London - July 13

Westminster Abbey is very different than St. Paul's. The only portion you can tour is the ground floor. The structure seems to me to be just as ornate. And yet it is used for many more state functions and there certainly are many famous people entombed or interred there. The stained glassed is very beautiful and the carvings and monuments are exceptional. What I found the most interesting was the intrigue that was even present in the deaths of the monarchs and their courts. Photography is not allowed inside so no pics.

Just one example would be that Elizabeth I is buried in the Abbey and was succeeded by James VI of Scotland who became James I of England. James was the son of Mary Queen of Scots who was imprisoned for 30 years and eventually executed by Elizabeth I and members of here court. Now the tomb or monument to Elizabeth I is very ornate and quite large at Westminster Abbey and James I son of Mary Queen of Scots made sure that his mother was honored at least as lavishly on the other side of the Abbey from Elizabeth I. So even in death the rivalry lived on. Of course I'm sure this is not what they would want you to remember about Westminster Abbey but it is certainly what struck me as very intriguing.

Do get the audio headsets for the Abbey. These tools make the tour a lot more interesting.

The Natural History Museum is another of those venues that you need days to go through and not just a few hours. I did find it especially interesting though. Unfortunately the exhibit we really wanted to see, the dinosaurs, was closed for cleaning. That did forces us to explore other parts of the institution. Many of the exhibits are interactive and oriented toward children to pique their interest in science I'm sure. The interactive nature also made it more shall we say entertaining for the adults as well. We also found a section of the museum that was dedicated to study and cataloging the many millions of specimens the museum owns. We observed some specimens from as early as the mid-eighteenth century. Still in alcohol and available for study. All-in-all is was a most fascinating couple of hours.