This morning started out a little differently than planned since we slept through the alarm but it worked out just fine. Instead of getting up at 8 to get ready and go see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace we ended up meeting Em at the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral for lunch. We ate at a small sandwich shop, then she had to go back to work and Ad and I went to tour the cathedral. Like most of the churches they are simply spectacular. You literally walk in and immediately look up because you are mesmerized by the size, decorations, and architecture of the building. It isn’t really anything like I have seen in the states. This is centuries of additions, renovations, and improvements, which all together makes a site to see. In addition to the tour Ad and I walked up to the top Whispering gallery and tiptop rotunda of the church to get a birds eye view of London. It was for sure worth the walk up there. The trip up to the top is an experience, you take small, tight stairs round and round for about 15 minutes until you get to the top. Going down is much faster.
While we were up top we got a call from Emily to say she got off work early. She met us at the steps and we went to the National Gallery to see Monet’s, Renoir’s, and van Gogh’s artwork. There were others too that I can’t remember the names of but they were all impressive. It was raining today and a bit chilly so we were glad to have jackets. As we got done with the gallery we decided to walk around Trafalgar square but got cut short due to a downpour. We took in the sites from a coffee shop window where it was dry.
After that we walked to Lester Square to look for cheap day of the show tickets to the theater. However, on our way there we heard screaming girls and a crowd of people. Upon further investigator we realized that it was the Harry Potter World Premier so we joined in on the fun. It was fun to see the stars getting out of their cars and walking the red carpet. While we were in the massive crowd when it really started to rain, torrential!! Our umbrellas worked a little bit there were too many people to use umbrellas and they were splashing all their water right onto you so we got soaked. Enough was enough and went to get our show tickets. Initially we were looking for the show Warhorse but they didn’t have any so we bought tickets to Jersey Boys instead. That meant we had 45 min to go home on the tube, change, and make it back to the theater. We did manage to make it back in time and really enjoyed the show. I have to admit that we didn’t know exactly what the show was about our what the songs were going to be but in the end I really enjoyed it and knew almost all of the songs. The beginning was a tad slow but picked up pretty quickly.
Our seats were good too and we sat next to a family from Seattle. It was nice to talk to some friendlier people who didn’t mind having a conversation. After the musical was over we headed back to Hogarth Road. Em went to her flat to sleep while Ad and I decided to go grab some dinner down the street. We ate at gourmet burger, which is a chain in London and ordered it take away (to-go) and guess who we saw while we were there? It was the Seattle Family, kind of small world, by the was we were like 8 tube stations away from the theater so it isn’t like it was just down the street.
Today was fun even though plans changed from the initial plans. I really enjoyed just exploring London. Tomorrow we are meeting up with Doug, Janet, and the girls to go see the city by boat and the crown jewels. I can’t wait.
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AuthorMy name is Meg and I am currently a Geriatrics and Palliative Care Fellow at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. I started this blog several years ago as a way to remember and talk about what I experienced while studying abroad in Rwanda during the summer of 2009. Archives
January 2016
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