The last day is always a bit of an interesting day. We do less most of the time, as I think our brains are busy thinking about the travel day and our bodies really let down because we know we are nearly done.

As is always the case, it was breakfast first, and then after getting ready, heading to the tube. It was Jubilee to Westminster this morning. We then walked over to Westminster Abbey: there were no (expensive) tours today since it’s Sunday, but there was Matins scheduled at 10:00 so we opted for that. Worship services are always free, and it was nice to worship on a Sunday in London! This time we were wiser than we were in York, got there early, and had lovely seats where we could see and hear better. It was all quite beautiful.

The formality of the service is, of course, not what I experience at home. I really miss a bit of formality so I enjoyed it. This was not a service with a sermon, but it was music, scripture, and prayer. I was moved.

No photography was allowed in the service, understandably, and it did make me realize we should someday pay the whopping amount they charge if we really want to see the entire building. I was ogling the markers for various famous musicians as we walked in and a guide came and clearly wanted us to move on.

On the way out people did pull out cameras, so I felt comfortable taking a few shots outside of the actual church.

From the church we ambled a bit, checking out some nearby spots.

After that we headed toward Trafalgar Square. When we were here the first time we met up at the Square with Greg and Jan and from there we walked to a nearby pub. Dan thought he could locate it and he did! All I remembered was that we got to go down two flights of stairs which I loved — it felt so private.

It hadn’t yet opened, so we continued our walk toward Trafalgar.

There was a huge area fenced off. Hm. And why might that be? Baseball. The Phillies & Mets are here to play, wouldn’t you know? So this was some sort of spot where they had a huge screen and I could hear someone talking and music playing. We weren’t interested in going in, so we continued to walk.

Eventually it was time to get back to “our” pub. It just opened, and the person opening it told us to go on up to the main floor. Ah well. We didn’t opt to ask if we could go down, being the shy retiring sort of folks we are. Today is Sunday so the menu was different … it’s roast time. Dan had chicken and I had some sort of plant-based nut roast. It was all quite tasty. (I think the roasted potatoes won the day, though!)

More time to walk, and we were on Fleet Street. You know what that means!

Okay … it doesn’t really mean “The Amicable Society of Lazy Ballerinas”. (I looked it up: it’s a wine bar.)

But this …

We headed to St. Paul’s.

I wasn’t interesting in paying £22.50 per senior to go in, nor was Dan, so we just wandered around it a bit and then went to the Millennium bridge, which took us toward our hotel. A quick climb up some stairs later and we were back.

Eventually it was time to head to Holy Trinity Church. Greg (one of my brothers, for those of you who don’t know) had mentioned that Gesualdo Six would be singing there and I was so glad he did!

The church is in Chelsea. Some restaurants were quite posh, and clearly the area is that way as well.

We found a more affordable place to dine, and then we headed around the corner to the church for the concert.

First a choir from Birmingham, Alabama sang, then Gesualdo Six joined them for one song, and then the Six sang an absolutely exquisite half. For both the choir and GSix I had to pull a tissue out. There is simply nothing like the human voice, and the music hit me in the way I love. If you ever have a chance to hear the Gesualdo Six I highly recommend that you do!

Finally it was another train “home” where I’m writing this and we will spend our last night. Our flight tomorrow doesn’t leave until 4:15 PM, but we will take our time packing, and head over to the airport which is a bit of a distance. But hey, the flight home is only three hours! We arrive at 7-something PM. Yep, I’m still funny as can be. Or not.

Some views from the Blackfriar’s Bridge: we crossed this bridge a number of times.

So this is it. End of vacation. Maybe I’ll post when we get home (if I have a brain left), and I’d like to post some thoughts on what I’d do differently next time. Having the Great Glen Way walk added to this trip did make it difficult to pack lightly, though. I’d love to see if there would be a way to do that despite doing a walk. (And honestly I think I’d see if these less expensive trekking poles we bought would make it through in carryon. If they took them away I’d just sigh and deal.)

Posting these blog entries has been cumbersome and I need to find a better way to upload photos, but that will wait for another day. For now it’s close to slumber time, and then let the packing begin!

Ciao!