There were a few more sights that I wanted to see today so I tried to get out of the house early but that didn’t seem to happen. It was a rainy day in London so I was slow to get out the door. I got to the British Museum around 10:30 and it was already so busy. It had some interesting exhibits. I spent most of my time in the Egyptian and Greek sections of the museum. Some really interesting artificats and sculptures. I wish it hadn’t have been so busy as I probably would have enjoyed myself more.

A rainy day outsde of the British Museum

The Rosetta Stone: It carries an inscription in different languages which helped decipher the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic script.

Venus (Aphrodite): She was a popular subject with Greek scuptors.

From the British Museum, I wandered through Covent Garden and settled in to a little cafe for lunch before wandering to the southbank. I walked until I hit the Globe Theatre and decided to go in for a tour. I have always loved Shakespeare so it seemed fitting. It was a great history lesson on the original Globe and how Shakespeare was involved. This replica Globe was built with as much as possible the same material, with the same tools etc as the original. It even has a thatched roof! Maybe next time I am in London, I will be able to catch one of the plays put on here.

The Globe stage

The seating at the Globe.

From the Globe, I walked on. It is such a pretty walk with just so much to look at. 

My walk along the Thames

A pub I came across.

I continued along the Thames up to Tower Bridge. What a beauty it is! I stood on it for a bit just watching the people walk by. I wish it had been a better day but I guess I should be used to the rain by now!

Tower Bridge

I had planned to tour Tower of London but as I got there it was just closing. Of course the day I go, they close early. So I took a few pictures from the outside and hurried to St. Pauls Cathedral as it would also be closing soon.

Tower of London

St Paul’s Cathedral was amazing. It is so intricate and detailed. I slowly walked around looking around but mostly up. The ceiling in incredible. I walked up the two hundred something steps to the Whispering Gallery that overlooked the centre of the cathedral. Ridiculous since I am scared of heights. I am sure it was a great view of everything but there were too many people up there and frankly it freaked me out so back down I went. I explored the crypts where the likes of Duke of Wellington, Sir Christopher Wren and Admiral Nelson are buried. All these cathedrals that I have visited in the last week have really blown my mind. There are just no words to describe them.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

Walking out of St. Paul’s I felt like I had another great day in London. I only have two more fulls days here. I think tomorrow I might explore some of the neighbourhoods I haven’t had a chance to see yet.

Sundays are road trip days. We jumped in the car and went off  Woodstock to tour Blenheim Palace, home of the Duke and Duchess of Marborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. It happened to be the Brompton world championship bike race on the grounds that day so we had the pleasure of seeing them at the start. Hilarious outfits. Top hats on top of bike helmuts and tails with shorts.

The Brompton bike race

The palace is beautiful but when going in the doors, never turn left…they trap you in to view “the untold story” of the palace….from room to room you are not allowed to leave until the next part of the story is ready to begin. For a claustrophobic person, doesn’t really work for me. Turning right, you got to wallk through the rooms and see the beautiful paintings, rooms and pictures of the family.

Jen, Malinda and me in front of Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace

Walking the grounds was amazing. You could walk forever and feel like you have never reached the end.

The stunning grounds of Blenheim Palace

We then walked through the cute town of Woodstock before heading to the car and driving to Oxford. Loved Woodstock. Such amazing old buildings and houses.

Woodstock

Oxford was next on the agenda. We walked to the Turf Tavern where we had some food and a drink. This is the place that Bill Clinton apparently smoked pot but of course never inhaled.

Turf Tavern Pub in Oxford

The streets of Oxford

At the Head of the River Pub in Oxford

A shot from the Head of the River Pub

More streets of Oxford

Last stop was the Kings Arms Pub. Had one more drink and then headed back to London. It was a great Sunday road trip!

Kings Arms Pub in Oxford

I wanted to go for one last run in Paris but managed to set both alarms wrong so I was lucky to get up in time to make it to the train station, Gare de Nord, to take the train back to London. It was an absolute gong show in the station. Trying to find where I was supposed to be was a bit of a chore but I manage to get all checked in with about 5 minutes to spare before boarding. I had a great time in Paris but was definitely ready to go back to London.

I was told how crazy the Kings Cross metro station could be on a weekend and I sure witnessed it. Chaos. People being herded to the right metro. You really had to push your way through it all. After about 30 min on the metro and a short walk from Parson’s Green station, I was back at Jen and George’s.

A spent the afternoon blogging and relaxing and then went to meet up with a friend from Vancouver, Paul Meehan, who was in town on business. I hadn’t been to Covent Garden yet, so we went to a pub called Porterhouse. A huge place with loads of different beers. Jen, George and their two friends, who were also from Vancouver, met us there. We definitely sampled some of their beer selection before going to a lounge near by called Light Bar which is in the St. Martins Lane hotel. It’s a small place but really nice and they really know how to make a drink there!

Jen, Paul and Olivia on the iphone

George, Paul and Jen

Just the three of us

It was a great night hanging out with friends and checking out a different area of London.