Great Day! We had nice weather, we slept well, we had a good (included) breakfast at the hotel… let’s hope this is the norm from now on!
We started with a walk from our hotel to Buckingham Palace.
Even the flower beds were nice, almost too nice! Even the warnings to stay off the grass are cute...
We didn’t stay and wait to watch the changing of the guard. We both agree that if we happen to be at the right place at the right time we’d stop to enjoy it but it’s not worth a special detour. We admired the area for about 20 minutes and then it was off to the Royal Mews to see the collection of carriages. The Gold Coach is really something to behold!
We stayed for a little under an hour, and then walked down The Mall all the way to Trafalgar Square. On the way, we admired the memorial to the Queen Mother:
We lingered in Trafalgar Square for about a half hour, and then lunch at the nearby Sherlock Holmes pub. No fish and chips yet on this trip, neither one of us is craving it enough so far!
After lunch, in order to save time, we tubed it to St Paul’s.
The line ups were really long, but we spotted a shorter one and got in that one… turns out it was the security line for people with advanced tickets, which we did not have, but the guards didn’t ask for anything so we were through security in a flash. In the Cathedral we only had to wait about 5 minutes in a short line to buy tickets.
No pictures allowed inside :(
We wandered inside for about 20-30 minutes (I think) and then it was up to the roof. So worth it!
Once this activity was done, we crossed Millennium Bridge and walked along the Thames to our next planned destination which was Tower Bridge.
On the way, we detoured over to Borough Market
.. and then stopped for a drink with a view of Tower Bridge… it was SO nice! What a way to re-gather strength for the next phase of the day’s activities. Taking a picture of my drink with the bridge in the back ground was harder than I anticipated. I got so focused on getting the angles right that I completely missed the group struggling with the stroller in the shot.
We finally arrived at the entrance to the Tower Bridge at 5:01… last admission being at 5pm! of course! but it’s ok. Not meant to be. We crossed the bridge and loitered around the Tower of London for a while. We saw part of the old Roman Wall which was built in the year 200 (WOW) and then tubed it back to the hotel to have supper near “home”.
We thought about a pub that had caught our eye the last 2 times we walked by, but it was full. So instead we ended up at Caffé Concerto (one of many chain restos in London) and it was quite good…. except for them charging me for a whole bottle of wine instead of just one glass! innocent mistake or tourist trap? Anyhow, good thing I checked the bill!
Hoping for another full and busy day tomorrow!
Good night
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