Three famous pirates in front of
Sir Francis Drake's ship the "Golden Hind".
This is a full-size replica.
The outside of the full sized replica of
the Globe Theatre... more later.
A serious looking group outside the infamous
Tower of London.
Our guide, a "Warder", better known as a
"Beefeater", enthralled us with tales of the bloody
and brutal history of the Tower.
Thousands of criminals, both high and low,
walked from the Tower to the place of execution,
paid the executioner a "tip" for a clean kill,
following which their headless bodies were
returned to the Tower and thrown into the moat.
The Royals were executed in the courtyard of the
Tower itself and were then buried under the floor
of the Chapel. These folks are waiting for the
return of the executioner.
This is "Old Bailey", London's criminal court.
Elliot and Tom watched part of a burglary and
murder trial and enjoyed the wigs, robes and
pomp.
St. Paul's Cathedral, in the heart of London, is the
seat of the Church of England, which as you recall
was begun because the Pope refused an
annulment to King Henry VIII.
A street theater group from Brazil presented
Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". Tom and Elliot
enjoyed this performance at the Globe.
Although neither of us spoke Portuguese, we had
both read the book and were fairly sure how it
came out.
Elliot, and an unknown admirer, studied up on the
program notes to help in the translation.
In order to understand what part the Volvo
played in the performance, you had to be there!
The inside of the Globe mirrors the building where
Shakespeare performed and had his works
performed.
After the play the actors in traditional
street-theater makeup circulated among the
audience smiling and nodding in response to the
English compliments.
Erin tries for a quick trip back to Stanford via
Dr. WHO'S last surviving TARDIS.
Unfortunately, he did not have his key along.
This lady was in the Tube as we traveled to our
hotel. Why she was wearing the nice hat was
never made clear, but she did seem to be having a
good time, and so were we.