Horse Guards Parade

We decided that a hop on, hop off bus tour of London would be the most efficient way to see the important sites. We started at Victoria Station and discovered that the hotel we stayed in last night was in a very posh district. We weren't terribly surprised, as we had noticed an inordinate number of BMWs, Jaguars, Mercedes, and even a Bentley. We also found out that we stayed on the same street, a block down from 180 Ebury, the location where a little 8 year old boy wrote his first symphony-Mozart. Apparently the rock opera, Tommy, was also penned in this neighborhood.

Our first hop off was at Buckingham Palace, where I was surprised to learn that the coat of arms included a unicorn. The palace is enormous, probably to accommodate all the tourists. This was definitely the busiest place we've been on our whole vacation. There was no queen, and we missed the changing of the guards, as that happens on the even days of October. Rats!

We swung by Westminster Abbey, which is an impressive structure. We didn't pay the $20+ to go into the Abbey but opted for the free church of St Margaret next door. We enjoyed reading the crypt markers, and we're pretty sure we stepped on Thomas Payne. Our paths continue to cross. Big Ben and Parliament are right next door and preceded our drive by Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Tower Bridge.

We hopped off again at St Paul's Cathedral where we ate at a nearby shop. St Paul's is where Charles and Lady Di were married, which surprised me, since I thought that was at Westminster Abbey. Personally, I would have chosen the Abbey, and I would have chosen someone other than Charles. Winston Churchill was also married here, as well as mourned here during his funeral service.

Trafalgar Square did not disappoint for souvenirs. You can purchase anything with the Union Jack at the surrounding stores. For example, you could get a coffee mug, boxers, pencils, ties, lunch boxes, tea tins, and condoms all proudly displaying British pride. We gathered a handful of items, plus a couple of Olympic 2012 tees, then hopped back on. We finished out the tour passing by several monuments and memorials. My two favorite were the Women in War memorial. It was a large block of stone with coat hangers all around the top, with women's working gear hanging from the pegs. My other favorite was the Animals of War memorial. A variety of animals are seen chipped into the front of this stone monument, wearing their implements of war. For example, the beasts of burden are pulling carts, while dogs are sniffing out trouble. On the other side of the wall are free standing, stone-carved animals that are free from the shackles of war duty. Full sized statues of a horse and a dog prance peacefully away from the memorial.

The bus dropped us off at Victoria Station again, where we returned to the hotel to collect our bags. We rode the tube to the train station, where we travelled a couple hours to Manchester. We are settled in for the evening and will pick up Anhgus from the airport before 0800 tomorrow. The three of us will drive together to the Lake District, where we will meet up with Nick and Barbara. Ciao for now!Leer más