The Center of a Great Empire

Nope, not that one. I mean London. The British Empire spanned the globe. It held sway in dozens of countries and, along with the other European nations, sliced the world up into bits. Eventually, of course they came to realize they couldn't just go out and take the world, and they shrank themselves back to their little island off the coast of Europe. But the capital city, London, has remained an influential city ever since. And it's a large part of Canada's past and present. I really should have visited it long ago, but the urge just never took me. And in truth, if not for wanting to get home from the other direction, and for the really cheap fares to Canada from London, I wouldn't have come now.

But I have another reason for coming. One of my old hiking club buddies from Korea lives here and I thought it would be a good chance to meet him again. He thought it was a good idea as well, and when I said I was coming to London, he suggested we meet for coffee. He doesn't actually live in London, but about an hour away by train, so we made a plan to meet at one of the train stations in London.

We met. It was noon actually, so instead of coffee, I thought we could have lunch. Fish and chips, a good old fashioned English meal. We talked and caught up and then he paid for lunch, as a guest in the country. He didn't need to do that, but thank you Narian!!!

Then I was off to see some of London. As I had discovered the night before upon arriving in London, it's a very walkable city. In fact, I had left my rooming house at around 9 and meandered my way to meet Narian for lunch. I could easily have gotten there in about an hour, but I took almost three. Along the way I found Buckingham Palace.

I also found Canada Gate, located just outside the palace grounds. I'm not sure why there's a

Canada Gate, but there's an Australia Gate as well, just opposite.

I went to the palace fence and looked through to watch the palace guard pacing back and forth. (This one looked a bit like a child dressed in adults clothing. He actually gave me the impression of Pooh Bear walking back and forth. I'm not sure why.) Unfortunately because it was winter, the changing of the guard only took place every other day, and this was not one of them. That's probably a good thing as the changing of the guard ceremony takes place at 11:30 and that would have been too late to watch it and still meet Narian. It was going to be done the next day at 11:30, so I decided to give it some thought whether I would brave the undoubtedly huge crowds that would be jostling for position. There were lots of other more interesting things I could think of doing, but if I had a bit of spare time, I thought I might try to check it out.

I also found the theater that has been playing Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap for almost 60 years in the world's longest run of any live show, and actually probably all shows of any type, ever. I thought I would definitely be trying to see that one as well. I hoped it wouldn't be too expensive.

And just before meeting Narian, I found Hyde Park.

After meeting Narian, I headed down to the river. On the way, I happened across Westminster Abbey. It was a grand old structure with flying buttresses. I would have gone in to have a look, but they had a hefty entrance fee of 16 pounds, almost 25 dollars. That seems to be a very high opinion they have of themselves. And besides that, churches are supposed to be free. If they want to ask for donations, that's one thing, but churches are supposed to be free. So I passed. I did take a photo from outside though.

I headed on to the Thames. When I was in Egypt and visited Karnak Temple in Luxor, our tour guide told us that there used to be 8 obelisks in the temple. Five had ended up in cities around the world, while two had remained standing at the temple and one had fallen over. One of the obelisks had gone to France. I had seen that one.

Another had gone to London, and I wanted to see it as well. I asked where it was at one of the many London tourism offices. They are excellent. They are friendly and very informative. The guy in the office showed me where I could find the obelisk, which had been given the name of Cleopatra's Needle.

It turned out to be quite easy to find. But it has not been given nearly the same level of importance that the one in Paris has been given. In Paris, the obelisk sits on the Champs Elysees, in the middle of an intersection, in line with the arches, and the ugly carousel wheel. It's lit up at night.

In London, it is sitting by the river, in an out of the way place, not neglected, but not well respected either. Nevertheless, I've seen two of them now.

Then I continued down the riverbank of the Thames. I followed it along for quite a while, for about 4 kilometers as it turned out. It's quite a nice walk in many respects, although there is a lot of work going on at the moment that interferes with the path. In the runup to the Olympics this summer, there is much going on.

