Our last full day in England! So sad. If I could title this day, it would be, "England Exploits My Claustrophobia". We woke up extra early today and took the tube towards the Tower of London area. The tube was so incredibly packed and I'm extremely claustrophobic so I was trying super hard not to panic. Trevor told me later that he thought for sure I'd be getting off on the next stop and just take the bus instead, but I breathed through it.
We first stopped at Leadenhall Market. On my old blog, I had posted a bunch of pictures of England and for some reason, Leadenhall Market always stood out to me. I wanted to see it when no one was there so we came before any of the stores opened. It was a little underwhelming if I'm honest.
We then walked over to St. Dunstan-In-The-East Church. It was a Church of England church but it was damaged in the Great Fire of London and then even more damaged in the Blitz so they turned it into a public garden. It was super quiet here and felt very elvish from Lord of the Rings.
After a peaceful walk through the park, we walked down to the Tower of London. I was very excited about this. So much history has gone down here! We headed to the gift shop first and I got some postcards and magnets (that's what I got in every major attraction). We then walked around and looked at the different sights and museums around the tower. It was very interesting, but Trevor and I are not the types to stay and read every single thing (I know... uncultured swine) so we got through it all pretty quickly. I didn't particularly enjoy Tower of London purely for one reason. I was so claustrophobic! The halls and staircases are so tiny and narrow! I was trying so hard not to full-on panic! It was so bad. It really put a damper on things for me. I basically was just trying to get outside the whole time. We did see the Crown Jewels, though! We couldn't take pictures inside, but it was amazing!
After the Tower, we walked to and over Tower Bridge. Such an iconic bridge. Then we made our way to Borough Market and ate. Trevor had an amazing burger and fries and I got some kind of Asian noodles that tasted like fish so it really put me off them. I also got some Turkish Delight and donuts! The guy who we bought donuts from was so nice! We told him that we had heard good things about his donuts (I told you I did a lot of research!) so he gave us an extra one for free! So sweet! Then we walked to the Millenium Bridge which was filmed in Harry Potter 6! There were a lot of great views along the way!
Next on the list is the stunning St. Paul's Cathedral. Princess Diana was married here! Walking inside was absolutely unbelievable and shocking. It's crazy to imagine that places like this exist. Of course, since it's a place of worship, no photos were allowed. Here is one from Google which just doesn't do it justice... (HERE is a virtual tour).
Trevor and I walked around for a while trying to keep our mouths from continually falling open. We walked down into the crypt and looked at all the tombstones and effigies. It was super creepy but really cool. The crypt was at the end of the tour and I just felt like I didn't get to see the cathedral enough. Trevor decided to stay down in the crypt (there were benches, the souvenir store, and a cafe down there) and waited until I was done. So I ventured off alone back upstairs. I saw people in the dome but figured it was workers, but then I saw an entrance to go upstairs, so I decided to take it. Oh, what a mistake.
The stairs went up and up and up. By the time I got to the top, I was out of breath and a little shaky. There were two ways to go and one looked like the exit, so I went the other way and the way was soooo narrow, so narrow that I thought it was a hidden way used by employees. I saw another girl who looked like a tourist go that way so I decided to follow the hallway and see where it goes. I was trying so hard not to panic again. It was so tight. I followed it around a corner that led to an opening to where the dome is.
I was out of breath, shaky and feeling claustrophobic. I'm also extremely afraid of heights, so don't ask me why I decided to come up here. Alone. So, I get to the dome and I'm freaking out. I just sit down on the bench shaking like crazy. I then walk around the dome and see a door that says it goes to the next level. I'll never know why the heck I decided to go up higher. Big mistake. I start walking upstairs and the stairs are so steep and just as tight as the previous hallway. I keep walking up and up and it's not ending. It's not ending! I just keep thinking... "I'm almost there... keep going." I am running at this point because I am full on panicking. I look up and there are so many stairs above me so I panic even more. I realize I have to get out of this situation right now. I seriously thank Heavenly Father that no one happened to be on the stairs because if I would have been blocked by someone I probably would have cried. I ran down the stairs so fast and basically collapsed onto the benches at the first dome. I'll never forget the worker lady at the door when she said so nonchalantly, "Not for you?" As if I hadn't just experienced major panic! Hahaha, it actually made me laugh!
