28 June 2011 – London to Amsterdam to Vancouver to Kamloops (Tuesday)

We got up at 5 am London time to get packed, organized and over to the airport shuttle by 6:20.  Our flight did not leave until 10 but we just did not wish to put ourselves into stress mode so more time is better than little time.  As it turned out we arrived in Heathrow terminal 5 and caught the airport shuttle from terminal 5 to terminal 4.  We got all the paperwork completed, cleared security and ready for our breakfast by 7:30.

Breakfast at the airport was a disappointment.  We decided go to a sitdown even though the prices were more than we would normally consider for breakfast but it would be a long day, so a good start was worth the price.  The price was half again what I expected to pay and the food was half less than expected.  I had eggs with bacon and toast – cost: 7.95 euro or $14 Canadian – meal: 2 eggs scrambled, 1 small piece of bacon and 2 thinly sliced toasted bread.  I had to ask for jam to get any put on the table.   Oh and coffee was 2.10 euro on top of that ($3.50) and no refills.

We got on the plane to learn that 3 people had not reported for the plane so we were delayed while their luggage was removed.  This took 25 minutes to be done since the luggage handlers were busy loading another flight.  We have a connection in Amsterdam and the change over time is only 1 hour so I was concerned that we would not meet our connection with this delay and being informed that there were thunder showers over France so we would be changing the flight plan to avoid.  However, we were in Amsterdam with only 15 minute late arrivals so I guess they put the gas on to make up time.

We arrived at the airport in Amsterdam to discover that we had to go through security again complete with the new full body scanner.  Ok, all is well and we get seated in the plane prepared for our 9 hour flight to Vancouver.  We are both a bit tired already since it is about 1 pm London time and we have already been on the go for 8 hours.

We had seats in the center of the plane where there are three seats across.  This means that Wes and I can get in and out without disturbing anyone else.  I sat in the center beside a really nice young fellow from Vancouver who had been in Spain for the past month working on a filming production.  We had a great time chatting about a whole range of topics about work, life and families.  Adam’s other job, outside of the film industry, is a waiter at Monk McQueen’s and we may have to visit there next time in the city.

Since wine and beer is free flowing in the plane it was tough not to over indulge a bit.  I was fine with 3 glasses of red wine but when they brought out the cognac “to help us sleep” I had to give that a try.  Yep it did help with the sleep (no I was feeling really good but was not drunk).  I slept for a couple of hours which was my goal so I can try to stay up a bit later tonight and get back on track time wise.  Wes did not sleep at all and will be ready for bed when we get home. 

Meals on the plane were very interesting since it seemed we got two ‘dinners’.  The lunch after we took off was really a dinner sized meal.  Then near the end of the flight they came around again and served another similar meal.  I just woke up when they served the second meal and really was not ready for another meal.  Sitting around all day does not cause much of an appetite.

We arrived in Vancouver right on schedule and headed off to pick up our luggage.  As we stood waiting at the luggage carousel Wes is called for a message.  Apparently his luggage did not make the plane in Amsterdam and is taking an extended holiday.  They will be sending it to Kamloops when it arrives in the next couple of days.  My luggage arrived, but of course most of the gifts we purchased for souvenirs are in his luggage.   This is a bit disappointing, but considering all the travel we have been doing this past year we have only had this one incident with luggage.  And more importantly, it is not lost but only on an extended holiday with guardians on hand.

We arrived into Kamloops at 7 pm as scheduled and took the taxi home.  The strata was having its annual pot luck dinner in front of our place so we had a very nice greeting.  Consequently when we got home we ended up sitting outside and enjoying visiting with our neighbours.  We also had the benefit of being given dinner.  

By the time we came into the house around 8:30 we were exhausted.  We figured that by now we had been up for more than 24 hours but if we wanted to get re-oriented to this time zone we wanted to stay up until 10 at least, which we managed but just barely.  Thus ends our final stage of this year of travel.  What a great experience it has been and we have learned so much and seen so much – but also realized how much more there is to be seen.  Another trip will have to be considered for the future.

