Headed Home

If all goes according to plan, I should be able to fly back to the United States today. It's been a lovely Christmas holiday in London, but I wasn't planning to spend this much time or money here. During my three bonus days I've taken advantage of the Boxing Day sales, ridden the London Eye, heard a Boxing Day Baroque Concert, and toured the city. Last night I attended a lovely service of music and readings for the Christmas season at St. Paul's Cathedral - a wonderful reminder that Christmas is not just one day.

Merry Christmas from London, and I highly recommend this trip to anyone looking for a new and meaningful way to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Evening Ride on the London Eye

The tube strike was over today, and so I decided to make the most of another day in London by seeing the city from the best possible vantage point. After a visit to the Saint Paul's gift shop and a liesurely stroll through town, I took the Central Line and Northern Line to Waterloo and joined another queue - this one for the London Eye, the 445-foot ferris wheel on the banks of the Thames River.

A lot of people had the same idea, because the park was full of happy tourists and there was about an hour wait to get onto the Eye. About 15 people at a time ride in the capsules, and my group began their flight shortly after 3:00 p.m. The sun set over London during the one-hour ride, so I had a magnificent view of London at twilight.

Boxing Day Madness in London!

Once again, the best laid plans often don't come to pass, and we get even more interesting adventures as a result. A blizzard that's headed for the New York City area forced the cancellation of all of today's flights from London to New York. That means I'm "stuck" here in London for another day or two :-)

I realized from the beginning that this was to be a short, whirl-wind trip, so this change has given me some time to relax, go shopping, walk through London, and try some new restaurants. A great way to unwind after such an intense Christmas experience. The problem is that the London Subway Drivers staged a one-day strike today over a pay dispute, so the Underground and many trains were not running. Boxing Day is the Day After Christmas, and the sales and discounts are as huge in London as the are in the states. Trafalgar Square and Picadilly Circus were absolutely mobbed with shoppers, and the buses were stuffed full of people who would normally ride the tube - like me. Because today is Boxing Day, the cabbies charge a holiday surcharge, but I was lucky enough to find a driver who just asked the regular fare to come back to the hotel after a long afternoon of supporting the British economy through shopping.

My favorite teas come from Whittard of Chelsea, which has several shops around Picadilly Circus, so I stocked up. I also manage to find a few London Christmas ornaments, and an additional converter so I can charge my phone and laptop at the same time. Then I spent some time walking around Trafalgar Square, where the fountains had FROZEN, and took the bus to Westminster Station to walk around the Abbey and Parliament. A lot of people were out enjoying the day and continuing their Christmas celebrations.

Happy Boxing Day from London!

Christmas at Saint Paul's Cathedral

Sometimes the best laid plans don't always work out, but often the results are better than the original plan. Melinda and I were hoping to attend the Midnight Eucharist at Saint Paul's Cathedral, but we didn't have enough time to travel back to London from Cambridge, check into our hotel and join the queue in enough time to be admitted. A quick change of plans came together, and we decided to spend the rest of the evening savoring the experience at King's College, and attend the Christmas Day Evensong at Saint Paul's instead. We had a wonderful late dinner at Strada, right across the street from Saint Pauls's, and watched the queue being admitted to the service. The back to the Saint Paul's Club Quarters for rum and some much needed sleep!

Christmas morning included late coffee and bacon sandwiches at Casa di Caffe near Saint Paul's and a walk through the city. We crossed the Millennium Bridge and walked along the Thames, and then returned to the cathedral for Christmas Day Festal Evensong.

It was a beautiful service, but a very different atmosphere from reverence we experienced in Cambridge in Cambridge. Saint Paul's was filled with tourists, many of which treated the evensong like a sightseeing experience rather than a worship service. The Cathredral Choir was wonderful, singing the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis from George Dyson's Evening Service in D and Halleluja from Handel's Messiah.

After the service, a lot of folks began taking flash pictures and video, despite the prohibition. I have to adnmit that I took advantage of the situation to sneak in a few non-flash pictures before leaving the cathedral, which was beautifully decorated for Christmas. A wonderful keepsake of a place I dearly love!

Christmas Dinner was Turkish food at Sofra in Covent Garden - spicy chicken and rice, with sticky toffee pudding for dessert. This is a great way to celebrate the holidays!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas in England

One of the big items on my "bucket list" has been Attend the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at Kings College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve. Well, this year is the year. My home church, Third Presbyterian in Rochester, has been undergoing renovations for the past 10 months. The sanctuary has been closed and our services were held at Incarnate Word Lutheran Church. The date of our return to our own facilities changed a few times over the summer, so it seemed that this would be a good year to celebrate the Christmas holidays in Great Britain.

My plans are to attend the Christmas Eve service in Cambridge and then return to London for the midnight service at Saint Paul's Cathedral and the Christmas Day Evensong at Westminster Abbey.

Things were going well. My cards were mailed, my shopping was done, hotel and dinner reservations were made. Then winter weather struck London and closed Heathrow Airport earlier this week. I've been obsessively watching the weather channel and BBC, hoping that my plans of a life time aren't ruined by a few inches of snow. Fortunately the runways have all been reopened, and my flight is on schedule. I'm waiting to board and start the adventure!