So, I walk down the other stairs which, thankfully, they weren't narrow and I seriously had to stop frequently because I felt like I was going to pass out. I then make my way to the crypt and collapse onto the benches next to Trevor. I had to lay down on the benches for a while and collect myself. Oh, what a nightmare.
Trevor wanted to walk down Fleet Street because he loves the (horrible) movie, Sweeney Todd. I'm really glad we did because we saw some awesome sights like The Royal Courts of Justice! We then walked to Covent Garden and got some souvenirs for our family.
We first stopped at Leadenhall Market. On my old blog, I had posted a bunch of pictures of England and for some reason, Leadenhall Market always stood out to me. I wanted to see it when no one was there so we came before any of the stores opened. It was a little underwhelming if I'm honest.
We then walked over to St. Dunstan-In-The-East Church. It was a Church of England church but it was damaged in the Great Fire of London and then even more damaged in the Blitz so they turned it into a public garden. It was super quiet here and felt very elvish from Lord of the Rings.
After a peaceful walk through the park, we walked down to the Tower of London. I was very excited about this. So much history has gone down here! We headed to the gift shop first and I got some postcards and magnets (that's what I got in every major attraction). We then walked around and looked at the different sights and museums around the tower. It was very interesting, but Trevor and I are not the types to stay and read every single thing (I know... uncultured swine) so we got through it all pretty quickly. I didn't particularly enjoy Tower of London purely for one reason. I was so claustrophobic! The halls and staircases are so tiny and narrow! I was trying so hard not to full-on panic! It was so bad. It really put a damper on things for me. I basically was just trying to get outside the whole time. We did see the Crown Jewels, though! We couldn't take pictures inside, but it was amazing!
This random wooden hand built into the wall!?
A view of the Shard from the Tower.
The story of The Two Princes is so interesting (and sad) to me!
"I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading."
The chopping block. Yeesh.
See how small these are? I can't breathe just looking at this photo.
Don't panic. Don't panic!
The Crown Jewels! Watch out for Moriarty!
"Hmm... which one of these places WON'T have tiny hallways..."
The place where Anne Boleyn (and many others) were beheaded.
Traitor's Gate
They were doing a role play!
Such a great view. Oh, and there's Tower Bridge!
After the Tower, we walked to and over Tower Bridge. Such an iconic bridge. Then we made our way to Borough Market and ate. Trevor had an amazing burger and fries and I got some kind of Asian noodles that tasted like fish so it really put me off them. I also got some Turkish Delight and donuts! The guy who we bought donuts from was so nice! We told him that we had heard good things about his donuts (I told you I did a lot of research!) so he gave us an extra one for free! So sweet! Then we walked to the Millenium Bridge which was filmed in Harry Potter 6! There were a lot of great views along the way!
Shakespeare's Globe
On the Millenium Bridge. I didn't get a great shot of it and half of it was blocked off.
Next on the list is the stunning St. Paul's Cathedral. Princess Diana was married here! Walking inside was absolutely unbelievable and shocking. It's crazy to imagine that places like this exist. Of course, since it's a place of worship, no photos were allowed. Here is one from Google which just doesn't do it justice... (HERE is a virtual tour).
Trevor and I walked around for a while trying to keep our mouths from continually falling open. We walked down into the crypt and looked at all the tombstones and effigies. It was super creepy but really cool. The crypt was at the end of the tour and I just felt like I didn't get to see the cathedral enough. Trevor decided to stay down in the crypt (there were benches, the souvenir store, and a cafe down there) and waited until I was done. So I ventured off alone back upstairs. I saw people in the dome but figured it was workers, but then I saw an entrance to go upstairs, so I decided to take it. Oh, what a mistake.
The stairs went up and up and up. By the time I got to the top, I was out of breath and a little shaky. There were two ways to go and one looked like the exit, so I went the other way and the way was soooo narrow, so narrow that I thought it was a hidden way used by employees. I saw another girl who looked like a tourist go that way so I decided to follow the hallway and see where it goes. I was trying so hard not to panic again. It was so tight. I followed it around a corner that led to an opening to where the dome is.
