London, Day 1

I’ve got to say that the Washington, D.C. Metro is a lot more fun than the London Tube.
Our hotel is about a block away from the Tube entrance, and that station is one of the most confusing things I’ve ever seen. You can get on one train, but then you might have to transfer to another to get where you’re going, and they only stop at this station on Tuesdays and Fridays, and at that one late at night, and if you’re going to Terminal 5 of the airport you get to wait around until a train decides to go there. Pa tried to make sense of it, then finally gave up and said wherever we end up is where we end up.
Quite frankly, it’s a wonder we made it downtown on our first try.
The first exciting thing that happened was that we passed The Ritz Hotel. It had the fancy doorman and everything, and if I tried to go in there in my jeans and North Face, I’d probably get kicked out before I could go three steps.
We should’ve gotten a room there. Of course, then we probably wouldn’t be able to afford food, but seriously, who needs to eat?
I was walking along a bridge thinking about how gross the River Thames looked when suddenly, I looked up, and there it was. Big Ben. It was about 7000 times more impressive looking than it is in postcards and that kind of stuff. I could have looked at it forever.
Or I could’ve gotten Grandma to push me down the stairs at the hotel so I could stay at the hospital with a view of Big Ben and the Parliament House.
We wanted a better view of London, so we went on the London Eye. It’s this ENORMOUS Ferris Wheel that can hold 30 people to a car, and all the sides are windows and you can stand up and move around and take lots of pictures. It didn’t feel like we were that high up, even though you could see over all of London, but when we got back on the ground, I had to tilt my head all the way back to see the top car!
Our next stop was unexpected, but I’m so glad we stumbled across it. We were on our way to Buckingham Palace, and we passed this really cool old building. Pa stopped to examine it, then came to a conclusion:
“I think this is Westminster Abbey.”
We walked around to the front of the building (it took us about five minutes), and, sure enough, it was. It cost thirty pounds for us to get in, but it turned out to be well worth it. It was my favorite stop this whole trip, with the possible exception of Edinburgh. My only complaint was that we weren’t allowed to take any pictures! It’s probably because the flashes would decay all the old tombs and artifacts, but still, it’s kind of tragic.
Westminster Abbey was founded in 960, and housed its first coronation in 1066. Since then, all the English kings and queens have had their coronations there, and many, including Queen Elizabeth I, were buried there. There are also memorials to some famous English writers and composers, and there’s even a memorial for Franklin Roosevelt. I thought the Roosevelt one was really sweet; it said “In Remembrance of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a friend to freedom and to Britain, elected to US President four times”. The Abbey is huge: The smallest chapel is nearly as big as my entire church, and its lowest ceiling is just as high as our highest.
And now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to be all serious and thoughtful for minute. It was kind of sad seeing all the graves and tombs throughout the Abbey, but it was incredible to think that I was walking down the same corridor that a monk or a king might have in the 1300’s. And while I was there, even though there were these huge throngs of people around me, I felt really peaceful. It’s kind of hard to describe. It was kind of like how you feel just after you’ve confessed your sins, before you’ve gotten an opportunity to do something bad and you feel all holy and clean. Being in that church, among hundreds of peoples’ graves who had loved God and loved their Church, felt like that.
Some people don't believe in God because they need visible proof that He's there, but that feeling is more than enough proof for me.
We saw Buckingham Palace, but we were too late for the changing of the guards. We might try and catch it tomorrow, but we’ve got as busy of a schedule as today. Then we had dinner and I had real London fish and chips in a real London pub! Well, sort of. I had real London fish in chips in a real London Thai restaurant above a real London pub, because people were already drunk at the pub and it wasn’t the best place for a kid to be. And now, we’re relaxing at the hotel, getting ready for our last day in Europe.
Love,
Kiera
P.S. I bet you didn't expect me to get all religious, did you? I can be serious when I want to be! ;)