Tuesday was the second full day in London. In the morning we met in class from 9 am to 12 noon and discussed a book written in the 1970s on the economy in Europe during the crisis of the 17th and 18th centuries. While the book was a difficult read and I had some issues with it, I learned a great deal of detail about the processes that various parts of Europe went through as it moved away from feudalism and towards mercantilism.
After class I walked back to the dorm with several women-I think that there were six of us that spent the rest of the day together. We got a light lunch at a sort of fast food sandwich and salad place near our dorm and then took the tube to the Tate Modern. Modern art is not really my thing but I enjoyed a few smaller exhibits before settling down in the cafe with a coke and some quality wi fi time. After a couple of hours we walked along the embankment--it was a drop-dead gorgeous day--to Westminster Abbey for Evensong. We stopped along the way to see of we could slip into Parliament as they meet only on Mondays and Tuesdays, but the line was too long. The service was lovely, the inside of the cathedral was stunning, but I had a hard time not falling asleep. The next time I come to London I want to take the tour so that I get all of the historical little tidbits.
After the slice we took the Tube to Whitehall to a highly rated, yet reasonably priced, Indian restaurant called Tayyab's. The food was fantastic and only set me back 15 pounds! The neighborhood was not really tourist friendly so we got pretty lost trying to find it. But that was part of the fun.
After all of the walking on Tuesday, I slept like a brick.
Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013
This morning in class we discussed the first half of a book called "Earthly Necessities" by Keith Wrightson. My group was in charge of leading the discussion and we did okay. The book centers on the household economy and kinship networks and discusses how the English, Scots, and Welch households were affected by economic and social change in the 15th and 16th centuries.
When class ended Emily, Jim, Sergei, and I went to a little bistro near the University and we had a very delicious lunch. I had a sweet potato and chorizo soup (great combo, btw) and a quiche. We had a really enjoyable lunch and spent a lot of time getting to know each other. Both of these guys teach in the NYC area, though not right in the city. Jim teaches just north of it and Sergei teaches in NJ. Jim was an actor in his first life and Sergei was like me-he thought he would be a university professor but then changed his mind and started teaching high school. We decided to go to the Churchill War Rooms and Churchill Museum and that is where we headed next.
We all loved it and I think that we all think that this place was one of the highlights of London--sorry Professor Koot that it is a bit out of our time frame!
What was so cool about the museums? Well, anything about WWII is pretty fascinating to start with, but the war rooms were amazing. They are in the basement of a government building that is a stone's throw from Number 10 Downing Street and they are where Churchill and his advisors ran the British side of the war.
Here I am in front of the entrance
Many of the rooms had to be recreated but the Map Room was completely intact. On the day that the war ended then men who worked in this central room that had big maps all over the walls with little pins to mark troops-both friendly and enemy-and ships, just tidied up and closed the doors. When the room was opened again several decades later it was a bit dusty but in perfect condition--everything was there including all of the pins, papers, maps, and even a tiny stash of rationed sugar cubes that someone hid in his desk! I loved it.
Here are some pictures of the Map Room
This was Churchill's bedroom. They say that he only slept here a few nights because he preferred to be up above watching the attacks and risking his life rather than being underground. I'm not sure where his wife slept. They must have had a bunker for her somewhere.
After finishing here we walked around the area some more. We looked at St. James Park and walked through the Horse Guard's Parade.
Here is a pretty picture that I took in the park.
After resting for a bit at a local pub for some refreshment we headed over to the sporting goods store near Trafalgar Square so that Emily could get more shirts and to show the store to Sergei who is a soccer fan. Then hopped on a double decker just to see where it would take us and we ended up on the north side of Hyde Park.
I like this picture that I took from the front seat of the upper deck--sometimes it is sheer madness on these busses. The drivers are fearless because it seemed to me that we very nearly hit about five people in the space of ten minutes!
We bought Oyster cards so we can ride the Tube or the busses all day in zones 1 or 2 and only be charged 7 pounds. I took the Tube home from there and the rest headed out to walk around Regent's Park and then to a pub. I was tired out!
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