Two Churches and a Financial District

 

I wanted to experience the new Elizabeth Tube Line so I studied where it went and decided to take it out to Canary Wharf, the gleaming new financial district for London.  I loved the Elizabeth line.  Everything was so clean and quiet.  

Canary Wharf was a bit of a shock.  I hadn't been there for around 10 years and wow, had it changed.  there were more buildings, more shops and more things to see.  And, I think I saw buildings for every big American bank as well as some European ones.

After spending a few hours at the newness of Canary Wharf, I headed back into the city and made a stop at the truly 'old' St. Bartholomew the Great Church.  I hadn't visited this church for over 10 years.  One of my favorite photos was taken at this church on my first visit all those years ago.  This church dates back to 1123 and it has survived a ransacking in 1543 and the great fire in 1666.  It's a true survivor.  

After visiting St. Bartholomew, I walked to St. Paul's and decided to pay the admission fee to have a look inside.  It's been probably 20 years since I visited the inside of this church.

Just as I remembered, the beauty of the place is striking.  They were playing some organ music that was quite relaxing so I stayed inside for a while listening to the music and admiring the beauty of the place.

To top off my evening, I returned to a Greek restaurant that I had visited last week.  I was surprised that I was greeted with a "welcome back" and a friendly welcome.  What a warm and lovely place with great food and a feeling like you are part of the family.  The restaurant is called Apollo and the owners and staff made me feel right at home.