Yeah, yeah, I'm behind. You can't really expect me to spend all my time in Europe on the computer, though, can you?! So where was I? Oh yeah...
July 16th - First stop on our Saturday in London was the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. In a torrential rainstorm. Gross. So not only was I soaked and freaking, I kept getting pushed around by annoying Russian tourists. Oh well. I passive-aggressively dripped my umbrella water on to them. If you're going to block my view, you're going to get a wet neck. I was too busy holding my umbrella to take photos, unfortunately.
Barbara was able to snap one, though.
In an attempt to dry off, we headed indoors to St. Paul's Cathedral. Sidney had talked about how beautiful it was, but I was so unprepared. I had a little moment where I was just overwhelmed. It was that amazing. Seriously, if you're in London, it's a must see.
Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take pictures of the inside, so I can't show you how incredible it was, but trust me. in-CRED-ible.
As some of you may know, I have a paralyzing fear of heights. Except, it's more a paralyzing fear of falling. High up in a sky scraper behind a wall of glass? Fine. On top of a mountain, a solid twenty feet from the edge? No problem. But you get me near something I think might break out from under me or a railing I could accidentally topple over? I turn into a quivering bowl of fear jelly.
So why the hell did I agree to climb to the top of St. Paul's Dome?! Because, darlings, I'm in Europe and Europe is a time to push yourself into knew experiences! And guess what - I'm so glad I did! The first tier, the Whispering Gallery, was the scariest part, because the only thing that separated me from a splattered end was a piddly little metal fence. Oh, and I was walking around on wood beams that are God knows how old. Definitely my least favorite part of the climb.
The second tier, though, the Stone Gallery, was amazing. Such beautiful views of London. Sid shares my fear of heights, so she took a nap in the pews (shh, don't tell!) while Barbara and I climbed.
562 steps - yay me!
At one point, my sunglasses did fall down a few stairs and I wanted to think, "That could be me." But I didn't. Instead, I kept mumbling, "You're not going to fall, you're not going to fall." And I didn't! Whoo!
After that, we climbed down, found Sid, and moseyed across the street for some lunch. The weather, which to that point, had been drippy, was starting to clear up a little, so I got a pretty outside shot of the Cathedral before we decided to try to get to the Tower of London. The last ticket sales are 30 minutes before close, but the fibbers wouldn't sell us tickets. So we snapped a few pics of the outside and went ahead and bought our souvenirs in the gift shop, deciding to see the inside the next day. We are so efficient.
Check out those nasty clouds!
Here, kitty kitty!
London bridge is falling down!*
For those of you in the know, you might recall that a little old movie called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II came out the Friday we were in London. So OF COURSE we had to see it the next night, Saturday. Sidney's BFF Gwyneth recommended we go to Tacqueria in Notting Hill for some yummy Mexican. After the gloomy weather all day, that sounded fantastic! And it was!
Unfortunately, we were in a hurry and had to plow through our meal before running like mad elephants to the theatre (see what I did there, with the British spelling?) to get to the show on time. And by show, I mean 35 minutes of previews. Ridiculous. We could have stayed for dessert if we'd know how many previews British theatres show. Dumb.
After HP, we decided to hit the hay so we could rise and shine the next morning, cram in a few more sights, and head back to lovely old Oxford that night. But more about that another time!
*Yes, I know that's really the Tower Bridge. Just go with it.
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