27 June 2011 – London (Monday)

This was our last day in London and tomorrow we are winging our way home.  So we had checked the weather and noted that it was going to be a sunny and hot day, so we decided a trip to Oxford might be in order.  After all, if we went to Oxford we could check out the university and visit the dining room used in the Harry Potter films.  However, when we learned that the cost to get there return was going to be 72 pounds we scrapped that entire plan and headed back into London.

We took the metro to the Covent Gardens and looked for the Royal Opera House which from the outside was not all that impressive.  From there we decided to walk through the market square around the corner.  It really felt like a flea market with lots of ‘used’ jewellery and other silver/brass items for sale.  I am sure they were basically antique valued but since all we were interested in was walking through nothing interested us enough to buy.  

We then headed off to St. Paul’s metro stop to head over to the Millenium Bridge.  When we first arrived from the metro station it took us a bit of time to walk around to get our bearings.  We knew where we wanted to go, but it took a bit of time to sort out which direction to start out. 

The Millennium Bridge, officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge, is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames in London linking Bankside with the City.   When crossing the bridge you get a fantastic view of St Paul’s dome framed between two buildings with the causeway opened between.  Construction of the bridge began in 1998, with the opening on 10 June 2000.

Londoners nicknamed the bridge the "Wobbly Bridge" after participants in a charity walk on behalf of Save the Children to open the bridge felt an unexpected, and, for some, uncomfortable, swaying motion on the first two days after the bridge opened.  The bridge was closed later that day, and after two days of limited access the bridge was closed for almost two years while modifications were made to eliminate the wobble entirely.  It was reopened in 2002.  The southern end of the bridge is near Globe Theatre, the Bankside Gallery and Tate Modern Gallery, which is where we were heading.  

Our first stop was to head to the Globe Theatre.  The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare and is sometimes called Shakespeare’s Theatre.   The original was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613.   A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and closed in 1642 and was demolished by 1644.   A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named "Shakespeare's Globe", opened in 1997 approximately 230 metres (750 ft) from the site of the original theatre using the closest original construction methods and designed as close as possible to what is believed to be the original design.  What was really interesting was the thatched roof since it is the only thatched roof in London (after the great fire in London in the 1600’s thatched roofs was banned in London.)

We headed into the museum first while we waited for the tour to start.  The museum had models of the buildings, biographies of Shakespeare and lots of exhibits pertaining to the staging of plays during the Elizabethan era.  This included costumes, stage props and tools/instruments used during the production.

When we got the call to join the tour we headed to explore the inside of the theatre itself.  We had a tour guide who gave us the history of the building, explained the different areas of the stage and seating area.  Since the plays that are put on here are following the style of Elizabethan theatre with an open center which provides all the lights.  We learned about the staging, the trap door and the ceiling door where devils and angels enter and leave.  After we finished exploring the theatre itself and completed the tour we returned to the museum to finish out explorations there.

After completing our time at the Globe Theatre we headed over to the Tate Modern Gallery which is next door. 

Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London.  It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group.  It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year.  It is based in the former Bankside Power Station, in the Bankside area of Central London.  The Bankside Power Station is a former oil-fired power station.  It generated electricity from 1952 to 1981. 

When the gallery opened in 2000, the collections were not displayed in chronological order but were rather arranged thematically into four broad groups: 'History/Memory/Society'; 'Nude/Action/Body'; 'Landscape/Matter/Environment'; and 'Still Life/Object/Real Life'.  We started by heading to the first level 3 which has the Collection Displays  Material Gestures (This focuses on abstraction, expressionism and abstract expressionism, featuring work by Claude Monet, Anish Kapoor, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, Henri Matisse and Tacita Dean) and  Poetry and Dream (This features a large central room dedicated to Surrealism while the surrounding rooms feature works by artists influenced by Surrealism and its methods). 

From the level 3 we headed up to Level 5.  On this level we studied the collections categories of Energy and Process (This focuses on Arte Povera, with work by artists such as Alighiero Boetti, Jannis Kounellis, Kasimir Malevich, Ana Mendieta, Mario Merz and Jenny Holzer.) and  States of Flux (This focuses on Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism and Pop Art, containing work by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and the photographer Eugène Atget.)