I was headed more or less in the direction of The Tower of London and of the Tower Bridge. They are near the Tower Hill tube (the name of the London subway system) station, which is where I was going to meet a walking tour, one of the famous London Walks. The one I was particularly interested in was the Jack the Ripper walk. The tour goes everyday at 7:30. I had a bunch of time, so I checked out The Tower of London and the The Tower Bridge.

The Tower of London is one of the castles of London and is famous for its dreadful goings on, with beheadings and gruesome dungeons and in particular for one of its most famous victims, Anne Boleyn, beheaded by order of her illustrious husband, Henry VIII.

I arrived as night had fallen, and the time for actually visiting the two was past, but I checked out the ticket office locations in case I felt I had time another day. And of course I took some photos against the night.

After getting some dinner, I met the tour at the tube station and got out to see the haunt of old Jack. We began just past the remnant of an old London wall, the boundary between the well-to-do part of the central business district and the posh west side, and the destitute, impoverished, decrepit east side. From this side we were where the poverty began. It was the factory area, the area where people who couldn't do anything else found themselves. They were forced to do many things, from working in workhouses to prostitution. This was the area where Jack the Ripper did his work, terrorising the residents and confounding the police for four months while he killed and cut up five victims, becoming the first recorded serial killer.

During the tour we were taken to places where the victims were found...

...even if the exact places don't really look like they did, or have been turned into parking structures nowadays.

We saw spots where crucial evidence was left, and covered up.

We saw dark alleys that would have had the same ambience they had back in those days.

We were given a bunch of the current theories about who really was Jack the Ripper. (This included the now firmly believed idea that the name of Jack the Ripper was actually coined by a newspaper journalist who wanted to sensationalize the story. So it is now thought that this journalist wrote the two letters that were purportedly sent to the newspaper in question, posted them himself, and then wrote up the story, all in an attempt to boost circulation. Hmmm... Dirty dealings by London press. I'm shocked.) But we had a really good walk through the streets of a dark and lonely London. It was a great walk.

Following the walk, I returned to the rooming house. I had been away all day and it was time for a good night's sleep.

Heading to London

I arrived at the station in Paris and went through the customs and immigration process. The immigration guy I faced wasn't overly difficult, but did press the matter a bit when I couldn't give him an exact time of departure (because I hadn't booked a ticket yet, since I had only decided the night before to go to London), or a place where I would be staying (because I had only decided the night before to go to London, and I don't generally have a lot of need to find a place before getting there), or a job that I was going back to. I was actually a bit worried that he would turn me down for a moment or two. But he passed me through. It is good to be a Canadian.

The crossing was uneventful. And boring, really. I didn't expect the whole Chunnel passage to be momentous, but I didn't expect it to be as much of a non-event as it turned out to be. We were just suddenly in the Chunnel. And then we were suddenly out again. And the countryside we passed through was not very attractive. But that was when it could be seen. A lot of the way there were big berms of earth that had been heaved up, presumably for some sort of safety reasons. The berms prevented any sight of the passing countryside, however. So it was all a bit boring. And it certainly didn't do much to make it feel like there was particular value in having bought the ticket. I could have flown for less, I would imagine. But I had passed under the English Channel and that is something I will always be able to say now.

In London, I quickly found a place to stay, a private room for about the same as I had paid for a dorm in Frankfurt and only a little more than my dorm (that ended up being a private room) in Paris. I think I could have found cheaper, but I hate running around doing that kind of thing, particularly if I have found something I can live with, if not exactly be happy about. The guy in the rooming house is nice though, so it's fine.

Then I headed off to get information about London and be able to find my way around. That done, I headed out for a look around. Again, I found that London, like Paris, is easy to walk around. Most of what I wanted to see and do would be within walking distance. And if I didn't want to walk any more, it would be cheap to take a train back to my rooming house.

I think I have to do my first looks around places more often in the night. Again like Paris, I found that London is really quite attractive at night.

