My Last Days in London (For Now!) (Pt. 2)

My next stop was the Natural History Museum. While the museum's exhibits are a mix of quality, I had two very important personal revelations there. The first was that I love dinosaurs.
Like most little kids, perhaps little boys in particular, I was always intrigued by dinosaurs, the tyrannosaurus rex, newly discovered dinosaurs that might beat the T-Rex, scary sea dinosaurs, etc. The thing that I realized is that I am still just as fascinated by them. Part of the reason for this is that they make me feel like a child again, in awe of the power of a "kingdom" of animals that "ruled" the earth millions of years ago completely distinct from any trace of humanity (of course it later became humanity). Especially with such rarities as the first T-Rex bone ever found, it's just so great to walk through a museum and think, "Wow. This is simply amazing. I feel like I'm 5 and I'm free from all the cares in the world and I can just be amazed."

I was thought the mammals exhibit was pretty cool. It was fun to see the skeletons of the sea mammals next to the giant models of them. It's probably the closest I'll ever be to experiencing a life-size blue or sperm whale (and maybe the closest I would want to be), though swimming with whale sharks was not dissimilar. Some of the other exhibits, such as enormous elephant tusks and a rare double narwhal horn, were really fascinating.

I was disappointed, though, that a lot of the other exhibits were not nearly as well-done as these two. For instance the sea reptiles, other sea creatures, and some of the creepy crawly exhibits just did not seem that inspired and there were even some rooms that looked like they were completely in disrepair. I hope that the museum is working to upgrade these and bring them to the level of their much more impressive, modernist exhibits. Their multiple exhibits on the earth and the amazing stones, gems, metals, etc., that come out of it. While it's true that some of their more modern exhibits that deal with geologic processes and the health of the earth are much more impressive than the exhibits in which the majority of the more impressive stones are kept, the combination leaves quite the impression. It's amazing to see first how the earth works, how it has worked, and how it may or may not continue to work, then to see second both regular and strikingly unusual creations from those processes, and then finally to see third the things humans have made out of those materials.

Some rocks are even brought by the hands of mankind from the Moon!

Next on the list are my visits to London's two most famous churches: Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral. I had walked by Westminster twice before, notably when my friend and I were debarred from entrance due to, I believe, preparations for Remembrance Day, I had not yet been in. St. Paul's I had only seen from a distance.

I didn't take many outside shots of Westminster since I had been there before and it was later in the day; the shot to the left is one of the earlier shots. Inside, I decided to go ahead and get an audio guide. I was greeted by the voice of Jeremy Irons, "Hello, I'm Jeremy Irons..." - what a voice for a tour of one of the most historical buildings on earth! It was particularly amusing hearing him given that I'd most recently seen him in The Borgias as the questionable Roderigo Borgia - Pope Alexander VI. Of course the stars of Westminster Abbey are the dead people contained therein. Seeing the tomb of Elizabeth I, arranged so poignantly with Mary I, as well as all the other monarchs, Mary, Queen of Scotts, various Edwards, Henrys, etc., as well as the shrine to Edward the Confessor, who was largely responsible for the Abbey we see today, was like history coming alive (though dead...) before my eyes! The other substantial element that impressed me was imagining what it would be like to witness a coronation in these vaunted halls. The High Altar and the Coronation Chair are both impressive treasures that are now being carefully preserved and standing in that amazing space I could just imagine the progression up the nave toward the High Alter, with Zadok the Priest being sung from the Quire... Good old Jeremy Irons did a good job of trying to paint the picture for me, but it was the space itself that truly brought the experience to life and helped me to live it vicariously.

Of course Poet's Corner, containing the tombs of so many lauded artists, among them, Robert Browning, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, George Friedrich Handel, Henry Irving, Rudyard Kipling, Laurence Olivier, and Alfred Tennyson. As well as monuments to many of the other great figures of art not buried there such as Jane Austen, William Blake, 3 Brontës, Elizabeth Browning, Robert Burns, Lord Byron, Caedmon, Lewis Carroll, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, T.S. Eliot, Henry James, John Keats, C.S. Lewis, Christopher Marlowe, John Milton, William Shakespeare, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Dylan Thomas, Oscar Wilde, and William Wordsworth. Among these and of particular relevance to me were Shelley, Thomas, Wilde, the Brontës, Handel, and Byron. I paid special homage to them, in some cases kissing my fingers and laying them to the stone, as I did with Verdi's portrait in front of the Wiener Staatsoper during my last days living in Vienna. Photos weren't allowed within the Abbey, but in the cloister I managed to grab the otherworldly shot to the right.

