Popping Down to London

We planned a couple days in London during our time in Nottingham. Before we left home, we had pre-booked bus tickets, as well as seats for a play at Shakespeare’s Globe theater in London.

It was still dark on Monday morning when we left the house to catch a bus downtown so that we could make it to the station for our pre-booked bus to London. The journey got off to an inauspicious start when I clumsily tripped over a curb and did a face-plant onto the asphalt sidewalk. A little road-rash on the chin was the only visible injury. Unseen aches were relieved by Ibuprofen.

Our bus arrived at Victoria Coach Station almost 45 minutes late. The bulk of the extra time was spent standing dead still in London city traffic. But we still had time to get onto the Tube and get to Trafalgar Square in time for a lunch, and then to the National Gallery. 

After getting our fill of paintings, we walked down Whitehall toward Parliament and Big Ben, catching the Horse Guards on the way. 

We also passed Downing Street, where the Prime Minister was receiving guests, but we were not on the guest list.

By the time we got to Parliament Square, we realized that our stamina is not what it once was. Fifteen years ago we could breeze through two or three museums in a day. But by mid-afternoon, we were feeling tired. So we took the Tube back to Victoria and checked into our nearby hotel to rest a bit.

After our refresh, we got back onto the Tube for Westminster to take in Evensong at the Abbey. We got there a full half hour early, and were amazed to find a queue of more than 100 people already lined up ahead of us! Apparently the word has gotten out that, if one attends a service, one can avoid the £32 ($42.50) ticket. 

There were far too many people for the quire, but we were seated in the south transept, and a video screen allowed us to see the action. Most importantly, the acoustics were still good enough that we could hear the excellent choir.

Back on the Tube, we made our way to St. Paul's where we crossed the Millennium Bridge to reach the Globe. The play was Much Ado About Nothing and it was a fun production. Fortunately, the rain held off.

The hotel provided a very good breakfast, after which we checked out and made our way via Tube back to where we left off the previous evening, right next door to the Globe at the Tate Modern. We spent the morning experiencing modern art, then walked back across the bridge for mid-day Eucharist at St. Paul's Cathedral.

There was not as much of a crowd for that, as there was no choir or organ, but we got into the church and had time to look around after the service. Lunch special at a very nice Indian restaurant refreshed us enough to continue.

We rode the Tube back to St. James's Park and walked through, enjoying very pleasant weather. 

As it happened, we reached Buckingham Palace just in time for the Changing of the Guard. The band played Stars and Stripes Forever, which we found a bit strange.

The rest of the afternoon, until our scheduled bus back to Nottingham, was spent sitting at a table outside a pub, enjoying our ale (in my case) and cider. The trek back was uneventful.