1 Feb 2009
White Changing in London
I arrived in London a few days ago and am taking advantage of the weekend to do some sightseeing. This is my first trip to the UK and have always wanted to visit the land of my ancestors. There is so much to see in London, that I decided to use my hotel as the center and see what I could walk to.
I am staying at the Hilton Metropole which is conveniently located at the end of the line of the Heathrow Express train in Paddington. Pam recommended to take in some theater so I set off for Piccadilly Circus which is the center of the London theater district. After wandering around the discount ticket booths, I finally found a singleton ticket for the matinee of Les Miserables, an all time must see of mine.
If you’ve never heard of “Les Mis”, it’s an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel set in the French revolution and chronicles the worker’s struggle against the ruling class. Les Mis originated in London and is the longest running show in town. This powerful drama was even more poignant given that I was stranded in France for an extra day due to a national strike and gives real insights to the power of the unions in modern day France.
Buckingham Palace
On my second day in London, I decided to go to Buckingham Palace. I arrived just in time for the changing of the guard. As I jostled for position for picture taking, I found myself in a sudden snow flurry. Although not apparent in the pictures, it turned the entire scene into something from a fairytale.
I circled around the palace and came back to the “Queens Gallery” which was featuring the works of Rubens. What stuck me the most was a sample of the Crown Jewels. The similarities between the jewels in the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Sultan’s Palace in Istanbul were amazing. Something about “absolute power corrupting absolutely” came to mind. Or maybe given the modern day financial crisis, it’s just a matter of the power of “too much money”.
Bon Voyage, Jay
