England Diaries - Part IV

On Thursday we slept in as Westminster Abbey didn't open until 9:30.  Worth noting is that this was our 5th day in England and our first day of waking up to full sun.

Westminster Abbey was one of my favorite sites of the entire trip although it's much more like a tomb than a church. I stood entranced in front of the tomb of Elizabeth I ("Right there!" I kept thinking. "She's buried right there.") and also of her half-sister Mary.

I learned Westminster Abbey has no bathroom open to the public, got directions to a public toilet a block away, ran in dire need to the toilet only to discover public toilets in England require you pay 50p to enter. Back I raced to Blair, hopping up and down on one leg as I scrambled for money, then raced back. Live and learn.

We went to Covenant Garden for lunch and then to the British Museum but we were all tired by then and really just not into it.  

Mom was ready for a nap so we dropped her off and then in 2 hours, Blair and I managed to see Picadilly Circus, Leister Square, Trafalgar Square, and Hyde Park. We moved.

Hyde Park is this big, green beautiful park with wide paths for running. They also have paddleboats. There were only 2 boats out on the water which should have clued us in, but we're not that bright. We took a boat out and were immediately hit by winds. Plus, we had Rudder trouble and could only go backwards. I have no idea why. There was a skinny guy alone in his paddleboat, kicking our ass. It was embarrassing.

We meandered around for about 20 minutes and finally managed to go forward and put some distance between us and the return area. When we headed for shore I was exhausted.  Throbbing thigh muscles, thirsty, bedraggled. I'm slogging along on the peddles, begging Blair for a rest. But he's aiming the boat at the shore and shouting "Ramming speed!" as he peddles furiously for the dock. He does make me laugh. 

Tomorrow: How we almost missed our train to Scotland.