What Can Be Done With 3 or 4 Hours

I thought I might go and visit a friend in Lyon for a couple of days before heading to England and then heading back to Canada. But I was finding Europe in general and Paris in particular way too expensive. Then when I went to book a flight to London from Lyon, I saw this great deal. Only 79 pounds. And they said on the website to look at that price. It was the final price, and it included all the fees and taxes. The person booking wouldn't find pay any more than what they saw on the right hand side. Oh, but wait a moment. What? You want to take some luggage? Oh well, that will cost 11 pounds more. And oh, you're going to pay with a credit card? Well, that's more still. And... Well I guess it's not really true about the first price then, is it? You morons. And liars.

And I decided to not go to Lyon. I apologized to my friend as I bought a ticket on the Eurostar train under the English Channel to London instead. I bought my ticket for 1 in the afternoon for the day after my second day with the Museum Pass.

That left me with a final morning in Paris to use for some purpose. I had a couple of options. I could have tried to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I could also have sought out the Catacombs of Paris. And when I got up and asked at the front desk of the hostel, a further suggestion was made to visit Montmartre, a church on the hill that had a place where artists sit in the park and paint. They all sounded quite interesting and I was suddenly wishing that I could have had the full day. But I had made my choice about when to move on and now I had to make this new choice as a result.

Given that the elevators at the Eiffel Tower had malfunctioned the night before, I didn't want to chance having another interruption if I tried to get to the top before needing to be at the train station. So I decided against the tower. Montmartre sounded intriguing and I would love to have gone and watched artists being artists. The church also sounded nice. But in the end, I really wanted to see the catacombs. I have heard much about them from different sources. I asked the guy at the front desk and he told me I would have just enough time to have a go at that. So I went and had a go.

I made my way to the appropriate station in the Paris metro system and then more or less stumbled on the entrance to the catacombs. It wasn't exactly hidden, but there were no great big signs announcing the presence of the catacombs either.

There was a guided tour for the catacombs, but it was entirely in French and I wasn't sure if I really wanted to be working that hard at keeping up. My comprehension is still pretty good in French, but it would still be a lot of work. I opted for taking the audio guide instead.

And so I went down, down, and down. And like the towers at Notre Dame, and when I visited the Arc de Triomphe, it was spiral staircases that took me down into the depths.

At the bottom, I began to learn about the catacombs, their history and development. The Romans came to town almost a couple thousand years ago. And they built a city called Letitia. But when they built the city, they needed building materials. So did the later inhabitants of the city. They found very good materials below the city. In ancient times, the area where Paris is now was at the bottom of the sea. The bottoms of seas collect dead animals and plants and turn it into limestone over long periods of time. Such was the case with the land mass on which Paris has been built. And the Romans and those who came after exploited it.

They dug out the limestone from under the ground and used it to build on the top of the ground. And they continued to do that. The problem was that they dug out the limestone from right beneath the city. In the end it became a bit like a game of Jenga. It just came to the point where they were taking a risk of taking one too many pieces and the whole thing would come tumbling down. In fact, there were several subsidences over the years where great sinkholes opened up as the caverns beneath collapsed.

A government department was set up to go and investigate the catacombs and shore them up, make them safe, and ultimately make the city above safer, too. While doing the survey one of the surveyors decided to add to the environment in the catacombs.  He carved some beautiful sculptures.  Unfortunately, they were among his last acts.  During some portion of his carving activities, a cave in buried him alive.  But his legacy lives on for visitors.

Meanwhile, there was another problem developing up above. The cemeteries were overflowing. They were getting piled up with dead bodies. Someone came up with the idea of using the empty space below to hold the dead. So they made it so. Cemeteries were emptied of their bones and the bones were brought down to the catacombs and stored. They were stacked and appropriate tributes were given to them. However, for most, if not all, the identities have been lost to time.

It's a fascinating place, deep under the city of Paris. And it took exactly the right amount of time. I arrived back at the hostel just in time to pick up my stuff and head to the train station to head to London.

