London day 3&4

Day 3 in London was one of my favorites.  We visited St. Pauls Cathedral and I absolutely fell in love with it.  Maybe it was because it was the first church we toured but it was definitely one of my favorites on this trip and we saw many!  It is stunning on the outside and even more beautiful on the inside.  One of my favorite parts was being able to climb up to the inner dome or the whispering gallery.  You can sit against the wall of the dome and look down onto the cathedral floor with its beautiful mosaic pattern or whisper sweet nothings to your husband all the way on the other side of the dome.  We then continued up the 528 steps to the Golden Dome where you can walk outside around the highest dome and take in the views of the city.  They don't allow photography inside and I was a little bummed.  I love getting to see things through my lens because it gives me a different perspective.  But it was nice to just walk around and concentrate solely on learning about this beautiful building and culture.  

After our morning adventures we went for some tradition and had lunch at Tea and Tattle where they served us sandwiches, scones, herbal tea, lemonade and dessert.  They also had written us a sweet card wishing us happy anniversary.  

We then walked over to Covent Gardens where we listened to some amazing street performers, did a little souvenir shopping and found that they had one of our NYC favorites, Shake Shack!  I nearly made Ronnie change our whole day just so we could have dinner there but he promised to take me back.  

Next we headed back to the hotel so we could get ready for the evening.  We were dining at a tapas restaurant and going to see Les Mis.  While finding our Tube station we passed by a Five Guys and it was confirmed, we could totally live in London. ;)

Ronnie and I love the Broadway musical Les Miserables and have seen it various times.  It is a moving production with beautiful music that regularly makes an appearance on our ipods.  This time however, our experience was elevated times 10.  Yes, it was our 15 year Anniversary trip to an incredible city we had never been to and we were seeing our favorite musical in its debut city.  But the difference for me wasn't all of that, though that was all fantastic.  I think it was more about the intimate theatre setting.  The Queens Theatre is beautiful but not very big.  We were in the 5th row and it was as if we were up on that stage itself.  I never cried so much and I totally knew what was going to happen.  Marius sang just to me and I am pretty sure Eponine saw me lip syncing along to On My Own.  We could see the emotion on the actors faces.  Much different than just hearing their words and seeing them from afar.  It was a night I will always remember.

A little pre show bubble tea in chinatown.

Our last day in London was filled trying to pack in all the last must sees and dos.

We knew we wanted to go back to the Abbey and learn more about her stunning architecture, ornate decor and the many famous people buried beneath her marble floors.

We took the headphone tour and as I was listening to the audio and intently concentrating on these facts and details pouring out, one of the ushers stopped me and said, "You just walked over Darwin."  I know he was just trying to be friendly but it struck me hard.  I had to remove my headphones and take it all in.  I am glad I did because I was able to listen to one of the ushers tell some curious children about the different chairs in the choir and who sits where.  They were particularly interested in where the Queen sits.  He told them that the Queen had just been there the night before and let them reach under the rope and rub their hands over her velvet seat.  Their eyes widened and they giggled as they did so.  

 As Ronnie and I sat outside in the courtyard we talked about the simple lifestyle of the Monks that devote their lives to God and continue to worship at the Abbey today.  They bring a reverence and spirit to the building.  I was glad we were able to visit the Abbey days earlier to experience it as a place of worship and not just a tourist activity.  It is hard to take a step back and realize the true significance of Westminster Abbey but it is such a beautiful place.

After our morning at the Abbey we headed toward Buckingham Palace hoping to catch the changing of the guards.  We had heard that you can't get very close and it is not worth the wait to get a good view so we tried to time our walk through Green Park just right so we could exit and watch the guards as they marched down the street toward the Palace.  We timed it pretty perfectly but I really wanted a picture of them from the front and we came upon them just as they were passing us.  My sweet husband booked it with the cameras and was able to catch a video and a few shots of them marching toward him.  I'm so glad he did, it was one of my most favorite moments.

You never know what you might get when you hand your camera over to a stranger to take your picture.  I sure am glad she got my shoes though, who needs to see Buckingham Palace anyway!

After we walked around and took our selfies we started back toward the tube stop and saw this guy briskly walking to the palace.  We think he was late, refusing pictures with tourists and looking at his watch.  Off with his head!

We were running out of time so we sped through the Churchill museum.  It was pretty fantastic walking through the actual office and rooms that Churchill used and seeing them all set up.  I don't really want to admit it but I do wish we had more time there.

Ronnie made good on his promise

 And last but not least a walk through Hyde Park to see Kensington Gardens and Palace before making our train to Paris.  We really wanted to rent some bikes here and spend more time but alas, Paris was waiting.

 We said Cheerio to London.  It was hard to leave but not too hard knowing what was to come.