Sunday was a busy day for us in England. We walked a lot - maybe too much - and saw a lot of really neat sites. By the end of the day we were quite exhausted and we looked forward to heading back to the flat in Reading for some rest and relaxation.

Piccadilly Circus

This was our first stop in London after arriving to Paddington Station. We took the tubes (the London Underground) to the Piccadilly station stop. This is London’s version of Time’s Square. It is packed with people, curved buildings and huge electronic billboards. It is quite a place. There are shops and restaurants - all of the usual tourist traps. We didn’t spend too much time here as there were other places that we preferred to spend our time.

Heather at Piccadilly Circus

Westminster

Our next stop was the Westminster tube station.We stepped out of the station right at the base of Big Ben and London Parliament. It is an awesome building and a must-see London landmark. We took plenty of pictures and then headed across the bridge to the south bank of the Thames river. Here we passed by the London Eye and hoards of people and street performers. We stopped and watch a British man ask for our money as he struggled his way out of a straight jacket and chains. After we had had enough, we found a McDonald’s (don’t go there, it’s cheap food) and had some food. After some lunch, we headed back across the bridge towards Westminster Abbey where we learned that the Abbey was closed on Sundays (why would a church be closed on Sunday?). From there we decided to take a walk to Buckingham Palace. We paused there to rest after a decent walk and admired the sights. There was a guard there who we were convinced had his leg fall asleep. He began a goofy march back and forth a 15 foot path stomping his feet loudly to shake the blood back into them. After we had had enough, we headed back to the nearest tube station.

Heahter across the river from Parliment and Big Ben

Temple Church

We decided to make a journey to the church made famous by the Da Vinci Code. This church is located in the middle of a huge living complex formerly operated by the Knights Templar and is nearly impossible to find. We found the doorway to the alley that leads to the church, but it was locked. We decided to go a bit further and we walked to the main entrance where a guard told us that the church was closed. Again we found that on Sunday, more churches were closed. Weird… At this point we were a ways away from the nearest tube station, so we began the journey back.

Tower Hill

This area of London was our next stop, and probably my favorite. We got off the tubes and headed towards the Tower of London - and old castle on the banks of the Thames that was erected by William the Conqueror. It is quite an amazing site. We meandered around the building and took a bunch of pictures. Next up was Tower Bridge. This is the bridge that everyone thinks of when they think of bridges in London. I can’t imagine why anyone would need to construct a bridge like this, but it gives us something to do while in London. The bridge is awesome. We crossed over the bridge for a different view and continued along the south bank.

Jordan and Heather near Tower Bridge

St. Paul’s Cathedral

After crossing over Tower bridge, we decided that we should see St. Paul’s Cathedral. Despite the bad luck with other churches, we trudged on. We decided that rather than find the nearest station and make several transfers we would walk the whole distance. This was probably where we overdid it. It was quite a walk. We finally made it and low and behold, the church was actually open for Sunday night services. We wandered inside and took a seat towards the rear of the small congregation. We listened for a while as scriptures were recited and some lady rambled on about the Da Vinci Code and how Jesus could not have been married until we were rested up enough to make our way back home for the day.

Heather at St. Paul's

The Journey Home

After St. Paul’s, we decided that we had done enough for one day and began the journey back to the flat in Reading. We made our way to the nearest tube station - St. Paul’s - only to discover that it had been closed for ‘modernasation’. We located the nearest station and began walking some more. Once we got to the station we found that that it did not have the lines that we needed but we could transfer via underground footpaths. We walked underground until we reached the next station and hopped on the train. On our second stop on the way back to Paddington, the train stopped at the station while the conductor explained that ‘there had been a trespass’ on the tracks several stations away that had halted all trains on those tracks. He recommended that all passengers take a bus as an alternate means of transportation. We left the station an immediately found the right bus, and as it turns out, it was headed right to Paddington Station. What a relief. We climbed up to the second deck and settled in for a long bus ride. Finally we made it to the station where we found a train that took us back to the Reading station.

Overall it was a good day, even though I did develop a blister on my foot. We saw some great sights and formed ideas of what else we wanted to do throughout the rest of the week.