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.

 

Pictures from Day 1 - London

Thanks to the local Apple Store, I as able to buy the piece i needed to download my pics. Enjoy!

 

British Museum

Rosetta Stone

Sarcophagus

 

Detail from side of sarcophagus

Persian carving

 

Egyptian columns

Figures from the Parthenon (Greece)

Persian carvings

Nereid Monument (Greece)

Ceiling of British Museum Courtyard

Covent Garden (shopping and entertainment area)

Me and my TARDIS

Covent Garden

 

London Eye, Parliament, and Big Ben

The Globe Theatre

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

 

London - Day 1

Our overnight flight was very nice. Only had a few bouts with turbulence and the flight attendants were top-notch! British Airways knows how to run an airline. After about an hour in the air, I dozed off and slept pretty well overall; certainly enough that I was rested for today's adventures.

We breezed through immigration and I officially have my first passport stamp! We then hit the ATM so we could get some British money, bought our Underground tickets, and coffee and off we went to the Tube. The ride into central London from Heathrow took about an hour and a half, but we got to our B&B just fine. Couldn't check in yet, so we dropped our bags and headed to the My Old Dutch restaurant where they serve crepe pancakes. Quite a yummy lunch indeed! Afterward, we headed back to the B&B, checked into our rooms, freshened up, the hit the pavement! Alaine wanted to make sure we overcame the time change so walking the city was in order.

Our first stop was the British Museum where items from all over the former British Empire are stored. The Rosetta Stone was in full view and led into the Egypt exhibit that included several statues, reliefs, sarcophagi, and columns. It was quite a sight...Caroline would hate it; Jason and Lena would love it!

After that we viewed the Elgin marbles which are the pieces of the Parthenon in Athens that Lord Elgin removed for safe keeping back in the day. Many statues, friezes, pediments, and other objects are displayed in plain view and not behind glass! Following that we viewed Persian and Asian pieces that were equally important and interesting. We then viewed the Enlightenment Room which included old scientific equipment, various Greek, Roman, Etruscan, and British archaeological items and much more. I could spend days in this museum and Alaine put it best by saying that it's like all the Smithsonian museums crammed into one single museum--impossible to see it all in one day.

Our walking tour then started as we worked our way south through Covent Gardens which is an open air shopping and entertainment district that's near the West End theaters. This is also where parts of My Fair Lady were filmed, according to Alaine. Following that, we trekked further south towards the Thames. Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye were soon in view. On the opposite side was St. Paul's Cathedral. We crossed the Thames then walked along the south bank where we found an open air bookstore, street performers, and folks all over!

Dinner was at a restaurant that serves crepes (Alaine says its the best outside of Paris). We had ham and cheese along with roast beef and chili savory crepes and two dessert ones: nutella and strawberries & cream. Following that we wandered down to the Globe Theater (Billy Shakespeare) then crossed the Millennium Bridge back north to St. Paul's Cathedral. As we approached, the tower bells peeled that it was 8:00. We'll tour this tomorrow. Then we walked back through the financial district to a pub near our B&B where Paul and Tim enjoyed some ales and lagers, while Alaine, Dianne, and I drank cider from the tap. Quite tasty!

It appears I left the device needed to copy pics from my camera to my iPad in Arkansas, so I'll have to hit the Apple store tomorrow so I can post pics.

London really is a neat city that has infused the old with the new. I can see why many love this place. Tomorrow we take a double-decker bus tour and will see many of the main attractions up close! We're hoping it cools off a bit tomorrow as it was quite warm (mid 80s) today and we have no a/c. Everyone is having a blast and can't wait to see what tomorrow holds! For now...good night!