Last Day in London

Our place in London has been great. Not only is it roomy and well designed, but it is in a great neighborhood. We go out into the crowded city in the morning and come home to a quiet neighborhood in the evening and go out to a neighborhood pub for dinner. Here we are at breakfast this morning.

 

When Rhonda traveled around Europe in the summer of 1969 she had her 21st birthday in London and then on the way back home she spent two more weeks in London. Her favorite place in London was Westminster Abbey. So today we all were Rhonda's guests at the Abbey. She says it was much more crowded today, but it was still wonderful. It is interesting because unlike the other churches we have seen the history is more inspiring here than religeous aspects. It is an historical shrine, with secular characters like political leaders and the poets in the Poet's Corner taking center stage.

 

We walked through St. James Park to Soho for a great vegitarian lunch at Mabel's. We had heard that the food is improving in the UK and we have found the eating quite good with lots of vegitarian choices.

 

 

After lunch we split up, with everyone but me heading for the shopping streets and Hyde Park. I went to Stanford's, the travel bookstore and picked up maps for the Dales Way. Then I walked to St. Paul's Cathedral for the evensong service. The difference between St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey could not be greater. St. Paul's is austere by European chuech standards, but it is all about the spirit. With only the color of the stone and the soaring vaults and immense space it focuses all attention on the service. And the service was sublime.

 

We all met at home and the kids took us to dinner.