When I hear the word “superstars” I think famous people like current actors, actresses, singers etc. So I was a little surprised when I realized that this “superstar” walk was not referring to those types of stars but by the end of the walk I felt refreshed and I had gained new knowledge that I probably would not have gained if I were to have walked among the “stars” of todays day and age.
Art deco is one of the blog posts I have to make for the Design and Architecture class I am taking, so seeing the Michelin building in all of its glory was exciting. I have always loved studying art deco throughout my other classes; so seeing it in real life was a treat. We walked through the building and into the furniture store and shopped around a bit. It was kind of a new idea that the Michelin building - which I know as only a tire company in the U.S.A - was connected with a rad furniture store and restaurant but it was awesome regardless.
We also took a peak inside the Nell Gwyn House. I felt like I was in a luxury hotel, but if I read the book right it is just a complex of luxury apartments. There were people quickly moving in and out of the complex and I couldn’t help but imagine that they were important people trying to get to important places and meetings. A few different construction workers blocked the stairs the day we went so we exited the way we came in. Luckily we had seen the furniture shop so we weren’t missing out on too much!
The Chelsea Pensioner’s Hospital was a lot different than I had expected. The book says that in the Summer you can see many of the retired military men outside the hospital because that is where they now currently live, but it was really great to see a few of them and I was surprised that they would still be out doors on a chilly September day. This is one of the many architectural beauties created by Sir Christopher Wren so I took a little extra time examining the exterior as well as the interior of the Great Hall and Chapel that were also designed by Sir Christopher Wren.
All of the different residences of famous people; such as Oscar Wilde, James McNeill Whistler, and Keith Richards were cool, but something that I found even more interesting was the two-story manor owned by Henry VIII. We were not able to get super close up to it but it was a new idea to me that royalty would reside somewhere outside of a palace in Chelsea. This gives them a little bit of the “stars are just like you” feel because he liked living in this location so he was close to the Thames and could get to Westminster easily.
I liked seeing the Albert Bridge because it really does resemble the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. I visited San Francisco this summer with my family and so the smaller, similar, Albert Bridge brought back good memories and I made some new memories here in London at the Albert Bridge with new friends and girls that I love.
The last highlight of this walk was visiting the original village church in Chelsea. The background behind this church is intriguing because Sir Thomas More had created it so that he could be buried at the location. Unfortunately for him his whole body could not be buried here, because his head is buried at Canterbury.
The Chelsea walk was great because we got to explore a great shopping area of London, whilst being edified by the wonders of some of the greatest Brits that have graced the world with their talents.
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