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Published: April 26th 2018
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Blogger's Note: Dee and I decided to enjoy a couple days of rest and relaxation, as our tanks are nearly empty after 70 days on the road. But our friends Larry and Danielle, with whom we've been sharing a flat while in London, are cramming as much as they possibly can into their 2-week stay. Yesterday and today they visited St. Paul's Cathedral, and the British Museum, two of the most important sights of interest in London. What follows are Danielle's notes of their exploits, with a few historical details added to provide some background. Yesterday, Larry and I walked to the London Bridge tube station, where we boarded a train to reach St. Paul's Cathedral, one of the most famous and recognizable sights of London. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren to replace the one gutted in the Great London Fire of 1666, its dome rises 365 feet to the cross at its summit. It's also the church where Diana Spencer married Charles, the Prince of Wales, in 1981.
We both climbed some 257 stair steps to reach the dome's Whispering Gallery, and wow, what a view over the city from this vantage point! Then, another 119
steps to the Stone Gallery. I attempted to climb the final 152 steps to reach the Golden Gallery, the apex of the dome, but became a little claustrophobic after 20 steps, so I inched my way back down. Larry conquered the final 152 steps to reach the top of the dome---he should have planted the British flag!
After rejoining each other back at ground level, we paid a visit to the cathedral's crypt, where we saw the impressive tombs of Wren, Admiral Nelson and the Duke of Wellington, several of Britain's most famous sons.
Today I made breakfast for all of us, then Larry and I headed for the tube to visit the British Museum. Many more steps and walking; no bootcamp needed today!
This museum is overwhelming, so we concentrated on a few areas. Dedicated to human history, art and culture, its permanent collection numbers some 8 million works, and is among the largest and most comprehensive in the world. We saw Greek sculpture from the Parthenon, the Rosetta Stone and Rodin's "Thinker", currently on loan from the Rodin Museum in Paris.
After our museum visit, we were hungry, so it was off to the
Borough Market in Southwark, on the south side of the Thames. Larry discovered some yummy eats from an Ethiopian vendor, and found a place to try the so-called "Pimm's" drink (a fruit liqueur), while I did some shopping.
I absolutely love this market, where you can find almost everything! As we walked back to the flat, we encountered a rain shower for the first time since we arrived in London.
Dee's comments: After so many days on the road, and our long day trip on Monday, Mitchell and I decided to stay home yesterday, while our younger travel companions hit the pavement. I did some laundry, and tried to catch-up on e-mails and bills; also watched a little British TV.
When Larry and Danielle returned, we went to dinner at the All Bar One on the Queen's Walk, where they had sampled the tapas last week, and it was really good--especially the macaroni and cheese with lobster.
Today, this body feels like it's wearing out, so we stayed close to the flat. Went out to the Anchor Tap, our favorite little pub, for a light lunch. When Larry and Danielle returned later with some goodies from
Larry quaffing a Pimm's cup
Pimm's is a brand of fruit cups, but may also be considered a liqueur. It was first produced in 1823 by James Pimm. Source: Wikipedia the market, she made a fabulous pork chop dinner.
Hard to believe, but our days are rapidly dwindling down on this year's odyssey! On tap tomorrow is a full-day bus excursion to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford, so stay tuned!
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Jeni
non-member comment
I really want a Pimm’s, looks refreshing and delicious! Great job climbing those stairs to show us the view from St. Paul’s, spectacular! The tapas dishes are making me hungry, everything looks so good. Sounds like you have a full day ahead of you with fun sites to see. Enjoy!