Day Two: Tuesday September 4

Today has been a very good day. I woke up way too early this morning (5am), still suffering a bit from the jet lag, but it gave me time to have a good breakfast. I decided to leave around 7:30 this morning for my first venture into London. It would have quicker to take the Underground (the British subway system), but I wanted to see as much of the city as possible, so I decided to walk. What I didn't know and wouldn't find out until much later, is that today started a possible 3 day strike for most of the people who worked the Underground. My morning goal was to make it to Westminster Abbey before the doors opened at 9:30. I thought that 2 hours would be plenty of time to get there, but I underestimated the complexity of the London streets (in other words, I got pretty lost!). The next bit is probably the most embarrassing thing that will probably happen to me on this entire trip: I was wondering around lost and was looking for a landmark to help me find my way. I stopped in front of this large building with a big gate & a flag flying with the Union Jack on it. I asked the closest person "What building is this?" He squinted his eyes at me and slightly nodded as he said "This is Buckingham Palace." Suffice to say, that helped a great deal & I was able to get to Westminster Abbey 10 minutes before they opened. It was certainly worth the trouble though, Westminster Abbey was spectacular. They have this great audio tour that lets you go around at your own pace & check out all the amazing tombs that are there. The design of the interior and the history that is inside is awe-inspiring. The building alone is older that any building you could step inside in the US. It was founded in 960 AD as a monastery. There are still parts of in there that are from the first 100 years of it's existence, like this door:

Now, I know what you might be thinking....A DOOR!!! THIS IS THE ONLY PIX FROM WESTMINSTER ABBEY!! Think about it though, how many things in your life have you got to actually touch that is almost 1000 years old? Unfortunately, because it is a church & they do not allow photography inside, this is about one of a few pictures I was able to sneak away with.

From Westminster Abbey I walked over to the Houses of Parliament, which features the clock tower with Big Ben in it. For those who don't know, Big Ben is actually the bell in the clock tower, not the tower itself. Unfortunately, scheduled maintenance has shut it down for a month or 2, so no Big Ben chiming on the hour for me!

The last stop on my walking tour today was The London Eye. The Eye is basically a large Ferris wheel that takes a half an hour to rise you higher than any building in London.

It was after riding the Eye that I realized it had been 8 hours since I started walking around, and my feet were starting to kill me. I decided to take the Underground back, and that was when I went and found out that that most lines were down. I was in luck though, there was one line open, with delays, that would shorten my walking time by one hour. So, many hours later, my walking tour has ended for the day. Tomorrow I go on a day trip to Stonehenge, Windsor Castle & the town of Bath. I can't wait!