Today was a bit of a rough start because I didn’t have a great sleep but I managed to get out the door early and take the tube into town. I started my tourist tour at Westminster Abbey. As I was walking there I was overcome with emotion. I think it really hit me how this trip has been a long time coming and how I want to make travelling a bigger part of my life.

I wasn’t satisfied with just seeing the outside of the Abbey so I went inside and slowly walked through with the help of the audio tour. It is a truly remarkable building. There are really no words for how beautiful it is. I am not really a very religious person but I have to admit I was again moved when the priest had us all stop and gave us a blessing. I think being surrounded by all that beauty was just overwhelming for me.

Outside the entrace of Westminster Abbey

Next on the agenda was checking out the Parliament Buildings and Big Ben. A big portion is under scaffolding for restoration but still managed to get a few good shots especially from Westminster Bridge.

Big Ben

The Parliament Buildings

Westminster Bridge

I then strolled for about half another along the South Bank. So peaceful just strolling along, watching all the people. I would stop occasionally and just sit on a bench and take it all in.  I decided that for the rest of the day I would just walk around and see what happened. I stumbled upon Trafalgar Square so i grabbed a sandwich and just sat for awhile enjoying the sun.

Trafalgar Square

I spent the afternoon wandering the halls of the National Gallery. You can spend so much time in there. I found myself just sitting in front of some paintings for a good 5 minutes just looking at all the details. I don’t know much about art but I know what I like and what I don’t like. I was surprised by some of the paintings that I found myself drawn too that I don’t think I would have liked 10 years ago. My favourite of the day was The Boulevard Montmartre at Night by Pissaro. From what I understand this piece was his only “nighttime” painting. Maybe it is just because I am drawn to anything about Paris right now but I just found it so beautiful.

The National Gallery

The Boulevard Montmartre at Night by Pissaro

With it now being mid afternoon, I decided to make my way back to the tube station and head back home. I took a few more shots as I walked around.

I should have stopped at this pub for a drink. I was so hot at this point and my back was killing me. It would have probably done me a world of good to sit down for a while and cool down. Maybe I will go back and check it out some other day.

So the funny part of my day was my major tube fail. I was very proud of myself this morning that I managed to get to the tube station and not get lost so when I got back on to head home, maybe I was feeling a bit cocky on my tube riding skills. I wanted to get on the district line to Wimbeldon but got on the District line to Richmond. I didn’t realize it until I got to the South Kensington station so I had to get back on another train and head back to Earls Court. So what do I do? I grab the first train thinking that of course it must be the right one and I got on another freakin train to Richmond. So back to South Kensington I go, back to Earls Court again and then finally get on the right line to our stop at Parsons Green. I will definitely pay more attention from now on! I was, at least, able to laugh at myself!! Hopefully tomorrow I won’t have any issues as I make my way to Kings Cross station where I will take the Chunnel to Paris.

Tonight I am going to attempt to make dinner for George and Jen. Its going to be a chill night as my train is quite early.I am not sure what kind of internet access I will have when I am in Paris so I may have to update this when I get back to London.

This morning I had to do a long run for my marathon training so I went for a 20km run along the Thames River. It was so beautiful and made the run a lot easier. Here are a couple shots from that run. (I was a total tourist and brought my camera along with me).

View of the Thames

Rowers on the Thames

Jen and I decided to go shopping this morning before heading to our Buckingham Palace tour. We hit Oxford Street, Carnaby Street. Seems like elastic waisted pants are making a comeback along with the body suit. I so remember wearing those and don’t ever plan to wear another one. Jen was sure she saw the exact crushed velvet one she use to rock back in the day. So ridiculous! For lunch we found this little Noodle Shop called Cha Cha Moon in Kingley Court…a little courtyard with a few shops and restaurants in it.The food was pretty good but the Guava Bellini’s were inspired. We could have stayed there all afternoon but had a few more stores to hit.

Liberty Department Store

We booked the last tour of the day at Buckingham Palace. I guess they only open up the State Rooms one month a year so I was lucky to have been able to see inside. The rooms are extravagant and beautiful. So much detail put in to each and every room. I wish we could have taken some pictures but there were no cameras allowed. They showed some of the gowns that Queen Elizabeth wore at various trips around the world, Canada being one of them. They also showed some of the gifts that she had received from those trips. The artifacts from Canada included a hockey puck from the Montreal Canadiens, native art and jade polar bear statues. It was a great opportunity to see a glimpse in to that life.

Buckingham Palace

To debrief the visit to Buckingham Palace, Jen and I hit a few pubs on the way home. Chilled out for a bit and waited till George got home before heading out to a pub in their neighbourhood: The Sloaney Pony.

The Sloaney Pony

Loved the typical pub fare which of course I did not partake in. Not sure why anyone would want to eat pork cheeks. 

 The menu

 Not a crazy night as both Jen and George have to work tomorrow and I have a big day ahead of me.

Not going to lie, due to the party, Jen and I were a bit hungover this morning. We decided that Sunday would be a perfect day to go for a drive in the country. We hopped in the car and heading to Petworth. A cute little town with a National Trust house called Petworth House.

We paid to walk the grounds and it was incredible. It went on for ever! And really had the best Ionic Rotunda, we have ever seen. Ok, so if you knew Jen and I, you would know that we find random things funny. So the Ionic Rotunda became a joke for us all day long and probably will for days, weeks and years to come. We were really upset that we missed the Ramble and Roast tour (another joke) so we decided to ramble anyway through the grounds. Saw some deer galavanting through the forest. Had to walk carefully as their droppings were everywhere but really a fantastic estate!

Jen and George in front of the estate’s lake.

A pub for lunch was next on the agenda at the Welldigger Arms. Such a classic small english pub with your typical english food. I had my first Ploughmans lunch as we sat in the garden’s.  George had a roast so we actually did do the Ramble and Roast tour afterall. That stop started what was to be our afternoon pub crawl.

Next was the Parrot in Forest Green. So crazy how these random pubs pop up in the middle of these small country towns. This pub was set on some cricket grounds and had a beautiful big garden to enjoy your beer in.

Last pub was at the Abinger Hatch in Abinger. In the middle of nowhere. Big garden. Loads of people drinking on a Sunday afternoon. I could get used to this.

Tonight we are just relaxing and making some dinner. A big day tomorrow.