The Dang's: London Day 2: Museums, Big Ben, St. Paul's & a Show

Saturday was our first full day in London, and it was a busy one! We slept in a little bit, and left the room around 9:15. We took the tube to Westminster, and upon exiting, had a great view of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

We walked a short ways to the Churchill War Rooms. Here we toured the Cabinet War Rooms, which were quite interesting. This is where Churchill and his inner circle planned the war. These rooms were used for strategy and safety from the beginning of World War II in 1939, until Japan's surrender in 1945.

The Map Room is exactly as it was when everyone left on August 16, 1945.
Well, except there are a few mannequins in there...

After the War Rooms, we walked to Buckingham Palace and looked around. Being that it was a weekend, it was quite crowded.

We then had a nice stroll back through St. James Park,

through Horse Guards Parade, and on to the Banqueting House.

The Banqueting House is all that remains of Whitehall Palace. It was built in 1619 and was used for entertaining. The ceiling was painted by Rubens.

In 1649, Charles I was executed right outside of it during the English Civil War!
They were setting up for an event and closing early when we were there, which was a little awkward. It's really just one big room to see though, so it was a short visit.

On our way to the tube, we passed Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives. There was lots of security around,

and some protesters too.

Before taking the tube over by St. Paul's Cathedral, we took a few photos by Big Ben.

Once over there, we grabbed sandwiches, chips, and drinks at Pret a Manger (totally reminded me of my study abroad days!), and had a nice little picnic lunch in the courtyard of St. Paul's.It was perfect.

I was excited to tour St. Paul's, but Adam wasn't too thrilled especially since it was like £17 per person. They even had iPods as audio/video guides! Super cool. Adam said, "Maybe if they didn't give everyone an iPod, they wouldn't have to charge so much..." Haha!

Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside, but trust me when I say it was beautiful. We even climbed the 259 steps up to the Whispering Gallery, which is in the dome. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and building began in 1677.

After exploring the Church, we walked to the Museum of London. On the way there, we stopped at Postman's Park, which is depicted in one of my favorite movies, Closer.

The Museum of London was interesting and had lots of artifacts relating to London's history, but I probably could have skipped it.

We took the tube back, and got off at Picadilly Circus just so we could look around.

It was a short walk back to our hotel, and we passed McDonald's on the way. We popped in, and I got a Crunchie McFlurry. I love Crunchie bars, so I was excited to try it as a McFlurry. It was quite tasty!

We enjoyed a well deserved short rest in the room, before heading out for dinner in Chinatown. We had a hard time deciding on a place, and wish we would have picked somewhere else. The staff was quite rude, and the food was forgettable. I had stir-fried noodles with prawns (aka shrimp) and Adam had pork stir-fried noodles with a beer.

There was some time to kill before our show at 8, so after walking to the area of the theater, we found a pub. I enjoyed a cider and Adam enjoyed a beer. We both enjoyed Rock of Ages which was a musical set in California with an 80's theme. I think it helped Adam not hate musicals after his first musical experience of Les Mis (which neither of us liked).