I WAS UP to a sunny morning for breakfast at 8 am. We cleaned up then headed right to the Britrail station at Leigh-on-Sea. We took the train to Fenchurch Street Station then, seeing that the weather was quite nice, we decided to do the sightseeing today. So, we went around the corner to the underground and got up at St. James's Park.

Talk about a beautiful park! There were weeping willows and flowers along the stream, then, to my delight, the other way was up to Buckingham Palace. We went to the Mall and walked up to the gates. As we went past Queen Victoria's statue I was left absolutely speechless. Fortunately, the changing of the guard was on so we watched it. Then along came three royal coaches which went through the gates and entered into the palace. It wasn't royalty as they'd have had guards parading them. As it was I was amazed.

As we stood taking all of this in, I looked up at the palace above the balcony where I'd see people through the curtains. We couldn't see who they were but assumed it must have been the Royal Family. In an other smaller but higher window we saw a young blonde head appear a few times. It could be too much to assume, but we thought it must have been Prince William!

I'd seen pictures of the palace and had been impressed but some told me it wasn't much to see. No way. The gilt statue. The enormous gates. The Royal Standard. It was something I wouldn't have missed for the world.

Once the old guard had left, we walked over to the park to eat. Behind me was Buckingham Palace, in front of me was Big Ben and Westmister Abbey, and here I was sitting in St. James Park. What a morning - but that wasn't all.

After lunch we walked down the Mall through Admiralty Arch and into Trafalgar Square where Nelson kept a watch on everything. This time I was able to get a good look at the statues, fountains and the incredible buildings surrounding me. In front was the National Gallery and best of all, Canada House, with a huge Maple Leaf. Also nearby were CN and CP buildings.

We went down Fleet Street and to Downing Street where I saw the Prime Minister's residence, though we couldn't get down the actual street as it was fenced off - I suppose to keep terrorists away from the actual house.

We walked to Westminster Bridge and took a boat tour from there to the Tower of London. Along the way were the London Council offices, an old palace now used to house some Members of Parliament, Cleopatra's Needle, St. Paul's Cathedral, theatres, and of course, the Tower of London. What we usually see with this title is a building built in the 19th Century in gothic style to match the Tower which is a fortress/castle which dates back to William the Conqueror in the 11th Century. As I'm going to return to it next week, we only went past it to get to the underground.

Getting off at St. Paul's, we walked over to Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece. The closer one got to it, the better it was. I saw the actual gates entered by the Prince of Wales and his bride, the actual chairs where the nobility sat, and the actual spots where the two sat, then, the spot where they were married. I thought other cathedrals were nice. I was even at the point of one cathedral - all cathedrals. Not here. There is so much gold in the 'tiles' (I forget the real name) of the high vaulted ceilings the whole place glittered. Under the dome seen from outside is an amazing masterpiece painted all around the inside of the dome.

We decided to go up to the room of whispers which is a balcony way up in the dome from where you can look down into the cathedral. The walls, of course, are rounded so when someone whispers along the wall on the other side, it echoes around so you can easily hear it if your ear is close to the wall. It was really neat.

There were more steps to the top of the dome where an outer balcony looks out onto the City of London. Five hundred and fifty steps up. It was high but what a view - I wouldn't have missed this for the world, either. I could see way across the city from all the way around. I took a few photos along the Thames. As an aside, at the beginning of some English productions on TV, it shows a dome and the word 'Thames' as seen across the water. The view is of St. Paul's from the River Thames.I must say, I love London, much more than I ever could have imagined.

After so many steps, we were tired (not as tired as I'd have been with no cycling) so we returned to Fenchurch Street station to take the train back to Leigh on which I slept most of the way so the ride was quite fast. Back home, we prepared supper but Kay called to say they'll be over for dinner, I I believe, next Wednesday, so I'll finally be able to meet her and see Stuart after fifteen or so years.

After supper we cleaned up then we watched a bit of TV. Canada doesn't seem to have disappeared so I had a nice warm bath in which I read a non-travel book, then went straight to bed. I was in bed at 10 pm - the earliest in a long time.

Tomorrow we'll be going into town, not too early, to go shopping. I heard that the weather is to be good so it should be a great time on Oxford Street. We shan't be too long, then the weekend will be a break. If the weather is well on Saturday, I shall be out for at least twenty miles (32 km) to bring my total up to 700 miles (1,120 km).