Once again I am not going to try to describe all the exhibits we saw but since it is mostly modern abstract art I am comfortable in saying – I did not get most of it.  There were two that really caught out attention – the cone shaped pile of sunflower seeds.  This was a large pile in the middle of the floor and it looked like a large pile of seeds.  What was amazing was to read that it really was life sized seeds made individually from ceramic and individually painted making each one unique.

The second exhibit that impressed us was the suspended floor from the ceiling so we are looking up to the underside of the floor.  There is a stairwell that drops down to a lower floor (still well above our heads).  The exhibit is made from light weight red nylon stretched over stainless steel rods.  The detail included each step but also the electrical box for the light switches on the ‘wall of the stairwell’. 

Having said those that impressed us, there were many that we really did not manage to make any sense from and were not sure of the “message in the art” but really it was not our preferred art presentation.  By the way, the artwork covered many different artists and eras including some Monet’s.

We left the Tate Modern Gallery to head for home since we both are feeling tired.  We had talked about going over to the Tower Bridge to walk across the top which would have been nice.  However, we are both tired and know that the views from the upper level would not give us anything new or better than we got from the London Eye.  We skipped this and headed back to the hotel.

Tomorrow morning we are up very early to ensure we get to the airport on time to catch our flight homeward.  It will be a long day and we will be dealing with jet lag when we get home due to the change of time zones, but it has to be done.

26 June 2011 – London to Cotswold area (Sunday)

Today we have a tour booked and have arranged to be picked up at the Paddington Hilton at 7:45.  Since we know it takes about 30 minutes to get to Paddington from the hotel, we decided to have a 6:20 breakfast, catch the 7 pm train and have some extra time ‘just in case’.  So we headed down for breakfast to learn that today being Sunday they are not serving until 8.  We figure ok, we will grab something at Paddington Station and head off immediately so we have some extra time there.  We arrive at the train station and wait – wait – wait and wait some more.  While we wait we are told that the train will arrive on a different platform than normal.  Good to know so we adjust.  The train ends up being about 35 minutes late arriving so we are getting a bit concerned.  We end up heading off on the train at the original time we had planned to do so which means we arrived at Paddington Station with about 10 minutes to spare for breakfast.  We grab a breakfast sandwich and take it to the meeting place to eat.  I am thinking this is not starting so great, but from this point on the day only got better and better.

Bibury is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England.  The artist and craftsman William Morris called Bibury "the most beautiful village in England" when he visited it. The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary is Saxon with alter additions.   From AD 1130 until the English Reformation it was a peculier of Osney Abbey in Oxford.  (Sorry no picture taken since we only stopped for about 10 minutes for Arlington Row pictures.) 

Arlington Row is a row of honey-coloured 17th century stone cottages with steeply pitched roofs which once housed weavers who supplied cloth for the nearby Arlington Mill.   The River Coln flows alongside the main street.  Its water supplies the trout farm, where up to ten million rainbow trout can be spawned yearly, but usually around one to two million are spawned.

After taking our pictures we got back on the bus to travel to our next destination.

Bourton-on-the-Water is a large village in Gloucestershire in the Cotswolds area.  It is known as the 'Venice of the Cotswolds' because of the bridge-spanned stream that runs through the village.  Bourton is still considered a village despite harbouring approximately 4,000 inhabitants.  We arrived to sunny skies and the heat of the day starting to be felt.  We so enjoyed walking along the paths beside the narrow stream which has bricked edges and a shallow water depth.  The kids were having great time wadding in the water which was no more than 6 to 8 inches thick.  We also found the gift shops appealing as we were looking for gifts to take home, and found them along the streets here.   The hour we had to spend checking out this village went really fast and we soon headed back to the bus to move on to Burford.

The history of Burford in the cotswold began in the middle Saxon period with the founding of a village near the site of the modern priory building.  This settlement continued in use until just after the Norman conquest when the new town of Burford was built.  On the site of the old village a hospital was founded which remained open until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.  The modern priory building was constructed some 40 years later around 1580.

Between the 14th century and the 17th century Burford was important for its wool.  The town centre features some houses from the 15th century which are still inhabited today.  Its most notable building, however, is the Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist, which is known for its merchants' guild chapel, memorial to Henry VIII's barber-surgeon, Edmund Harman, featuring South American Indians, and Kempe stained glass.  

