London, Day Two

As much as we'd managed to cram into our abbreviated first day in London, Steve and I knew that we still had a substantial amount of ground to cover on our final day. With that in mind, we forced ourselves out of bed a wee bit earlier than our bodies might have liked. Grabbing a muffin and chocolate croissant from a corner shop, we set out for Westminster Abbey.

As we neared Parliament, we noticed a huge police presence due to the workers' strike. I don't think I've ever seen that many police in one location in my life. There were many milling around on the streets, and  even more stuffed into vans lining the streets. The grounds of Parliament were littered with riot gear. These people were prepared for anything. We were happy we'd scheduled our time in the area for morning and late afternoon/evening because that meant we'd miss the protests.

Westminster Abbey was terrific. At first we opted not to be bothered with the audio guides because that's just not something we're used to; however, it didn't take long before we figured we might as well take advantage since they were free. We both agreed that we were so glad we did. There was so much we would've missed otherwise. I was very grateful that we could take our time and didn't feel the need to rush, considering my first experience at the abbey had been limited to a ten minute run through. Poet's Corner, of course, was still the highlight for this English major. The fact that the royal wedding had recently taken place there also heightened the experience. One room even had an exhibit of photographs from the wedding.

Prior to visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum, we walked around Victoria Square Park.

The Victoria and Albert Museum was little disappointing only because most floors were closed due to the strikes. We were only able to access the first floor and a half. On our way to Harrod's, we were getting rather hungry when we passed a McDonald's. We figured we might as well stop because it was going to be the cheapest place to find lunch in the area. I almost felt guilty about eating at a McDonald's in London until I opened the door to find a throng of people, most of whom did not appear to be tourists. This was where the locals ate.

Harrod's can be rather overwhelming, and considering we can't really afford to shop there (and both of us had been there before anyway), we spent most of our time perusing the food hall. Shortly after Harrod's, on our way to the National Gallery, we popped into Whittard of Chelsea Tea Shop. I collect tea cups and tea pots, so it's ideal whenever I can pick one up as a souvenir. We found an Alice in Wonderland collection that included a black and white, subtly themed tea cup. If you look closely, in the scrollwork there is a pocket watch, a key, a rabbit, and other such reminders of Wonderland.

Between the tea shop and the National Gallery, the sky grew overcast and began to spritz a bit. Talk about a perfect time for it to rain! We were just heading inside. I always enjoy the National Gallery. I prefer paintings to other forms of art, so this is a delightful place for me. Since my last visit, one particular painter stood out in my mind, so I was eager to revisit his room. I am always impressed by Canaletto's detail. The depth of field in his work is incredible. This is one of my favorites. Of course, this picture can hardly do it justice because it lacks the detail that makes his paintings so impressive, but it will have to do. Far off into the distance you can still see people waving from buildings.

Canaletto's Regatta on the Grand Canal

Of course, there are many other favorites, too, including the usual suspects: Seurat, Monet, Renoir, Manet, Degas, Holbein, Vermeer, Gainsborough, Constable, Turner and Rembrandt. It's just a great place to pop by for an hour or two. I was quite relieved that our enjoyment of this particular museum wasn't marred by the workers' strike. Only a room or two appeared to be closed.

By the time we left, the sky was blue again, and the day was perfect. We found a little shop near Covent Garden that sold sandwiches without mayo--milagro!--and ate them on a step outside the Apple Market. The street performers included a tight rope walker who juggled sharp knives, a string quartet that played wickedly fast, someone balancing a bike on his head (I'm sure there was more to his show than that), and Charlie Chaplin.

After dinner, we headed back to Parliament to take sunset pictures and enjoy an ice cream.