Oh it seems way too long since I returned from my ‘heart home’ in England, but I love getting to revisit the memories and pictures of the trip.

Today, I’m taking you with us on day #2 – London.

It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep and a great English breakfast can do for energy levels. 🙂 And boy, did we need the energy for THIS day!

We started our morning with a 25 minute walk to St. Paul’s Cathedral to meet our Christian Heritage Tour guide on the steps.

Peter Greyling was such a wealth of wonderful knowledge, taking us on a two hour walk through some of the quieter streets of London to learn more about the less popular stories of Christianity.

We walked in areas where the Wesley brothers had walked and hear their stories. Learned of martyrs, world war veterans, and early Christian fathers – all who walked along the same paths we walked. It was pretty spectacular.

We visited the church where the Wesley brothers preached, saw the remains of the 2000 year old Roman wall, touched WW2 bomb marks on the walls of buildings, and even stubmled upon the street where “Sherlock Holmes” died (in BBC’s/Benedict Cumberbatch version). (Note Lydia’s ecstatic expression about this little discovery)

Then we toured the gothic and historic Westminster Abbey. Being among the tombs of so many powerful people of history was an interesting and humbling experience. The architecture, age, and overall beauty only enhanced the awareness of memories painting the walls. At noon, a clergyman addressed the group to engage in corporate prayer for the nation and world. I was glad to be a part of the prayer, because despite the fact that some in the crowd may not have prayed at all, I knew to Whom I prayed….and that He was listening.

After a brief chat with a very nice policeman in the giftshop of Westminster (I tend to talk to EVERYBODY), we went to lunch at St. Martin’s in the Crypt. Yes, you read that right. THE CRYPT. We had lunch in a crypt. (and not creepy). We met another tour guide here, a guy who became an instant friend, Keith Berry, historian and past of New City Church in Hammersmith 🙂 Keith took us on a tour of the British Museum, where we focused particularly on some Biblically significant ancient history. Assyrian, Persian, Egyptian….all these priceless artifacts were housed in this building and many were thousands of years old.

Of course we saw the Rosetta Stone, mummies, and even some fashions of different times, but the ancient wall carvings and paintings were my favorites. Why? Because they told stories 🙂

We headed through St. James Park where hundreds of people enjoyed the balmy day with by having picnic lunches on the grass, and of course we spied Buckingham Palace along the way. We also saw beautiful window boxes filled with flowers (I have a weakness for lovely window boxes).

And then we traveled to the British Library to check out the “Treasures” Room….filled with manuscripts from centuries old to more modern (you know, 1600s ), just kidding – it had handwritten lyrics from the Beattles ;-). This room houses original copies of The Gutenberg Bible, Magna Carta, Leonardo DiVinci’s notebook, Shakespeare’s handwritten notes, King Henry VIII’s letters, an original copy of Utopia, and so much more.

We stopped for a bite to eat before heading to the theatre!! What a fun treat to watch a live production of Into the Woods in a small intimate theatre called The Chocolate Factory (where, of course, I had to eat some chocolate). It was a small cast with amazing talent!

The night ended with a walk back to our hotel over London Bridge. What a great day!!