Day 3 - Final day in London

Charing Cross monument

It was the last day in London.

We woke up early and had our regular London breakfast  of toast and an apple for me and sliced ham on a croissant for Snoopy. We then set out for the City walking tour, which began at Charing Cross tube station.

It was very strange the Charing Cross monument was in front of the station. It seemed misplaced. The tube station is named for the Charing Cross monument, which stands as a monument to Queen Eleanor of Castile, who died in 1920 and was the first wife of Edward I of England. The current monument is actually victorian-age replacement of the original, which was destroyed in 1647 during a civil war. The monument - one of 12 - marks the nightly resting place of workers as they carried Eleanor's body from Nottingham to Westminster Abbey, where it was buried.

Charing Cross Monument 

Saint Mary-le-Strand

After looking at the Charing Cross monument, we snaked along sidewalks filled with rush hour foot traffic to see Saint Mary-le-Strand. This was the marriage place for Charles Dickens' parents. The church opened in 1725, after British lawmakers passed an act to build more churches within the city limits. 

Australia House - Gringotts Wizarding Bank

As we made our way through the city, buying our time before we could entire the next exiting church, we came across the Australia House. What makes this building so cool, you ask? The Australia House is an embassy for British Commonwealth, but it is famous for its role as Gringotts Wizarding Bank in the "Harry Potter" movie series. 

The house had some spectacular artwork on its exterior. 

Outside of the Australia House

The house was not open to the public, but you could peek through the glass doors and see the hallway lined with the extravagant chandeliers shown in the movies.

Continuing on, we came across the Royal Courts of Justice, Britain's highest civil court. It wasn't long ago Paul McCartney passed through its entryway on the way to a multi-million pound divorce.

This civil court is not to be confused with the criminal courthouse, referred to as Old Bailey.

The Royal Courts of Justice

Finally it was time to make our way back to visit Temple Church, which is nestled in a hidden alleyway away from the noisy streets outside. You might remember Temple Church from its role in The Da Vinci Code.

Alleyway to Temple Church

Temple Church has very limited hours, so it was a very special treat to go inside.

Temple Church was once the headquarters of the Knights Templar, a band of heavily-armed, highly-trained monks who dressed in long white robes beneath their heavy armor. The knights were sworn to chastity and protect pilgrims traveling to Muslim holy lands. We will just stick to the facts, not to the plot of the Da Vinci Code.

Temple Church

Temple Church is designed after the Holy Sepulcher in Jersusalem. Inside the naive is a plaque showing the two churches' similar layouts, and my guess is the same stonework.

Temple Church

We found marble effigies of Templar Knights on the floor of the church.

Effigy of a Templar Knight

Inside the circular chapel, the walls were lined with scary faces. The faces are supposed to represent the wars that the Knights Templar were involved in.

Inside Temple Church

Temple Church was beautiful with its colorful stained glass and marble columns. It was very incredible to step inside.

Inside Temple Church - facing altar

Stained glass inside Temple Church

Pipe organ inside Temple Church

Bibles inside Temple Church

After exploring Temple Church, we moved back into the hustle and bustle of Fleet Street to check out Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Tavern. Charles Dickens, W.B. Yeats, Teddy Roosevelt and Mark Twain frequented the Cheese.

The Cheese felt very extravagant -- people in formal attire had pulled up chairs at its tables adorned with white table clothes and wine glasses -- so we got the hell outta dodge. Our jeans, tennis and hoodies ensembles were not suited for the place, so we returned to Fleet Street in search of a good meal.

Entrance to St. Bride's Church courty

After lunch, we made our way through more alleyways and away from the noisy Fleet Street to the quiet courtyard of St. Bride's church. The fun part about St. Bride's church is that it is rumored to be the model for the current bride's cake with its tiered steeple.

Interestingly, St. Bride's church has a better history than just being the model for the bride's cake. It's also one of most ancient churches in London, with worship services dating back to the Saxons in the seventh century. The current church is at least the seventh church to be built on the site. Snoopy and I ventured down into the crypt to see the remains of the six other church foundations on the site.

Pidgeon walking around

As a note about crypts, I learned in London that almost every church has a crypt and each one seems to have a very thick smell that I cannot describe, and this crypt was no exception. The musty air also felt thick on the skin, similar to a very cold and humid day in Houston. It chills you to the bones. Snoopy claims he could not smell anything.

