We Introduce Grandma to London

Grandma's first day: (Top) On arrival; the ceiling of the Banqueting Hall;

in front of Buckingham Palace; (Bottom) Westminister Palace with big Ben

When Grandma Dorothy arrived, she was doing pretty well, considering that she has just finished a grueling 22 hour trip, the last nine hours of which featured three little boys who leapt around the plane like monkeys in the zoo. True to form, she was determined to start seeing the sights. To kick off her visit, we started, where else, at Big Ben. We saw Westminster Palace and the Thames where we took the requisite photographs; we walked down White Hall past the major government buildings and stopped at the Banqueting House. This magnificent building is all that is left of Whitehall Palace, which was seat of government in London during the reigns of monarchs from Henry VIII to Charles I. It is still used for some state occasions and is one of London's star attractions. It is interesting for three reasons: historically, because this is the site where Charles I stepped out of a window onto a platform to have his head lopped off; architecturally, because it is a classic work of architecture by Inigo Jones; and artistically because it has an intact ceiling covering approximately 6000 square feet painted by Peter Paul Rubens. It is the only Rubens painting in existence still in the location where Rubens first installed it. We also took a quick tour of the undercroft--the heavily vaulted basement--where Charles' father, James I, used to retreat to with his favorites after the hard work of a day at court to have a brewski--or two, or three, or four, or five, or six.... Once we finished with the Banqueting House, we walked up to Trafalgar Square, where we stopped in at St. Martin in the Fields to catch the last 10 minutes of a concert on the massive pipe organ. We the re-emerged into the drizzle and walked up the mall to Buckingham Palace. It was an ambitious start to sightseeing, but according to Grandma she likes to cram in as much as possible. Little did she know there was more to come...