We arrived to a very busy village with the main street of the town packed with people and vehicles.  Our tour included having lunch at a local pub providing a selection of ‘authentic British pub food’.  However as we arrived at “The Mermaid” pub we were seated in the upstairs floor.  What is interesting is that the beams were so low that we all (yes even me) have to watch our head as we moved around.  The food was excellent.  We had scheduled an hour in the village and with eating lunch we did not have much time to scout around town, but other than the church, everything to be seen could be seen on that very busy main street – it was a village after all.  Then back onto the bus to head through the Cotswold country to find the Blenheim Palace.

I just want to comment about the Cotswold countryside which has a rich history .  The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the "Heart of England", an area 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (145 km) long.  The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  The highest point in the Cotswolds range is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m).  The name Cotswold is sometimes attributed the meaning "sheep enclosure in rolling hillsides", incorporating the term "wold" meaning hills.  The area is characterised by attractive small towns and villages built of the underlying Cotswold stone (a yellow oolitic limestone).  In the Middle Ages the wool trade made the Cotswolds prosperous.  Some of this money was put into the building of churches so the area has a number of large handsome Cotswold stone "wool churches".  The area remains affluent and has attracted wealthy people who own second homes in the area or have chosen to retire there.  As we drove through the countryside we enjoyed views of quaint Cotswold Cottages which have remained unchanged externally for hundreds of years.  There were examples of thatched roofs, slate roofs and tiled roofs recognizing the variety of different methods of waterproofing the houses.

Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, and the residence of the dukes of Marlborough.  It is the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace.  The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and circa 1724.

Its construction was originally intended to be a gift to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough from a grateful nation in return for military triumph against the French and Bavarians at the Battle of Blenheim.   Designed in the rare, and short-lived, English Baroque style, architectural appreciation of the palace is as divided today as it was in the 1720s.  Today it is unique in its combined usage as a family home for the current Duke of Marlborough, mausoleum and national monument. The palace is also notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.  There was several rooms dedicated to his memory with exhibits of his paintings, letters and books. 

Following the palace's completion, it became the home of the Churchill family for the following 300 years, and various members of the family have in that period wrought various changes, in the interiors, park and gardens.  At the end of the 19th century, the palace and the Churchills were saved from ruin by an American marriage.  Thus, the exterior of the palace remains in good repair and exactly as completed.    We walked through the Winston Churchill memorial to walk through the State Apartments and exhibits.  Although these rooms have survived so many years intact they are not the most spectacular palace rooms we have visited.  However, for a private home the tapestries, the incredible gold leafed ceiling carvings and period furniture and fixtures are impressive.

We left the inside of the palace to walk around the gardens.   We walked out to the gardens with the fountains, sculptured shrubs and statutes.  Beyond the gardens from the terrace you can see a river which is created by a dam. The lawns are extensive and there are several different gardens on the property, for example the Secret Garden, The Italian Garden, the Marlborough Maze, and the Rose Gardens.  On the property is the Blenheim Dam and Cascade Pumphouse.  The Vanbrugh’s Grand Bridge crosses the Queen Pool and leads to more lawns and trees.  We walked around the gardens for a bit and then sat under a large shade tree to watch a bit of cricket being played.  We asked a gentleman sitting on a bench to explain a bit of the game so we are slowly learning about this extremely popular game.

We finished by having a closer look at the Italian Garden with the sculptured shrubs which looked like ducks in a pond of water.   However, the garden was closed to visitors since there was a wedding going on who had the gardens for their private function.

As we left the palace we were greeted by a small band walking towards the front gates being followed by a open horse drawn carriage.  The wedding party was arriving for the wedding so we were able to watch the procession go by.

Our day ended when we returned to London and was dropped off by the Lancaster Gates close to Paddington Station.  Our tour guide had suggested that if we wanted a good Sunday British dinner we should go to “The Swan” and have the Carvery of traditional Sunday Roast with Yorkshire pudding.  

