I made a business trip to London last week and, quite unexpectedly, found myself with an extra day for some sightseeing. I've been to London before, but I enjoyed returning to a few of my favorite spots and visiting a few places that were "new" to me.
I started the morning at St. Paul's Cathedral. What a truly beautiful church. I learned that the current cathedral is the 6th church at this location -- there having been a church on the same site since about 600 A.D. Of course, I took advantage of the audio tour that was available and learned all sorts of neat things about the history of the building and its contents. Did you know that the word "cathedral" means "bishop's seat?"
I then met up with my two colleagues, Jim and Clarence, and we traveled together, by taxi, to Westminster Abbey. This is another great church which overwhelms me simply by virtue of the incredibly history represented by the tombs and memorials found here. The most impressive are those of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots (located on opposite sides of the sanctuary). All the kings and queens of England have been crowed at Westminster Abbey since the 12th century, and there still exists within the Abbey the throne that has been used for coronation services during that entire period of time.
Following our time at the Abbey, we walked past Parliament and Big Ben and found a great pub where we had a bit of lunch. Then, it was on to the Royal Portrait Gallery where we spent about two hours wandering the halls and enjoying works by Rembrandt, Michaelangelo, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas and so many others.
It was a great day! And it was so unexpected that we had this extra time to enjoy the city.
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