Thursday we woke up first thing and headed to St. Paul's Cathedral (start singing "Feed the Birds"). Again, we were not allowed to take pictures inside, but I'm sure you can find some on the internet. Here are some of the outside though. It is a unique building in that it is the only cathedral with a dome. It was designed by Christopher Wren, who took his influences from Baroque styles, as opposed to the gothic styles of most other churches in London. It's also too big to get in one picture. hahaha! Stunning.
For me, West Minister was more of a political church; a history lesson and academic lesson almost. St. Paul's was more religious focused. I do not mean this in a disrespectful way; both are working churches with active congregations. I merely mean in the material presented about the churches.
When I went to pick up my audio guide, the two handing them out were talking about the Lion King and saying bits from the song "Can You Feel..". I told them it was my youngest favorite movie. They said, "So you know the words"; and right then and there we sang some Lion King together. hahaha!!! The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the stained glass windows, and THE CEILINGS! They are mosaics of tile that have been placed just right to have the sun and light bounce off of them and make the ceiling look like it's sparkling! It's incredible! We walked through the main floor on our own pace. At the back of the chapel, behind the high altar was a memorial/engraving to Americans who had fought in the World Wars with Britain. Above were panels of stained glass with Christ, and scriptures from the Bible about Him being resurrection and life. I sat in reverence and awe for the love the British had for our soldiers. I wonder if we have anything like that for them here? At both WM, and SP there were numerous stories of the World Wars. In fact, St. Paul's had bombs coming down all around it during WWII. One even landed on the roof, but volunteers and soldiers were stationed there to protect the cathedral and drown fires out when they started. While other buildings fell all around it, St, Paul's stood. I thought it was a very touching and beautiful story. This is actually the fifth rendition of St. Paul's, as invading Saxtons and others tore/burned down the first three versions, and the great fire of 1666??? I can't remember, anyway it took out a lot of the main area of London, and took down the 4th version of St. Pauls, so this is the fifth and has been standing the longest.
The very top to look out over the city was not opened ( :'( ) but we did walk the 257 winding, narrow, steep, gigantic stairs to the whispering gallery at the base of the dome. A person on one side can whisper in to the wall, and you will hear it on the opposite side. We tried it. It worked.
Back down the stairs and then down in to the crypt where people of importance and war heroes are buried. They had a statue/small memorial to George Washington down there. It was awesome! It was unexpected. I loved it. Oh- going back; near WM there are statues of many people who have done good: Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, and Abraham Lincoln just to name a few. I love the British acknowledgements of other countries' successes.
From there we took an amazing walk along the Thames. There were brightly painted little shops; and the National Theater where they hold the BAFTAs (I watch a lot of British tv); tables with children's books, and YA books, and adult books and even comic books!!; and almost like a carnival area with a carousel and then a mall type place-- it was loads of fun! We ended at the Coca-Cola London Eye. I had really wanted to go for a ride...but apparently so did every student from every continent ages 10-25. Some day...some day...
We walked back and made our way to Baker Street for the second day in a row...and some other streets. We had a booklet that told us all the places in London where Sherlock and Dr. Watson went in the books, so we followed that path for a little while. We also stopped by the place where they film the BBC Sherlock; but Speedy's was closed. It's on the most random, vacant street in the entire world! haha! Definitely not where you would expect a household name, popular TV show to take place...well, just from the outside. It was fun to think I was walking where BC and Martin Freeman had though!!! (I love them both just a little bit).
We walked to Covent Gardens again for our afternoon tea at Sweetcakes...hmm...now I can't remember what it's called, but anyway- on the way there we walked through a beautiful park and by the beautiful Savoy Theater building.
We got back earlier this night, and when I laid down on my bed I started to fall asleep...but there was no way in heck I was going to bed without dinner; and at only 7 o' clock at night! So I walked out the door, down the stairs and went to the corner pub The High Castle. We were lucky and got the corner booth with the couch. I ordered a British regular; sausage and mashed potatoes. Now, I normally like both of those things...but I didn't love them so much the way the British do them; or maybe just not together. After we got back we watched 'The Crown" and then hit the sack. End of Day 6.