The Swan in Bayswater is one of London's most famous pubs, a landmark, and the only pub overlooking Kensington Gardens.  Built in the early 1600s, it underwent a massive refurbishment in 2006 following a flood.  The traditional feel has been retained, with an island bar and leather padded seating.  History has it that prisoners were brought here for a final drink before being taken to the hanging tree at Marble Arch!  Hence the origin of the sayings 'one for the road' which is the last drink ever and 'on the wagon' which refers to being taken away for the last time! 

We finished the day by heading back to the hotel arriving at 8 pm so it really was a long day, but a very enjoyable one.

25 June 2011 – London (Saturday)

Today is Saturday and we have to check out a few things regarding Sunday and Tuesday.  First on Tuesday we are taking a shuttle bus from the hotel next door, but we need to check out times etc.   On our way to the National Gallery we also located the pickup place for our tour on Sunday.

The National Gallery is an art gallery on Trafalgar Square.  Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.  Since the collection is deemed to be owned by all citizens of the United Kingdom, there is no entry fee.  I will not attempt to describe all the paintings that we saw on our tour but will just put some samples of the 4 major categories housed in the more than 50 rooms.  I should point out that the paintings here are from the internet since cameras are not permited in the gallery.  What I did was select 4 paintings from each category that I then looked up on the internet to add to the blog.

The first grouping (category) is the 13^th to 15^th Century Paintings with works by duccio, Uccelo, van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli, Durer, Memling, and Bellini. 

The second grouping was the 16^th Century Paintings with works by Leonardo, Cranach, michelangelo, Raphael, Holbein, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titian and Veronese.

The third grouping was 17^th Century Paintings with works by Caravaggio, Ruebens, Poussin, Van Dyke, Velazquez, Claude, Rembrandt, Cuyp and Vermeer.

The third grouping was 18^th to Early 20^th Century Paintings with works by Canaletto, goya, Turner, constable, ingres, Degas, Cezanne, Monet and Van Gogh.

It took us about 2 ½ hours to just work our way through the collections and I am sure we missed a bit as well.  However, by the time we finished the four groups it was getting mid afternoon, so we stepped back outside to sit on the steps of Traflgar Square to eat our late lunch.  As we sat there we noticed that a platform/stage was being set up and realized that there was going to be a rally of some sort.  Just as we finished in marched a large number of teenagers. 

This is going to be a Christian Youth Rally complete with music, dancing and encouragements for the Christains and potentials.  We listened to a couple of songs (actually very well done) but headed back into the National Gallery to check out the temporary exhibits in the lower level.  However we had to get to the theatre for our tickets by 2:30 so we only have about 15 minutes in these exhibits.

We headed off to find the theatre for the Jersey Boys presentation which was only about 10 minute walk from Trafalgar Square.  The musical play started at 3 and kept us entertained for 2 ½ hours.  Although we knew of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons we really did not know much of the history behind the band and the men.  I am not sure how close to reality the play was written, but it did create a very compelling biographical story.  I suspect they have stayed very close to reality within common sense.

We stayed downtown in the SOHO district (the noted gay area) for dinner.  After dinner we walked around the streets which were getting very crowded.  Apparently Saturday nights are the big party nights down here and may of the parties do not start until 11 or later but last until 5 am or later.  We obviously did not plan on staying out that late but after walking around for a bit we did stop at a pub for a drink just to soak in the atmosphere.  We got home at a reasonable hour.  Tomorrow we get up early to do the tour. 

24 June 2011 – London – Hampton Court (Friday)

Today we have decided to take the train out to Hampton Court Palace.  This involves going to Paddington Station and transferring to the Hampton Court train.

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.  It has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century.   It was originally built for Cardinal Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII, circa 1514; in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the palace was passed to the King, who enlarged it.  

The following century, William III's massive rebuilding and expansion project intended to rival Versailles was begun.  Work halted in 1694, leaving the palace in two distinct contrasting architectural styles, domestic Tudor and Baroque.  While the palace's styles are an accident of fate, a unity exists due to the use of pink bricks and a symmetrical, albeit vague, balancing of successive low wings.  Along with St. James's Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by Henry VIII.

