takes the tea and crumpet

Mark got last minute notice that he'd be working in London last Friday so I hopped on the Eurostar train (which means I survived the chunnel) on Thursday morning. I met a friend for lunch and then made my way to St. Paul's Cathedral; somewhere we didn't explore last time we visited.

My list of visited churches is getting quite lengthy, but this one may take the cake tea and crumpet. It ranks as high as the Vatican in my book. Unfortunately, they did not allow photos inside, but the ceiling domes were illustrated with glass mosaics and the black and white marble floor was different than others. So beautiful! I also decided to climb the dome. The first stop was the Whispering Gallery, where someone standing on the opposite side (100 feet away) could clearly hear a whisper from the other side. Since it was a Thursday, crowds were very slim and I was traveling alone so I didn't have anyone to test it with! I continued to the Stone Gallery and then braved a total of 528 steps to the Golden Gallery to view the city of London.

 

On Friday morning, I made my way to the day-of theater performance ticket booth and bought us tickets to Billy Elliot for the evening and then wandered around Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly. I also popped into the National Gallery and to view the van Gogh Sunflower exhibit. It was the first time in 65 years that London hosted two of the paintings together. I walked through a couple of the halls to see more van Gogh and Monet paintings.

I was lucky to walk the streets of Chinatown - very ready to ring in the Chinese New Year! The parade and celebration was on Sunday, after we left, so we didn't see it, but we learned that London actually hosts the largest Chinese New Year celebration outside Asia.

Our hotel was close to the Tower of London and London bridge. Saturday, we walked the South Bank and stopped in the Tate Modern museum. We viewed some very interesting modern art - and warmed our ears!

After making our way all the way to Westminster, we warmed up again with a pint and pie and a nearby pub before visiting the Churchill War Rooms. We spent Saturday night in a local pub watching the second match of 6 Nations; a rugby tournament. The match was actually between France and England. Not knowing much about rugby, we enjoyed the match. France actually won in the last few minutes! We might try to catch a match next time France hosts.

Sunday was another sunny day! Before we left, we walked down to the bridge again. Until next time London; you're still one of my favorites!