We slept in a bit, but wanted to get to the Tower of London and see the Crown Jewels. This is another UNESCO World Heritage Site! I love to see as many as I can when I travel.
We headed right away to the Crown Jewels. The line was relatively short, especially when compared to when we came out! The line had grown probably 8 times longer (or more) than when we got into the line!
Pictures aren’t allowed in the Crown Jewels, so you can see some highlights here and also here.
After lunch, we headed over to the Westminster Abbey.
Pictures aren’t allowed in the Abbey, so here is one they have posted on their website.
Before I was thinking about the no photo policy, I took a picture of one of my heroes, William Wilberforce, the abolitionist featured in the film Amazing Grace.
After our tour of all the dead dignitaries’ graves and memorials (See the 3,300 names from Queen Elizabeth to Lewis Carol), we waited for the Evensong worship. Because we were near the front of the line, we got to sit in the front row of the Quire (choir loft), so amazingly close to the boy choir!
The Abbey is across from the Parliament Building and Big Ben, which stimulated conversation about the power struggle between church and state in European history since Constantine.
We took the Tube “home.” Anya is our Tube specialist. We just tell her where we are going next, and she figures out what Tube line to take to which station in order to switch to whatever other Tube line we need, and then to get off at the right station. It really is great!
We had dinner at the Westfield mall close to our “home.” Anya had some time to browse before we headed home to close our day.
We have been so blessed with good weather, special opportunities (like sitting in the Quire today), good health, and that we get along quite well, even after all these days. While we just scratched the surface of London, we saw quite a bit at a manageable pace, with enough time to pause and enjoy the moment, sometimes with a cup of tea.
We’ve been enriched by architectural beauty, important history, majestic worship, and theatrical thrills. But now, I’m tired. Good night!
With blessings,
Beth