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Private Notes
Why are the constellations backwards in Grand Central? Why are there acorns all over the place? Why does the Great Hall at the Met look like the Baths of Caracalla? Why is there a golden Diana statue in the middle of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and what does that have to do with the General Sherman statue by The Plaza? Why is Rockefeller Center’s Atlas statue in permanently grimacing at St. Patrick’s Cathedral? And what does he have to do with the Pieta inside?
Why is St. Paul’s Cathedral such an iconic symbol of London? And why doesn’t it face due east? And what does St. Paul have to do with the City of London crest? What is the City of London and why can’t the Queen come in? Why do so many London neighborhoods end in –gate? Why is Temple Church round? And what did those secretive Knights Templar do here? And what does all of this have to do with Magna Carta — and why has a copy remained at Salisbury Church for 800 years?
Why is there a dragon on the Welsh flag? Why does the man next-in-line for the British throne hold the title the "Prince of Wales"? What are the Walls of Constantinople doing here in Wales? Who is King Longshanks? And how is he related to King Vortigern and Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus? Where is Britain’s smallest church? I can’t see it! And how the heck do you pronounce the 2nd longest place name in the world: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch???
Why did the French settle here? And why is French still the official language here (as well as English)? Why is there a Paris Metro Stop in the middle of the city? Why is Notre-Dame Basilica bathed in blue? And why does it slope downwards towards the altar? Why does the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) look like DC’s Eisenhower Building and why does the Bank of Montreal look like the Pantheon? And is there really an archaeological dig going on under your feet at Place Royal?
Why is there a French Loire Valley castle in the middle of the American Deep South? Did you know that the name "Biltmore" is completely made up? Why did the architects of the Statue of Liberty, the New York Subway, and Central Park put their stamp on this small town? Why did Henry Ford, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Edison all stay in a hotel where it looks like the roof is melting? And how did Scots-Irish immigrants create American country music?
Who is “Gassy” Jack & why is the historic district named after him? Who was “A.B.C. Architect” and why did he design such a grand Parliament Building in Victoria? Why isn’t there a sign above the main entrance to The Empress Hotel? And why is High Tea such a big deal here? How did an 11th and 12th century French, Spanish & Italian Romanesque-style castle, built for a Scottish self-made millionaire, become ‘Canada’s Castle’? And how did a turn-of-the- 20th century female chemist turn a quarry into one of the most famous gardens in the world?