When we went down into this crypt, we could see, and sometimes touch, the foundations of the former churches St. Bride's was built upon. The mortar was chipping and the stones were cold and felt rough to the touch.

St. Bride's church was especially important to Snoopy because in 1500, the newspaper business began when Wynkyn de Worde set up shop as a printing press. Until 1695, London was the only location in Britain permitted by law to allow printing. Unfortunately, there was a lot to be desired when it came to remembering the past as a printing business.

St. Bride's Church steeple

Up next was we moved further down Fleet Street on to St. Paul's cathedral. I had no idea what to expect since I had seen the dome from a distance, seen Westminster Abbey, seen video footage from Princess Diana and Prince Charles' wedding in 1982, but nothing could have truly prepared me for the experience that St. Paul's cathedral provided and for the impression that it left on me.

St. Paul's Cathedral

 First and foremost, St. Paul's cathedral is enormous. Looking at photographs of the church does not do it justice. The place is huge. Going inside the church was another sight to behold. Snoopy and I took an enlightening guided audio tour, which highlighted its history and construction. It really grabbed me. The tour began with the memorial behind the high altar, which pays tribute to American servicemen killed in World War II while assisting the Brits. As I have mentioned before, the wounds of both world wars are still raw and emotional for Europeans. But the construction of the memorial is what drew my attention. Britons raised money for the memorial in an attempt to honor Americans of all religious backgrounds, including Islam, Judaism and Christianity. I felt it showed Jesus' love extends to people of all faiths, not Christians alone.

Also, St. Paul's cathedral is a pivotal place for people to meet during times of celebration and sorrow. Mourners ventured to St. Paul's in an attempt to find a place of hope and support following the 9/11 attacks. St. Paul's Cathedral, in my mind, is the definition of the everyman's church.

After touring the inside, Snoops talked me into climbing to the hall of whispers, which is in the dome above the altar. The hall's acoustics allow a person to hear someone whispering from the other side of the hall. After the climb and walk around the dome, Snoops talked me into going up to the top. I was terrified! The steep, spiral staircase did not make for a happy Lindsay. At one point, the dizzying stairwell became so narrow handrails could not fit, and our shoulders grazed the walls. All signs that read "mind your head" did not apply to me.

Once we reached the top, the views were breathtaking. Despite my shaking hands and gusting winds, I was able to hold the camera steady enough for a few good shots of London from the top of the St. Paul's dome.

The pictures speak for themselves:

View from the top of St. Paul's cathedral

View from the top of St. Paul's cathedral

View from the top of St. Paul's cathedral - Tower Bridge

View from the top of St. Paul's cathedral  - Thames River

View from the top of St. Paul's cathedral

On the way out, we found these friendly little squirrels in the courtyard just behind the cathedral. If you know me, you know I wanted pictures of the little guys. They came right up to us but move on quickly, probably because we didn't have food for them to munch. They were so quick that this friendly man tempted this sweet girl in his hand so I could snap a picture.

The last treat Snoopy had in store for me on our final night in London was a go-around on the London Eye. A view from the top of the world! The capsules moved very slowly, so you had wonderful views over the Thames River. The best part was Snoopy planned it perfectly so that we went around the London Eye just as the sun began to set. As we climbed into our capsule, the lights of London were just being flipped on.  

Parliament Building - at sunset

London - view from London Eye

London was as magical as it was modern, a place I could never forget. I think the best part was that I got to explore, get lost, wander and discover London with my favorite person!

Day 2 - London

Houses of Parliament

 After a restful and much needed night sleep, we toured the City of Westminster on the second day of our European vacation. Luckily, this is in the same neighborhood as our hotel and most of the sites were within a few blocks.

The first stop was the very cool-looking, gothic-style Houses of Parliament. It is a shame that the pictures do not do it justice. The building was enormous. The Houses of Parliament is a single building consisting of 1,100 rooms and containing the two houses of Parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Houses of Parliament

As with most of the older structures of London, the Parliament building suffered damage from several fires and the Blitz in 1940. Its last reconstruction was completed in 1941, and the structure was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

Big Ben

Apparently, Big Ben is leaning!  We heard the London icon was in danger of one day tumbling into the Thames River on the news the night we gazed upon the Parliament Building.

