London With Friends

Today we got to meet up with Ally's penpal family again, the Duncans. They are so much fun to be around and it was reassuring to see that proper English children have afternoon meltdowns when hungry and tired just like we do =) Everyone did great today considering we were gone 12 hours on our journey and walked several miles and countless flights of stairs.

Of course we started the day missing our train again, this time it was due to getting to the long term car park and not having coin pounds instead of bills. We wanted to drive to avoid long waits for buses late at night. Since it was so early on a Saturday we had to drive to find a local store that was open before 9am. I remembered seeing a McDonalds not too many blocks back and I was glad my memory had served me well. I ran in for change and received the right amount promptly. Unfortunately the exit out of McDonalds was one way only and it put us onto the Coachway (freeway). We had to drive several miles before there was an exit so we could backtrack. Luckily I had grabbed a local  map before heading out the door and we were glad we had allowed an extra 30 minutes to grab the second train if necessary. We have learned that we can not avoid hiccups in our travels, we just have to allow enough time.

We started off at the Tower of London which dates back to the 1200s and houses the crown jewels. Unfortunately photography is not allowed in that area so you will have to use your imagination. Sneaking a pic at a theater is a little different than when Royal Guards with the power to lock you in the dungeon are standing by, so I behaved myself. I will not bore you with the 150 pics I took today and will just provide some highlights.

 Long live the queen!

 The White Tower in the center where two young princes were murdered possibly by uncles who wanted to skip the line to the throne. The murders are still a mystery.

 Help!

 These battle helmets are very heavy, Ally could hardly hold her neck up straight.

 Feeling chainlink armor

 The Tower's beasts!

 Lots of rooms of armory, weapons, and artifacts belonging to previous kings

 This king is quite optimistic for himself, perhaps he is overcompensating for something =)

  The Jubilee Jewel that the queen will use for the Jubilee that occurs June 4th.

 A scrap metal dragon sculpture

After 3 hours of touring the Tower we walked across the Tower Bridge to find some lunch.

The kids were melting with hunger along the way so I whipped out some biscuits (cookies) so they could complete the journey across the bridge.

We browsed a couple streets and found the perfect place for lunch. It was an authentic Italian restaurant with a gluten free menu, bonus!

Refreshed and satisfied we went back to the Tower Bridge to do the tour along the top to walk along the horizontal elevated walkways.

 Views from the top of the bridge

 Engine Room

 Bridge Replica

 There was a kids activity competition. Patrick got 1st place and Ally got 2nd. I don't think it got her down at all!

 It is such a beautiful bridge. It was completed in 1894.

We got to see the bridge lift up for a ship to pass

After our tour we hopped on the Underground to visit Parliament and Big Ben. We were so excited to have such a beautiful day not only because it was finally warm but it made for much better pictures.

 Kids playing with a sticker activity from the bridge tour. They were dressing their parents in funny costumes and thought it was hilarious!

 Walking, Laughing, Giggling, and Talking along the way!

 Ally's first experience with street performers! Some were good, some were not! There were some of those statue people who could absolutely stay still until you dropped money in the can, and there were some who were just standing there looking around. Crazy Chad shown here was on a 8-9 foot unicycle.

 The London Eye

 Big Ben

 Parliament

Big Ben and London Eye

 Finally it was time to say goodbye, we were all tired of walking and definitely tired of stairs!

 Me, Ally, Amber and Pauline

Holding on with no seats left on the crowded Tube

What a fabulous day in London, we were glad to tick all of our sights off our wishlist! Tomorrow will be a much needed rest day before we head off to Paris!