We slept well in our new room, and were up early. Enjoyed the generous buffet breakfast and planned out our day, before heading to the nearest underground station. A very nice attendant helped us decide to buy Oyster cards for travel on public transit and also figure out how to get to our first stop -- the London Museum. It was a long underground ride, with one change of line, but we got there without problem. It's a nice museum, but not as interesting as I remembered from 1990.
From there we walked to St. Paul's Cathedral, where we only spent about 45 minutes, but it is so not to be missed There was even a very brief worship time -- a lovely few minutes of peace and contemplation in a beautiful space. We navigated back to and on the underground to Victoria Station, then walked to the Royal Mews. Luckily, we still had 20 minutes to grab lunch across the street before our tour.
What an interesting place. So many state coaches, carriages and cars, so much information about horses and the people who care for them. Then on to a tour of the public areas of Buckingham Palace. It's not open to the public most of the time, so it was exciting to see and hear about these lovely rooms, with so much history. There were 2 special exhibits, curated by Prince Charles -- his favourites from the Royal Collection and selections from artists of the art schools he's founded and for which he's patron. Both fascinating displays. Somehow we got separated as we made our way through the various rooms, and by the time I reached the end, Larry had been waiting for 30 minutes.
We were both beginning to wonder where the heck the other was. Leaving the Palace, we caught a bus back to Victoria Station and the Underground to Westminster Pier, where we boarded a tour boat to Greenwich. Very interesting to see London from the river and hear much of the history. I was curious to see the Docklands and Canary Wharf areas, since they figure in so many books I've read.
And I noticed the Poplar Rowing Club -- in fact they were out rowing -- and wondered if that was the area where Call the Midwife is set. We're getting pretty good at Underground navigation, so got to our hotel with no problem, had dinner in the hotel pub and now are getting organized to set out in the morning on the bus tour.
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