Big Ben is the nickname of the great bell atop the tower at the north end of Parliament Square. The name Big Ben is generally extended as the entire tower structure.

The bells inside the 320-foot-tall tower were so loud I debated calling my mom so she could hear their tolling power. Alas, I doubt she would've appreciated a call at 2:30 a.m. Houston time.

We did have a fellow tourist offer to take the picture of both Snoops and I in front of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

Westminster Abbey - North Facade

After visiting the Houses of Parliament, we ambled over to historic Westminster Abbey, which most recently made headlines worldwide for serving as the site of Prince William and Catherine Middleton's royal wedding. Talk about VIP!

The church isn't just an up-and-comer on the celeb scene. It has a long history of being the stomping ground for celebrations and mournings of national and global proportions.





 Westminster Abbey has been the coronation site for England's kings and queens since 1066, and historians consider it as one of the greatest churches in the English-speaking world. The abbey contains 3,000 tombs, including the remains of 29 kings and queens. We visited many of the tombs inside the church, including the tombs of Queen Elizabeth I and her sister Mary Queen of Scots. Also, the tombs of the two princes murdered in the Tower of London were buried in the same chapel as Queen Elizabeth I.



Snoops had a great time exploring the tombs and memorials to some of the greatest writers in Poet's Corner, a section of the abbey designated for literary folk. Some of the writers he had studied in college years were buried at the abbey. We saw the memorials and tombs for William Shakespeare, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, and Rudyard Kipling just to name a few.

Text on the outer wall of Westminster Abbey

"May God grant to the living, 

Grace to the departed, 

Rest to the church & the world,

Peace and concord

and to us sinners

Eternal Life" was found carved into the exterior of the abbey.

 I remember walking into the abbey for the first time and feeling so small. The floors were the typical checkered black and white and just on the inside began the memorials and tombs. The nave is flanked by side aisles which contain rows of smaller, themed chapels. The chapels sometimes were very crowded with the tombs and it was hard to believe that sometimes I was stepping on grave sites.

Inside, near the western entrance contained the tomb of the unknown warrior. The warrior was brought from France in November 1920 to be buried "with the kings because he had done good to God and toward his house." The Queen herself laid a wreath of red flowers around the grave.

Archway over the northern entrance to Westminster Abbey

After we completed our audio guided tour of Westminster Abbey, we crossed the busy streets over to visit Whitehall. Whitehall is the main artery of Britain. It's a road running north-south from Parliament Square towards Charing Cross to the southern end of Trafalgar Square. It is recognized as the center of British Government and is the access point for 13 of its top federal authorities. British authorities found on Whitehall include the Ministry of Defence, the formal Scotland Yard building, HM Revenue and Customs, Department of Health and the Cabinet Offices.

 Right in the middle of Whitehall is the semi-obelisk honoring those lost in World War I and II. The actual war monument is the tomb atop the obelisk, which is without markings except for "The Glorious Dead."

Going through history in school, we had learned about the world wars, but since the United States has (thankfully) never had to fight a war of the same magnitude on home soil the world wars always seemed so far away. We found London and Paris had not yet completely recovered from the two world wars.

The tomb for "The Glorious Dead" is empty and remains so as a symbol for those who went to battle only to never return.

While walking down Whitehall, we came across a heavily guarded gate. This is the residence of the Prime Minister. Of course, he wasn't outside greeting the tourists, but the officers seemed to work with the tourists by allowing photographs. To be honest, I am not sure which window was his. Snoops pointed and I snapped.

Royal Blue - Standing Guard

We continued down where we found the Royal Blues standard guard at the back entrance to the St. James Park of Buckingham Palace. The guards have stood here for over 200 years and they are considered the Queen's royal bodyguards.

I felt so bad for the poor guards. The had to sit like this while onlookers made silly faces and posed for the cameras. The horses didn't seem amused either. Even though I felt bad for all of the guys having to have their picture taken, I still took one of them and of the horses.

Horse of a Royal Blue

 As mentioned before, we walked south along Whitehall toward Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square was teeming with locals and tourists, like a giant playground for everyone. At the center of the square is a 170 foot-tall Corinthian column adorned with a statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson.

