London at Last

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After our weekend of indulgence we got up nice and early and hit the streets for some serious sightseeing.

St Pauls Cathedral

St Pauls is only a ten minute walk from Conrads so we set off on foot. I forgot how amazing it is. We went in the side entrance and there weren't any signs about no photography, so I got one photo in before I started wondering why no one else was taking photos. We then started our climb to the top, all 530 steps. The first stop was the whispering gallery which has a cool quirk of construction where a whisper from one side can be heard all the way across the other side. Paige had not heard of it so I sent her to sit on one side. Once I was sitting opposite her, about 30 meters away, I said in a low voice "Can you hear me". I could see from expression that she could. It's a very spooky experience. We then kept on climbing and made it to the top to see London's skyline under a beautiful blue sky.

Buckingham Palace

Next on the agenda was Buckingham Palace. We got out at Green Park tube stop, and as The Ritz hotel was right there we thought we'd have a sticky beak. Trying to look like we belonged there we went through the rotating door and had a look at the lobby. We can't have looked too toursity as we weren't asked to leave. A very posh hotel that I'm sure I will never be able to afford to stay at. We then strolled through St James park towards the palace. There were lots of Londoners enjoying the sun in the sun-chairs you can hire. We got to the palace and made our way to the ticket booth to see the staterooms. Versailles was good but it was nothing Buckingham Palace, a fully functioning palace. It was a self guided audio tour with the highlight being the banquet room fully set up for a state dinner. All the silver and gold cutlery and glass where was amazing. No photos allowed so you'll have to take my word for it.

After a walk through the grounds we headed back to St James park for a bite of lunch in the sun.

The Cabinet War Rooms and Churchills Museum

Last up for the day was the Cabinet War rooms. This was the actual secret location that the cabinet met, and sometimes slept, during WWII. Once the war had finished they literally just sealed it up and left. Years later they decided to turn it into a museum. In 2005 they had turned part of it into the Churchill Museum, and interactive exhibit all about good old Winnie, a truly amazing man. The whole thing was great, Paige and I both loved it. You got a real feel for what it was like during the war. We were there till closing time at 6 so headed for the closest tube station which happened to be right next to Big Ben and the houses of parliament which was a bonus. We also passed a cool little pub so I decided to introduce Paige to that great UK beverage, a warm flat beer. I loved it as I drank a bit of it while I was working in Wales, but she wasn't convinced.

All in all a great day in London. It definitely made up for the weekend.

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Photos

The map room
The actual map used during the war with all the pin holes in it of the location of ships sunk.