Christmas in England part 14: Westminster Abby

The rain continued to pound and half of us woke up even sicker. 

What wonderful circumstance to be in while visiting the greatest city!

It took a couple hours, but most of us got our act together and headed to Westminster Abby. This was one of my "I will do this even if I am half dead and there's a blizzard outside" stops, so I'm really glad we did it.

We took the Tube which was cool and much cleaner than the Subway in New York or even the Trax in Salt Lake. I've noticed that about most places out here. They keep things much cleaner. I'm a fan.

It was another fun London experience that I'm glad I got. Guys, I really loved this city.
Ava doesn't seem to, though.

As we got out and walked toward the Abby, the rain came down and the wind blew it right in our faces. We couldn't use umbrellas because the wind just broke them or blew them inside-out! When we caught sight of Westminster though, I knew it was worth it. Holy freak. That thing is gorgeous. And gigantic! And you could see my best friend, Big Ben. I was in heaven. I can't fathom just living in a city where a few blocks away are some of the most beautiful and historically famous buildings in the world. It's incredible.

Westminster was even more beautiful that I expected. When we first walked in, I couldn't help it, I said,  "holy crap!" The lady handing out maps said, "there will be more holy craps! This is only the beginning!" She was right.

The way the tours there are set up is so smart! You get this audio device that kind of looks like an old cell phone. All around the Abby, the main areas are given a number. When you get to that number, you key it into your device, hold it up to your ear, and you can listen to a man describe the area and history behind it. Then you can do the tour at your own pace. I loved it! 

Technically, they say you shouldn't take pictures inside. But I'm a huge rebel. We got some grainy iPhone ones, but they just don't do it any justice! So I won't even share them.

 Jessica likes to photobomb.

Every corner of the Abby was more incredible than the next. There were gorgeous chapels and grave after grave of some of the most historically significant people in the world. There was Charles Dickens (my students thought that was so cool because we just finished "A Christmas Carol"), Issac Newton, Charles Darwin, basically every king or queen I've ever learned about in history, and so many more! The ceilings and stained glass windows were probably my favorite part. So much detail! You just stand there forever, staring because you can't get over it. Basically it's the most beautiful building I have ever been in or probably will ever be in. Unless I make it to the Vatican one day. Fingers crossed!

We ate lunch in a cute little cafe attached to Westminster and took the Tube home. Then we all napped and laid around and tried to not feel like dying. A few of us ventured to the streets for dinner later that night. We ended up at McDonald's. Culture. 

The night ended with a movie and playing games. The way pretty much every night ended. But you always feel cooler when you're playing games in London as opposed to playing games in Salt Lake..