Day 2 - London

We started today with a visit to the National Portrait Gallery and am I glad Alaine was here! I'd have no idea who some of the portraits were if not for her! Afterward, we made our we through Leicester Square where London movie premiers take place, and then onto Trafalgar Square. This is a large open space near the National Gallery. Lord Nelson's Column is here in addition to an Olympic countdown clock (60 days).

We then hopped on a double-decker tour bus which was a fantastic way to see the city. Not long after we started, our bus had to stop to allow the Queen's mounted guard to pass. We quickly approached Parliament and Big Ben before we disembarked at the London Eye.

We had "fast pass" tickets and were able to skip the queue entirely! The view from high above the Thames was amazing. We could easily see Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben. After our 35 min ride, we exited and decided to grab some lunch at a pub. I enjoyed my first bangers and mash!

Following our lunch, we strolled along the Thames to get a good look at Parliament then hopped a cab to Lock and Co., a hatter near Buckingham Palace. This is the official hatter to the royal family and both Paul and I got hats! The cab ride was interesting too as my brain had to adjust to being on the wrong side of the road. The Brits have luckily painted on the sidewalks which way to look when crossing traffic. It's very hard to adjust to looking left first.

Now that we looked dapper, we made our way to Buckingham Palace which is currently surrounded with lots of activity as they prepare for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. A huge concert will be held this weekend and the stage is already up near the Palace.

We hopped back on a tour bus and were taken over to Parliament where we got off to see that building up close. The detail work is amazing and it's actually a series of several buildings that have been connected over time. The main part is from them 18th century. Westminster Abbey is just around the corner so we walked around the outside. We'd arrived after it closed, so we'll have to hit it up in two weeks. We also,walked down to Tate Britain, another great art museum. I had a scone and peppermint tea. I'm crossing off required "British" things!

Back on the bus for the remainder of our tour over to St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, and other sights we'll see in two weeks. Once the tour ended, we made our way to one of Tim and Alaine's favorite restaurants, Pizza Express. It was quite good and different than American pizza. After that, we grabbed some ice cream and headed back to the room.

Big day tomorrow as we take a train up to Edinburgh, Scotland! Can't wait to see the countryside.