Oct 23, 2024 - Churchill War Museum, St Paul Cathedral, National Gallery, Harrods

The 1st stop was Churchill War Museum recommended by Jason.  The Cabinet War Rooms provided the secret underground headquarters for the core of the British government throughout the Second World War.The fear that London would be the target of aerial bombardment had troubled the government since the First World War and in 1938 the basement of a Whitehall building was chosen as the site for the Cabinet War Rooms. From 1940 – 1945 hundreds of men and women would spend thousands of vital hours here and it soon became the inner sanctum of the British government. Cabinet War Rooms were occupied by leading government ministers, military strategists and the Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The rooms were used as a meeting place for the War Cabinet during air raids. Churchill's War Cabinet met there 115 times, mostly during the Blitz and the later German V-weapon attacks. They were in use 24 hours a day until 16 August 1945. Through the media guide, we learned some of the hidden secrets and stories of Churchill War Rooms. Very interesting!

After that we walked pass the Big Bend and saw a lot of tourists taking photo with the old telephone booth and the Big Bend, so we did the same.

Then, we rode the Tube to visit St Paul Cathedral.  Beyond its architectural landmark status, St. Paul's Cathedral serves as the Anglican Episcopal in London and thus has figured prominently in many major cultural and religious events, from the funerals of Lord Nelson and Winston Churchill to the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer.

There are 3 levels of Galleries in this Cathedral, namely Whispering Gallery, Stone Gallery and Golden Gallery.  Whispering Gallery is 30 meters from Cathedral Floor with 257 Steps to reach it.  The Stone Gallery is 53 meters from Cathedral Floor with 376 steps up.  The Golden Gallery is 85 meters from Cathedral Floor with 528 steps up.  Our pre-booked tickets include the fee for visiting all 3 galleries.  Therefore we visited all 3 of them.  They are accessed by steep and narrow stairs.  It was a little bit strenuous, however the views worth every step of the climbing.  We were so glad that we were able to make it all the way to Golden Gallery.

After that, we had a light lunch at the Cathedral’s cafe.  Then we traveled to National Gallery.  This time we used our pre-booked ticket trying to get in.  However, we were still been told to line up in the long queue.   After half an hour, we did not feel any progress, and the only reason we moved up a little bit were due to people gave up the long waiting line and left.  So we did the same and left.  It was good for the free entrance to National Gallery, however, I just don’t think they are caring about visitors.  If they have pre-booked ticket requirement for entrance slot, they shall be able to control the crowd without creating long queue everyday.  Disappointed!

Then, we moved to the last stop Harrod’s.  We visited this place before, however, we just like to revisit to see if we can get some souvenirs.  Then we noticed that there were some changes and later we confirmed that this place is not owned by the same Mohamed Al-Fayed anymore.  Therefore, we could not see any memorial of Diana.  We did shopping and even got food for our dinner tonight.