Episode Recap: London Day 1

We have had less wifi access and more craziness, so blogs stopped happening. I now know what people mean when they talk about travelling being stressful, but I have learned a lot about myself and had some remarkable experiences. I have also fleshed out my knowledge of history, experienced incredibly beauty and fallen deeply in love with a place.

Let's go back a bit and recap our last week, day by day. I will start with our first day in London (Tuesday, June 11).

We both slept in after a hectic and stressful travel the day before (me from Cleethorpes, her from Cardiff and Bath). We caught the train to central London and went to find the place to pick up our London Passes. On the way we came across Trafalgar Square. We stopped to say hi to the lions before continuing on our way.

Once we picked up our passes we started to follow the directions they gave us to the free hop-on, hop-off boat tour we got with it. However on the way we came across Westminster Abbey and decided to go in. 

You are not allowed to take pictures in the Abbey as it is a sacred place and still used for services. I can completely respect that. It was beyond beautiful, and so much interesting history packed into a single building. I could feel the power and energy trapped in those stones. I got to pay homage to Newton and Darwin which I was happy about. 

I did take a couple photos in the Cloisters, where it was allowed again. So beautiful.

We had a nice little lunch in the Abbey cafe, where we talked with some very nice Australians. They were really interesting, and it was lovely to meet them. 

After we left the Abbey we walked over to the Churchill War Rooms and Churchill Museum. This is the complex of tunnels and rooms built under London where the war effort was run from during WWII. It was incredibly interesting, and I thought of my dad a lot. He would love to see those. We also went into the Churchill Museum, all about the man. It is an incredible museum with video, interactive screens, audio, manipulatives, and more. It was great, though I went into sensory overload after a while. 

When we finished it was time for Evensong, the evening prayer service at the Abbey performed by their world famous choir. We went back for the service as Jenny loves choral music. I had been unsure if I would join, but I am really glad I did. It was a beautiful service and again a very powerful and moving experience. 

After that we headed back to the suburb where we were renting out a flat for the few days through Air B & B. We had dinner at a fancy restaurant nearby and then went in for the night.