St. Paul's cathedral 530 steps

Left Isleworth on the rail and then the tube to St Paul's.




I didn't get a good front shot, so this one is from the side. We walked in and picked up the kids audio tour. They're on iPod like devices. We synched tracks and did a wander through. The crypt was neat, but disappointed there were no actual bones laying about. You couldn't take pictures in the cathedral, sorry.

Dennis said this is his favorite place so far in London, it was beautiful, but with two kids and trying to keep the technology in sync, I think it wasn't quite on my top 10. (again, I think if it's a crypt, you should at least leave a femur out or something).

We had to climb the stairs up to the whispering gallery, O took the lead P behind at about stair 3 P stars up with "I'm tired, my legs hurt, how many more stairs, are we there yet, how much longer ". But with Jenny behind her she made it up ALL 530 steps. I was bringing up the rear sucking wind, wondering how many paramedics it would take to carry me down and could I fake a heart attack so I could be carried (and no, I don't see any correlation between P and I).





The view from the top.



Jen kept P moving and for that I'm eternally grateful, especially because I didn't have to carry a six year old down 530 steps. Mom, who accused me of portraying her as having an IQ of a turnip- so not true especially since she sat down in the cool gallery waiting for our sweaty claustrophobic bodies to reappear. She didn't go to school just to eat her lunch.

O said her legs were "very very tired and shakie"




Grabbed lunch at Marks & Spencer. I got what I thought was a jam and cream cheese sandwich for the girls, nope it was cake (strike one), grabbed chips (nutritional strike 2) had them choose an apple or banana (P chose neither, say it with me now, strike..3).

After lunch we found the Millennium Bridge and headed over to the Tate Modern.



Noni got the girls each a "worlds smallest kite". We went into the Tate didn't have much more left in us, we'll have to go back when we're fresh. The hike to the tube was brutal. It was just too much .. But we're learning.

Came home and promptly fell asleep on the couch. Dennis came home, he'd taken the bus to work 3x longer than the train (bad suggestion on my part). He'd been fined by the rail way for not having a ticket the day before. We all thought the Oyster card worked all over. He's already launched a complaint and wants his 20£ back.

Love from a-broad.