London Calling - Day 3

July 17th - Last day to gallivant around London.  Up with the sun (not really, but kind of early) and off to Shakespeare's Globe.  Barbara was really excited about it; I was kind of eh.  It was cooler than I expected, though, and I'm glad to be able to say that I've been.

View of St. Paul's behind us

After The Globe, we headed to the Tate Modern for some art viewing and food chewing.  I've always said I'm not really a modern art person (with a few key exceptions - Matisse, Calder, Picasso) and even as beautiful a museum as the Tate Modern didn't change my mind.

My favorite!

Following lunch and art, we headed back across the Thames for Tower Visit, Take 2.  The weather was being super finicky - raining cats and dogs, then sunny, then back again.  For most of the line to see the Jewels, the weather behaved.  Right before we got in the doors, though, the bottom of the sky fell out.  We let a family with some tiny tater tots cut in front of us to get them out of the deluge, then we got in ourselves.  The line was slow moving, but I really enjoyed seeing the crowns and regalia.

See that sky?  Right before it poured!

We had planned to go to Evensong at Westminster Abbey and then to afternoon tea at the Wolseley, per a suggestion by a friend of Sidney's.  With the weather being as gross as it was, sitting in a nice, dry church sounded ideal!  We made it to the church just after the service had begun (whoops!) and got to sit in the Poets' Corner!  We were literally seated atop Samuel Johnson.  Pretty cool!

Post evensong, we made our way across town to the Wolseley, just across the street from the Ritz near Piccadilly.  The scones and sandwiches and desserts were all so yum!  The service was great and the atmosphere too - nice, but not stuffy, which I think is saying something when you're serving someone tea!

After that, we said farewell to London and returned to Oxford.  Next up?  Gay Paree!