Day 26: Finding a Friend

So this post will be much shorter than it deserves.  I was able to meet a friend from Harvard this evening and prioritized catching up and socializing than being back at a reasonable hour.  Apologies for the brevity!

Ethan and I had a busy day walking around London.  We started by heading from our hotel to the Imperial War Museum.  The collection there is pretty amazing and affecting.  Highlights were the Lord Ashcroft Gallery that displayed the medals and stories of those who have won the Victory Cross or the George Cross and the Holocaust exhibit.  Both were moving for the extreme bravery and spirit shown by British soldier and by all peoples victimized by the Nazi powers.

After a long visit in the museum, we headed across the Thames and through Westminster again.  This time we spotted the Jewel Tower, one of the few medieval buildings from the Palace of Westminster to survive the fire.

We went into St. James's Park, making our way towards Buckingham Palace.  We were both surprised to see pelicans swimming in the park lake.  They were presents from the Russian ambassador in 1664.  This spurred a tradition of giving exotic and unusual waterfowl as diplomatic gifts and this is reflected in the fowl found in St. James's Park.

We walked up to Victoria Memorial at the end of the Mall and just before Buckingham Palace.  The massive monument was unveiled in 1911 and completed in 1924.  The main features are a statue of Queen Victoria, as Queen Empress, in Carrara marble and a gilded bronze winged Victory standing over the queen.

Although we had missed the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham, we did happen to see a changing of the sentries on duty.  It was pretty fascinating to watch the rigid formality of the process.  A commander led four replacements out and relieved the sentries two at at time, before leading them back in.  All done in perfect unison.

The guards who act as sentries at Buckingham Palace (and as protection to the royal family and residences) are known as the Queen's Guard.

The Queen's Colour was flying over Buckingham Palace, signaling that Queen Elizabeth II is currently in residence at the palace.  Were she not there, no flag would fly.  It would also affect the number of sentries outside Buckingham.

Using a self timer on my camera, Ethan and I were able to get our first picture together in London, with the Victoria Memorial and Buckingham Palace in the background.

From Buckingham Palace, we walked through Piccadilly Circus and towards Trafalgar Square.  We stopped in St. James's Church, Piccadilly.  There was a small market of wares outside and a beautiful organ inside.  The church also allows homeless people to sleep in some of the pews during the day, which seems a lovely continuation of Christian charity.

We ended our busy day in the National Portrait Gallery.  Sadly, many of the rooms of the museum were shut due to some sort of construction or something.  We're hoping that the closures were just for today and we might be able to revisit and see some of the pieces we missed (especially the Caravaggios).

Here are three personal highlights from what we saw today:

A 15th century depiction of St. George slaying the dragon by Paolo Uccello.  I love this image because it reminds me of my childhood and I remember seeing it when I visited London fourteen or fifteen years ago.

The museum had a wonderful collection of paintings by Peter Paul Rubens.  The painting below depicts the myth of Samson and Delilah.  I love the drama of the men about to come through the door in the top right corner.

Finally, a piece by El Greco, a Greek painter whose career was based in Spain.  In seventh grade, I did a research project and presentation on El Greco and have loved his work ever since.  The painting shows St. Jerome as a cardinal.

We were unable to see much of the museum and exhaustion in our feet might have sped our exit.  We headed out through Trafalgar Square, stopping to look at the large monument dedicated to Admiral Horatio Nelson.

We went back to our hotel and out for a bit of a disappointing dinner.  But the night was greatly improved with another drink and dessert.  From there we reached the highlight of the day, meeting with a classmate of mine (and fellow classicist) for a drink (or two) and having a lovely evening.

Fun Fact #26: The gun shown in the first picture is a 1914 15-inch gun.  Each gun weighs around 100 tons and could shoot a 1,938 pound shell 16.25 miles.  Sounds like a pretty terrifying sight.

Day 13: Spending an Afternoon at the Amphitheater

So today I managed to miss a bus while standing at a bus stop.  It's not entirely my fault, I swear!  After a relaxed morning in Llandovery, I found out that the bus would be a much more efficient and easier way to get to Carmarthen.  So I trotted across the street to the bus stop and stood by the stand, waiting for the bus and finishing a podcast.  The bus was a few minutes late, so I was trying to find something else to listen to.  As I looked back up, I watched my bus zoom by on the main road.  The bus stop was just off the main road, but the bus showed no intention of coming over to the stop.  I thought maybe it would come around on a loop, but alas, I was wrong.  It sped away...without me.