In fact the touring of the palace is done in several stages.  The first we toured was Henry VIII’s Apartments.   The first room we visited was the Great Hall which is the palace's largest and most impressive room, with an ornate carved-wood ceiling and a collection of Flemish tapestries that date back to the 1540s.  The tapestries, each of which is said to have cost the equivalent of a modern-day battleship, are maintained by a world-renowned Textile Conservation Studio on the palace grounds.  There are several other impressive rooms we toured as well including the Chapel Royal, where Henry VIII worshipped, which is still a consecrated Anglican church.  While we were touring we were entertained with a short drama about Henry’s wedding to Anne of Cleve.  Threaded through the tour of the State Apartments was a history of Henry VIII and his wives.

Next we toured Henry VIII’s kitchens.  In the Tudor Kitchens of Hampton Court Palace, which are reconstructed kitchens, once occupied 50 rooms of the palace, a team of "experimental archaeologists" study everyday palace life in Henry VIII's time by cooking, eating, and working with implements and techniques from the 1500s.  They even make their own clothes, which they wear both on the job and in their living quarters within the palace.

Our next tour was Young Henry VIII’s story.   We walked through several rooms where Henry VIII’s early life story was told.  The story was often written on the back of straight back chairs (modern) and arranged to ensure the sequence was clear. 

Williams III apartments were next on our list to tour where we toured several rooms with period furniture.  Such rooms included the King’s Guard room, the Privy Chamber, the Great Bed Chamber and the long narrow room called the Lower Orangery.

Our next tour was the Mary II’s Apartments.  Again we toured the rooms in the same way a visitor might expect to see the rooms in Queen Mary’s day.  We visited the rooms in the following order: the Queen’s Guard Chamber, the Queens Presence Chamber, the Public Dining Room, the Queen’s Drawing Room and ended in the Queen’s Gallery.

We next travelled through the Georgian Private Apartments and I am trying to remember something about these apartments.  Unfortunately they did not impress me much even though we did walk through the Cartoon Gallery (The original meaning was in fine art where it referred to a preparatory drawing for a piece of art, such as a painting or tapestry) and the Communications Gallery and finally the Wolsey Closet.  The "Wolsey Closet" is a room containing many original Tudor pieces from other parts of the palace. 

We finished our tour of Hampton Court by heading out to the Palace Gardens.  However by this time it is starting to get late so we do not spend too much time looking at the gardens or fountains but instead head over to the Maze.  We of course had to find our way in and then out of the maze which is always a bit of fun. 

By the time we got back to our hotel area it was after 5 pm so even though we wanted to have a shorter and easier day, we managed to fill the day up.

23 June 2011 – London (Thursday)

Today we planned to have a shorter day than yesterday since we both woke up a bit tired.  We checked the weather report and decided that it was a good day to check out some of the gardens in London so headed downtown to start with Kensington Gardens.  The open spaces of Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park and St. James's Park together form an almost continuous "green lung" in the heart of London between Kensington and Westminster.

Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park.   Kensington Gardens was carved out of the western section of Hyde Park and features include the Round Pond, formal avenues and a sunken Dutch garden.   The part of the Serpentine that lies within Kensington Gardens is known as "The Long Water".   At its north-western end (originally the inflow of the River Westbourne) in an area known as "The Italian Garden", there are four fountains and a number of classical sculptures.   Three other interesting features at the park that we visited included the statute called “Physical Energy”, The Albert Memorial, and the Statue of Peter Pan. 

We entered the garden at the northern entrance and walked through towards Kensington Palace which is not open right now due to renovations.  We had a great view of the Palace from in front of the Round Pond filled with a variety of birds.

While we walked around the Albert Memorial, noting the four corner statues representing different areas of the English Relm, we looked across the road to the Royal Albert Hall.  The Royal Albert Hall was built to fulfil the vision of Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's consort) of a 'Central Hall' that would be used to promote understanding and appreciation of the Arts and Sciences and would stand at the heart of the South Kensington estate, surrounded by museums and places of learning.

We then crossed the Ring Road to the Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park.  I was expecting to find a fountain with water shooting upward and then falling into a pond, but instead we found something very different, a circular water feature with water flow from the chalk well 100 feet below that is pumped to the top edge of the circular water course flowing downward in both directions.  The fountain was built with the best materials, talent and technology.  It contains 545 pieces of Cornish granite - each shaped by the latest computer-controlled machinery and pieced together using traditional skills.  The design aims to reflect Diana's life, water flows from the highest point in two directions as it cascades, swirls and bubbles before meeting in a calm pool at the bottom.

