England- London - Day 2

12-07-2011

So much to see here .

Started with St. Paul's cathedral. Cannot help but notice the second largest dome in the world, it does dominate the skyline of the area. The inside is very pretty, a lot of gold in the frescos, intricate work in the quire area, even a Henry Moore's sculpture is present in the altar area. Climbed the stairs , first to the whispering gallery ( could not hear each other's whispers) and then to the outside of the dome ( golden gallery). Great views of the city spread out all around. The crypts underneath hold the tombs of really interesting people ( Nelson, Duke of Wellington and even Florence Nightingale).

Next was the London Bridge experience. It is supposed to be a scary event, it wasn't. The story of the bridge is presented in an interesting manner and the only two children part of the group left after the second room as they were scared. We went through the tombs next. The hanging heads were creepy but I didn't like the bit where we had to squeeze our way out through two foam like structures in the dark ( didn't know when we would get out, could not see a thing and there was no space).

Stopped for a bit at the Tower Bridge exhibition, learnt the story behind the bridge and also saw the older mechanical aspect of the bridge in action. Followed it by the Churchill's War experience.

Spent the afternoon at the Tower of London. First was a guided tour by a beefeater, laughed a lot for that hour. There has been so much blood shed here, a lot of it royal. Saw the Royal jewels, the gigantic diamonds that are part of the collection are breath taking. Sat for a while in the chapel and thought of all the lost lives within these grounds.

Cruised along the Thames river in the evening. There was a running commentary along the way, again had us in splits. Love how they make fun of everything and anything.

Sadly could not get tickets for Wicked or Lion King, instead strolled the streets of London. Passed the shops at convent garden, sat at the magnificent Trafalgar square ( I liked the ship in the bottle),took pictures at Big Ben and London Eye, had a peek at 10 Downing street, admired the Buckingham Palace at night and then finally called it a day .

After ages we are going to sleep with aching legs.



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