Day 11 - Stamford Bridge,Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, National Gallery

This morning we went to Stamford Bridge the home of Chelsea FC! I was uber excited and tickled pink to be able to see the Stadium. Unfortunately we came too late in the month to see a game, but I shall see one next time I come to London. I was tickled pink at all the merchandise they have and bought my very own jersey finally.

Afterwards we caught the tube to see Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Big Ben was enormous and I didn't know that despite all the bombing during the Blitz it still chimed every hour on the hour.

Walking for a brief moment we entered Westminster Abbey. Inside the Abbey we saw the altar where Prince William and Kate Middleton were married before moving on to the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I. Before we reached her tomb we passed those of her Father King Henry VIII, King Edward the Confessor, Queen Eleanor of Castille, King Richard II, Mary Queen of Scots, and King Edward Longshanks. I literally got shivers up and down my body as we passed each tomb. I never dreamed in a million years that I would be seeing people who made hsitory, people that I'd read and studied about. Looking at Elizabeth I's tomb (which is jointly shared with her sister Queen Mary) there was a sense of peace and accomplishment. Moving on through the Abbey we saw the Memorial to Shakespeare and the tombs of Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, Handel, Tennyson, Keates, William Wordsworth, the Bronte sisters, Sir Laurence Olivier, and many more. My Mum loved the Abbey but felt it was a bit creepy being surrounded by dead bodies. Somehow that didn't bother me and I felt a bit exhilerated being in the company of so many accomplished people. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so I pilfered these from the internet.

Lastly we passed the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and lit candles for the members of our family who have passed on. Next we headed up Victoria Way to Buckingham Palace. We weren't able to visit anything inside as the State Apartments were closed, so we just took pictures of the Palace and the Victoria Monument outside. Strolling through St. James's Park we ambled to Trafalgar Square and to the National Gallery. St. James's Park was picturesque and pastoral with sweeping willow trees, colourful beds of flowers, swans on the pond, and towering chestnut trees.

 The National Gallery is on Trafalgar Square and houses Renoir, Degas, Raphael, Michelangelo, Goya,Van Gogh, Manet, Rubens, Gainsborough, Rembrandt and many other artists. Pictures weren't allowed inside so here a few pilfered from the internet of what we saw.