Westminster Abbey and Portobello Road

We split up again on Saturday, because John and Johnny wanted to delve into London's gory past at the London Dungeon, and I'd had enough blood and guts at the Tower of London, thank you very much.  I also couldn't imagine taking Samuel and Evie there, so Caroline and I took the younger two with us to Westminster Abbey.

Here's the south entrance to the abbey ...

... and St. Margaret's Church with its cool sundials.

As it turns out, we ran into plenty of creepiness at the abbey. Old cathedrals always seem a little cold and disturbing to me, what with all the tombs and relics and crazy histories. Take the tomb of Elizabeth Nightingale, which you run into in the very first alcove. Yowza!

Westminster Abbey has a fun kid's trail, so that's how we did our tour. We picked up our trail at the entrance, and then we all helped Evie finish her treasure hunt by finding key monuments and answering trivia questions about things like the Coronation Chair and the Cloisters and the Quire. Her prize was a giant chocolate coin, which she did NOT share.

We made sure we saw the burial place of the princes who were killed in the Tower of London, because we knew Johnny would ask us about it (and he did). My favorite spots were Poets' Corner, which I've wanted to see for years, and the Chapter House, where we saw ancient paintings along with stained-glass images from World War II. Right outside the Chapter House is the oldest door in England (dated to the 1050s), which didn't impress Evie at all though Caroline and I thought it was pretty incredible.

I'll go all patriotic for a minute (July 4 is just around the corner, after all) and say that I really gained a new appreciation for the U.S. ideal of separation of church and state on this trip. It struck me most at Westminster Abbey and while seeing the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London. It would be awfully hard to disagree with your political leaders if you truly believed that they had a divine right to their positions. Hurray for our courageous Founding Fathers! Huzzah!

You exit from the abbey's nave so end up in front of the church's famous towers.

The kids ate cheese nibbles out front while we waited for Caroline to finish at the gift shop. Here's Evie snacking in front of the shop's "God Save the Queen" window display.

We met up with John and Johnny at the Notting Hill underground and headed out to explore Portobello Road. The kids (and I) were pretty excited about this, because they (and I) love the old Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

First we stopped for lunch, because who can resist advertising like this?

John confirmed that the chicken was indeed spicy, if not sexy, while Johnny chowed down on his new favorite thing (fish and chips) and the rest of us ate some great pizza.

Then we all tried really hard not to sing the "Portobello Road" song while we explored what the market had to offer. We weren't entirely successful, which embarrassed Johnny a little. Heh, heh.

This is classic Evie. She's scared of clowns, mimes and Santa Claus. (Only in person. She adores Santa Claus in theory.)

Johnny spotted Tintin. He's read most of the books.

Evie was drawn to the WWII "We Can Do It" poster. That's my girl!

some of the "riches of ages," perhaps

I liked the colors on the houses. I wonder if it would be fun to live there or just annoying?

Now this is what I call street food!

Caroline with some watch pendants. She bought one that looked like a little elephant.

toy soldiers

antique cameras and printers blocks below

my little cricketers

Evie pointing out her favorite brooches. I liked the hat pins at this stall.

It's true! You CAN find "anything and everything" in Portobello Road!

Alas, no one had The Spells of Astaroth.

I took some pictures of our building on Baker Street when we got home that evening. It made a lovely home sweet home for nearly three weeks!

Inside I found Evie's bear and lion watching over Baker Street for us. Caroline and I had persuaded her to leave them home by telling her we needed someone to make sure things were OK in our neighborhood. They served us well, and Evie rewarded them each with a kiss.