London, day 4

It was a busy morning as we changed hotels . . . moved across town to be near the Kings Cross/St Pancras station for an early morning train departure. Today was our last tourist day in London and only a few things left to do . . . well on the list anyway! I am tired and ready to move on but . . .

We finally rode in one of the cute little black taxi cabs around town . . . I love how they look and the seating arrangement inside.

The first stop was St Paul's Cathedral . . . the church where Princess Diana was married in and the church where Winston Churchill's funeral was held . . . only reason I know this is because Colin and I watched the movie at the museum a couple days ago. It was pretty impressive. I spent most of my time in the crypt reading all the plaques . . . they were so personal and tell so much about a person's life. I was surprised to see at the east end of the Cathedral there was the American Memorial Chapel. It honors American servicemen and women who died in World War II. The roll contains the names of more than 28,000 Americans who gave their lives while on their way to, or stationed in, the United Kingdom during World War II. It is kept in front of the chapel's altar. I wasn't going to push my luck with Colin so we left. He is about done with going to churches.

It was time to make the long trek to the Imperial War Museum which was far out but free even without our London Pass! As soon as Colin saw the museum entrance he was hooked . . . he could not get enough!
Before we left I finally got him to stand still for a photo inside . . . .
We took a quick restroom break and found these cool hand dryers . . .

There was one part of the museum that I really enjoyed the most and wished I could have spent more time. It was called "The Children's War" and showed how the war was for kids during that time. The exhibit lead into a set up of what things looked like at that time; kitchen, house, bedroom, toy chest, and finally a school house. I was looking at old photos and saw a man sitting beside a sign. I thought he was a security guard or something but started reading and realized it might be the boy in the photo. WOW, so I asked if it was him and he proudly said yes and started talking. I was chomping to ask questions . . . it was really neat to talk to him but also made me teary eyed too. I always get emotional about war and wonder about the long-term effects it might have . . . any way back to my story . . . he was a young boy (9-15 years old) during the war time. He even had his ration card to show us . . . he told us about only be able to buy ice cream once a week and that he rode his bike 10 miles each way because he wanted it so much because it tasted so good. It was really a neat touch the museum added and if anyone is ever around there, check it out as there are about 30 volunteers who participate but not there each day.
They also had a special exhibition based on the Horrible Histories book series. It was very kid friendly and Colin enjoyed it even if he did not fully understand most of it . . . I thought most was gross but humorous too! There was an area to dress up as a British Solider and/or German Soldier . . .

. . . then there was this interactive thing on the floor to show what it would be like on the floor of the trenches . . . mice running around . . . if you stepped on them they 'splatted' a big red spot . . .

. . . and the final thought as we exited . . .

The last full day was done. We finished our last night in London at a pub with Fish and Chips . . . this time I ordered my own and told Colin no sharing! We headed back to the hotel to pack up for the next leg of our trip but first a swim!