This morning was another early start with a wake up call set for 5:15. My mom is leaving England today and needs to be at Heathrow early. We washed up real fast and took the tube to Paddington station. I helped her carry her bags to the platform where her express train to the airport would be departing from. The train was waiting for us and I helped her get her bags onboard the train. After saying goodbye, I walked back towards the tube and returned to the hotel. It was only 6 AM and I had to meet Andrea at the Bayswater tube station at 9. In that three hour period, I packed my bag, made sure nothing was left behind in the room and checked out of the hotel. I carried my bag to the small cafe where I had breakfast.
I walked over to the tube and quickly figured out it takes much longer to navigate when you are carrying a suitcase. I had to carry my bag up and down multiple flights of stairs because there are no lifts (elevators) in the stations. I waited at the exit of Bayswater station for a few minutes and thought it was odd that Andrea was not there yet. I found out the station had wifi and logged on. I was greeted by a Facebook notification from Andrea asking if it was alright if we had met at 9:30. Since it was too late for that, I just decided to wait for the extra 20 minutes. I did not have too much luggage with me so it was easy to wait in the corner and out of the way.
I was starting to get cold because Bayswater station is one of the only outdoor stations for the London Underground. I looked at the clock and noticed it was 9:40. Andrea still hadn't arrived. I figured she got stuck with her suitcase somewhere and it took her a while to get on the train.
I was now at the point where I couldn't feel my face and it was 10:10. I was eagerly watching the crowds coming off the trains hoping to see her. Finally, around 10:20, I saw a crowd come up the stairs and in the middle of it was Andrea dragging her luggage up the stairs. She had to make quite a few changes on her trip and it took her a very long time. Once she was reorganized, we walked the three blocks to our next hotel. We stored our luggage and headed out for a day in the city.
Before we left, we asked the concierge which tube station we should take to get to St. Paul's Cathedral. He told us to get off at King's Cross but as we were walking out, Andrea and I looked at each other and said "thats not right." We felt proud of ourselves that we now knew the city well enough to know that. We took the tube to St. Paul's station (go figure) and walked over to the cathedral. After picking up our tickets and our tenth audio tour guide of the week, we started walking around the cathedral. Andrea and I were laughing because we are now able to identify the main parts of every cathedral including the high alter, the nave, and the choir. We also walked up to the whispering gallery where you can hear people whispering from up to 100 feet away from you. We tried multiple times but it did not work for us. It is either a myth or we are really bad whisperers. We then continued up the 528 stairs to the top of the dome where we had panoramic views of the city. As we were approaching the top, the stairs were getting narrow and the ceilings were getting lower. When we reached the top, there was someone standing there saying: "Congratulations! you've made it to the top!" It was very cold and windy but we were able to see for miles. It was like being up in the London Eye but from a different angle. After taking a few pictures, we made our way back down to the ground floor.
As we exited the cathedral, we found a Starbucks for lunch. While we were eating, we looked at a map and noticed that we were a five minute walk from the Tate Modern. We walked across the Millennium bridge and the museum was on the other side. We went to find the most famous pieces in the museum collection. These included pieces from Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. After making a quick walk through, we went to
I walked over to the tube and quickly figured out it takes much longer to navigate when you are carrying a suitcase. I had to carry my bag up and down multiple flights of stairs because there are no lifts (elevators) in the stations. I waited at the exit of Bayswater station for a few minutes and thought it was odd that Andrea was not there yet. I found out the station had wifi and logged on. I was greeted by a Facebook notification from Andrea asking if it was alright if we had met at 9:30. Since it was too late for that, I just decided to wait for the extra 20 minutes. I did not have too much luggage with me so it was easy to wait in the corner and out of the way.
I was starting to get cold because Bayswater station is one of the only outdoor stations for the London Underground. I looked at the clock and noticed it was 9:40. Andrea still hadn't arrived. I figured she got stuck with her suitcase somewhere and it took her a while to get on the train.
I was now at the point where I couldn't feel my face and it was 10:10. I was eagerly watching the crowds coming off the trains hoping to see her. Finally, around 10:20, I saw a crowd come up the stairs and in the middle of it was Andrea dragging her luggage up the stairs. She had to make quite a few changes on her trip and it took her a very long time. Once she was reorganized, we walked the three blocks to our next hotel. We stored our luggage and headed out for a day in the city.
Before we left, we asked the concierge which tube station we should take to get to St. Paul's Cathedral. He told us to get off at King's Cross but as we were walking out, Andrea and I looked at each other and said "thats not right." We felt proud of ourselves that we now knew the city well enough to know that. We took the tube to St. Paul's station (go figure) and walked over to the cathedral. After picking up our tickets and our tenth audio tour guide of the week, we started walking around the cathedral. Andrea and I were laughing because we are now able to identify the main parts of every cathedral including the high alter, the nave, and the choir. We also walked up to the whispering gallery where you can hear people whispering from up to 100 feet away from you. We tried multiple times but it did not work for us. It is either a myth or we are really bad whisperers. We then continued up the 528 stairs to the top of the dome where we had panoramic views of the city. As we were approaching the top, the stairs were getting narrow and the ceilings were getting lower. When we reached the top, there was someone standing there saying: "Congratulations! you've made it to the top!" It was very cold and windy but we were able to see for miles. It was like being up in the London Eye but from a different angle. After taking a few pictures, we made our way back down to the ground floor.
As we exited the cathedral, we found a Starbucks for lunch. While we were eating, we looked at a map and noticed that we were a five minute walk from the Tate Modern. We walked across the Millennium bridge and the museum was on the other side. We went to find the most famous pieces in the museum collection. These included pieces from Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. After making a quick walk through, we went to