I've been told that in Cambridge, people refer to going to London as "going down to London," rather than as "going up to town," as they might in many other parts of the country--as in, everywhere is down from Cambridge. In any case: at an absurdly early hour this morning, my student and I trekked across Cambridge to the strange parkside bus stop and waited for our (late) bus down to London.

At first, the day didn't look so promising, though the holiday crowds were mercifully gone.

But as we ate lunch, looking out of a sixth-story window at a panoramic view of Westminster, we could see the sky clearing. And by the time we arrived at our ultimate destination, we had not a thing to lament.

Westminster Abbey wants to blow your mind. It succeeds. I defy anyone to see the tombs of Elizabeth I and Geoffrey Chaucer and Charles Dickens--not to mention Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin--and come out unimpressed. Alas that one can only take pictures outside: there are so many more things I wanted to show you.