Jody said she gets queasy with heights so was undecided about going. We decided that we would go to the London Eye first and get tickets early then come back later for the ride if necessary. We would head to the Imperial War Museum next and spend as much time as we needed there. Then maybe head to Covent Garden to see the markets.
So we jumped into the double decker bus and were on our way. Except that we were going the wrong way! We had to get off and take the bus going in the opposite direction! My fault again of course - looking at the numbers and not the destination.
When the bus was going in the correct direction, it stayed on our side of the Thames. We traveled along Albert Embankment to Lambeth Bridge and then Lambeth Palace. We saw St. Thomas Hospital, and I spied the Florence Nightingale Museum. We past Westminster Bridge and got off behind County Hall. We saw groups of school children heading in the same direction. Oh, no! Fortunately, they were headed to the Aquarium!
We were dismayed when we saw the long line for tickets. But we headed for the much shorter Fast Track line even though we weren't sure this was the correct line. We waited for 10-15 minutes but got tickets to go right on!! So why are all those other people in that long line? No time to wonder. Jody had decided to go for the experience. So we headed for the Eye. The wheel never stops moving - even when you board or exit the pod or whatever it is called. I think I read somewhere that the wheel moves at 0.6 miles per hour so it is slowly moving as you walk on. It takes 15 minutes to get to the top. We had a nice sunny day so visibility was great! It was interesting looking at places where we had been or where I had been before. Plus it was fascinating watching the other pods as we made the rotation.
After 15-20 minutes, 0.6 miles was feeling a little slow. I'm glad I went on, but it was very pricey.
We jumped off at the bottom, and headed back the way we came to find the bus to the Imperial War Museum. There was a taxi parked on the street so I asked him to drive us to the Museum. Before I got out, I asked him if he took people to the airports. He did indeed. So I got his number.
The War Museum was such an insight into WWII! There were displays about the lead up to the war - Hitler coming to power in Germany, preparations in Britain for the approaching conflict. I was fascinated with the displays about the Blitz, bomb shelters, rationing - the authentic posters, newspaper, and newsreels brought it to life.
I went upstairs to the Holocaust Memorial. I have always been interested in the Holocaust. In 1978 GeeGee, Julie and I went to East Berlin and crossed through Check Point Charlie into East Berlin. It was scary to hand over our passports to the East German guards - they searched the bottom of the bus with a huge mirror in case we were smuggling anyone in - they checked our belongings. We were traveling with an elderly Jewish man whose family was murdered in concentration camps. He was terrified he would be detained in East Berlin. This short experience had a profound effect on me. Later, on the same trip, we visited Dachau Concentration Camp - how horrific. So, now, to see in this museum the memorabilia, the newspapers, the news reels which showed happy times for Jewish families, then the gathering storm, Kristellnacht, herding the Jews into the trains, pictures from the concentration camps. I literally got sick to my stomach - I couldn't wait to get out of there - I was rushing to find an exit while trying not to look at anything. I was starting to feel faint thinking of all the atrocities. I met up with Patty, and we headed outside for fresh air.
If you know me well enough, you know I have an aversion to violence - in real life and on TV and in books as well. I can't watch or read anything showing or describing violence to a person or persons. I have my hand over my eyes watching TV if I haven't already changed the TV channel. I have to pause if I am reading - sometimes for days or I might never finish the book. I am appalled with the daily news - I find myself crying with/for the victims and the victims' family - even the other person's family. So to see so much violence, torture and death in one place was overwhelming.
But it was so nice sitting in the sun for a while. Jody came out, and we decided to give Covent Garden a whirl. We were hungry and figured there would be plenty of places to eat there. I bought a Feast ice cream bar to tide me over - it is my favorite ice cream bar when I am in Ireland or England.
This shows a mint Feast - I wouldn't ever buy mint - but I love vanilla!
We walked to the bus stop - thank god for Jody's app which gave her directions for buses or trains to get us wherever we wanted to go. We headed for Aldwych, walked up Drury Lane and cut across to Covent Market. We stopped at a pub for a bite to eat.
Way too much - bowl of soup with a big chunk of bread and a stuffed potato - one or the other would have been enough!
After a lunch to keep us going, we walked down the street to the markets and poked around. I'm not a big shopper so I stopped to look down and watch a woman singing - was she a busker? She was quite good. I bought one of her CDs.
Evensong was very nice - the boys' choir reminded me of Johnny Murphy's Aunt Helen who was always trying to get me to take my kids to St. Paul's Church back home in Harvard Square, Cambridge to see and hear the boys choir there. My kids would never have been able to sit through this when they were young, but I enjoyed it. I thought this Anglican church seemed very similar to the Catholic Churches I attend - the physical church at any rate. Some of the hymns were in Latin which I used to love in Catholic Churches. I was almost devastated when Pope John XXIII's Vatican Council eliminated Latin in the Mass just after I had take Latin in school and could finally follow along in my Missal! My philosophy is that we all pray to the same God so who cares what Church we attend as long as we lead a good life and perform some service to others throughout our lives.
Anyway, we headed back to Vauxhall after Evensong because we had plans for the night.
Jody checking her phone's app on how to get back to Vauxhall.
Statue of Queen Anne - she was queen when St. Paul's was built. Below is a picture of the statue from https://secret-cities.com/2010/03/26/the-statue-of-queen-anne-at-st-pauls/
Jody ran into Vauxhall Tavern as we passed it on our way home. We didn't have to be ready until 9 pm so we went home and relaxed for a while. Then we headed to Gay Bingo at Vauxhall Tavern!! We had learned after making reservations for our apartment that Vauxhall has a large gay community. Patty and Jody have gay friends, and somehow they found out about Gay Bingo.
The Tavern is an old establishment - I think it used to be a music hall. We got drinks and found seats up front. There was a diverse crowd - the place seems small and was full. The caller was quite flamboyant and sang and joked as s/he called out the numbers - so fast that I couldn't even keep up! That was part of the fun! There were gag prizes, and everyone seemed to be a regular - they knew each other and knew the songs and routine. Everyone was laughing, singing, and enjoying themselves. It was a fun evening. But we only lasted one frenetic round - then finished our drinks and headed home because tomorrow is our last full day in London!!
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