London Vacation
1999

Tuesday, August 16

Sightseeing in London

Start | Day 1| Day 2 | Day 3
Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7

Handel's Water Musik Suite Midi


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On Tuesday, our last full day in London, we visited Harrods, walked past Downing Street, and toured West Minster Abbey. With about one hour left and very tired feet, we managed to include a quick visit to Madame Tussaud's.



Harrod's Store, Circa 1892

Located in west London, Harrods department store started out as a small grocer and tea merchant in East London back in 1834.  Before the days of satellite and facsimile, Harrods cable address was "Everything London." These two words sum up the splendour of the world's most celebrated stores.


Harrods Today

One hundred and fifty years later Harrods has moved, grown and has now become the world's most famous shop. Harrods is rated the third most popular tourist attraction in London after St Paul's and Big Ben.


Harrods Memorial

Our visit included viewing a memorial to Princess Diana, the only place in Harrods where pictures are allowed to be taken.


Westminster Abbey
Westminster


Westminster Abbey

Though the present abbey dates mostly from the 13th and 14th centuries, there has been a church on this spot for more than 1,000 years. Since 1066, when William the Conqueror became the first English Monarch to be crowned here, every successive British sovereign, except two (Edward V and Edward VII), has sat in the Coronation Chair and received the crown and scepte. In 1997, the abbey was the site of Princess Diana's funeral.

 


Westminster Abbey

The south transept and its rose window.

 


Westminster Abbey

The quire, looking east towards the sanctuary.
 


Westminster Abbey

The Chapel of Henry VII, looking east.


Madame Tussaud's Waxwork Museum

Madame Tussaud--Waxwork

Madame Tussaud, née Marie Grosholtz, was born in Strasbourg, France in 1761. Her mother worked as house keeper to Philippe Curtius, a doctor and wax modeller who took on the child Marie as trainee. At the tender age of nineteen she was appointed art tutor to the sister of King Louis XVI and stayed at the Palace of Versailles until she was twenty-eight years old. During the French Revolution, Marie was made to take death masks from the heads of prisoners who had been guillotined. In 1794, Doctor Curtius died and left his wax model exhibition to Marie. Eight years later she moved to England, finally settling in London with her collection in 1835. The models were bequeathed to her two sons, and in 1884, the exhibition was moved to its present location on Marylebone Road.

 


Princess Diana

Waxwork displayed in Madame Tussaud's Waxwork Museum.

 


Theme Ride

The theme ride, which cost ten million pounds to complete, uses robotics to bring characters to life, recreating the sights, sounds, and even smells of over 400 years of London's history. Visitors climb into a "Time Taxi" and are transported on a historical journey to join Shakespeare working on a play, Queen Elizabeth in her court, and even craftsmen working on St Paul's Cathedral. The atmosphere of the Blitz, the Swinging Sixties, and present-day London are all portrayed during this exciting ride.
 
 

The Chamber of Horrors - Before Madame Tussaud's exhibition settled in London, she toured the country with the models for many years. 

Alongside her portraits of villains and murderers she exhibited her collection of relics from the French Revolution, which proved popular with the public. 

These included the death masks of French nobility and the Guillotine blade that was used to behead Marie Antoinette.


Day 8
Heading Home

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(If truth be told, only wishing it had been the Concorde.)


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