We are now officially in Hyde Park.  Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London and is one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.  The park is divided in two by the Serpentine.  The park is contiguous with Kensington Gardens; although often still assumed to be part of Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens has been technically separate since 1728, when Queen Caroline made a division between the two.  Hyde Park covers 142 hectares (350 acres) and Kensington Gardens covers 111 hectares (275 acres), giving an overall area of 253 hectares (625 acres), making the combined area larger than the Principality of Monaco (196 ha/484 acres), though smaller than New York City's Central Park (341 ha/843 acres). 

As we walked on from this fountain we stopped for a coffee at the Lido by the Serpentine in Hyde Park.  Here we could sit in the sun and enjoy the views of birds on the water, some row boats and a swimmer section with someone swimming (I am thinking it not warm enough but he was not looking too blue).  Across on the other side of the pond you could see many individuals walking, biking and horseback riding (there is a bridle path in Hyde Park).  This is a very tranquil place to relax with a cup of coffee.

We continued along the path beside the pond walking when we happen to notice a couple of riders on the bridal path beside us enjoying a nice trot.  As we watched them go by we noticed a troop of palace guards on horseback riding down the street in full ceremonial dress.  I was too far away to get a great shot, but was able to zoom in on a couple of the riders through the trees.

As we continued to walk through Hyde Gardens we noticed the Flower Garden so decided to walk through that area.  This really is a typical English Garden with lots of blooms and the flower beds literally full of green plants all growing in an appearance of a ‘natural’ planting.

In 1536, Henry VIII acquired the manor of Hyde from the canons of Westminster Abbey and enclosed it as a deer park. Charles I created the Ring (north of the present Serpentine boathouses), and in 1637 he opened the park to the general public. 

In 1689, when William III moved his habitation to Kensington Palace on the far side of Hyde Park, he had a drive laid out across its south edge, formerly known as "The King's Private Road", which still exists as a wide straight gravelled carriage track leading west from Hyde Park Corner across the south boundary of Hyde Park towards Kensington Palace.  The drive is now known as Rotten Row, possibly a corruption of rotteran (to muster), Ratten Row (roundabout way), Route du roi or rotten (the soft material with which the road is covered).   Public transport entering London from the west paralleled the King's private road along Kensington Gore, just outside the park.  In the late 1800s, the row was used by the wealthy for horseback rides.

We left Hyde Park to cross the road to Green Park.  To do this we walked through The Wellington Arch into Green Park.   Wellington Arch, also known as Constitution Arch or (originally) the Green Park Arch, is a triumphal arch located to the south of Hyde Park and at the north western corner of Green Park (although it is now isolated on a traffic island).  The arch, and Marble Arch to the north of Hyde Park, were both planned in 1825 by George IV to commemorate Britain's victories in the Napoleonic Wars. The Wellington Arch was also conceived as an outer gateway to Constitution Hill and therefore a grand entrance into central London from the west.  The presence of a turnpike gate at this point had led, in the 18th century, to a strong perception that this was the beginning of London and the arch was intended to reflect the importance of the position.  In 1846 the arch was selected as a location for a statue of Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, soldier and Prime Minister. The Wellington Statue by Matthew Cotes Wyatt which eventually crowned the arch was 8.5m high, the largest equestrian figure ever made.

I was impressed with the street lights here which had lights for vehicles, pedestrians, bikes AND horses.  I am not sure if the horses are trained for lights.

Green Park is one of the Royal Parks of London.   Covering 19 hectares (47 acres),[1] it lies between London's Hyde Park and St. James's Park.   By contrast with its neighbours, Green Park has no lakes, no buildings and few monuments, having only the Canada Memorial near the Canada Gates and the Constance Fund Fountain. The park consists entirely of wooded meadows.  As we were walking through the park, which is across the street from Buckingham Palace, we heard a marching band playing and realized that we were missing the changing of the guards.  Unfortunately we were too far away to get any pictures and there was no way for us to get there in time to watch.

