Westminster

Big. Very Big.  High.  Very High.  Those were my first thoughts as I walked into Westminster Cathedral but, as usual, first impressions of these sorts are a little hard to put into words.  Big and high don't really describe it at all.

My friends at Wikepedia tell me that the cathedral was built between 1245 and 1517 with the western towers added in the early 1700s.  Okay.  I really can't comprehend that amount of time in terms of how long ago that was and how long it took to complete.  I wonder what my brother, who manages big construction projects, would think about a 325 year project time line?  Makes my 2 year bathroom reno look pretty tame!

It is a who's who of tombs and graves.  Although, you have to look close because some have fine print noting where the person is actually buried...as in not in Westminster.  Early tourism?  I started looking a little closer when I "saw" Shakespeare's grave marker.  Which would have been cool if I hadn't already stood in another church, in Stratford-upon-Avon, and looked at a grave marker for Mr. Shakespeare!  I was rather surprised to see Chaucer's tomb...especially since that first thing that flew into my mind was the Wife of Bath's tale which, according to my high school English teacher, was pretty racy stuff for the time.  Maybe the church was more liberal back in the day.

Having spend the previous day trolling through the Tower of London (I will never tire of the Crown Jewels), and just arriving from Buckingham Palace (arriving for the changing of the Guards...by accident!), it was interesting to see all the Royal burials.  M&M, my girlfriends in from Winnipeg for a little visit, and I wondered if the Queen might end up here in the end too.  Ignorant Colonials that we are, not one of us knew where a modern monarch might be buried these days?

We also agreed that it must have been terrifying for Catherine to walk down the aisle there just last year.  I wonder how she managed to look so calm and serene!