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Well, it's our last night in London and we are sad to say good-bye, but excited with what the next week has in store for us.
Here's a recap of our last 2 days:
Yesterday, Wednesday, was our last free morning until the other groups showed up. So, got up bright & early and headed into St. Paul's Cathedral. Was a contrast to Westminster and most said they liked it better. Saw the American memorial for those killed in WWII. Went into the crypt down below...All but 2 of us braved the 400+ stairs to the Whispering Gallery and to the Dome...got a nice little buns-of-steel workout, but was worth it for the birds eye view of London. Back onto the Tube we went and headed to Wimbledon!!! No, not for the tourney - that starts next week - we just wanted to do the tour & museum...but since the tourney is next week, the had suspended tours...grr.. but some of us went into the museum, which was pretty cool! We did get to see some of the outsides of the stadiums.. guess we missed Rafa warming up the day before and Martina Navritalova dedicating something in the museum...grr... But, the kids liked getting out of the hustle & bustle of the city to see where the "commoners" live. Back to the city we went - grabbed lunch in Leicester Sq while we waited for the other groups. If you've seen the news, Leiscester Sq was were the new Bruno moved premiered... saw them setting it up.
Went off on a walking tour - sprinkled some. Walked to some new places we had never been. Got some more shopping done - went to Harrods. Huge, quite overwhelming, but a must-see.
After dinner at Ye Olde Cock Tavern (giggle), we headed out to see Kensington Palace and back home we went....whew!!!
Today was our official city tour - had a local guide, Stuart - was AMAZING!!! Really could relate to our audience - fantastic!! Did a bus tour of the city - saw the changing of the guard and some places we'd already seen, but was good for the kids - filled in the gaps of questions the kids had. Headed out to Windsor - grabbed lunch - and toured the castle, where the Queen was in residence!!! Saw where the fired started and how they saved most of the furnishings, even the floor boards (they flipped them over!!). Saw the chapel where the Queen Mum is buried, as well as Henry VIII. Back to the city - Picadilly Circus - little shopping and then dinner of chinese. After dinner, we checked off the last thing on our London "bucket list."... the London Eye. Got a whole capsule for ourselves and off we went. Takes 30-35 min. to go around...fun!!! After some ice cream, we went back to the hotel the same way we first came in on Monday... have come full circle.
Tomorrow we're off to Oxford, Stratford, Anne Hathaway's cottage and an overnight in Wales. Saturday we're jumping across to Dublin.
Kids are loving it - so are the adults!! They've learned so much and have taken oodles of pics. We've spent a "little" money, but are hoping for cheaper things outside of London. The kids are now experts of the Tube - it's amazing to watch their transformation.
We came, we saw, we conquered....
Here's a recap of our last 2 days:
Yesterday, Wednesday, was our last free morning until the other groups showed up. So, got up bright & early and headed into St. Paul's Cathedral. Was a contrast to Westminster and most said they liked it better. Saw the American memorial for those killed in WWII. Went into the crypt down below...All but 2 of us braved the 400+ stairs to the Whispering Gallery and to the Dome...got a nice little buns-of-steel workout, but was worth it for the birds eye view of London. Back onto the Tube we went and headed to Wimbledon!!! No, not for the tourney - that starts next week - we just wanted to do the tour & museum...but since the tourney is next week, the had suspended tours...grr.. but some of us went into the museum, which was pretty cool! We did get to see some of the outsides of the stadiums.. guess we missed Rafa warming up the day before and Martina Navritalova dedicating something in the museum...grr... But, the kids liked getting out of the hustle & bustle of the city to see where the "commoners" live. Back to the city we went - grabbed lunch in Leicester Sq while we waited for the other groups. If you've seen the news, Leiscester Sq was were the new Bruno moved premiered... saw them setting it up.
Went off on a walking tour - sprinkled some. Walked to some new places we had never been. Got some more shopping done - went to Harrods. Huge, quite overwhelming, but a must-see.
After dinner at Ye Olde Cock Tavern (giggle), we headed out to see Kensington Palace and back home we went....whew!!!
Today was our official city tour - had a local guide, Stuart - was AMAZING!!! Really could relate to our audience - fantastic!! Did a bus tour of the city - saw the changing of the guard and some places we'd already seen, but was good for the kids - filled in the gaps of questions the kids had. Headed out to Windsor - grabbed lunch - and toured the castle, where the Queen was in residence!!! Saw where the fired started and how they saved most of the furnishings, even the floor boards (they flipped them over!!). Saw the chapel where the Queen Mum is buried, as well as Henry VIII. Back to the city - Picadilly Circus - little shopping and then dinner of chinese. After dinner, we checked off the last thing on our London "bucket list."... the London Eye. Got a whole capsule for ourselves and off we went. Takes 30-35 min. to go around...fun!!! After some ice cream, we went back to the hotel the same way we first came in on Monday... have come full circle.
Tomorrow we're off to Oxford, Stratford, Anne Hathaway's cottage and an overnight in Wales. Saturday we're jumping across to Dublin.
Kids are loving it - so are the adults!! They've learned so much and have taken oodles of pics. We've spent a "little" money, but are hoping for cheaper things outside of London. The kids are now experts of the Tube - it's amazing to watch their transformation.
We came, we saw, we conquered....
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