Sights from Trafalgar Square

This is the National Gallery, and we didn't go inside.

We hadn't been in London very long, and I didn't think I wanted to walk around

looking at portraits of people I probably didn't know.

I'm not sure what I was thinking, because throughout our trip as we visited people's homes,

we would see a plaque that said, "The original portrait is in the National Gallery."

So next time, I will definitely stroll through those corridors.

My first sight of Big Ben.

I read in the guidebook that you shouldn't miss the view of Big Ben 

from Trafalgar Square.  It was magnificent.

It really is the most beautiful clock tower.

Lord Beatty, an admiral in the Royal Navy during WWI

One thing I took away from our trip is just how many lives were lost during the first world war, "The Great War" as it was called on so many war monuments in every city and village we visited.  I never realized before how much it affected each town, as they lost almost an entire generation of young men.  It was very sad.

Part of the fountain

replica of Lord Nelson's ship, Victory

Lord Nelson himself

I was just doing some online research to make sure I got details right and discovered that Lord Nelson actually was shot and killed during the Battle of Trafalgar.

I knew he won the victory against the French that day, 

but I didn't know he died.

Speaking of fighting the French, KJ and I started reading Dickens'

A Child's History of England while we drove.  From the time the first person sailed from France to England, those two countries fought.  

If my memory is correct, the Napoleonic Wars Nelson died fighting 

were the last fought between England and France.

Prior to that, however, those two countries were fighting off and on for 800 years.

The story became all too familiar as we read:

One king or queen decided they had a right to some part of France or England,

and they would demand it.  The other party would refuse, and they would begin fighting again,

taking breaks from time to time for various reasons.

I just found it somewhat astounding that it took 800 years for those two countries to stop fighting.  And there is your history lesson for today.