London In a Day

We went to London on Saturday. We rode the fast train at nearly 200 miles per hour that goes under the English Channel.

London Train Station

We hurried to get to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard to find out that The changing of the guard was every other day and not today. That was a great disappointment for us. We did see the horse parade with the guards on them.

Buckingham Palace

After the Palace we boarded the tour bus. The traffic was horrible and Dad could hear nothing that the tour lady was saying so we opted to walk. Dave and Laurene stayed on the bus.

Upper Deck of Double Decker Tour Bus

We made our way to the National Art Gallery on Trafalgar Square to see the paintings. We really just did a fast look and see. We couldn’t take any pictures in the museum. That is one memory that we’ll have to keep in our heads. It was neat to see the old artists' work. They were predicated on religion a lot. I guess I had never thought about what was being painted back then. I would have loved to have had more time to think about what I was seeing.

The art that most excited me was done with grass on a wall outside the museum.

My hunger got the best of me so we found a sandwich shop and had some lunch. We walked past Park Place and it didn’t break me to land on it.

We gazed up at Big Ben and the House of Parliament.

then trudged on to see Westminster Abby.

It made all the churches here look poor. Again we were not allowed to take pictures inside. It was beautiful to see and huge. We did get a few picture of the court yard.

We watched the young guards who stood at attention at the royal buildings. One of them looked as if he was ready to pass out. He had to shift to keep it together. I felt sorry for them standing like that.

I stood by one of the horses. It was trying to bite the person on the other side of him. That is why I look so stiff while standing there.

We then boarded a boat for a trip up the River Thames. The guide told about each bridge that we went under. We heard about the buildings and what they were built for. Or was it what they were built to look like? You tell me what you think the round glass dome looking one looks like (It is the city office building).

We walked around the Tower of London. This is where kings and prisoners lived and where the crown jewels are now kept. It was huge and very old with a lot of history.

We took the tour of tower bridge.

The engine room for the drawbridge was quite interesting.

We had a great dinner of fish and chips. They are eaten here with vinegar and salt. I didn’t think that sounded good but it was real tasty.

The Eye of London took people up to see London from a birds eye view. We did not take this one.