over the years (FYI, Cadbury's signature colour used to be red, not purple).

After that Maddy decided she was tired and wanted to go home to rest, because she is going to see the Lion King at 7.30 tonight. So she went home, and I took the train to St. Paul's.

St. Paul's Cathedral. I'm getting a little bit tired of all these old cathedrals and churches, so I guess it was just as well that I got there with only an hour to look around. St. Paul's Cathedral was built by Sir Christopher Wren, an astronomer and architect. No photography here, and another audio guide, so I pretty much just sat down and walked around while listening. I also went up to the Whispering Gallery, which is a balcony around the inside of the dome at the catherdral. There was a nice view of the paintings on the inside of the dome by Sir James Thornhill, that are all done in shades of one colour, and look like they could be stone sculptures. But apart from that, just another church. I must say though, I quite like the mosaics on the roof of St. Paul's.

I've also decided that one day I'm going to attend evensong at Westminster or St. Paul's. I like choirs.

Joined the rush hour crowd on the way home. Not too bad, actually. But it was raining. Again.

PS. A lot of these places had a no photography policy, so there are actually hardly any photos, sorry!

I leave you with a poem I found today. It's beautiful. It was on the audioguide at St. Paul's and I listened to it while walking down the steps from the gallery:

Holy Sonnet XIV


Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town to'another due,
Labor to'admit you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly'I love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy;
Divorce me,'untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you'enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me


John Donne

PPS. If anyone could tell me if I can sync my google maps to my phone, and/or to my calendar as events, please inform me. TYVM.