After breakfast, we met our guide, Marina, and headed off for our official tour of London. This was a combination walking and taxi tour which started at the Westminster Abby, Big Ben, Parliament Building, St. James Park, Horse Guard Parade area and ended with the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.
Westminster Abby--pictures were not allowed inside, but it is quite amazing inside. I did not realize that many famous people in addition to many kings and queens were buried inside the building. It includes poets, famous scientists, writers, etc.
A central garden inside the grounds of the building
The choisers...there were purposes set aside for each of the wings of the buildings for pray, etc.
After leaving the Abby we headed down to Buckingham Palace but didn't get there in time for the changing of the guard. We stepped into St. James Park which had great views of the palace in one direction and the Horse Guard hall in the opposite direction.
Everywhere in the skyline you can see cranes as things are being built or restored everywhere you look.
Black swans in the lake
Group shot from the bridge looking towards Buckingham Palace.
Years--many years ago..some one gave a gift of pelicans to the royal family and they have lived in this area since that time.
Our guide teaching us some history of the Horse Guard area of town.
These building are all so details and beautiful in their own way--
The parade grounds for the Horse Guard.
Heading to Downing Street--
The Grey building is #10 Downing Street the home of the Prime Minister of England.
A typical London street--our guide told us that you must keep the outside looking the same whenever you remodel. Most of these places have been made into flats rather than remaining as one family homes. Housing is very expensive in London.
We past an usual group of protesters--not sure what their message was because they had no signs and did not speak as they passed down the street. Up the street there was another protest group which was protesting Brexit.
Again, a shot of the details in the old buildings and arches.
That is Big Ben in the background wrapped in scaffolding. It is being restored currently. Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside the tower, but became the name for the whole tower after years of references.
We had a bit of a problem getting taxis so when we finally got one--four of us got in with the two wheelchairs and headed to the Tower of London and left Gary and our guide to wait for another taxi. They actually headed for the tube and made it to the Tower before we did. We had a quick lunch and then headed for our tour of the Tower of London.
Again the contrast between the old and the new as seen from the walls of the Tower of London.
They kept wild animals in the tower--often gifts from colonies or foreign guests. Many of them died because they had no idea at the time how to keep elephants or monkeys alive in their climate. One animal that did well was a polar bear who was chained up with a long chain but allowed to swim daily in the River Thames right outside the wall.
More guards at the Tower of London--I assume they were changing positions at this time as well because of the pomp and ritual of their march.
We were able to see the Crown Jewels of the royal family which are stored and guarded well here. No pictures were allowed. These is a working collection meaning that the crowns and other items we saw are used by the royal family for important events.
Ravens are a part of the scenery in the tower as they house about 30 ravens in the area.
A view of the Tower Bridge:
We had our first rain (and only rain of the entire trip during the day) while we were in the Tower of London. Seemed like a fitting place since many terrible things happened there. We stepped in and bought some ponchos since our rain jackets were at the hotel, of course.
We sent Mom Hall and Vonette back to the hotel by taxi and the rest of us headed for a walk across the Tower Bridge.
A sign on the way--does it make you want to stop and buy a hot dog?
The railing of the bridge
Our group photo moment--
Again, you see the mixing of the old and the new:
The view of the tower from the other side of the River Thames:
We had figured out that we could make it to the King's Cross Railroad station on the Tube with the wheelchair, so after crossing the bridge and saying good bye to our guide, we headed underground for another Tube adventure. For those who haven't read Harry Potter or have forgotten key landmarks, King's Cross station is a real London spot that is featured in the books as the place where Harry Potter and the other students leave to get to Hogwarts.
I wouldn't call myself a huge Harry Potter fan, but I do love trains and spy movies and I would guess that this station has been featured in a few of them. It was a gorgeous building.
I thought it was ironic that the Harry Potter "spot" was not located in the old part of the station, but in the newer side.
And for true Harry Potter fans, there it is: Platform 9 3/4
And here is the line waiting to get pictures in from of the sign with some cute props they had. This was just on a Monday afternoon.
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| You can see the trunks and scarf that they used for the pictures. |
So we stepped to the side and got a picture of Gary K with the Platform 9 3/4 behind him...not quite as fun as using the props they had but better than an hour+ wait for your turn. They also have a Harry Potter store next to here and Gary K was able to buy somethings including a chocolate frog.
We then got on the train and headed back to the West Side Mall stop that we had used the night before.
Close-ups of the "growing" walls-
After another great dinner at the mall where we had eaten before (and the sweet potato fries were still excellent!), we walked back to our hotel to find Mom and Vonette playing cards in Mom's hotel room. We were all too tired by that point to join in and headed to our own rooms and fell asleep. Touring and jetlag can wear a person out!
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