One of the big reasons we came on this trip for was Marc to see the English legal system. He LOVES legal history and actually listens legal history books while mowing the grass. He recently wrote a very well researched article on where we get a lot of our legal motions and terms called "Who Do We Think We Are?" for the Alabama Lawyer (just look at the footnotes on that article!) And we often watch British legal drama shows.
So, when he heard you can take a private tour of the Royal Courts of Justice he decided that is what he wanted for his 50th birthday. And that is exactly what we did!
We slept in a little this day to catch up on our sleep and had a great breakfast. Here is our hotel- Thistle Kensington Gardens (the rooms were SMALL but clean and nice and the breakfast was delicious every day). And it was right across the street from Kensington Palace so we could walk the palace gardens in the evening.
We got everyone dressed up for the fancy tour.
We took 6-person black cabs everywhere we went.
Our first stop this day was the Westminster Cathedral- the Catholic Cathedral in London (not to be confused with Westminster Abbey). It was Ascension Thursday. In America, this is not a day Holy Day of Obligation, but in England it is. It was a beautiful Mass and we loved the priest's beautiful accent.
Old Adam
New Adam!
A lot still needs to be restored-
After Mass we walked over to see Buckingham Palace! I was so excited! We walked all around the gardens. They were getting everything ready for the Jubilee and concerts.
We had time for a quick deli lunch before meeting our tour guide at The Royal Courts of Justice. All of their civil courts are in one building- it's almost 3 miles to walk the whole complex. Sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures, but on this tour we got to see magic just like the day before. We got to sit in the back of several civil trials where the judge and barristers had wigs on. In fact, we sat in the back of a trial where a woman was found guilty of fraud. The judge in the wig pronounced the sentence and she burst into tears. I couldn't believe we were allowed to see the drama. And we saw some QCs in real life (Queen's Counsel).
All around the court are the Inns of Court (think Harry Potter houses). Every barrister belongs to one. We toured the Temple Church- a church built by the Knights Templar in 1162!
It was fun to walk around this exciting part of London.
This is a happy legal historian!
We made our way to St. Paul's Cathedral! The boys looked for Mary Poppins' bird lady, but did not find her. :)
At this point of the day we had been to churches and courts all day and the poor children (especially the little guys) were bored to death. We decided to make the night fun and all about them! We had dinner and milkshakes at Five Guys (which is all over London).
Then we went to Hamley's- England's 7-story toy store! It was a lot of fun!
After the Toy Store, I casually mentioned to Marc that "I think Top Gun Maverick is playing in England tonight." He said, "What!" and we immediately searched to find a nearby theater to watch it. We found a GORGEOUS old theater (I can't remember where) and we were almost the only ones there and saw Top Gun the day before it opened in America!
After the awesome movie, we went shopping for souvenirs in Piccadilly Square.
We got the boys these sweatshirts and they have loved them.
Another really special day. I am so glad Marc got to see the English Legal System up close. A great birthday gift for Daddy.
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