The Palace, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Karen took this photo and I love it. The palace with a signed up cab driving past.
The Queen Is In, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
When the flag flies over Buckingham Palace her majesty is in. We said hello… I believe we heard the Queen answer hello in return. I’m sure of it. I think I even saw the curtain flutter back into place after she peeked out and gave us a little wave.
Queen Victoria, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
In front of Buckingham Palace is the Victoria Memorial.
St. James Park, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
St. James Park looking toward the Eye with Buckingham Palace at my back.
London Wildlife, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
St. James Park, the Queen’s park, was full of all kinds of wildlife. Pigeons and squirrels were just some of them. They are obviously used to having man around.
Cenotaph, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
The Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.
Standing Guard, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
We strolled away from Trafalgar Square past Downing Street and the Prime Minister’s residence, behind gates of course, and Whitehall, where many of the working government buildings are, to where the Queen’s Royal Horse Guard is. They are horsemen. This guy, and others, were posted outside to guard it. I don’t know how long their shifts are, but this is what they do. Apparently it’s a huge honor and only the best of the best get these positions. This guy could probably kill us in one move with ninja style quickness if he wanted. They are all that good. All I have to say is… nice hat.
National Gallery at Trafalgar Square, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Trafalgar Square is an impressive place. Big. A definite hang out for locals and tourists alike. This is the National Gallery. All museums, galleries, etc. are free to the public. Pretty cool eh?
St. Martin’s In The Fields Church, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Day two in London found us in Trafalgar Square with Mary and Martin looking at his church, St. Martin in the Fields church. Doesn’t the back of Martin’s head look holy in this shot? I think it’s because he’s in front of his church.
London Underground, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Thus ended our first day of sight seeing in London. We headed into the London Underground, jumped on the tube, and headed to our hotel. Mind the gap.
Two Icons of London, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Yep… had to get a photo of the red telephone boxes, this one with Big Ben behind it.
Bobbies, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
The Bobby, two actually. There seemed to be a lot of protests, etc. going on around London when we were there. Probably not unusual. Always present and calm looking the bobbies were everywhere.
Impressive Structure, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
All I can say is… wow.
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Westminster Abbey, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
What can I say? Westminster Abbey is an impressive, massive, and gorgeous piece of architecture. Amazing.
Ben And The Eye, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
We walked past Big Ben, heading toward Westminster Abbey.
Big Ben, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Ben is pretty big, if you ask me. It’s attached to the Palace of Westminster, also known as the houses of parliament. Lots going on right now here about all the members of parliament and their expense reports. Europeans don’t take this stuff lightly, and neither does their press. Pretty wild. Totally beautiful and impressive building. Across the Thames and down just a bit from the London Eye.
Looking Into The Eye, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
For all the ins and outs, whys and such check out the Millennium Wheel at Wikipedia. Kind of interesting.
The London Eye, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
You can’t miss this as you walk along the river. It’s massive, a tad strange, and kind of awesome. There is nothing quite like the London Eye.
Skating in London, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
As we walked along the River Thames we passed this very cool skate park. Massive, painted, and really cool.
Millennium Bridge, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Spanning the River Thames, the Millennium Bridge, runs from St. Paul’s Cathedral to the Tate Modern on the Bankside.
Thatched, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
It was windy while we were at the Globe and because it was tiny pieces of thatch swirled around inside. Sometimes it looked almost as if it was raining, but wasn’t.
All The World’s A Stage, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
The cool thing is that you are allowed to take photographs as long as the actors aren’t on stage. It’s a beautiful building. Plus, on show day anyone can show up and if there are tickets available you can get in, if you’re willing to stand on the main level, for five pounds. It’s a fantastic thing.
The Globe, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Our first day in London, our first afternoon, we got to go to Shakespeare’s Globe (not the original of course as there have been fires and rebuilding) to see Romeo and Juliet. What a fantastic thing that was. Here we were in the most famous theater in the world watching one of the most, if not the most, famous play in the world. Couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to London really. We were extremely tired, but that didn’t seem to matter. It was so very cool. The play itself was also really good. I’d never seen Romeo and Juliet live I don’t think. Shakespeare in Shakespeare’s house was awesome.
Tower Bridge, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Here it is folks, the famous Tower Bridge over the Thames. We landed in London, Mary and Martin met us at the airport, and we took our massive collection of bags, by tube, to our hotel. We couldn’t check in, given that it was morning, but the concierge was kind enough to take our bags and we were off. We jumped on the tube again and headed down to the waterfront. I believe the walk along the Thames has a name, which I can’t remember. Our goal was to get to The Globe before the show, Romeo and Juliet, started at two. It was nice, since we landed so early, to have time to just sort of wander along, check out the sites, and take photos. We got a much needed coffee, walked, and bought some hot nuts from a street vendor. Those were some tasty nuts.
Dinner, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
In the beginning God made first class. Or, in our case, business class. Which really, given that our plane didn’t have a first class section, we were considered to be in first class. It’s amazing what saving your miles can do for ya. I recommend it highly. We loved it. Most especially the room. There was tons of it. Plus we had our own entertainment screens and a huge selection of movies to watch, old and new. We selected Benjamin Button and Best in Show. Also… the food. They fed us constantly. And it was good. It was a four course meal. Strange, yet cool. Then there were the hot towels. One of my favorite things actually, given that after you’ve been in the plane for 10 hours you want to feel a bit refreshed. I guess we could’ve used the stuff from the amenities kit they gave us, but we left that for another day. All in all… we can’t say enough about it. We loved it. We don’t know how we’ll manage to fly overseas again without going first class. I’m sure we will, we’ll have to, but it will be tough. We felt spoiled. They addressed us by name. I admit, it was lovely. I know everyone could tell we were rookies. How could they not. We played with our seats for ages, trying to figure out how to raise our leg rests and adjust our lumbar support, and get the back massage things to work just the right spots in our backs. I’m sure the flight attendants were amused. So were we. We laughed the whole time, and then we laughed some more. And then, suddenly, we were in Amsterdam.
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