After running in the mornings, I spent the rest of the days exploring London! My birdie invited me to come to school with her and I enjoyed meeting her professors and the author and activist Bidisha.

It was great to see passionate minds at work and I was thankful to be invited. I then went out into the London world and maneuvered my way to Westminster to see some sights. This was made easier in London because there were fewer crowds and everything was in English! The tube was brisk and busy but not smothered in riders and I used an Oyster card to pay for my transportation. An Oyster card might be an excellent purchase depending on how long you’l be in London and where you plan to travel.

Baker Street without Sherlock:

The Alabama Shakes were releasing an album:

The underground transportation system was REALLY underground! I felt as if I were journeying to the center of the earth:

When I arrived at Westminster the sky was a bit overcast and I marveled at my first view of the London Eye.

Did I ride it? Not on this trip but I certainly will when I return. And then the sun arrived and the sky became so very blue.

Big Ben was bigger than I imagined.

I shouldn’t have been surprised to see anything historical  in London but wow, here’s Oliver Cromwell‘s tomb:

And another garden that needs to be visited through running!

Westminster deserves days of exploration and I soon ran out of them. London certainly wasn’t as crowded as Paris but it was still a holiday weekend and the visitor count was pretty high. Have you been to Westminster? What did you miss that you’d like to see on your return trip?