The Last Day!

On this, my last full day in England, I was to go on a tour to Dover, but it was cancelled after I made my way to the meeting point!  The bus had broken down on the way, with no replacement available.  I ended up going with a group of members from my tour on a trip to see the Middle Temple.  This is one of the four Inns of Court in London. The other three include Inner Temple, Gray’s Inn, and Lincoln’s Inn. The Inns of Court serve as the nerve centers for the legal profession. Barristers must belong to one of the four in order to be called to the bar. Each of the Inns includes a network of buildings, accommodation, libraries, gardens, a church or chapel – and a great hall. We were lucky to have lunch in the Middle Temple.

Big Ben

Parliament Building

Westminster Abbey

Middle Temple

Gardens of Middle Temple

Entrance to Middle Temple

Inside Middle Temple where we ate

Temple church

We also saw the Temple Church, which was founded by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters in medieval times. It is now jointly owned by the Inner Temple and Middle Temple, Inns of Court.  It is famous for being a round church, a common design feature for Knights Templar churches and for its 13th- and 14th-Century stone effigies. It was heavily damaged by German bombing during World War II and has since been greatly restored. 

After arriving back in my hotel room and sitting on my suitcase to pack (literally!), I decided to do it up right. A friend from the tour was going to meet me at a restaurant to say goodbye but she had to go to a work event, so I changed the reservation for one, got myself in a dress, and walked across the Thames River.  I went to a restaurant called XOXO, which had a beautiful view of the Thames and the Shard skycraper. I ended it all by taking my wine glass, toasting my trip and said to myself I am one lucky girl to have gotten to experience this trip!

View of the Thames

XOXOXO Restaurant-loved that view!

PS I was glad to get home to Allen, Anna and Chip! J

Side Notes:

A.    The bus driver, my hero! The area of England in which I am interested is Kent. It is called the Garden of England. There are many adorable British cottages, historical houses, gardens, villages, bookshops and tea rooms. The roads are very narrow and there are a lot of sheep and hedgerows. Driving in a car would be such a challenge, besides learning to drive on the other side of the road. But driving in a bus was a worldly feat! We all were very grateful to our patient and talented driver.

B.     I am in awe of the historians! Yes, this was a historical tour. Most of the participants joined because of reading Alison Weir novels. Some had been on numerous tours (Yes I do want to go again! LOL!) But the nice thing is, you could listen a little or a lot, and you could choose what you wanted to do. You did not have to do everything, and this was the fun of the trip. If you were not a historical person this was still great, because you got to see and do so many things. For me, the historians were the icing on the cake. If you go on the tour due to your historical interest, it was, as Allen says a history geek’s dream! The historians were, as below, in case you are interested.

C.     Alison Weir -- Author of many English historical novels, organizer of the tour, and around wonderful person.

D.     Julian Humphries -- Julian Humphries is a tour guide and has been one for quite some time, including in France. He was especially adept at military history and had a ferocious sense of humor. He and I regularly had conversations like this: Which do you put on a scone first, the jelly or the cream?? My kind of person!

E.      Michael Jones -- An amazing historian. An amazing mind. He spoke history like he used A1 -- he rarely needed any notes. A specialist on many things including Richard III, the Black Prince and military history.

F.      Tracy Borman -- Tracy has done a lot of speaking and programs about the Tudors. She is Chief Curator at the Tower of London and the author of many books.

G.     Sarah Gristwood -- What a mind and great person! She has written about many things in which I am interested, including Beatrix Potter and Vita and Virginia Woolf. I really enjoyed her company.

H.     Nicola Tallis -- Nicola was a charm. She has a mind like a trap and is also a very fun person with whom to spend time. Her interests are the jewels of monarchy, the theme of her PhD which she achieved not long ago from College of Winchester, which is also where Rishi Sunak got his degree. She lives in Bath.

                                                           THE END!😊