London - Day 5, St Duncan and Birmingham

---

On the last day we slept in a bit but C left first. It was so good to see her again! 25 years of friendship and I feel like we haven't changed a bit!

St Duncan in the East

So, one of my own goals for this trip was to visit a few random places around London that are a bit off the beaten path. First on my list is St Duncan in the East, which has a long history. A church of some type has been at this site for around 1,500 years, a proper church placed in about 950 AD. However, it was destroyed by the Great Fire of London (more details below) and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren (more details below), and then destroyed again in the Blitz during World War II. At this point, it was left in its ruined state and purposely made as a public garden area. I must say, good choice. It is a bit of old yet quiet history right in the center of busy London. It was a bit busier than I expected, but really it was like 10 people. So I was able to catch some beautiful photos definitely an Instagram worthy location, but mostly I enjoyed the peace as you wandered about the church's grounds.

Great Fire of London

In September 1666, the notorious Great Fire of London tore through the city for 4 days. The city actually had fire fighting measures, both physical and legal, such as not allowing wood or thatched roofs in building construction and each parish church having fire fighting equipment, or men who actually patrolled the streets at night to watch for fires. However, illegal construction was prevalent and greatly continued. The fire was started in the early morning hours at a bakery. It was initially small and could have been contained, except the ineffectual mayor resisted the recommended fire fighting techniques (demolishing houses as a firebreak) and by the day time, the wind had picked up and it just went from there. The mayor still lacked control and soon the King Charles II and his brother James (future King James II) took over. They did their best to contain the fire and prevent violence breaking out. St Paul's Cathedrawl, buildings on London Bridge, hundreds of homes, dozens of churches - destroyed. The fire finally was put out due to winds dying down and the radical firebreak created near the Tower of London - they blew the neighborhood outside up!

After the fire, plans were provided from many people to rebuild the city. However, the settled on mainly following the original streets, albeit with stricter guidelines and wider streets - no more wood or thatch, no more building crowded homes along the river. Sir Christopher Wren was a fairly young architect, but his team were conscripted to rebuild 51 churches as well as St Paul's Cathedral. In addition, he created a monument near the point of origin - this is in my photos - a tall column which you can walk up 345 steps to the top. I considered it, but it was not cheap and (understandably) only a few people could go at a time; when I arrived, there were not a lot of people, but there was also no worker. So I continued on. But really, an incredible bit of history!

Leadenhall Market

I walked by this area the day before and it was also on my list to visit. It was lively and bursting with people at 11 am. They were standing around drinking beer and I was happy because I was starving, not having had any breakfast. But no - feel free to drink all you want, but food?? Food is not allowed until 12:00 sharp!!! I had a beer and waited - what else was i going to do? I went upstairs and the sweetest waitress served me fish and chips and I ended it with sticky toffee pudding. My last British feast.

Birmingham Airport

As I mentioned earlier, I have not had great experience with travel in London, particularly in summer, so I did my best to avoid it this trip. Instead, I booked a train from Euston Station to Birmingham Airport. My colleague had flown out of london just a few weeks before and had had a six hour wait, while my boss said Birmingham was a breeze. And honestly, I would do it again because I think the time would be about the same. So my train was almost direct, just a couple of stops, to the airport in about 90 minutes and you were dropped at like a transportation area for Birmingham. From here I took a shuttle train to the airport itself, checked in, and went right up to the Emirates lounge to await my flight. Easy.

---