London Blog Pt. 6 - "Restful Sunday"

I've always loved Sunday mornings. Evenings could get a bit stressful with getting ready for Monday but Sunday mornings are wonderful. Today was no exception. We all had a bit of a lie-in this morning and then had a picnic lunch in the park/church yard that's behind our building. We hung out there for a little while and I took some pictures of Alicia and David and their son Alex. Such a good looking family! 

After that we all kind of split up to do different things and I decided to go for a walk and explore a bit. I ended up starting off on the same walk as we did on Friday, heading towards St. Paul's Cathedral (getting distracted by some shops along the way) and then crossing the Millennium Bridge. Only this time when I got to the other side I headed East and saw the Globe Theatre, Pickfords Wharf, Southwark Cathedral, a random Bastille Day festival going on this weekend, London Bridge (which fortunately didn't fall down), the Tower of London and the incredible sky scrapers of the City.

I've had massive issues tonight uploading all these photos so this post is going to be short on text and long on photos. Enjoy!

P.S. - On a personal note: Hi Mom!!! It was good to Skype with you today. Enjoy the pics, wish you were here. :) xoxo

Another sunny day in London.

As you can see there were a few other people out here enjoying the day.

The church behind the flat.

Pretty flowers by the church.

On my walk. Pretty garden behind a historic building.

The Guildhall.

The clock of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Looking East from the Millennium Bridge.

A close up of the locks on the Millennium Bridge. Sadly, they apparently disapprove of this habit and cut them off. Come on London, get with it! If Paris can do it so can you!

Coming down underneath the Millennium Bridge.

Street vendor selling the World's Smallest Kites. If you look closely at the smaller tree in the middle of the picture you'll see a diamond of red with a green tail. That's the kite. I bought 4. :) 3 people are getting mini kites as gifts when I get back.

Cool old buildings next to the Globe.

The Globe Theatre! I'm going to have to go back and try to do a tour.

Cool pub along the riverfront. The Shard looms in the background.

The remains of Winchester Palace.

The Golden Hinde, Sir Francis Drake's ship, at Pickfords Wharf.

Stopping for a coffee and brownie break at Caffe Nero. This might become a habit. And as you can see, the shopping spree has begun! :)

Southwark Cathedral and the Shard.

Looking West from the London Bridge. You can see the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Crossing back into the City.

Hay's Galleria. Apparently there is more shopping here, I must check it out. :) I also see a Cote Brasserie, maybe lunch and shopping in my future? 

HMS Belfast

Tower of London, with a random catapult in the yard.

The archer in the tower.

Memorial in Trinity Garden.

Cool vines/trees going up the side of this building.

So, apparently the windows of the Gherkin can open?! I didn't know this (and neither did my friends). I certainly wasn't the only one taking pictures of this today. It looks so cool!

Random dinosaur statues.

St. Helen's of Bishopsgate Church.

Sheba is checking out my new sunglasses.