The Road Less Traveled

Yesterday we decided to head to Kent and Darwin's house on one of the two days it is open during the winter months.  As we left our hotel at 9:00 AM or so, we were stunned to see how many people were in the lobby waiting to check in.   On our gorgeous walk over Tower Bridge, along the "Queen's Walk" and to London Bridge train station, we saw that yes, indeed, there were many more people milling around the streets.  Apparently people were arriving for the weekend?  To celebrate New Year's Eve here?  We weren't sure, but it was a noticeable increase.  

"No worries," as our lovely waitress said about two dozen times during our afternoon supper in Orpington, we were heading out to Darwin's house.   Sure enough, the train (a tube/train mix, as this is a commuter train to one of the "suburbs" of London) was delightfully empty.  When we arrived at the train station in Orpington, we had just missed the bus to "downtown" Orpington, so we opted to take a cab to Darwin's house rather than stand around the bus station for an hour.  This was  a great decision, as we got to the home before the majority of people who also thought this would be a good afternoon activity.  The volunteers at Darwin's house seemed shocked that anyone was there, let alone that they were running low on the dozen audio tours they have available for the tour.

The weather was perfect today, with blue, clear skies the entire day (well, until 3;30, when the sun goes down!

The Tower Bridge

While Maddie was at first quite anxious that we wouldn't get a train, or that something would somehow go wrong and deprive her of her beloved Darwin, she visibly relaxed once we were in sight of Downe House, the home where Darwin, his wife and 10 children (7 of whom lived to adulthood) lived for 40 years.  it was here that Darwin wrote and published his great work, and here, in a bedroom where we stood reading of his life's work, where he died in his 80's.  He is buried at Westminster Abbey, as he lived long enough for England to realize what a national treasure he is.

That said, it's amazing how little "publicity" there is about this heritage site, which doesn't appear in my Fodor's book and is not mentioned in most of the places where I had done my initial research for our trip. In fact, it was just an offhand comment Maddie's Evolution teacher, Mr. Konen, made that we should be sure to visit Darwin's house that even made us aware it was a possibility. The rest of those visiting all seemed to be decidedly English (maybe it's just that most American do resent Darwin for his blasphemous ideas :)

So glad Konen steered us here, as this museum/house and this wonderful little town have been a highlight of the trip thus far.  When we finished touring at around 2:00, we were all hungry, having skipped both breakfast and lunch in our quest to get to Darwin, so we dined at The Queen's Head, which has been around  since the 1500's, and which was a spot Darwin frequented during his life.  Eating traditional fare (cottage pie for me) in such a traditional pub was wonderful.  

We finished just in time to catch the 3:30 bus back to Orpington, where we caught the train, which we took to Charing Cross Station, thinking that was a brilliant plan for Saturday night.  WRONG!!! We have never seen so many people.  It was as if the population had quadrupled in the last few days.  When the notion of getting into a show quickly vanished, and our attempt to see American Hustle was foiled by the fact that is is rated 15, and we foolishly told the clerk who asked that Daniel was 13 (not realizing that in England they don't allow parents to make those decisions.  Perhaps, they're on to something as I had not yet viewed the parental guide for this film, and it likely isn't appropriate for Daniel).  So on to the bus at the Savoy to head back east to our hotel.

Our early evening back at the hotel allowed Madison to finish her last two college applications, and got us rested up for our day touring the Tower of London and taking Pepe's street art tour.  Hope  to have some wonderful Banksy's to post in tomorrow's blog.  Until then, we'll just try to steer clear of all of these people!!! :)