Well, I'm not sure that any of us visited the Queen today, but about 20 of our group piled onto the coach at 8:00 am to see how much of London we could cover in a one-day visit. The rest of the group took the day to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere at the hotel and to explore more of Oxford.
The London group managed to cover a lot of territory in one day. I spent several hours at the Victoria and Alberta Museum, which was founded in 1852 as the Museum of Manufactures. It is now "the world's greatest museum of art and design" with huge collections of ceramics, furniture, textiles, sculptures, and other fine and decorative arts from around the world and through the ages.
I next tried to rent a bicycle to explore Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, but the self-serve bike rental didn't work well for me, so I settled for a stroll through part of Hyde Park -- hard on my feet but a better way to take pictures of the lovely flower gardens there.
After a very hot and crowded rush-hour tube ride I got to St. Paul's Cathedral just as they were starting their Choral Evensong service. The first cathedral to be built after the reformation, St. Paul's was designed by the architect Christopher Wren and erected between 1675 and 1710. It's a breathtaking, awe-inspiring place in which to celebrate the beautiful evensong service. After the service I discovered that several other tour members were also there, and Warren was able to provide several details about the organ at St. Paul's.
Other London explorations by the group included the British Museum, double-decker tour buses, the Tower of London, the Natural History Museum, and a lot of great places to eat. Three of our group even managed to Brighton for the day.
One of London's newer sculptures
Flowers in Hyde Park:
Saint Paul's Cathedral
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