London, though, is home to not one but two incredibly famous, massively monumental churches. St. Paul's Cathedral was, if possible, more stunning than Westminster's Abbey. It too does not allow photography inside, but certainly there are photos available on the internet for those interested. I had heard a lot about the Cathedral in my travels through London. For instance at various museums I had heard how it was both a symbol and a glaring target during World War II but that it largely stood without a problem, with only two bombs (I think) hitting it. The worry that there could be a fire was severe, though, because its structure contains a lot of wood, and so a 24-hour fire brigade was on standby to save the building. I learned at the Churchill War Rooms that he understood that if St. Paul's Cathedral fell it would likely shatter the country's morale. I learned inside the cathedral that its dome was cleverly designed by the architect Sir Christopher Wren, who knew that it needed to be impressive from both the outside and the inside but properly scaled for both environments. In order to accomplish this he made the dome outside massive, so as to gloriously project across the cityscape, while shaping the inside dome separately within the outside dome to make it feel vaulted but accessible enough that its frescoes did not get lost and its scope was still comprehensible from the floor.

I made the hike up to the Whispering Gallery, which sits at the base of the dome, but because I had neither quiet (due to music rehearsals that I will talk about shortly!) nor a partner for the experiment, was unable to test the ability to whisper on one side and have the words spoken be crystal clear all the way on the other side due to the acoustics of the dome. I continued my ascent first to the outside balcony and then all the way up to the Golden Gallery atop the dome. While I didn't get pictures inside, the top of one of the tallest domes in the world (and still one of London's most imposing structures after 300 years) offered a superb vantage point for shots of the city despite the typical hazy mist of London. It was hard to cull through these! As the picture to the right shows - it's a rather narrow passage, and quite a hike, to get up to the top, but well worth the climb! While the building doesn't have the multitude of famous figures buried in it as Westminster Abbey does, its basement does contain the tombs of both Lord Nelson and Wellington, whose famous feats on the battlefield are an integral part of western history. I'll have some pictures of the dome that I took on my final night in London in my next post!

Finally, while I was at St. Paul's they were rehearsing for a performance of Handel's Messiah that would seat 2,000, an impressive number that demonstrated the size of the cathedral. Indeed, the Cathedral's size was also demonstrated by its link to the United States, described on the audio guide as overwhelmingly spiritual when 10,000 people thronged the Cathedral's post-9/11 service and spilled out into the surrounding square and streets (the Cathedral also has dedications to U.S. military personnel for their World War II sacrifices. Anyway, seeing Messiah rehearsed was very exciting for me; I had hoped to see a performance of Messiah while I was in London since it was premiered there, Handel had such a connection to the city, and because we were in the Christmas season by the end of my time in the city. That didn't happen, but watching the rehearsals was great. It's true that I thought the bass soloist was acceptable but not outstanding and that I still didn't really love the use of a countertenor instead of a mezzo-soprano for the alto part, even if it may be historically accurate to do so. But I still loved hearing them rehearse. I got to hear "The Trumpet Shall Sound," which I have been fascinated by recently, and most of the other solos for the countertenor and bass soloists rehearsed in full. Then the conductor took the choir through the openings of each of the choral numbers except the "Hallelujah Chorus," I'm certain because the performance was that evening and he did not want to drain the pent up magic of that music from the choir before the performance. I'm just so happy that I got my Messiah experience in London and, in fact, got a very unique experience in one of London's most iconic buildings that is far more special than a simple concert-hall performance. I can find those anywhere.

Next up, my final weekend in London, including Kensington Palace and Gardens, Albertopolis (Albert Memorial, Royal Albert Hall, and the Victoria & Albert Museum), Selfridges, Marble Arch, the Tate Modern, and my departure!