Christmas at St. Paul's

So we've got about three more days here. We've been paying our last respects to some of our favorite places. On Sunday we had a special lunch in the gorgeous Victoria and Albert Museum restaurant/cafe. Then we spent some good time at the nearby Natural History Museum. On Monday we went to a holiday dealio at the Science Museum. On Wednesday, we had a great and final visit to the National Gallery (where Lily worked on yet another copy of a very large and moving painting of Lady Jane Grey as she is about to get decapitated!) Yesterday Brennie and I made a final visit to the British Museum. Today we had a fun late afternoon/early evening visit to the Tower of London. The Tower was virtually empty. We got to view the crown jewels over and over again. (Those of you who have seen them know that you basically pass them by on a moving walkway. We got to repeat the process many times over.)

Last night was a really special time. We went to an annual free Christmas concert at the majestic St. Paul's Cathedral featuring the cathedral choir, many incredibly talented musicians, some "celebrity readers" (I'd only heard of one of them), etc. We lined up outside the cathedral an hour beforehand just as the rain was turning to snow. Shortly thereafter a person from St. Paul's (who was counting every person in line) informed us that we were fourteen people beyond the maximum capacity of the cathedral and that our ability to enter was a "maybe." We waited another half hour. It was very windy, very cold, and snowing. Sure enough, when the fourteenth person ahead of us entered the cathedral, they stopped the line! A long fifteen minutes or so later (in the freezing, windy, snowy weather, with poor Brendan nearly in tears about his freezing cold feet and toes), they told us we could enter. We didn't have a direct view of the stage, but we did have a marvelous view of the cathedral ceiling and various soaring archways all decorated with incredible paintings, sculptures, and other artwork. The service did not disappoint. It was a wonderful combination of carols (sung by everyone), songs performed by the choir, and readings from the Christmas narrative and other sources. A "proper" way of celebrating the holiday!

I'll attach a few pictures from outside of St. Paul's (no cameras allowed inside) and of our time this evening at the Tower of London.

Tomorrow we begin packing. We've got a few more posts planned between now and Tuesday (our departure date). So stay tuned!

St. Paul's from the side (in line). (Unfortunately I didn't get any good shots of the dome at night.)

St. Paul's from the front, after the concert.

E and kids in front of the Tower of London. (I forgot to mention that it snowed again today! Not for long, but it came down hard and it was cold enough to stick.)

Tower Bridge.

The bridge a couple hours later.

Some Christmas decorations at the Tower.

Hangin' in there.