I was out of breath, shaky and feeling claustrophobic. I'm also extremely afraid of heights, so don't ask me why I decided to come up here. Alone. So, I get to the dome and I'm freaking out. I just sit down on the bench shaking like crazy. I then walk around the dome and see a door that says it goes to the next level. I'll never know why the heck I decided to go up higher. Big mistake. I start walking upstairs and the stairs are so steep and just as tight as the previous hallway. I keep walking up and up and it's not ending. It's not ending! I just keep thinking... "I'm almost there... keep going." I am running at this point because I am full on panicking. I look up and there are so many stairs above me so I panic even more. I realize I have to get out of this situation right now. I seriously thank Heavenly Father that no one happened to be on the stairs because if I would have been blocked by someone I probably would have cried. I ran down the stairs so fast and basically collapsed onto the benches at the first dome. I'll never forget the worker lady at the door when she said so nonchalantly, "Not for you?" As if I hadn't just experienced major panic! Hahaha, it actually made me laugh!
So, I walk down the other stairs which, thankfully, they weren't narrow and I seriously had to stop frequently because I felt like I was going to pass out. I then make my way to the crypt and collapse onto the benches next to Trevor. I had to lay down on the benches for a while and collect myself. Oh, what a nightmare.
Trevor wanted to walk down Fleet Street because he loves the (horrible) movie, Sweeney Todd. I'm really glad we did because we saw some awesome sights like The Royal Courts of Justice! We then walked to Covent Garden and got some souvenirs for our family.
Utah license plate! How funny!
We took the tube to King's Cross Station to see Platform 9 3/4 and took the classic picture of running through the barrier! They're so awesome and let you take your own photo along with the professional one so we didn't have to pay! You have to take the picture in front of the line for the picture so it's super awkward and I actually wasn't planning on doing it, but Trevor talked me into it and I figured I couldn't miss out on this. Surprisingly, we didn't buy anything from the store.
When we walked out of St. Pancras Station there were about 15-20 police officers in tactical gear all holding huge guns grouped together while one of the officers spoke to them. I was seriously so freaked out! Why were they there? What were the anticipating? I guess we'll never know because we got out of there quickly!
We walked down the street to the British Library because they have a "Treasures Room", which had one of the copies of the Magna Carta, Beatles lyrics, letters from Jane Austen, and much more! It was really cool to see.
It was getting late and we still needed to eat so we walked over to an Indian restaurant called Dishoom. It was really good! I love Indian food and London is known for its great Indian cuisine. The atmosphere was really dark but pleasant. After we ate, we walked to Waitrose and stocked up on a bunch of sweets for our families (and ourselves) and made sure we had many Jelly Babies to pass around. Then we found ourselves back at the hotel and packed up our belongings because we would be leaving the next morning. So sad!
The next morning came very quickly. I realized that we would have needed to take the tube during rush hour, like the day before, to get to Victoria Station. We had so much luggage and I thought it would have been way too overwhelming to take the tube and we had been wanting to take a black cab at least once on our trip so we figured this would be the best opportunity. Unfortunately, a van picked us up so we didn't even get to experience the black cabs! Boo. My eyes were flying around trying to soak in every last view I could.
We took the train from Victoria Station back to Gatwick Airport. The skies were super cloudy and it just felt depressing, like England was sad we were leaving! However, as much we love England and as much as we enjoyed ourselves, we were so ready to get back home. I realized three things, or at least three things were confirmed to me. 1. The church is true! I went to so many chapels and cathedrals and I just felt empty when I went through them. 2. I'm a homebody. 3. I bloody love America.
On our way home!
Finally had an English breakfast! ...At the airport. Haha!
I was so excited to get back to my girls. I missed them so much, it hurt! We got to L.A. and took the metro back to Trevor's Grandma's house and unfortunately, Trevor had to leave for his Air Force training the next day so we had to drive another six hours back to my parent's house. We were so tired by the time we got home. It was so good to see the girls when we woke up in the morning! Gosh, I missed them.
This was seriously one of the top experiences of my life. Something I will never forget. It's crazy because my dream for over half my life has been to go to England and I fulfilled that dream! I need to find another dream now. I had so much fun planning this trip and I definitely got the travel bug while in England. I'll definitely go back, but there is also so much I want to see in this world! Like Ireland, South Korea, Switzerland, New Zealand. Oh, the list goes on and on! I'm kind of sad finishing this post because now the trip officially feels over. It was fun writing these posts because I felt like I was transported back to England for a minute. It's over now! So sad! I enjoyed this trip so much and I'm so grateful to Trevor for taking me here (+ all of the money my friends and family gave us! I have the best people in my life.) and I'm so grateful to my parent's for watching our girls and keeping them safe! It was so nice to enjoy my trip and not have to worry about them. I feel so melancholy right now. England, you were great and I hope to see you real soon!