Lisa and Making Up With Napoleon

Another of the must-do's of Paris is to visit the Louvre and one of its most famous residents. I planned my visit quite carefully. On my first day in Paris, I wandered around and actually went into the Louvre to check out its opening and closing times and what day would be best to visit for the number of people. I really expected it to be crowded and with a long line to get in. I especially thought I would have a wait of half an hour, if I was lucky, to get to see the Mona Lisa. So I wanted to make it as favourable as possible to visit and to go in to see the Mona Lisa.

When I asked I was told that, although the museum was always crowded, Monday had a lesser crowd than Sunday, so I determined to come on the Monday and I spent Sunday seeing other places.

Early on Monday morning, I got up and had breakfast. I wanted to get to the Louvre right at opening time, so that I would have the best chance of getting and seeing things in the Louvre in a timely fashion and still have time for other things later. When I had just visited the building the night I arrived, I had realized that it was absolutely a huge building. There was likely no way I was going to see everything in the museum. This was for two reasons. First, it was just too big. Second, it was all art. I am not an art connoisseur. I know what I like and what I don't. I can appreciate the technique of an artist and the time and talent that goes into the making of a work of art. But I don't really care that much about examining it in minute detail. I can't sit and stare at something for long periods of time, contemplating its place in the universe. I am far more likely to look at something, decide whether I like it or I don't, and move on. If something particularly catches my eye, I will look a little longer. So I guess in actual fact, I did have a chance of seeing a lot of what was in the museum. At least until I got too bored to continue.

I got to the Louvre at about 9:10. I had walked and I had lost my way a bit. Paris streets are rather confusing. They go off from most intersections in more than four directions. It's often six, but not always. I kept angling towards where I thought it would be, but it took a number of stops to kind of guage where I was and where I needed to be. But I did end up right at the Louvre when I exited the streets and arrived at the river. I rushed to the entrance, hoping that the line wouldn't be too long and that I could jump the queue anyway because of my museum pass.

And there was no line. I strolled right into the museum. I passed security. I went to the information desk to ask the way to the Mona Lisa, without making it seem that that was why I was there. I imagine that's why most people come, so it was silly, but still...

I got directions and headed her way, expecting to find a line-up waiting to view the painting. I wanted to get that done with and move on, so that I would definitely get to see the painting and then as much of everything else that I wanted. I got the grand hall (it's really big) and looked around at paintings. They were on the way after all. No sense being too single-minded.

And here is where it needs saying that the Louvre, and Paris, are really generous. Other museums jealously guard their gems. They don't want anyone going away and having anything they can show others. No photos are allowed at so many museums in the world. Maybe it's just so big. Maybe it's that so many people come to the Louvre and it's impossible to police them all, or to have a place to keep bags and cameras. Maybe they realize that most people, if they see photos of art in a museum, won't be deterred from seeing it in person, but will want to go and see for themselves all the more. I don't know. But the Louvre in particular, and Paris in general, doesn't bother trying to keep photos from being taken. They welcome them. They just want you to follow the normal sorts of rules for taking photos with precious and delicate things as the subjects. Things like no flash. Don't get too close. Allow others to have their chance.

All the paintings in the Louvre were open for viewing. Most had nothing between them and the viewing public other than a bit of space marked by ropes. A few were behind glass (the Mona Lisa being one of them), and I'm sure there was security of all kinds of sorts to prevent the art from being interfered with in a way that would be long-term. But it was what an art gallery really should be, a place where people who enjoy art can go and enjoy art. And without too many rules.

At length I got to the room with the Mona Lisa. I steeled myself for a hated wait in line, and...

Hmm... Wait a minute. There was no line. When I got to the room, there were no more than maybe thirty people total milling about. And that included the security. But I wandered right up to the painting, had a look, took a few photos, frankly got a bit bored, and headed off into the rest of the museum.

