Just Touched Down in Londontown

London. The final leg of our journey together. We were greeted surprisingly by sunshine. You Londoners may not realize but essentially Americans’ view of England is just gray. Ok, I probably shouldn’t speak for an entire country but I’d have to say I’d be correct on many accounts. What I’m trying to say here is that blue sky was a great bonus. Jenny and I did the most Londony thing we could in that sunshine and rode a double decker bus around the city. What I found so interesting about London was that it’s such a bustling city but looks as if it’s stuck in a time warp. The old black taxis, the telephone booths, Parliament, Buckingham Palace….there is just nothing modern or American looking about this city. And for that, I loved it. I believe we crammed more sightseeing in in London than anywhere we had previously traveled and I suppose that’s because London does indeed (how British do I sound!?) have sooo many sights.
One sight I wasn’t expecting was the motorcade of Barack and Michelle Obama. There we are minding our business, walking down Downing Street and all of a sudden no one is allowed to pass because oh wait….here comes Barack. Interesting that I had to go all the way to England to see our President. The closest I had come before was when he graced IU with his presence by drinking a beer at Nick’s in Bloomington. What a guy.

A truly memorable stop for me was Westminster Abbey. I’m sure this is more to do with the fact that the Royal Wedding was just held there and I along with about a billion other people of course tuned into it, than it was about the Abbey itself. Naturally, I did what any normal female would do…I walked down Kate’s aisle to Prince William….in my orange tube socks. So I didn’t feel quite as glamorous as Kate must have felt but at least I was making some sort of statement. (Note to myself on future London visits: People there do not understand tube socks over leggings and they will in fact look at you like you are a whackadoo…..Maybe you are.)

The most meaningful London stop by far though was Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. This trip was an homage to our grandfather, Pawpaw.A Shakespeare lover like I’ve never seen, my Pawpaw taught me a verse from TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, 22 years ago as a 5 year old. He never thought I’d remember it at the time and little did he know that I will never, ever forget it. This Shakespearean verse known simply to my family as, “Crab, My Dog,” is still rehearsed at nearly every holiday dinner table and I’m sure will be until the end of time. Though our stop to the Globe wasn’t extremely long (we were trying to catch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace), it’s one place I will absolutely never forget going. My only regret is that he wasn’t there with us. He would have loved that, and so would we. So Pawpaw, because I know you must have the capabilities of reading blogs in heaven, this one is for you…

Crab, my dog be the sourest-natured dog that lived. My mother weeping, my father wailing, my sister crying, our made howling, the cat wringing its hands and all our house in a great perplexity. Yet did not this cruel-hearted cur shed one tear. He is a stone, a very pebble stone, and has no more pity in him than a dog.

I think I’ll just leave it at that.

And NowEuropeToDate…