Today we started later, 9 am (to many that is still early) and we landed at St Paul's cathedral at around 11. It is much more regal than Westminster Abbey, as you aren't tripping over tombs piled on top of each other. It has very ornate ceilings and more modern architecture than Westminster. I liked it in a different way, much as one can like Nordstrom AND Macy's, they just serve different purposes. The best part about today is that we hung out for midday services, which were quite regal. Thirty minutes of Anglican liturgy is like drinking Red Bull, you get twice the punch-british accent PLUS a prayer theme and service dedication to a 14th century female mystic named Julian. Yep, we are still praying for her 700 years later. I hope she finally made it to heaven. We ate in the chapel cafe, as I like to spend as much as I can at historic places, hoping the money goes toward refurbishment. The menu selections were extremely British, I had minted pea soup and some vege substitute for fried fish-fried Turkish cheese. It was like MN state fair cheese curds on steriods. It was amazing. Then we tootled around St. Paul's sq for awhile and then headed out to Kensington palace. That place was weird. Since it is still used by royals, Prince William and family live there, we had access to only a portion of the palace. Most of it was empty rooms with cutouts...but I did learn about Queen Victoria. We walked through Kensington gardens and then landed at a pub near "home", the Hour Glass. It was a typical British pub (Did you know pub stands for public house? The things you learn reading pub walls). I had two glasses of cyder and Toad in the Hole. Sausages in Yorkshire pudding with gravy, mashed potatoes and carrots. Home cooking in a neighborhood pub, who said English food is bad?
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