London

Busy day today started with a 5 star breakfast buffet…truly the best I’ve had. We started our sightseeing with the medieval Tower of London where we joined a hysterically funny Beefeater (guide). The Tower, built for William the Conquerer in 1066, has been a castle in wartime, a palace where the royalty lived, a prison, and an execution site. It is also where the Crown Jewels are on display. The one diamond in the crown was over 500 carats! Kings, queens, and many others were beheaded here. Two princes in line for throne were murdered (by an uncle wanting the throne) and the bones were discovered 200 years later. Here’s something weird…Duke of Monmouth was beheaded, but they sewed it back on when they realized that he didn’t have a royal portrait. Imagine being that painter!

After that, we took a short cruise on the Thames where we got a front seat at Big Ben, The House of Parliament, and London Bridge.

Rebecca and I then walked to the Churchill War Rooms, the secret underground WWII headquarters of Churchill’s war effort. It has two parts: the 27 very small war rooms and a museum dedicated to Winston Churchill.

Another picture perfect day, so we walked through St James Park. One thing about London is the fact that green space and parks are extremely important, and there are many of them throughout the city.

We walked past Buckingham Palace which is being prepped for the Jubilee. Because of this it’s a maze of fences and construction for bleachers etc. I’m passing up going tomorrow to see the Changing of the Guard for this reason. I guess the Queen has said that she’ll never return here, but will stay at Windsor Palace the rest of her life.

Rebecca was tired and returned to the hotel. Me? No! I took the Tube (subway) and visited Harrod’s, a luxury department store like none I’ve ever seen. I can’t even describe it. I walked through and left quickly! It looked like individual showrooms throughout the store.

Today we had our farewell dinner with the group at the hotel’s restaurant. We’ll stay another day in London.Read more