LONDON--DAY 3

Sunday, June 3

This morning we attended services at a beautiful Victorian age church about a half block from the hotel.  The first hymn was “Holy, Holy, Holy,” which we knew, but everything else was a bit different from what we are accustomed to.  The service was Anglican, very different from our Baptist worship.  As the service came to a close, the choir and congregation stood and sang “God Save the Queen.”  The congregation was warm and welcoming, as were the vicars, and we were invited to attend a celebration following the services to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  The church bulletin actually stated that they would be serving “fizz” after the service.

 

 

                 St. James's, Sussex Gardens

We also purchased our Oyster Cards today.  Oyster cards are good for seven days and permit you to ride all public transportation (The Tube and buses) by just scanning the picture of the Queen on the face of the card.  We tried out our public transportation skills by riding the Tube to Piccadilly Circus. By the way, it is not a circus.  We then walked through Covent Garden (not a garden but a nice shopping area--Gap, etc.) to Leicester Square (really a square!).  It is pronounced Lester.

We saw this guy there posing as a human statue, and I couldn't resist having my picture made with him.  In appreciation, I contributed a pound to his boot.

One of the things I loved most in Leicester Square was this clock which chimes every hour for about ten minutes.  It puts on quite a show.  Even the cows bob their heads up and down.

This entire area was congested with people headed toward the Thames to watch the Queen’s Flotilla. 

We felt that even if we were able to make it to the River we wouldn’t be able to see much due to the great number of people trying to see the event.  It was raining as well.  We were walking past the National Portrait Gallery, so we went in and did the Rick Steves self-guided tour.  I kept thinking of my friend Kelly, the art teacher, who would absolutely love seeing all of the beautiful portraits on display.

This Gallery contains portraits, statues, or busts of almost anyone you can think of who had anything to do with British government, the monarchy, the arts or the sciences.  Like most of the places you visit in London, photography is prohibited, but Glenn did not realize this until he had taken this picture.

I was sure that our camera was going to be confiscated or at least we would be made to delete that particular photo, but we were only told very politely, so very typical of the British, that that was quite all right--just don't take any more.

After the Portrait Gallery tour we were determined to find our way back to the hotel.  The streets were so crowded with people leaving the Flotilla and it was raining so hard that Underground attendants were actually turning people away from the Tube stations.  We finally found one that we could enter, and we were afraid of being knocked down and trampled by the crowd. 

In time we were able to get on a train and soon we reached the safety of Lancaster Gate and the Paddington area.  We went back to The Swan for dinner.  Glenn ordered Bangers and Mash (three sausages and gravy atop a large pile of mashed potatoes), and I had a jacket potato stuffed with, of all things, pork and beans and covered in cheese.  Strange day, strange food . . . but we were loving it!