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Published: June 18th 2011
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Melbourne to London
We departed Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne at 10:10pm, flying with Etihad.
After around 14 hours in the air, and having watched many movies onboard our flight we touched down at Abu Dhabi for a very short stop before another 7 hour flight that led us to Heathrow Airport.
Having filled ourselves with plenty of food and drinks on the aeroplane we made our way into central London on the Piccadilly line of the Underground Tube. Suddenly we realised the old monopoly board was coming alive!
After checking in at our Ibis hotel, we spent the next day and a half visiting some tourist sites in the city. First on the list was Big Ben – an enormous clock tower adjacent the Houses of Parliament within the palace of Westminster. The magnificent chimes of the famous bell could be heard on the hour, and it was only a short walk to Westminster Abbey where we took a self-guided tour of the interior. Unfortunately photography and filming were not permitted within the Abbey, however we did manage to get a couple of photos that show the external archicture that was founded in 690AD, and consecrated in 1065.
The
Abbey is designed in the shape of a cross, with several ornate stained glass windows that looked so majestic in the powerful sun’s rays. The history of the Abbey was amazing, being the burial site for many poets, musicians and English monarchs including Charles Dickens, Isaac Newton, Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. A small gallery was nearby showing recent photos of the royal wedding of Prince of Wales’ (William & Catherine).
Outside Buckingham Palace crowds of people gathered to watch the Changing of the Guards in the palace forecourt. The procession was led by a marching band with armed guards in toe, entering the palace gates. We WERE however surprised to hear the band play some interesting tunes including the Star Wars theme and several ABBA songs . As quickly as the guards had come, they departed and we found ourselves once again on the Underground tube.
Being only day 2 in London, already our umbrella has had a work-out! We’re hoping the weather improves as we get further into the summer months here with current temperatures fairly similar to those back in Australia (around 15 degrees).
We walked alongside the River Thames past London Bridge and
HMS Belfast (Europe’s only surviving World War II cruiser). Over the river we could see the Tower of London – where a large collection of royal jewels are kept. We crossed the Tower Bridge, and walked past the Bank of England to St Paul’s Cathedral.
The cathedral was so different from Westminster Abbey – being designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and built after the Great Fire of London (in 1966), it was consecrated in 1708. This Anglican masterpiece had stunning mosaics and incredible paintings that looked fantastic from every angle. We walked up to the dome to take in the views from the Golden Gallery – with the London Eye clearly visible from the 365 foot high building. Interestingly, Wren had deliberately designed the Cathedral at this height to correspond with the amount of days in a calendar year!
Feeling a bit more rain was about to fall, we descended to the Whispering Gallery where we could hear a tourist happily whistling from the other side of the dome. Laughing at the mischievous possibilities of acoustical body sounds, the staff promptly ushered all guests down to the Cathedral floor where Prince Charles had married Princess Dianna almost 3 decades ago.
Sadly we’d run out of time to explore St Pauls’crypt, but decided to take up the invitation to observe the Choral Evensong and evening service!
Just one more trip on the Tube to get back to the hotel and organised for our Trafalgar tour that starts tomorrow – might have a nanna nap to get used to the time zone difference!
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GRANDMA and grandpa
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Great We have been to all the places you mentioned. .So far that is.
Will watch your journey with great interest Literary style still excellent.