England Trip Day Four–Journal
We headed out via taxi (van) after having said morning prayer with Jerome and Janet and went to Edenbridge Town where we caught a train to London. Because it was after 10 we got off peak tickets for five pounds fifty which took us on the train, the bus, and the tube. Great deal! We made some changes and ended up in Battersea Park at Brendan’s flat where we dropped of his stuff and checked our email. Then we stopped at a small grocer’s across the way, got baguettes, hummus, olives, cheese, and wine for lunch, hopped back on the bus, and took it to the tube where we got off at Westminster.
We saw the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, London bobbies, Churchill’s statue, Westminster Abbey, and St. Margaret’s Church (Parliament’s Church). We went inside there, but didn’t go inside Westminster Abbey. We sat in Parliament Square (no, maybe it was Westminster Abbey Churchyard) and ate our picnic. Then on the tube to the British Museum. We had to go on a big DOWN ESCALATOR, but Jerome pulled me (helped me) on, but I cried a little. Once I was on, it was ok. We saw the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin marbles, and a lot of the Egyptian exhibit (mummies, canopic jars, funerary amulets, book of the dead pages, and a body that had been preserved in an open grave–desert sand preserved it). Unfortunately, we could only stay until 5:30, but we were pretty wiped out so we walked to Covent Garden and ate at Zizzi’s–had wonderful salad, crostini (goat cheese and caramelized onions), bruschetti (balsamic with red and yellow cherry tomatoes), three kinds of pizza and a calzone. We also had chianti. All good. Then we walked to Leicester Square just to see the night life and the handprints in bronze (Arnold, Clint, Pierce, etc.)
Back to Victoria Station where Brendan put us on the train and he caught his bus. Luckily we had Caitlan along to get us the rest of the way back to Edenbridge. The weather was perfect all day. When we got there we thought we’d walk to the cab station and eaily get a cab but they were all out. We waited a while and finally one showed up. He took us on a fast (wild) ride back to the hotel, but it only cost six pounds for the lot of us. Then we had tea and biscuits with Jerome and Janet before night prayers. KK and I came back to our room. Nothing good on tv so we read and went to sleep. I miss Brendan already.