Day 10 - Sightseeing in London & a visit to Whitechapel

Today begins at 9:00 AM on the tour bus. We make our way through the traffic from the hotel to Westminster Abby for a guided tour. Along the way, Joyce calls out points of interest and gives us some historical background on the area. Before entering the abby for our tour, Joyce warns us to stay together and to watch our for "marauding Koreans" who may rudely break through our groups. We all had a good laugh. Westminster Abby is fabulous. It is the resting place of monarchs, musicians, scientists, poets, nobles, etc. We saw the tombs of Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, George Handel, Isaac Newton, Lawrence Olivier, D.H. Lawrence, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In addition there were memorials to Shakespeare, Jane Austin, Theodore Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, among others. It was very cool – and little bit eerie to be walking over all these great people. After Westminster Abby (we never encountered the marauding Koreans), we rushed to Buckingham Palace to catch the end of the Changing of the Guard. Then, the bus dropped us near Trafalgar Square for exploration on our own. The group broke up and went every direction – some to the London Eye – a giant ferris wheel with beautiful views of the city – some to the Tower of London, others to Convent Garden, Picadilly Circus and Leicester Square. Others chose to visit the British Museum, the Portrait Museum or the National Museum. Between everyone in the group – we saw just about everything there is to see in London. At 4:00 PM, it was back on the bus for the drive to Whitechapel for a tour and dinner with Alan and Kathryn Hughes. Alan gave a wonderful and informative tour and lesson on making both tower bells and handbells. Then we were treated to some delicious refreshments for our dinner. During this social time were heard more stories about the history of Whitechapel Bell Foundry and the Hughes family’s part in that history. A great end to a fantastic day. Tomorrow its two concerts – lunchtime at St. Paul’s Cathedral and evening at a theatre in Redhill. It will be a long day. I’m hoping to get my technical issues resolved tomorrow so I can post some of the great pictures we’ve been taking. Many of you reading these posts have asked who is on this trip. Following is the list…. Elizabeth Allen Karen Blakeslee Mr. Ben Brinson Mrs. Lavieta Brinson Cammy Carteng Jennifer Cauhorn David Davidson Judy Davidson Mrs. Dale Douros Mya Dundzila Tomas Dundzila Janet Harner Jeanne Jessup Sue Kues Steve Leadbetter John Leonard Karen Leonard Leslie Lewis Lynne Marks Glenda Mason Micki Mennet-Martin Norma Miller Ellen Moretz Gillian Penn Alan Pentecast Tracy Peterson Gail Ritchey Keith Rowland Wendy Rowland Gerry Schmidt Sharon Schmidt Carol Sykes Joyce Terry Jean Wiggins Barbara Wilson Joyce Wolfe Patty Yates Rad Yates