01 July 2013

Day 11 - London

This post was written on 6/30 and for whatever reason didn't publish properly!
---
Today was the most gorgeous day yet - sunny blue skies all day long, and in the high 70s. It was a perfect day to explore the city. 

In the morning, I went to Westminster Cathedral to the Solemn Mass. Westminster Cathedral is a fairly new church (for London that is), built in 1903. You can definitely see the Byzantine influences in the rounded domes and mosaics throughout the church. (Picture taken in the afternoon)
 A full choir of boys and men sang the Mass, which was half in Latin, half in English. It was lovely way to start the day. And it was made extra special because it was the First Mass for Father Oscar, who had just been one of seven priests ordained yesterday in the cathedral. I stood in his receiving line after Mass and he gave me a special blessing for a traveler.
Then I went back into the church to see their "Treasures" Exhibit, which was free for only the next week, so it was perfect timing. There were many saint relics, including a piece of fabric which is said to belong to St Edward the Confessor, who was also King of England. 

Next it was time to walk back to the flat, and I made sure it was a scenic walk - strolling by Buckingham Palace (no, the Queen wasn't home - they fly her flag when she's in):
Queen Victoria Fountain:
The Photogenic London walking tour wasn't so much a class on photography as it was a walk by some of the famous London sites and an opportunity to take pictures. We also stopped in at the Tate Modern to see some Picasso paintings. 
Looking out over the Millennium Bridge at St Paul's 
The reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe theatre
The Tower Bridge, with the boring London Bridge in the foreground
The Shard - the tallest building in Europe, it just opened up to the public and you can go to the very top (I think that is one thing I will skip - its so high up!)
Outside St Paul's - members of the tour group
Outside St Paul's
After the walk was over, I hopped on the Tube and went over to check out the Portobello Road market. It was near the end of the day, and many vendors had already gone home, but overall I wasn't too impressed - lots of souvenir stands and mass-produced goods. But the food stands looked yummy! 

And since you can never have enough walking in one day, I went out to get some sunset pictures of the city. I'll post those maybe tomorrow, as I think this is enough pictures for one day!

Tomorrow class officially begins with a visit to Greenwich!











1 comment:

  1. Loved all the pictures. You certainly are walking a lot!! It was great to see you tonight with facetime!! You look great! Love you lots, Mom and Dad

    ReplyDelete