Today was my day at the ice rink. Getting there early, we wandered around trying to find something for the husband to read while I skated - no luck. So we went on to Somerset House and I got my skates on. I was pleasantly surprised when I found I could actually walk in the skates. I really was afraid I would be all over the place, falling down and making a fool of myself. But I didn't! I got out on the ice and went round and round, feeling pretty pleased with myself. I didn't fall down once, although I was a bit wobbly at times. I had to remember to keep my knees bent. I did have trouble stopping and managed to slam into the railing several times - 3 of them right into a group of strangers. Two of the groups saw me coming at least and the gentleman that I took by surprise laughed about it. I felt bad about the husband just standing by the side, watching, but it only took about a half hour to wear me out. It's a different sort of exercise than I'm used to and I worked up a sweat. But I am so glad I went skating and I thanked the husband for not letting me chicken out. I'm even thinking of taking lessons when we get home. I know there are rinks in the valley, just depends on the timing for the lessons. My work hours can really screw stuff like that up.
We walked down to St. Paul's Cathedral then, as I wanted to climb up to the dome. It's 530 steps, mostly on spiral stairs. We started out on the main floor, looking at the nativity and the ceilings. Very beautiful and ornate. Headed down to the crypt, which wigged me out a bit. Cemeteries I can handle, but crypts with carved images of the people buried inside are too much. Luckily, a lot are just memorials. Looked around, found Lawrence of Arabia, then headed up. The husband went up to the Whispering Gallery with me (which didn't work, but I don't think we were exactly across from each other). He headed back down and I headed up. It was quite a climb, but not as bad as it could have been. A lot of the time, the spirals had short breaks or small bridges, so I didn't get as dizzy as I can on those things. But the view from the top was worth it. You could see everything. It was a bit hazy today, but still a very nice view. I took a lot of pictures so the husband could feel like he was there - hope they turn out. On the way down, I had a bad spot on the stairs. Sometimes, when I'm on a stairway and have several floors to go down, I can't help but think about the people in the Towers on 9/11. I remember hearing survivors talk about how hard it was to get down the stairs, how some people had to resort to sliding down on their bottoms. I'm in pretty good shape for the shape I'm in - I work out 4 or 5 times a week - I just can't imagine being on the 72 floor knowing I had to get down to 1 before I could get out...
But I got down and went to find the husband. We had found a bookstore on our way to St. Paul's and had picked up 4 books. He was kind of angry with me for spending the money, but I felt he deserved it for having to spend most of the day waiting for me to do stuff. He was reading off to the side and I went over and sat with him for a bit. I had worked up another sweat and was still feeling odd from the stairs - told him about it and he patted my thigh. He knows it's still hard for me.
Went to a great pub for lunch - Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. It's a pub that's been around since 1666, if not longer for some parts of it. Charles Dickens used to eat there and they have a seat marked as his usual. They also have a stuffed parrot that died in 1926. It was named Polly and was 40 when it died. Apparently it was famous and its death was noted worldwide - they had the obituaries in several languages to prove it. The bird was profane and if you asked it what it would have, it would shout "Scotch"! The food was really good and the entertainment was even better. We sat in a booth next to a group of 6 men. They seemed to be very good friends and the stories they told were fascinating to listen in on. I know we shouldn't have eavesdropped, but it's not like we had to try - it was harder to pretend we weren't listening. I would love to have a group of friends like that.
After lunch, it was off to the Cabinet War Rooms, the underground bunker where the British government met during WWII. This was just about my favorite museum. They had restored it to the way it looked during its use, with most of the original furnishings and equipment. They even found a bag of sugar rations that one of the officers had hidden away in a drawer! It really was quite interesting to hear about the activities that went on there and the idiosyncrasies of Churchill and his staff. Made it all much more real than what what you get from school books.
Walked through St. James's Park down to Buckingham Palace - doesn't look like much at night, not illuminated at all. Headed through another park and caught the tube home. Had to stop at Boots on the way. Both the husband and I are catching a bit of something and we needed lozenges.
All in all, a good day. Maybe breakfast helped with that. We had sausage rolls this morning. Needed something with some meat in it.
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