We walked through Green Park to exit and walk over to St James’s Palace.  St James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces.  It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park.  Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK.  For this reason it gives its name to the Royal Court (the "Court of St James's").   It became the principal residence of the monarch in London in 1698, during the reign of William III and Mary II after Whitehall Palace was destroyed by fire, and became the administrative centre of the monarchy, a role it retains.  George III had purchased Buckingham House – the predecessor to Buckingham Palace – for his queen back in 1762, and St James's continued to decline in importance in the first half of the 19th century. 

After looking at the outside of St James’s Palace (which did not really impress us other than the Palace Guards on duty) we decided to walk down the “Mall”.  The Mall in central London is the road running from Buckingham Palace at its western end to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square at its eastern end.  This was a comfortable and pleasant walk down a tree lined street.

We headed on to the Waterloo Place and then to Piccadilly Circus.  Piccadilly Circus was crowded and we were watching a very large TV screen on the far side of the junction.  Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly.  In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at a street junction.  Even one of the streets, which has a circular arch, has a building that also is circular. 

We took the metro from the circus to St Paul’s Cathedral.   St Paul's Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral dedicated to Paul the Apostle.  It sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London.  Although the current Cathedral was built 17^th Century, there has been a cathedral on this site for over 1400 years.  The current building is assumed to be the 5^th structure.  The cathedral is one of London's most famous and most recognisable sights.  At 365 feet (111m) high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962, and its dome is also among the highest in the world.  In terms of area, St Paul's is the second largest church building in the United Kingdom after Liverpool Cathedral.

We entered the Cathedral to learn that inside we are not able to take pictures, but with the internet we are able to share things we saw – even if we did not take the pictures.   The first impression is to be awed by the size and length.   The ceiling is so far above that it is hard to imagine the workers finishing it.  At the entrance is a huge marble Baptismal Font.  From there you look up through the Nave towards the Dome and the Dome Alter.  The floor in the Dome is black and white squares of marble.

At this point we decided to put the energy into climbing the stairs up the dome.  The first stop climbing is the Whispering Gallery.  The Whispering Gallery runs around the inside of the dome 99 feet (30.2 m) above the cathedral floor.  It is reached by 259 steps from ground level.  It gets its name because, as with any dome, a whisper against its wall at any point is audible to a listener with an ear held to the wall at any other point around the gallery.  A low murmur is equally audible.  What is even more impressive is the view of the ceiling of the dome and look downward to the floor.

We continued climbing to the Stone Gallery which involved an additional 120 steps (53 meters from the cathedral floor).  These steps are inside the dome and therefore spiral and narrow stone steps.   The Stone Gallery offered some great views as it's an outside area around the dome and you can take photos from here if you are tall enough to be able to see over the tall stone railing. 

However, we continued to the third level, the Golden Gallery.  The additional 154 steps were very narrow spiral and metal.  By now we are going up the very small section of the dome heading for the narrow walk around outside with metal railings.  Now you can take your pictures with an incredible 360 degree view.

It is hard to imagine returning to the main floor again to continue to explore.  We used the self-guided audio tour to take us through the different areas such as the North Transept where listened to a talk about the Blitz damage and viewed of “The Light of the World” by Willam Holman Hunt.  In the North Quire Aisle we looked over the “Mother and Child” statue by Henry Moore.   Behind the high alter of the Quire is the Jesus Chapel dedicated to the American dead.   In the Quire we saw the Mosaics and high alter.

Not only did we tour the main floor, we also headed down to the crypt.  In the crypt is many tombs and memorials of celebrated people such as Wellington, Arthur Sullivan and musicians, Nelson’s tomb.  We were able to check out Winston Churchill memorial gates and study models of the Cathedral, current and previous.

We finished our time at the Cathedral feeling that we had seen what there was to see.  The climb up the dome was the most tiring part, but it also was the best aspect of the tour of St Paul’s Cathedral.  However, we had one more goal for today, and that was to visit King’s Crossing Station and take a picture of Platform 9 ¾.

Once we had done this it was time to head home.  Interesting that this was suppose to be an easier day because yesterday was so long, but it turned out to be as long.  Well tomorrow maybe will be an easy day to ensure to keep our strength and health in shape.