A tribute to Abbey

Quick story you may not know. I love the name Abbey, Abbie, Abby, Abigail. I wanted to name Abbey, Abigail and call her Abbey, Abbie, Abby. Friends of ours with an Abbie, said words of wisdom - we were just going to call her Abbie, so why not name her Abbie? duh. So our #3 child came and I asked Jeff her name (he has named all of our kids - we've narrowed it down to a couple of names and ultimately he's the first one to see the baby so he's always been inspired to what name they should be called). He said Abbey, Abbie, Abby....Rebekah. Okay I love both those names, but how do we spell it. Knowing my husband is a big, big, BIG fan of the Beatles, I suggested like Abbey from Abbey Road. And there you have it.

We couldn't visit London and not visit Abbey Road Studios (a friend of ours has actually recorded in there - no, not the Beatles, but Rob Gardner of Spire Music) Off to find THE Abbey Road.

here's the album cover: source

We found it!

awwwwwww!

We did what all sane people do when they visit - we did the walk and tried not to get run over or hold up too much traffic.

pretty good. :)

There was another group there trying to take photos, so we took theirs and they took ours.

I don't quite pull of the look, but it was fun trying!

Love my Abbey!

London Eye

To the London Eye - it was getting dark and things were starting to glow. The City is beautiful at night!

As we were approaching the pier to get off the river cruise.

 This is the picture Jeff took - iphones take amazing pictures. seriously.

A little London Eye info: it takes a 1/2 hour for a full rotation. After each 'stop', 3 crew members, search each tube with mirrors to check under the bench to make sure nothing was left behind. They search it quickly and the Eye never stops moving unless there are people who need assistance getting on. I felt like I was trying to enter a double dutch jump rope - go, no, wait, no go, no....go! Hurry and latch that door and I'll be sure to stay away from it. :)

 St. Paul's Catherdal

 getting higher....breathe.

 almost to the top.

 so beautiful! Westminster Abbey to the right of Big Ben, House of Parliment and there you can see the River Cruise boat we road at the bottom of the picture.

 this tube is at the top of the Eye.

 We made it to the top! This is the tube next to us.

 Oh man, I love London

I've always wanted to go on a cruise

 Well, not really. I don't mind boats, on lakes or on the river, but a large ocean liner in the middle of the ocean, just scares me....ever seen Titanic? Dramatic.....probably, but what can I say, I have a lot of irrational fears - I'll save those for another post - you're welcome.

Lucky for us, we got a free cruise on Thames River when we purchased our bus tour. And bonus, the boats automatic audio tour was broken, so we got a live tour guide! He was actually the co-captain of the river boat - which was only one flat boat with a bunch of metal seats - don't go thinking we got royal treatment as far as seating, but it was inside and warm. The guy was hilarious - this was his 2nd time ever giving a live tour in 20 years - he did great!

 a look back at Tower Bridge

 HMS Belfast - we took a tour of that later

 go ahead, sing it loud! (I did, not out loud - too myself) Thank goodness this bridge didn't fall. haha!

 Shakespeare's Globe Theater - the white building to the right with the thatched 'roofing'. We didn't take in a show there - too cold as it's an open air theater.

 a famous pedestrian bridge we didn't walk across, but cruised right underneath. :)

 and the London Eye. We were going on that kicking and screaming because I wanted to prove I could do it even if I had to stand in the center of the 'tube' to keep it balanced.......another one of those fears.

 And then there's Big Ben - totally fascinated with it - it's beautiful, especially all lit up at night. Which as you can see from the time, it's almost 6 o'clock.

 Jeff getting a good photo on his iphone - we were so impressed with the architecture of every building.

Next up....London Eye

Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey

 The engine room for Tower Bridge - we took an elevator up the one tower, across the middle - where they had pictures and notes about the most famous bridges in the world - we had walked across or driven at least 7 of the 20!

 Westminster Abbey - we toured this another day and no photography was allowed, but this place was amazing! It's where Prince William and Duchess Kate were married, where all the Royal Coronations take place - Queen Elizabeth's was the last one. Princess Diana was married here. Around the Nave of the church was a bunch of smaller chapels and mostly final resting places for past Royalty. I was a little shocked they were holding a sacrament service while all the tourist were wondering around - it was open to any of who wanted to participate. I felt like an intruder just watching such a sacred event happening in front of thousands of tourists. Maybe that's just me.

 

From the time of the coronations of King Harold and William the Conqueror, all coronations of British monarchs have been held in the Abbey. The St. Edward’s Chair, the throne on which monarchs are seated while being crowned, is contained within the Abbey and used at all coronations from 1308. The Abbey was later rebuilt in honour of Edward the Confessor, the Royal Saint, by Henry III. Edward the Confessor’s relics were enshrined in the sanctuary and today lie in a burial vault in front of the High Altar.

source - the high alter where they are standing was roped off from the public. A picture similar to this is on the front of the brochure you pick up for the tour.

Check out the detail - every inch of the building has some carving or symbol.

 

 I was a smidge obsessed with Big Ben - it's just amazing! And it night - wow.....more of that to come, but this was our first view of it. It's across the street from Westminster Abbey and part of the Parliament building - which was closed so we didn't get to view any government in action....bummer. Across the bridge is the London Eye and Aquarium.