First Day in London!

We arrived in London on a Wednesday morning.  It was a very long red eye flight so we were exhausted after leaving Tuesday at 4 pm.  We spent several hours getting a sim card in our phone, converting cash into pounds, finding our luggage and figuring out the train system to get to London from Heathrow airport.  Once we got there we had to find a hotel...then we set out in the area of Victoria to explore...we found Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. 

Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales.  The cathedral is located in Victoria, in the City of Westminster. It is the largest Catholic church in England and Wales, and should not be confused with Westminster Abbey of the Church of England.
John Betjamen called it "a masterpiece in striped brick and stone in an intricate pattern of bonding, the domes being all-brick in order to prove that the good craftsman has no need of steel or concrete."

Interior of Westminster Cathedral

Baptistry in Westminster Cathedral...I thought it was interesting baptism, in the early days of the church took place by total immersion.  Statue of John the Baptist in the background.

Westminster Abbey

We couldn't go into Westminster Abbey since it was closed for the day...not to mention it was 18 pounds to enter the church.  That got me to thinking how I could get in the church for free....hmm guess we would be going to church service later in the week. 

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English, later British and later still (and currently) monarchs of the Commonwealth.

Westminster Abbey; North Facade

After walking through the two churches we went over and walked around the Parliament buildings and saw Big Ben...by that time it was dinner time so we ate and then went to bed!

Big Ben

Parliament Buildings

We found a small but adequate hotel.  It could sleep 6 people if we wanted...it was very small with lots of bed.  You could sit on the toilet and take a shower at the same time.