Here’s a rough map of our walk …

or visit Rick Steves’ book to read about the source of this part of my itinerary…

After Westminster Abbey, we walked up Whitehall – around lunch time – to Trafalgar Square … passed #10 Downing, and the Horse Guards …

we entered Trafalgar Square … which for some reason was a lot bigger than I imagined. Unfortunately – damn Olympics – the fountains were being worked on. Big wooden boards or something built up around them.

That’s OK. Our aim was the church, St. Martin-in-the-Fields … great name for a church, doncha think?

A few days each week (including Mondays) they have a free lunchtime concert. My plans were to go if we had time – and since we decided to drop the other museum that day, we ended up having time….

We actually were about 45 min or so early for the concert. … which was just ideal, because it meant we had time for lunch!

in the crypt!

That’s right. One way that St Martin’s makes $ to stay viable and offer free lunchtime concerts is to house a cafeteria BELOW the church … IN THE CRYPT.

And the food … was soo yummy. Not like, macaroni-and-cheese, corn dogs, meatloaf type cafeteria. … more like roasted chicken with steamed veggies and golden potatoes. … so good. I don’t remember exactly what it was that I got but it was great. Ask Miranda. she had some.

And lest you have forgotten … we were in the crypt. Tables and chairs on gravestones. Where, I assume, people are still buried.

In this pic, top left is someone eating lunch. Her chair resting on the top of a gravestone.

the stones around where we were sitting were from the late 18th cent.

The archways/columns supporting the church above us.

After lunch, we went upstairs to claim our seats for the concert ….

This church is …. so white and clean and open. … with some gold accents … and a bit of a rich dark wood …

Read about the history of St. Martin-in-the-fields … centuries and centuries old …

The present church was actually completed in 1726 … which is probably why it reminds me of New England for some reason. … I feel like I’ve visited some colonial church around D.C. or so with a similar feel….

I don’t know. Could be my imagination …

full shot of the interior – borrowed from the internets:

(while we waited for 1p, I caught up on my postcard-writing)

When we entered, we were given a program …. turns out Monday’s concert was going to be an Organ performance put on by the Director of Music for the church …

This is the organ … located in the back(?) of the sanctuary, above the entrance door …
to get an idea how big this is … the organist was sitting/playing from behind that bit in front …

if you can picture it …

This was one of those experiences that I’m so so glad I had … because it wasn’t a museum, and it wasn’t a plaque or a guided tour. It was just sitting and listening to music in a still-active church that just happens to be a few hundred years old and located in London…