London Day 2 Morning recap

I'm going to split this day into 2 posts, mostly because the morning and the afternoon were so different that they deserve a full review each.  This was my most successful day of traveling by myself in Europe to date.  The stars were aligned and the research payed off in big ways.

1.  I got an early start...London doesn't get going early from what I could tell.  I got downstairs in the hotel at 7:30 and the hotel reception seemed shocked to see someone.  I enjoyed the quiet moments on the tube to St. Paul's - it was nice to get a real feeling for what the city is like when it's still asleep.

2.  I headed first to St. Paul's because I read online that it was open at 8:30 and it was free this weekend for the Lord Mayor's Parade.  If you are going to London in the future, the best website I found for this kind of information was:  Timeout London.  Great information on what was going on during the weekend, things to see, special events, show times, etc.  I wouldn't have been as successful without it.

3.  Anyways, I was early for St. Paul's so I grabbed a full English breakfast right next the Cathedral, which was great.  I was the first one into St. Paul's...I noticed you weren't supposed to take pictures, but as it started to fill up, everyone was doing it with no shame.  I took 2 clandestine photos....I was at least discreet about it.  You should have seen the others. 

I feel guilty about doing it, but not guilty enough to not post them.  It was incredible.  I also got a quick snippet of the organ:

I spent about 2.5 hours roaming the cathedral.  This was my first crypt experience too.  I'm not sure how I feel about crypts.  It's pretty creepy to me to be honest (apologies for the awkward language).  It just seems strange that the floors are grave stones.  However, it was cool to see all of the unique tombs included.  I also felt like a princess when I stood in the aisle that Di and Chuck walked down the year before I was born.  Just incredible to think about.

4.  After wandering St. Paul's I stepped outside and took a few shots:

I didn't climb the dome - that's for next trip.  It was raining and cloudy and I heard people saying you couldn't see much.  I saved my feet, which was good because I then got a front row standing spot at the cathedral to see the Lord Mayor's parade.  The Lord Mayor is the elected Mayor of the City of London (the City), different then the mayor of London.  It has a huge tradition and included all of the branches of military and about 160 different floats.  I got my front row spot and waited for the parade to come by at 11:30.  I again got adopted by a family - this time a British family complete with grandparents shared a program with me and introduced me to British culture.  It was really fun and they were super nice.  The grandfather's brother was killed in Antartica on a science mission and he is on the board of Trustees for the foundation that sponsors different humanitarian projects to honor those lost in the tragedy (I believe 29 were killed).  There's a plaque in St Paul's for it.  Anyways, they provided great commentary throughout as to what I was seeing, not that I can remember any of it now, but it was really helpful:

The car picture has the back of Jessica Ennis's head...she's a major star in the UK for her performance in the Olympics (Gold medal in Heptathalon?).  The last picture is the Lord Mayor himself.  It was a neat experience, so glad I did it.  Here's a video of the beginning of the parade...I wish I would have taken more.  There's more from Sunday.  In this one, you can hear the grandma from the family giving me the play by play of who was coming.  So cool! 

After I saw the parade, I headed to Picadilly to pick up my ticket for my afternoon show.  That's for the next post!