Friday, May 5
This was the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour. There are just too many pictures and videos, so it will have it's own post. I will say we were there for about seven hours. hahaha! And I will tell you all about Friday night on this post.
So, my aunt and cousin had promised me a night out for this night. We decided to try SOHO again to see if we could find the fun and crowds they remembered from other trips to London. And boy did we find them!!! We ate at a Mediterranean place. It was really good. Apparently on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights everybody heads from work straight to the bars and pubs. There were people everywhere! It was such a fun and exciting night life! Well, it was for somebody like me. We went to the John Snow bar. Yes, I went to a bar. I've been to a couple bars around here...like once or twice...people pretty much kept to themselves; but over there, everybody is very friendly and eager to visit and talk. A guy named Mark introduced himself to us and when he found out we were American he immediately needed to know why we voted for Trump. I quickly noted that I voted third party, and then I let my two family members head up that conversation...since I don't talk politics. I did listen in, and he was very animated and excited and friendly and truly just wanted to understand how Americans think. His two friends Jole and Will came up to me and said something to the effect of, "It's not like we can say anything...Brexit". hahaha! They were super cool. I went and ordered myself a diet coke; they guy gave me the funniest look! It was part curiosity and admiration, I think. Yeah, I'm going to go with that. haha! No really, he was very friendly. And diet coke on draft IS THE BEST EVER!!!! It was so cold and delicious. Anyway- I'm getting distracted. So Jole and Will asked what I was drinking; when I told them they started laughing. I told them I've never had a single drop of alcohol. The look of shock on their faces was priceless!!! When Jole recovered he said, "Well maybe that's because of your age; how old are you?". When I told him I was a 34 yr old mother of three, my new friends audibly gasped. hahahaha!!! YES! Best moment of my life! jk ;) Jole proceeded to say he thought I was 25 because my face was...and then he started drawing a circle in the air around my face....he seemed to be at a loss for words. A nice person would have relieved him by completing his sentence and saying, "my face is round? I have a baby face? Thank you!", etc...but I'm a mean person at heart and wanted to hear what was going on in his mind. heh heh heh 👿. BTW, he wasn't drunk. He was stone cold sober. I was about to tell them it's because I'm Mormon, but my arm was grabbed by my cousin, and I was told we were going to a different bar. So we all hurried and waved good-bye as I flew out the door.
After walking around a couple blocks, we realized we had already been at the best bar, and headed back. Our friends were still there, and this time I got to tell them I was a Mormon. The Mark dude (who had been talking politics with my family members) gets even more excited and says, "Do you know (insert name here)"?!!!! When I told him no, he was crushed. He kept trying to explain that the person was a mormon vlogger, and then went in to detail aobut how he had followed this vlogger every day, and even felt some inspiration, and then the vlogger got mixed up in pornography and his family left him...I couldn't interrupt the guy. The story and his one example of a Mormon was heartbreaking...and he just wouldn't be quiet, so Will and Jole came to my rescue, told me it was so great to meet me (jole was beautiful, and looked right in my eyes when he said that, and I felt like a 25 year old again), and then they had to leave. Now, for all you reading this out there and saying how scandalous and horrible I am, I told Rob everything. He laughed and said he was so glad I had gone and met all those people. I really am married to the most wonderful person in the entire universe!!! We spent the rest of the night speaking to two young guys from Spain. One spoke limited English, the other didn't speak English at all; but he had a Harry Potter tattoo, and he knew Harry Potter, Avengers, Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor. That was about the only English he knew. I'VE NEVER WISHED I KNEW SPANISH MORE!!! Except for maybe in the next couple sentences. I could have had so much fun talking to him about all our fandoms! You could tell he was very excited and wanted to talk, but his friend-who was more outgoing and knew English-was talking to my aunt and cousin about travel, and what they were doing in England, and university, etc. It was a lot of fun to listen to them. We told them I was Mormon; but my knowledge of Spanish on words to explain what we believe was nilch...and so was his English. And he was having fun having people talk to him about their travels. Anyway- I say all this just to explain, I hope those I met that night could see that Mormons are kind, and fun, and normal. haha! If for nothing else, at least if a missionary ever approaches them in the future, they can say they met a nice Mormon once.
