European Adventure | Day 8

On Sunday, April 13, Mom and I said au revoir to France as we took the Eurostar train to England. We left the boat at 7:45 that morning to get to Gare du Nord (North Station) in Paris. Once there, we checked our luggage and went through customs to gain entry into the United Kingdom. Our train left at 10:09, so we were soon on our way.

The Eurostar train is extremely fast, and the scenery outside, while beautiful, just whizzes by. The journey under the Channel was also so quick that Mom didn't realize we had gone under (I remembered a little bit from last time). We gained an hour along the way, so we arrived at St. Pancras Station around noon. After a little confusion, we found our Viking guide and made our way to the coach for the London city tour.

The London Marathon was taking place this Sunday, so we weren't able to see as many things as usual. We did get out around the London Eye, where we had a good view of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey on the other side of the Thames. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and Mom and I had to keep pinching ourselves to believe we were actually in London together.






After leaving London, we drove on to Oxford, our home base for the next three days. We stayed at the Old Bank Hotel, which was quite nice. We spent a little time enjoying the fast internet (Instagram didn't freeze! Blogs came through with images!) before going out to explore. Since we hadn't eaten since breakfast, we decided to try a pub called The Crown. We had some difficulty ordering since they were out of so many things, but our main dishes (fish and chips for Mom, chicken burger for me) were really good. Afterward we stopped in a few of the little shops then joined the Viking group attending Evensong at Christ Church Cathedral.



This Sunday was Palm Sunday, so the Evensong service was especially meaningful. The music was absolutely gorgeous, and I loved gazing at the stained glass windows and the sanctuary as a whole. I would definitely have trouble concentrating on the service each week when surrounded by such beauty.

We came back to the room afterward and turned in early. Our first day in England was definitely a memorable one.