London Day 2

London Day 2

Well I survived the trains over night.. I woke up a few times, but they stopped running between  1am and 5 am so it was eerily quiet during those times. I think our bodies adapt to what becomes regular in our life. So I didn't wake up eventually until about 7.30 am.  They were certainly zooming past by then.

After enjoying my standard breakfast of Weetbix and toast and vegemite, I decided to take my washing across the road to the Laundromat and for 12 quid they did the lot. Saved a lot of angst from my end. I will have another go at it soon, but at least I have the main things done and clean and I can start again. BTW thanks to all those who suggested ways of mastering that machine. Having looked a little more closely I think there might be a 30 min cycle, so I will try that next time.  But how good is it having all those consultants out there who are following the woes of my washing!!!!

So, the first thing I had to do today was to go into the city and pick up my London Pass I had already paid for this in Perth but just needed to actually go and pick up the actual card. This pass gives me "free" entry to most of the historical places around London and it also includes a "free" travel card  which allows me to travel anywhere in London for the 6 days in which the card is valid. Apart from making life cheaper ultimately, it also gives me a freedom to just  use one card and go anywhere.


So I had to master the Tube by going from Earls Court to South Kensington and changing to the Piccadilly line and get off at Leicester Square. So, I came out of the Tube in the middle of the Theatre area. I do hope to go and see a show whilst I'm here... but will go back later and see what's  available at the Half Price Tix.

Found the place alright then my plan for the day was to go to the  Tower of London. I had a vague general idea of where it was - I just had to head for the River Thames. So I figured if I just kept walking I'd end up somewhere ... and I did... Trafalgar Square.

Walked right around him and couldn't see what was holding him up

Henrietta or Georgina - childhood chooks..???

Trafalgar Square

Nelson's Column

The other place that was close to Trafalgar Square was St Martin's in the Field Church. That provided me with yet another conundrum. I went in there to say a prayer and light a candle, but I had forgotten that Protestant churches don't do Statues and although they had a very sterile place with candles, there was no image to pray to... so I didn't light a candle here. So, here's another deep theological issue for my friends who are so inclined... Do candles only work in Catholic Churches...??? Do Protestants really believe in Candles...??? Do my Catholic prayers work in Protestant Churches??? Now, I'm going to spend about 2-3 weeks in England and it does not have the same Catholicism as my journey through France and Belgium, so it may be harder to find Catholic  Churches for my candles. What do my readers suggest....???? I still have very serious things to pray for at the moment....

On my way home, I hopped off the train at Victoria and went to Westminster  Cathedral (the Catholic one as opposed to Westminster Abbey the C of E one)

Now, I was in candle heaven, with multiple little altars around the Cathedral, devoted to various saints. They had an altar to St Paul,  so I said a  prayer there for all the students and staff at St Pauls where I spent many happy years, then there was an altar to St Patrick, so I said prayers for all my Irish friends... And I happily lit lots of candles (although I had to ask one of the priests which coin was 50p!)

So in-between my theological ramblings, I went to the Tower of London....

I'll start a new post to record my day out there....