They closed shop about 11pm, and we went home. It was so much fun. I love that kind of thing; going out and having friendly people to talk to and meet!!! And cold diet cokes on hand. Oh! I forgot! The political guy: at one point he offered to get my drink refilled. He said I could get a free refill. I told him probably not. After a few minutes of trying, he came back and said, "Didn't you get a ...gin and coke? rum and coke? What goes with coke? I can't remember now. Anyway- I told him no and he got all flustered and said, "They (the barkeepers) told me you didn't get any alcohol but I didn't believe them". So obviously I stood out to the barkeepers, and obviously the political dude was talking too much that he hadn't heard much of the couple words I"d said to him. hahaha! Anyway- it was fun. End of Day 7.
Saturday, May 6
Saturday morning we kind of slept in, and then got all packed up. It was our last morning in the flat. We had to be out by 10am. As I stood in line at Pauls to get our breakfast, I couldn't keep from crying to myself because I was so sad to leave. Fortunately the cute lady in front of me was holding a one year old little girl, who kept throwing receipts and other things down on the ground. I picked it up for her, and when the poor lady apologized, I laughed and explained that I have three kids. I had a lot of fun talking to her after that. Once the British people feel comfortable around you, they really are the sweetest and most fun people to talk to! I love them!
After breakfast, and the flat was cleaned, we hauled our luggage out and made our way to Portabello Rd. I've always wanted to see it because of the movie "Bedknobs and Broomsticks". I had also promised a friend that I would stop by a shop down there and pick something up for her. My family members decided it would be too hard to get on and off the busses and trains with our luggage, so we walked. We walked through places we hadn't seen yet. Beautiful neighborhoods with gardens in the front. Unfortunately by the time we go to Portabello Rd, I was too tired from hauling my way too heaving bags (I had to check one gonig home-haha!) to explore it. So I snapped a picture, and we got on a train and headed to the airport. My cousin was flying out, and my aunt and mine hotel was by the airport. Picadilly line...all the way to Heathrow. :) (good-bye flat!)
After dropping off my cousin, my aunt and I hopped a free bus to the Renaissance. It was a beautiful hotel, and Mason would have been jealous. In our room we could watch planes take off from the runway. haha! It was awesome! We caught a little lunch at the cafe there, then headed to the concierge to see about getting to Windsor Castle. It was 2pm, and it takes about an hour to get out to Eton/Windsor. The flyer we had said the last entrance on Saturdays was at 3pm, and we were told we wouldn't make it on time via the cheap way (bus/train). We said we didn't have the money for a taxi, but at that moment our concierge stepped up to the plate, and said he'd find us a cheap one. Twenty-two lbs for a Mercedes ride to Windsor was SO WORTH IT!!! The car was so comfortable; the drive was beautiful; my aunt paid for it..haha!
Now, if you ever go to England, GO TO WINDSOR! Pay the money (or use a London Pass) to go inside! It is beautiful!!! Again, no pictures were allowed inside, but the grounds enough are unbelievable! The turrets and walls and everything were so big and everything you would expect from a castle. Mostly. ;) Inside when I walked into one of the rooms there were huge portrait paintings from by-gone days, and I could have sworn I had stepped right in to Prince Charming's castle!!! It. Was. AWESOME! We had to wait in a semi-long line to get our tickets, but then we were on our way. Here's a few outside pics.
We went to St. George's chapel first, where the Queen's grandparents are buried, along with a few other kings and queens. The vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows are stunning. It's been there since the 1300s. Ah the history! We then went and saw Queen Mary's doll house. It was beautiful. If you ever played with dolls or dreamt of having a doll house...maybe don't go see it because you will be SO JEALOUS!!! I've never seen anything like it! And there were also two giant dolls with perfect, Parisian clothes to dress up in that looked like Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margeret (sp?) they had been given when they were young. I never was a doll girl, but even I was envious and impressed.
Next were the estate rooms where the royalty lives, and works. There are no words!!! One room was just full of China. From ceiling to floor, wall-to-wall, full of beautiful china. Mason would have been so jealous! I told him we will go see it some day. We were in the castle for a couple hours, and we explored the outside, of the inside, for a little while too. So much beauty.
