Our Last Day in London

London topped off our trip making it the best trip ever. I was able to visit all the towns and villages where my ancestors had lived before they came to America, the hard way - on sailing ships which took up to 3 months.  Oh, seasickness forever!

Ship at Liverpool

Post

Our last day was a Sunday so we tried to find the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the phonebook with no luck so we called information.  The young woman barely spoke English (India accent I think) and gave us an address for the Church of Jesus (not the same church). Darla called her friend in Hemel Hemstead and they told us where to find the church in Hyde Park.  Off to the hoppa bus to the tube and onward to a building that to us did not look anything like a church.  It was in a skyrise building. It is a very interesting experience to attend church in another country.  There were people there from all parts of the world including South Africa, Canada, Scotland and the majority of the visiting members were from Utah, of course. The chapel was filled to capacity with many extra chairs added to the side. Darla saw two members from Ireland that she knew. A young man from Oslo, Norway talked about being a member, being inactive and then reactivating himself (his personal journey). 

After services we walked back to Knightsbridge in the rain and stopped for lunch at that wonderful Thai Restaurant. I ate all sorts of new dishes and loved them all (mustard chicken, jasmine rice and mango brulee). Darla had veggie won tons, a spring roll, jasmine rice and pandan cake.

We were going to go on the London Eye (a gigantic faris wheel which had enclosed seats.  The line was hours long so after standing there for 15 minutes, we visited the London Aquarium. Very enjoyable!

Hats off to my ancestors who came from the UK and settled in America.  Samuel Eames below:

Born in Bristol, raised in Orcop and died in Plain City, Utah in 1868.

Henry Beecroft and Isabella Fraser

Henry Beecroft was born in Kingston Upon Hull and so was his wife Isabella Fraser. They sailed to New Orleans, went up the Mississippi River to St. Louis and crossed the plains with oxen pulling their wagon to Bountiful, Utah. He became angry about something and left Utah traveling to Council Bluffs, Iowa where he celebrated his 100th birthday on February 18, 1915. They joined the RLDS church (reoganized LDS) a broken off branch that resides in Independence, Missouri.

Cute petite periwinkle 24 kt gold encased earrings

These new gold encased in glass earrings made at Murano Italy are a delight.  I love them and you will too.  See my Etsy shop at Etsy.com/shop/DiansEarrings.


They have gold plated wires along with Swarovski rondells and AB colbalt round beads.

Horseback light

I would have never noticed this light but my daughter with her keen eye especially all things to do with horses, saw it right away.  We were next to Wellington Arch and had even been on top of the arch looking at the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

Horse light

The view of Buckingharm grounds:

Buckingham Palace

We were there off season so not may tourists were there.

Gatwick Airport

We skipped going to London this day and caught a bus to Gatwick Airport, then took a taxi to the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint's London Temple. We attended one temple session and Darla saw Brother Hayes (he was on a mission in Ireland and had been released and was already a newly wed). Everywhere we attended church in Ireland and England, Darla saw people there that she knew. Small world in the UK. The celestial room in the temple was absolutely magnificent - all decorated in yellows, golds and blue with a white misty clouds in the blue ceiling. Both temples in the England are quite small compared to the ones in Utah. 

London Temple

London Temple Grounds

More photos of London the next day:

Wellington Arch

After getting back to Gatwick and taking another bus to Heathrow, we took a train. It was one of those posh trains with cushy seats and even a television.  I'd never seen such a fancy train before.

Tower of London

Beefeaters

Where does Beefeater come from? Does that mean that they eat a lot of beef? Of is it misspelled and should be bee feathers? I have no idea. Their costumes were very interesting plus that all too fun British accent. How do you say it, bee featers or beef eaters?

There might even be ghosts there - many people were beheaded there. This was a second very enjoyable tour - I highly recommend the Tower of London and Windsor Castle.

Hoppa bus - totally fun and the best way to see London - fun, fun, fun!

American food is everywhere. McDonalds and Pizza Hut two that I can think of. We had pizza there not because I wanted to but because my missionary daughter had not had pizza in two years. While there, I noticed that we probably stood out like a pimple on your nose because we were the only ones not eating pizza with a fork!  The very best meal we had in London was at a Thai Restaurant - yum, yum, yummy! The waitress asked if I wanted still water which stumped me.  Apparently, they have fizzy water or still.

The best place to stay was a nice hotel near Heathrow Airport - we boarded a bus to the airport for free, bought an all day pass for the tube and were in London in no time at all. Do as the Londoner's do, carry your own water.

I have never in my entire life time ever seen such steep frightening stairs or escalators as those going to the tube in London.  Every time we went up or down, my mind went back to all those horror movies about unexploded bombs from WWII or monsters in the tunnels.  

My daughter talked to a guy in a souvenir shop about how to get to another part of London; he explained and from that point onward, she knew her way around all of London.  I tagged along completely mystified. All those tunnels were like a maze.

Marble Arch

The Tube

Murano Emerald 24 karat gold foil encased in a teardrop glass earring

My latest handmade earrings are made of Murano Emerald Venetian Beads with Rezzonico 24 karat gold foil encased in a teardrop glass, with antique gold and a copper bead, approximately 14mm or 7/8 inches in length.  These petite earrings can be found on my Etsy.com website under Dian's Earrings.

 

What can I say, London was Spectacular

London Eye and Big Ben

The best part of touring London is that I got rid of the rental car and we took the tube and the hoppa bus.  It was so nice to relax and not be driving. We climbed to the upper level of the big red hoppa bus. Our first hop off was at St. James Palace.

St. James Palace

While at St. James Palace, the ceremony of changing of the Palace guards on horseback took place. The whole regimented routine was very interesting especially when they dismounted from their horses.  Part of the ceremony included the guard slapping the horse as part of the routine.  Darla thought it was very funny.

Initially, we took the tube into London from the airport. It was 4.90 pounds for an all day pass for the tube and took less than an hour to get to the middle of London. We had lunch at Burger King (not my idea of great food but what we don't do for our children?)

At Lillywhite's Department Store, there was a young man in the window who rode a mechanical horse trying to hit a polo ball.  Darla would have loved to try it but she was in a skirt - not conducive to riding a horse of any kind!

Our next hop off was Winchester Cathedral and of course, typical tourists - we took photos of Big Ben, the London Eye and the Cathedral. Hopped back on the bus and crossed London Bridge.

Our last hop off was the Tower of London; saw the Crown Jewels (11.30 pounds per person but worth every penny). The Beefeaters were all walking around in their red and blue costumes and one of them gave us a grand tour if only we could have understood everything he said.  Some words we missed because of his accent and some because it was a large crowd even though it was off season.

It was a our last hop off because Darla lost her ticket so then she decided we could see more of London using the tube.  Well, I am glad she could figure it out. There were trains going all four directions and many of different levels - I was totally baffled.  It was beyond me!