I actually did cover most of the museum that day. I really am not that much of an appreciator of art, beyond knowing what I like and what I don't. So I was just wandering past things that maybe deserved more of a look because it was done by a famous master. It was nice, but... in the end, ho hum in many ways. Sorry art lovers.

And art was everywhere. You really had to look in every nook and cranny, around corners, behind walls, and on the ceilings to see it all. It was amazing. There were paintings, and sculptures, and crowns and jewels. Every kind of art imaginable was there. It was stunning just for that.

There was Egyptian stuff.

There was history, too. The Louvre was built on old foundations and the building itself has a lot of story behind it, or rather under it. The original foundations of the building are there under part of the museum and have been excavated and are available for viewing as well.

The Venus de Milo was there as well. I had forgotten about that one. I was glad I walked around everywhere or I would have missed it.

Lots of places there were students, young and old, sitting or standing, drawing, copying, painting.

It must be fantastic to have such a resource to go and be an art student. And there were school groups coming in to view the art and have an art lesson. What must that be like? In Calgary, they get to go and look at line drawings by unknown (publically) Inuit or Native American artists. In the Louvre, they get to go and have a look at a da Vinci, or a Rembrandt. Wow!

I saw most of what was in the museum, if I didn't actually take it all in. But in the end I got too bored to continue and headed out after about 4 hours. I walked down through the gardens of the museum and had a look at one of the arches that is built along the Champs Elysees. There are three, one at the Louvre, one at Arc de Triomphe, and one further along in the new financial district. They are each bigger than the last, and it is supposedly possible to look through the first and see the others framed in it. It must have been quite a feat. Except...

Some bozo decided to mar it by putting a big carousel in the way. It is perfectly placed to be in line with the arches, but it is completely out of place, all big and round and white. Why do they do these things?

After a spot of lunch, I decided to go and make up with Napoleon. I noticed that the Musee de L'Armee was open everyday, but parts of it were closed on Mondays. Napoleon's tomb was part that was open everyday. I headed in that direction to have a look at the little man's final abode. And while the man may have been little, his tomb is grand. It sits at the back of the property known as Les Invalides. This is, from what I could gather, a place where the injured of was would be housed and nursed after they returned from battle. There is also a nice church in the building, and it is behind and attached to it that Napoleon's tomb is located.

I wandered around the building and went in. It's ornate and full of art and sculpture and there is really no way to do it justice in words. Photos aren't enough either, but here are some.

In the front of the building is the Musee de l'Armee. There were several exhibitions inside, but time had been marching and I only had time to see one of them. I decided on the one outlining France's military development around the two world wars. There were all sorts of information panels describing how war seemed almost inevitable from the time of about 1870-71 when Germany defeated France in a conflict. It was really interesting and showed how all the situations developed that led to the First World War and then that led directly to the Second World War. Of course, it's all hindsight, but so much could have been avoided, so much disease and death. What a waste.

I spent a couple of hours in that exhibition, and then headed out to see the chapel in the middle of the courtyard of les Invalides. It was nice, but not up to the standards of Notre Dame. I guess not much would be.

By this point, I just wanted a rest, so I stopped at a Starbucks. I wanted to go and climb the Eiffel Tower and get a good view of the night over Paris. So I sat and had a frappucchino in Starbucks and waited for night to fall. This turned out to be a mistake. I arrived at the tower at about 6:45 as a result of my stop. But the stairs had closed at 6:00. No climbing this night for me. Oops!

I was leaving the next morning, so I decided that, okay, I would take the elevator up all the way. I went to get into the strangely short line for the elevator. And I noticed that the elevator to the very top was closed. I asked why. It wasn't because it was night. There was some sort of technical difficulties and it was not operating as a result. I decided that if I couldn't go all the way to the top, there was little point in going up the tower. It would offer no better a view than I had had the night before on the Arc de Triomphe. So I settled for a few more shots from below and then I headed back to the hostel. It had still been a very busy and interesting day.