London day 2

We took it easy this morning since we spent the past two days waking up early and going strong. We are on vacation right? We woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Hopefully it will hold for the rest of the trip. We decided to take it easy for a while. We didn’t leave the hotel until after 9am. We didn’t try to cram everything in. We still came back exhausted though.

After some breakfast, we rode on the Big Bus tour around the city. We got a nice overview and the lay of the land. The tour was nice because we didn’t have to walk. On the tour we saw Hyde Park, Baker Street and a statue of Sherlock Holmes. We saw Leicester square, Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus and a whole bunch of other things. We got of the buss at Trafalgar Square and went to the National Gallery. We spent some time there looking at paintings we wanted to see and then walked down Downing Steet.

We saw where the Prime Minister lives, Parliament, Big Ben, West Minster Cathedral and the River Thames. We took a river cruise down to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, which is amazing. That was hilarious. Our boat driver was so funny. We loved his accent and everything he said.
We got some lunch and then walked to St. Paul’s Cathedral. That was pretty cool. I did sing a couple versus of “Feed the Birds” from Mary Poppins in my head. You can’t help it. We stayed a little longer inside and attended Evensong. The men’s choir singing was amazing They sang under the dome and it resonated so perfectly there. That was a highlight of the day.

We took a bus back to Trafalgar Square and went up to Regent and Oxford Streets and did a little shopping. There are so many people here. It is crazy. I guess we are just used to living in suburbia. Damon got some clothes and a new suitcase. His suitcase has been falling apart since Munich.

The best part of the day was meeting up with a friend from Phoenix who lives here. Actually she was my little sister’s best friend from growing up. We met Vica in Leicester Square and headed for Chinatown. We had some yummy Chinese and some great conversation. It was good to see a familiar face.

We headed back to the hotel and had to walk a few block because the train to our hotel is very infrequent. We are super tired now, but it was a good day.

On the schedule for tomorrow is touring the Tower, Buckingham Palace and a play. We should probably do some Laundry too.