After two weeks in London, I can finally say that I have seen all of the famous landmarks. After walking all over the city, I somehow kept missing one of the most iconic buildings in all of London: British Mcdonald’s! I also went to Westminster Abbey, but they wouldn’t let me bring a burger inside. I enjoyed walking around the Abbey and seeing all of the beautiful stone statues commemorating the different people buried under the Abbey and a few key people stood out to me.
While it isn’t as grand as Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey is a beautiful building with lots of interesting architecture inside. I really enjoyed the throne room’s knight statues with their colorful flags and animal statues representing their family crests. It felt like I was walking in an elaborate historic painting like that scene in Mary Poppins where they jump into the chalk drawings! It was interesting to see the monuments for people of ages past in a room dedicated to bringing in the future.
The most surprising thing about the Abbey was how many famous English people are buried underneath it. I didn’t know anything about Westminster Abbey until we went, so it was surprising to me how many graves and memorials were present throughout the building. My favorite grave was that of the Unknown Soldier. This memorial is known as the most important one in all of the Abbey because it represents all of the soldiers that fought and died serving the country and stands as a placeholder for anyone who has lost a loved one. While the soldier’s identity is unknown, they are celebrated every day for their valiance in the war.
Some other notable graves included Stephen Hawking and Lewis Carroll. Hawking was located in the “science corner” next to Sir Issac Newton and Charles Darwin. His grave has a swirling image of a black hole to commemorate his discovery. Lewis Carroll is located in the “poet’s corner” in between several other plaques. His plaque was noticeably smaller, but his memory is preserved well as one of his famous quotes surrounds his name in a circle: “Is all our life then but a dream?” His body is buried somewhere else, like Shakespeare, but unlike Shakespeare, he did not put a curse on his actual grave.
Overall, this place was a very cool experience and even though the gift shop was very overpriced, I understand why this is such an important landmark in London.
Cheers!
Eben
Theatre in London U of A 