So I just headed the twenty steps to the train station and took a bit longer and a bit more complicated route to Carmarthen.  Both my guidebooks were pretty down on Carmarthen, just as they were about Holyhead, so I was a bit skeptical of what I'd find.  So far, I've been pleasantly surprised!  The town is definitely more developed than most of the towns I've stayed in, it is still charming.  Much of the history has been covered with larger stores and parking lots, but there are still nice side streets and a beautiful county office house.

After checking into my hotel, I decided to make my way to the only surviving part of the Roman settlement in Carmarthen: the amphitheater.  The remains are a bit outside the center of town and as I made my way there, I was distracted by a church.  The church, St. Peter's, apparently marked one end of where the Roman fort would have been.

Walking into the church, the first thing I saw was a Roman altar sitting in the entryway.  The altar had been found on the main Roman road through the town, but was brought to the church.  I thought it was an interesting mixing of religions, a pagan altar in a Christian church.

The church was lovely on the inside, with a nave and a parallel southern aisle, which were both lined with beautiful, carved wooden pews.  The red tiling, along with the red hue in the wood, gave a rich color and light to the building.  I was intrigued by the sort of parallel structure of the church.  It seemed a bit odd, as some of those in the southern aisle would certainly not be able to see the altar or possible the pulpit.

But the southern aisle has its own treasure: the tomb of the Richard III's killer.  According to some sources, including Welsh poet Guto'r Glyn, Rhys ap Thomas struck down Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth Field.  It is (of course) unclear if he was actually the one to do the deal, but it is very clear that Henry Tudor was very pleased with Thomas's service in the War of the Roses.  Following the end of the war and the crowning of Henry VII, Thomas was named Constable and Lieutenant of Breconshire, Chamberlain of Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire, Seneschall and Chancellor of Haverfordwest, Rouse and Builth, Justiciar of South Wales, Governor of all Wales, a member of the Privy Councillor, and a Knight of the Garter.  Certainly an unexpected piece of history (or legend) to stumble upon!

I continued down the road to the Roman amphitheater.  The amphitheater is one of only four known in Wales.  It is slightly smaller than the one in Chester and could have seated around 5,000 people.  The amphitheater is a much narrower oval shape than others I've seen, including the one in Chester.  The amphitheater was placed just outside the Roman town, called Moridunum, and along the Roman road that connected the settlement to forts in the area, like the one just outside Llandovery.

The amphitheater is the only part of Roman settlement that is visible above ground; the entire remains of the town and fort are covered by the modern town.  In the 70s CE, the site was first developed to hold a large fort, but this was soon reduced in size.  By the mid 2nd century, the fort was abandoned, but the settlement around it developed into the town, Moridunum.  In the 3rd century, the fort was reoccupied and the town was thriving, becoming one of the largest settlements in Wales.  It also seems to have been a pretty good example of a Roman and native amalgamation, maybe similar to what occurred in Wroxeter.

After absorbing the remains of the amphitheater, I followed a map to the promise of another information sign about Roman's in the area.  This brought me to the remains of Carmarthen Castle.  The remains are just behind the county offices and only a wall, towers, and a gate still stand.  

I was able to go up on to the walls of the castle and up to the top of the castle gate.  It took me a while to track down the flag flying, but I believe I've found it.  It seems to be the flag of the princely House of Dinefwr, a royal house in Wales founded in 854 CE, and the Kingdom of Deheubarth, a kingdom in southern Wales from 920-1197 CE.  The flag was inherited as the arms of the Talbot family, which (if I understand correctly) have been the Earls of Shrewsbury since 1442 to present day.

Though most of the castle is gone, and even half the gate is gone, the parts that remain are quite striking.  The gate consisted of path leading between two towers.  It would have been defended with a portcullis and a machicolation seen here.  A machicolation is a defensive feature of many castles which allowed defenders to drop objects on enemies at the gate from above.  Smaller holes that served the same function were called murder holes.

In a small courtyard by the castle remains, there was another informational panel about the Roman town and the surrounding area (I've already shared some of the better facts found there).  Sadly, that concluded my tour of Roman Carmarthen.  All the other secrets are trapped underground!  (Or in museums not in Carmarthen)

Fun Fact #13:  Legend tells that Merlin, of Arthurian lore, was born in a cave outside Carmarthen.  In fitting with this, there as an oak tree in the town called Merlin's Oak.  The tree was actually planted in celebration of Charles II's return to the throne in 1659 or 1660, but still came with this prophecy: "When Merlin's Oak shall tumble down,/Then shall fall Carmarthen town."  Sadly, the tree died in the mid-19th century and was eventually removed in the 1970s.  Luckily, the town still stands!