Trafalgar, National Gallery, The Globe, St. Paul's, and Hyde Park...on Jetlag!

So I have never been so sleepy as I was today.  Never.  Ever.  When I stood up I thought I might fall over, and when I sat down I only lasted a few seconds without nodding off!  That is not the way to see the National Gallery, or hear Evensong at St. Paul's cathedral.  That said, here's what we did today:

9:00...leaving for the National Gallery.  Took the tube (underground) and got off near Trafalgar Square, where we took pictures with the lions.  :)  That was great.  It was an...interesting...climb to get up there, but we made it!  That was really hilarious...us trying to climb up.  Everyone around was laughing at us. 

The National Gallery (art museum) is right on the Square, so that's where we went next.  I was too sleepy to really enjoy it, but I did see the original painting of Van Gogh's sunflowers, and a few others I recognized.  The place is immense.  There were a bunch of school groups there, some as young as Lexie, I thought!  There was a guy leading one group who was really fun to listen to. He knew how to make it interesting!  And I have officially decided that little kids with British accents are about the cutest thing I ever heard!!

We left the Gallery and got some lunch at a pub just off Covent Gardens.  It was really nice.  I had broccoli and cheddar soup with garlic bread. 

After lunch we actually split up!  Mrs. Becky and I went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and the others went to the Westley House.  I haven't heard all about the House, but I think it was great.  The Globe was nice.  We couldn't actually go inside the theatre because a showing of Macbeth was going on.  They have shows in the afternoons because it is open-air and using the sunlight is just what they did at the original Globe.  However, they also do evening shows because we have electricity.  :)  We did a walking tour and went to the site of the original Globe and saw the remains of the Rose Theatre, the Globe's right-next-door rival.  (the "a rose by any other name" bit was a jab at the Rose Theatre's sewage which apparently stunk to high Heaven!).  The Rose remains are under a great big modern building.  The remains were found during construction, and there was such a big fuss about not ruining them that the only way the new building could be built was on the condition that the remains remained intact ("remains remained"...I don't know...).  It's actually under a bit of water, and the remains are marked with rope lights.  The guide told us a bunch about the theatre of the time and why it was built the was it was.  It was quite informative.  :)  So, I have walked where William Shakespeare walked and seen where he performed (he performed at the Rose).  Epic.  :)

After the Globe we walked across a bridge over the Thames and met the others at St. Paul's for the Evensong service.  It is HUGE!!  And so ornate and gorgeous!!  The choir was a men's choir, and when they started singing the halls echoed beautifully.  It was so awesome, and I was nodding off every time we sat down!  Grr...  It was a 45-minute service, and it was really beautiful.  I hated to be falling asleep...but when you're sitting down after just being so sleepy you "can't stand it!" all day and this wonderful men's choir is singing the same repetitious tune for 10 minutes straight while the halls echo with the music...no matter how great it is or how much you like it you just can't stay awake. 

So, we left the cathedral and headed for a much-needed tea.  I got coffee, actually, and a big blueberry muffin (...I wanted the chocolate muffin, but Mary Beth and India got the last two! haha.).  That was nice.  We talked for a while about what we want to do on Friday.  The kids are planning Friday, so we can make sure we know how the tube and everything works and so we can see whatever we really don't want to miss and haven't already covered. 

After that we went to get some dinner to take to a park (we talked for a long time, so it wasn't really eating right after eating, and "eating" with tea is just a muffin or such).  I got...don't kill me!...McDonald's!!  I really wanted to see if it was different, and it was right down the street from Pret A Manger (that's French) where everyone else was getting something (we've been there twice before today, so I knew I wasn't missing anything I just had to have...and we'll probably go there again anyhow).  So McD's was really different.  I don't really know what it was, but the meat and cheese tasted much different.  The meat was definitely higher-quality tasting, I think.  Very interesting...

Tim and Mary Beth (and India) played some "football" with three little boys at a park where we ate.  Then we walked through Hyde Park to get home.  We took some pictures at a courtyard with fountains.  The park is so lovely!!  It's huge, and it's mostly walking paths in the middle of big fields of grass and trees.  It really is so beautiful.  Haha!!  I just remembered that I have flowers from the park in my hair!  Pretty blue flowers...

So, we got back to the hotel and I've been trying to get myself up to date with journaling and pictures and all. 

Tomorrow: Taking a train from Paddington Station (!) to Oxford (!!), probably taking a C.S. Lewis tour (!!!) and eating at the Eagle and Child (aka "bird and baby", where the Inklings met) (!!!!).  So excited.  I don't know when we're getting back or if we're doing anything else, but I am super excited!!!!!  (...as I"m sure you gather from all my !!!!!!'s)  :)