Sunday, July 2, 2017

merry England

We were in England (mostly London) for a week. Just enough to whet the appetite, barely time to scratch the surface of the things to see and do. Our first day we stretched our legs after the long and lovely train ride from Glasgow. We enjoyed St. James's Park,
 
walked around Westminster, across the bridge, along the river to the next bridge, up to Trafalger Square,
and eventually back to the hotel.

The next day it was off to the British Museum, where I fell in love with the Lewis Chessmen. Yes, I've seen photos and reproductions. That is nothing compared to standing in front of the real thing.

  
 What I didn't appreciate until I saw them in person is that every one of them is completely unique, and they all have personality.

Shears (50BC-50AD) from Hertford Heath

Another highlight of the trip was seeing a play at the Globe. We saw Twelfth Night
And equally wonderful was the view that greeted us as we left the theater. 














Friday we were off to Westminster Abbey and the V & A. I would have liked to spend all day in the V & A, but I am happy with the time we got. I spent quite a long time with "my" beloved Coptic socks (Egypt 300-500). We practically had the gallery to ourselves.
This is nalbinding, not knitting.


I also drooled over the Tristan and Isolde quilt (Florence c. 1360-1400). I love the fish and faces.



And that was just the tip of the iceberg of wonderful things to discover:

 


The next day we climbed to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral (520+ steps), and were rewarded with spectacular views and a serenade by the bells.


You can see the Tower of London and Tower Bridge in this photo. The trip was certainly over long before we ran out of things to explore.

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