Off To A Great Start

This morning dawned bright and gorgeous and full of excellent potential. The sun was shining, as you can see above in the lovely backyard of our hosts, breakfast was made by the lovely Katie and Emily:



And everyone was much improved after a good night's sleep and no longer imitating the walking dead.
That alone made today's excursions much more exuberant and memorable, though the sun in the morning did help. First we were off to St. Paul's Cathedral, which gave the best views and low-impact cardio workout in London.



And the place had a wonderful serene atmosphere, as most old churches do, that you can appreciate no matter what your religion. My favorite part was the three galleries on the upper floors which were essentially huge rings around the outside of the central dome on varying levels.

The Whispering gallery was the first and the lowest (only up 257 steps), looking down on the central worship area, and is named because you can hear someone whisper from clear across the open space in the middle. The second was the Stone Gallery (another 119 steps), and was a balcony circling the base of the dome. The view was spectacular, and there was plenty of room to walk around and enjoy the wonderful breeze. The third was the Golden Gallery, 152 more steps up several tiny spiral staircases, to reach this small, amazing, HIGH circular balcony where the view was SPECTACULAR. Unless you don't like heights. Sean. Anyway, it was the best view in London, hands down.




Next was the Tower of London where there were the Crown Jewels, a spectacular armor display, and ridiculous amounts of sheer history. It was also where my camera died.... But that just meant I could photobomb everyone else's pictures! :D

After we got our fill of the Tower, off to the Tower Bridge, more walking, lots of hot chocolate, and the obligatory London Eye ride which kept reminding me of that Doctor Who episode and the skyline shots from Sherlock (BBC). Despite the cold, it was an amazing night, and the city looks so surreal at night with Big Ben and Parliament all lit. In the face of the cold, the dark, and the barking dogs, we headed back to the Home Base to recoup before heading to the Flask.

Checked off "Having a pint in a British pub" from my London to do list, and now it's time to crash for real.

Oh, and Happy Pi day!

-Sam