After leaving the castle we stopped by the McDonald's right across the street (hahaha!) for a diet coke. It was a three level one. They had a promotion going for "Good American menu". HA!!! But anyway- then we went to an outside marketplace. It was so much fun!!! So many little shops, and a grocery store and SO MANY places to eat!!!We grabbed a scone and hot chocolate, and then went exploring in the shops. We also went to the grocery store to try and find a certain Harbo (sp?) candy sour strips (my aunt had found them in a tiny shop in a side-street earlier in the week); but to no avail. We still bought a couple other candies though, and looked at what there was to sell in England. My biggest take-away? THEY DON'T REFRIGERATE THEIR EGGS! This is a picture taken right on the shelf.
You don't have to refrigerate your eggs. This was new information to me. Kinda...I'd seen an article about it just before leaving, but to actually see it in action was another matter.
Anyway- after shopping and looking around we found a place to eat for dinner. BEST. PLACE. EVER! It was called All Bar One. It was out in the market, and there were outside seats, and the restaurant itself was made of glass or something; you could see outside all around. It was almost like a round, plastic warehouse...only pretty....
Our waiter was fantastic. He was a young guy with tattoos and earrings; blonde hair and blue eyes, and the nicest person ever! And a tease! He would half-bow any time we asked for something, or anytime he felt like he needed to apologize for something. My straw wasn't working (it must have had a split), so I waved him down and told him I'd broken my straw. He busted up and asked how I'd done that. He was seriously like an old friend; and it didn't feel contrived or like, "I need a tip"..because you don't give tips over there...it was a sincere kindness and fun! I hope he's still there when I go back in a couple years. It was the perfect last night to my vacation. It really was. The atmosphere, my delicious chicken burrito I had! Holy cow it was good!!! Second best food I had! (The cheese and beet thing was my favorite). The company, the people around were all girl night out parties, and family parties, and bride parties...you could just tell it was the place to go! And the food was cheap! Some of the cheapest I had while out there! It was so great. It's not a feeling I can explain with words...like the place I went to in Oahu one night when I was there years ago...that place was calm and different, but it was perfection for me, and I cannot explain that feeling either in words. Both places are different, but both will always be remembered by me. I know that sounds weird, but hasn't anybody else had a connection with a place and it's atmosphere? (not a religious one) Only me? Ok. That's fine. It was a perfect last night; and I'll remember it forever. And it wasn't just the waiter, or the restaurant...it was the entire town and area we were in. I adored it. We took the bus home. It was a double decker, and we rode on top at the VERY FRONT. It was terrifying, but so much fun! hahaha! I will never understand the way those guys drive!!! It was a long ride home, but it was fantastic. Just more fun for a great day. End of Day 8
Sunday, May 7
We slept in this morning; grabbed a breakfast from Starbucks; went to the gas station across the street to see if we could find the elusive candies, and then came back to check out. We got through security and everything fairly quickly, so we had a while to wait. We grabbed scones and hot chocolate/coffee again, and I bought an insane amount of chocolate..which has mostly already been consumed.
I've already talked about the flight home on my first post. I slept the first couple of hours; watched Me before you, cried. Watched pitch perfect, laughed. Watched ps i love you, cried. In between there was food and walking around and bathroom breaks and cans of diet coke. It was a fantastic flight. We landed just before 6pm our time (we had left at 2:30pm London time-haha!). My aunt took me to Layton where my family was waiting. As soon as Mason and I saw each other we both started crying and hugging each other. Morgan and Cameron were mad at me...but soon got over it.
Anyway- that was my vacation. I thought it would be a one time thing, but it can't be. I loved the city and the people too much. Plus you can watch huge broadway shows for half-price over there! I'll be back...I'll be going back. :)
ps-if you do go, get a VAT form from a store. This is so you can get taxes back when you go to the airport. We thought you could get the form at the airport, but you can't...you need to get it at one of the stores. It's good for groceries, and souvenirs; just not entertainment.
Who's coming with me next time? Thanks for reading!
