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Four days in London and a 2 week bus tour around Italy. This is the short version (yes really!)

London and a tour in Italy, 1996

Tvor
2005-09-05 15:17:24

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We're back! Three weeks later and 10 pounds lighter! We had a fabulous time! The first four days in London were non-stop. We explored quite a bit on our own and lucked out seeing Westminster Abbey. See, WA only lets you take pictures once a week after 6 pm on Wednesdays and Wed was the day we got there. That afternoon and early evening we were walking around Westminster area, the Palace etc and realized that we would time it close enough so we went to the Abbey for 6. There is usually an admission but we didn't have to pay, don't know why except the main part of the church, the nave was closed because of rehearsals for an event the next day. We got to see the back of the church where all the Royal Chapels are, the Henry VII, The Confessor's chapel and the Coronation chair among others. The stained glass windows in the Royal Air Force chapel were stunning and I was really excited to see Elizabeth I's tomb and some of the other Tudors that were there, since that is my favourite period in British History!!! I hadn't seen that part of the Abbey when I was there before and it is exquisite!

We took a bus tour of London where you can get on and off at a couple of dozen stops along the route so we explored and had lunch in the Piccadilly area and went into St. Paul's Cathedral. I saw that before but not very thoroughly and this time I had it in my mind to climb the dome. Which we did! I had to stop a number of times on the way up and we rested at the Whispering Gallery and outside balcony at the base of the dome before the next leg which was steeper on a spiral staircase made of wrought iron - it felt like stepping on air! The balcony at the top of the dome is very narrow with a waist high railing and two people have to pass sideways but the view is incredible. Coming down was tricky on the iron stairs because looking down to see where you are stepping on the spiral stair case ...