When I visited England for the first time independently, I went to see Westminster Abbey with my co-worker, Setsuko. Neither of us had been to the Abbey before. After we got off the train at Westminster station, we approached Westminster Abbey. However, we found out that it was closed. "Uh, Unlucky!", we said to each other and went on our way. Later, we talked about that story to Setsuko's friend, Mito, who studied in England and travelled together for some days, she said that she couldn't believe it. She added that if it was a special day such as Christmas day or Easter, it could happen, but not at any other time. Then, we tried again with Mito. Oh, no! That time, we found out we were at the wrong building. The building wasn't Westminster Abbey. It was the Houses of Parliament!! We noticed Big Ben. Moreover, there was a statue of Oliver Chromwell, who was the leader of the Puritan Revolution. I heard that somebody once mistook Westminster Cathedral for Westminster Abbey. However, maybe nobody except us thought that Big Ben was Westminster Abbey. I am still embarrassed remembering this story although it makes me smile.
Let's get back to Big Ben. When the English rebuilt the building after World War II, they discussed if the number of seats should be increased or not. However, after much consideration, it was decided that a larger space would be inappropriate for discussion ; therefore, the House was rebuilt with the same number of seats. The number of the seats is 437 while members of House of Commons is 659. In this situation, no member makes a speech for a long time without a purpose or sleeps in the House. What a great idea! I have to take my hat off to English people.

Westminster Abbey is on the opposite side of the road from Big Ben. Prince Andrew and Sarah got married there. You can also see the tombs of Elizabeth I and William of Orange. No sooner had I entered the building than I felt a cold atmosphere of tension and was filled with awe. I much　prefer the atmosphere of Westminster Abbey to that of St. Pauls. It is the place which I want to go to many times among a lot of sightseeing spot in London, because it is easy to go to from Victoria station and I like it.

From Westminster Abbey, if you walk along Victoria street towards Victoria station, you'll find Westminster Cathedral on your left hand side(left). This cathedral is not so big, but you can look down at London, the scenery around Westminster(right 1,2), if you go up to the top by elevator. Don't you think that the scenery is quite good? I recommend this place.

Something more about Westminster...
This year, we visited London again. At the bus stop near the National Gallery, we took the bus to Oxford Street. However, on our way, we found out we had got on the wrong bus, which was going in the opposite direction, so we got off. It was near Westminster Station. When we went down the station platform, we were surprised. The station had the atmosphere of some kind of future town.
I usually walk to Westminster Abbey, so I have rarely used the train. However, when I used it before, the station was very different. When did the station change?, I wonder.
The historical town of Westminster versus the futurestic station. The contrast is interesting, isn't it?

（2002.6.9）

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Trip to England

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