Tourist Day

This is going to be a photographic entry. I spent the day touristing my way around London. First up, Hyde Park.

Rotten Row - where all the fashionable gentry used to ride

Serpentine

After people watching and reading by the Serpentine for a bit, I headed to Buckingham Palace.

Wellington Arch

SO many tourists

Trying to escape some tourists, I went to see the Royal Mews where the horses and carriages are housed.

Rolls Royce in the royal colors of dark claret, red, and black

Australian Carriage - Elizabeth II's favorite carriage - it has an emu and a kangaroo on the door because those two animals physically cannot go backward so they represent how Australia is always advancing

The Scottish State Coach

Gift from the Obamas

Carriage used in the Royal Wedding

The bottom of the lantern is long because it has a spring in it that pushes the candle up as it burns so the candle is always burning

Gold Carriage commissioned by George III and completed in the 1760s

Huge, ornate, incredible

Next I wandered to Westminster Abby in order to see Evensong at 5 pm. It was the only way I could get in free and was very worth it because the acostics are amazing in there. The priest made a reference to 4th of July during the prayer session, asking that we pray for the U.S. to uphold the things it declared in the Declaration of Independence.

The Supreme Court

Westminster Abby

The architecture in this country will never fail to blow me away

This is what I looked at throughout the entire Evensong service

The Thames and the London Eye

Big Ben

Parliament

Famished after my day of sightseeing, I met up with Rachel and Victoria (Gretchen's sister who is studying here for the summer) for some delicious pizza at a place called Franco Manca. The pizza place was very cute and right as we were leaving we saw a wedding party come in to have their wedding reception there. All in all a fun day :-)