Last Hurrah in London

Last week I went into London for one last hurrah.  It was a chance to see some things that I just hadn't had time to see yet.  Most of my day focused on history and I got so engrossed, I forgot to take pictures of a lot of it, but I do have a few for you.  Mostly it was a time for me to observe and absorb the sounds, smells, and hustle and bustle of the city one more time.

The Imperial War Museum.  It has free entry - score!  I went to see the home front exhibits of World War I and II.  They also have a really neat exhibit of World War II from a child's perspective, complete with a replica home of the period and displays on schooling, shopping, working, and playing.  It was really neat, but quite emotional - I can't imagine what it must have been like to live through it.

After a lovely walk along the South Bank of the Thames, I crossed the Millennium Bridge to St. Paul's.  The architecture is just amazing.  From here I went on a walking tour of "London during the Blitz".  It was fascinating.

One of our destinations was Christ Church Greyfriars, which took a direct hit during the Blitz.

Where the sanctuary stood has been turned into a public garden.  It was recently replanted as a cottage garden reminiscent of the actual sanctuary building.  The path is where the aisle would have been and the "columns" will soon be covered with climbing roses.

A View of St. Paul's Cathedral from Paternoster Square.  According to our guide, Sir Winston Churchill had ordered that St. Paul's be saved at all costs.  It did take two direct hits, but both did much less damage than they would have thanks to the St. Paul's fire brigade that slept in the church to put out any fires started by the Blitz bombings.

The Chapter House in front of St. Paul's.  This is a  three story building.  That means the cathedral is HUGE!

I finally found a view of the cathedral that you can get a half-way decent picture of the scope of the building from.

The face on the dial is Winston Churchill's.  Brendan Bracken was Churchill's good friend and Minister of Information during the war.  I don't know if I would still be good friends with someone that stuck my face on a clock.

The Guildhall.  One night of the Blitz was called the Second Great Fire of London because so much of London was ablaze from all of the bombs.  The roof of this building was destroyed that night, but the rest of the building (parts dating from 1411) was saved.

I went through Trafalgar Square on last time.  The Olympic countdown is in the background.  At the time there were 435 days until the Summer Olympics begin.  Fun fact:  The cycling event will go right past the home of one of my colleagues.  How cool is that?