Day FourOur first stop of the day was to St. Paul's Cathedral. Mary Poppins was one of Rebecca's favorite childhood movies, so we were humming "Feed the Birds" as we walked up to the impressive cathedral.
We learned that St. Paul's is the second largest dome in Europe (with St. Peter's in Rome being the first.) We also learned that Christopher Wren, the architect, was a very busy man having designed many buildings and churches in the city. After a group tour through the cathedral and tombs underneath, we were given some free time so if we wanted to climb the 270ish stairs up to the whispering gallery we could. We accepted the challenge, and made our way up to the whispering gallery only to find it very crowded and LOUD with school children. So there was no possibility of trying to whisper and see if someone could hear it on the other side. We did not climb the rest of the way up to the dome. Gillian led the group to a nearby shopping area that had a perfect "secret" spot to view the dome and get photos. We then walked through the financial district of "the City" to our lunch spot. The Counting House was a bank in its former life, but now is a charming bustling restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed our pies filled with meat, veggies, and amazing sauces. Gillian was so enthusiastic about the upcoming Olympic games that she offered to take anyone that wanted to visit the Olympic area, to get a look at some of the venues. Since it was not a planned part of the tour, only about a third of the group joined Gillian for the adventure. We are so glad we did, not only did we get to ride a double-decker bus out to the Olympic site, but on the way we got a look at London's East Side that they are trying to rebuild. Gillian knew of a viewing area inside a brand new shopping mall at the Olympic Park where we could see several of the venues. We saw the crazy red twisted viewing tower, as well as the water polo building and the famous aquatic center where Michael Phelps would make Olympic history. We then took the bus back into London (the Olympic site, while located on the Tube, was in a further zone than our passes allowed, but we could take the bus, travel a little slower, and enjoy the views.) The rest of the afternoon was on our own, so we decided to visit some of the sites on our to-do list. First stop was visiting the Charring Cross Road area. While we had a map with us, we seemed to get turned around easily, but there were no worries, as every few blocks there was a kiosk with a map to guide us. The map even had circled what was within a 5, 10 or 15 minute walk, so it was easy to gauge how far things were. We strolled down Charring Cross Road, looking for the non-exsistant address of #84. That is the title of one of our favorite movies (84 Charring Cross Road.) Our feet then lead us over to the Covent Garden area and we stopped into the Royal Opera House gift shop before choosing a charming outdoor sitting area for dinner. Feeling refreshed, we walked our way through Leicester Square, then onto Piccadilly Circus, and finally meandered to our hotel. It had been a lovely and fun filled day, yet again. Although the first thing I wrote in my journal for this day was, "my feet are so tired!" |
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“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli |