It turns out there are churches in London, as well as in Italy. And, of course, we wouldn't want to leave one unvisited, so this morning we went to St. Paul's Church. Sir Christopher Wren built this church following the Great London Fire of 1666; it's on the site of earlier churches dating from the first century. The earlier ones were either destroyed by invaders or fire, so Wren decided to make this one out of stone. He modeled it after St. Peter's in Rome; it's not quite as big as St. Peter's, but it's pretty impressive.

Inside, St. Paul's seems more like a military and historical memorial than a church. Much of the statuary and artwork commemorates British heroes, patriots, or other famous Brits. Sir Christopher Wren, Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, Florence Nightengale, Lawrence of Arabia, and the Duke of Wellington, among others, are in the crypt.

We climbed all 500+ steps to the top of the dome (that seems to be a recurring theme on this trip), and enjoyed a spectacular view of the London skyline.

Following that, we called on the Queen. Buckingham Palace is only a short tube ride away. We didn't get there in time for the changing of the guard, but the palace grounds and gate were still worth the visit. The palace itself is just a big marble box, not very impressive, except for the Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain, and the traditionally dressed sentries in front.

There we were, in jeans and a sweatshirt, while many British subjects were decked out in their Sunday best -- I guess, just in case the Queen actually showed. They were very proper and formal. We were warm.

Around lunch time, we did a spot of shopping at Harrod's, London's famous department store. We rode the Egyptian escalator, visited the convenient in-store Princess Diana Memorial, and spent all of one pound on a croissant in the huge food court.

During the afternoon, we took in the Natural History Museum, which was built over 100 years ago by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband. This building, the nearby Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Royal Albert Hall were built for the Victorian Exposition at the end of the 19th century.

Finishing out the day, we boarded a double-decker bus for a "London by Night" tour. As it turns out, London isn't a very visual city at night. But the driver was somewhat funny, and the outside ride made us appreciate our warm beds back at County Hall.

Good night, all!