London Trip Day 3 - London City

Stepping into Day 3 of the trip, the body's biological clock was tuned well. No more dizzy or sleepy. Keeping good rest at night is the most important. Watching the local TV channels in hotel, downloading photos that took at day time, charging battery for the camera and washing some thin clothes. Climate was good in June. Not very hot, or cold. It was so perfect for traveling.

Ok, Day 3. We went to the St. Paul's cathedral again. It was such a huge cathedral. We hanged around at the ground floor. That is the place for pray and other religious ceremony. But we cannot take photos there. We waited for the time that the upper stairs to be opened. When the time came, we climbed up the stair cases. There is more than 100 or something staircases. The aisle is so narrow and was allowed to be one way. That means upward and downward path are 2 separate staircases. It was quite energy consuming to climb up to the roof of the cathedral. There we could see around the whole city. It is quite tall actually.

After the visit, we went across the Millenium Bridge to the other bank of the river. And headed to the Shakespeare's Globe. That Globe is a theatre and also a museum. There were no play to be performed on that day. So we could go inside and take a look. To go inside, we had to use the London Pass. Inside is the museum. There is exhibition hall that tells the story of the globe, like when it was built, how it was built and the purpose of the Globe. Of course with some history of the Globe. The Globe that is standing at the bank side today is the third version. The first and the second one were taken down due to some incidents.

There was a scheduled tour for the visitors. We joined in and walked along with the tour guide. We saw around inside the Globe, and listened to the guide's story telling. Similar to those exhibition information, but much more interesting. Today, the Globe is still functioning. Some plays of Shakespeare are being scheduled to be perform there. Actually, the stage is not big. The distance between audiences' cubicles is quite little. The Globe is in a concentric design. The performing area and the stage is mainly in the middle and the lower quarter of the circle. The other 3 quarters are audiences seats. There are 3 storeies. I think can hold 200 something audiences.

Left the Globe, we took a bus to Buckingham Palace. There are 2 visiting sites that could use the London Pass. One is the Queen's Gallery, and the other one is the Royal Mews. We went to the Queen's Gallery first. Cameras are prohibited there. Inside are some of the collections from the Queen. Some painting's masterpieces, some scrulptures. Then we walked out the gallery. It was drizzling. We put on rain coat and walked to the Royal Mews.

Royal Mews keeps all Royal carts, and some horses. Those carts were used by the Royal family for some time. The one used by the Queen, the one used in Princess Diana's wedding, and also a car that was used lately by the Queen. Those carts are so glamorous, and luxurious. There are guides that would drive tours. They would tell you the history of the carts, stories related, who used them before...etc. Quite interesting.

Leaving the Royal Mews, still raining. We took Underground to Kensington Palace. It was the Palace that Princess Diana was living before she left the Royal family. It looks not very good for a healthy person to be living. Maybe that day was not sunny and gave me that feeling. The palace now acts as a museum that shows Princess Diana's belongings, clothes, and the information at the time she was living there. Thus, a memorial museum. The gardens around are nice. The gardens are large and linked with a large park (couldn't remember which one!). There is a lake near by. Still, a nice place to visit. After that, we left and went back to hotel for recharging... ourselves.