It was strange to wake up this morning and realize that it would be our last full day in the UK. The past few weeks have been full of so many sights and experiences that I almost don't know how to begin sorting them out in my head. To cap off what has been a truly grand adventure, These few days in London have only added to what has been the most memorable trip of my life. Yesterday, Allison and I spent several hours exploring new parts of London only to find ourselves caught in a torrential downpour with no rainjackets or umbrellas. Typical. In a vain attempt to stay dry, we huddled under a tree in a park with the world's cutest English family ("But Mummy, why can't we take the doggy home with us?" being the best quote). After the rain abated and we bid farwell to the stressed out parents and still adorable children, the two of us set of to find a cheap lunch (an Italian cafe where they played lots of Celine Dion) and to the Sunday evensong service at Westminster Abbey. It was by far one of the most incredible experiences I could imagine. We were ushered into the main body of the Abbey right past the choral stands and directly in fromt of the main altar (i.e. where Kate and Will got hitched). For those unfamiliar with evensong, it's a slightly shorter service that doesn't include Eucharist and is primarily based in music. And when Westminster Abbey plays music, they go all out. It was mindblowing to feel how the organist made the air tingle by hitting deep chords that reverberated throughout the entire space. And then the choir (a clasic example of the English choral tradition) made the notes fly up into every crevice of the nave. Those kids keep it real.
After the peace and comfort of evensong ended, Allison and I began to feel just how truly exhausted we were from all our wandering. Everything from Inchnadamph to Edinburgh to London finally caught up with us in one huge wave of utter weariness. As a result, we called it an early night and opted to cut back on our plans for today. We originally had wanted to visit the Tower of London and the British Museum as well as do our bit to help the economy at Harrods. It the interest of not killing ourselves from tiredness, we limited oursleves to spending the morning at the Tower andthen a little time in the afternoon at Harrods. Though I wish we could have squeezed in the British Museum, I don't feel quite so bad about it since I did spend all of Saturday at the Natural Science Museum. The Tower turned about to be a terrific idea. We got in at opening and went a free tour with Barney the Beefeater. Barney, as it turns out had a terrific sense of humor but also managed to frighten several children with his highly detailed description of botched executions. Whoops-a-daisie. But the highlight of our tour group arrived with the funniest/silliest Americans I've encountered on my trip. Amy and Anna from Tampa, Florida decided to take London by storm with their fashionable shoes, pattern dresses, and fasinator hats. Their bright, feathery hats matched their personalities as they turned out to be the life of our tour group. I'm pretty sure the Italians behind us hated them, but whatev. Seeing the Crown Jewels had the dual efect of filling me with an appreication for the pomp and circumstance of State ceremonies as well as making me painfully aware of how tiny my sapphire ring looks compared to the one in the Imperial State Crown. Bummer.
After making ourselves feel thoroughly well veresed in British history (courtesy of Barney) and catching one last lunch at EAT, our favorite London eatery, we set off to explore the great wonders of Harrods. Good Lord. I swear that someone would need a Ritalin milkshake before shopping in there. There is so much to see, buy, do, smell, touch, eat, buy, play with, buy, and buy that I didn't know which way to look. In honor of my Nandy's Candy roots, I purchased several pieces of their handmade chocolates (strawberry and champagne with white chocolate being my fave) and then set off to explore a bit. I must be hoest and say that we only spent about an hour inside. I generally derive little pleasure in looking at things that I either have no interest in owning or cannot afford. A £3000 purse falls in both of those categories. So after picking up a few other goodies for gifts, Allison and I peaced out of that heavenly department store and headed homeward.
So after sixteen days, one village, two major cities, countless pubs, several mountainsand a variety of scrapes and bruises, what do I have to show for it? Well aside from two beautiful geological maps completed by your truly and lots of unposted pictures, the thing that sticks out most to me is the incredible vastness of everything beyond the world in which I normally live. Some people might think this diminishes the significane of we are and the lives we live, but I find the opposite to be true. Over these past two weeks, I've literally walked in the paths of kings, queens, scientists, great thinkers, etc. To be able to put my hands on Sicar Point, where James Hutton changed the world or stand in the spot where Queen Elizabeth II took her first step as the world's most famous monarch is an incredibly empowering experience. It's almost in the same vein of thought of thought as "standing on the shoulder of giants". I have no belief that I will ever be famous or well-recognized, but if the thoughts and actions of these people can change the world, then why not mine? Maybe that's a overly sentimental note to end this blog on, but's it's my blog not yours, so deal with it.
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