At the corners of the column's base were four huggable lions. From a distance, we could see kids and adults posing for pictures atop the lions, so I was excited to get my own picture with one of the big guys. But as we inched closer to the kings of the jungle, I discovered how big they really were. I had to scale a six-foot-tall marble wall just to reach the base the lions were perched upon, and that's not easy for someone of my size. Snoops was able to help me climb the wall, but the top of the lions' rear ends were six feet above that. Kids were able to reach the lions back with the help of their parents. Despite Snoops' encouragement, I didn't get my picture.

Lion at Trafalgar Square

 Across the square from the column was the British National Gallery. So many people had packed its entryway that Snoops and I became concerned about a chaotic environment similar to the British Museum.

National Gallery

 While standing in Trafalgar Square, Snoopy had a sparkle in his eye about the thought of visiting Emirates Stadium, the home of his favorite football team - Arsenal. When I refer to football here, it is soccer, but since we were in England and they refer to it as football, it is football here. There was no way that I could deny Snoops his chance to tour the stadium, so we hopped into the nearest London Underground station bound for Islington.

Box Office at Emirates Stadium

Emirates Stadium

 We left the Islington stop and strolled through the very diverse neighborhood bound for Emirates Stadium. There weren't as many tourists on this route so it was different seeing the true England and Londoners about their daily lives. As we turned our last corner, Emirates Stadium showed itself between the buildings in the distance in its red glory. I do not get to see Snoopy so excited often, so I was thrilled to be with him while he explored something he loved.

Emirates Stadium

We took a guided tour with about 15 other Gunners fans. We began in the visitors owner's box, where we had an amazing view of the stadium. Emirates is the new stadium that in 2006 replaced its much-loved predecessor, Highbury. In the box, the leaders of the visiting team are greeted unlimited alcohol and flowers bearing the colors of their squad. If Chelsea were  to visit, then the flowers would be blue. If Manchester United were to visit, the flowers would be red and white.

Tunnel on to the pitch

Next, we moved down into the players locker room, where the players prepare for the upcoming match. The players in the home side get luxuries, including rubber floors to prevent slipping, hot tubs and showers. The room itself is designed to fit to Feng Shui standards in an attempt to bring the best of luck to the players.

After the players are ready, they make their way through the tunnel onto the pitch. It reminded me of walking through the tunnel at Rice Stadium before a band competition.

Pitch under false sunlight

The pitch is what Americans call the field. They take extremely good care of the pitch, not only to keep the ball rolling properly but also to protect the players who cannot have the extra stability of taped ankles. The pitch has a mixture of a fake turf sewn into the sod to prevent divots and destruction. They can play several games a week without any damage to the pitch.




Since England does not get as much sun as Houston, they have false light machines that roll over the field to provide the sunlight required for growth.

At the top of Emirates is a replica of the famed Highbury clock. Snoops was fascinated by this because he thought at first it was the same clock that was at Highbury. When he asked the tour guide, she claimed that the original clock was so small it appeared like a wrist watch so they made a replica for Emirates.

Seats for Arsenal Players

 We were sad to leave Emirates, but it was a worthwhile trip to Islington. I am very happy that Snoopy got to see it first hand.

We made our way back into central London and walked London's east end, where we found some dinner. We ended up stopping in an old pub and restaurant where we tried true England beer. I learned here that I actually do like beer, I just like the beer that probably cannot be found in the United States.

Tower Bridge

After dinner, we continued our Thames River walk where I snapped some lovely pictures of bridges that stretch over the mighty river.

Snoopy said that I was obsessed with the Tower Bridge. How could I not be? It looks so neat and takes wonderful pictures. Tower Bridge looked old but it was completed in 1894 so it is not as old as it looks.

London Bridge

London Bridge is consistently confused with Tower Bridge. London Bridge has a history beginning with the first rendition in 55 AD. It was the only bridge to cross the Thames until 1729. The London Bridge is also where the heads of the recently executed were placed as a warning to others not to commit treason. London Bridge has been re-built many times with the most recent being completed in 1973.




One of the last pictures that I snapped from the other side of the Thames River was of the great St. Paul's Cathedral at night time. I later found it to be one of my favorite churches in London.

St. Paul's Cathedral