Summer Vacation - Day 3

Thursday, July 25, 2013

We were up at 8 a.m. and down to meet up with the group at 9:00 a.m. after coffee and head out on the Underground to London Tower to go on tour.  Temperature outside was 70 degrees, overcast and a chance of rain.
We heard the news that stated Prince William and Kate's new baby son (3rd in line to the throne) is to be named "George" and will some day be Kind George VII.  Taylor won the naming contest for the baby and got 20 pounds from David T.

Now, at the Tower of London - very impressive fortress.  Anne Boelyn beheaded here and many notable prisoners here including Sir Walter Raleigh.

Walking up to The Tower of London

Walking over the bridge

At the MOAT!

Far in the back, a guard is watching over the Queens 'other' house - at all times!

After seeing 'Bloody Tower' and touring site we get in line to see "Crown Jewels". Very impressive.  Finish by going into White Tower and then off to St. Paul's Cathedral.

The entrance to the Crown Jewels. A little mist in the air.

Sadly, we were not allowed to take any photos of the jewels!!! RATS!!! This was definitely a highlight of the day and totally worth the 30 minute wait in line to see these jewels. Quite the collection and absolutely beautiful!!! I'm sure you can check them out online.

A real Beefeater - ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London

A special collection of the armor!! Very cool!

The actual beheading tools! It is blurry because my camera is horrible on museum mode,
but I had to post it.

More weapons. Thought how much my son would enjoy seeing all of this history!

This is the actual beheading spot of Ann Boelyn - a special stone was placed here in remembrance.

Thought this was fitting for the days activities!

Typical London bus!

On the way to St. Paul's Cathedral, we stop for lunch at a good pub, "Harry's Bar." It was a good, traditional British food and beverage kind of spot...... very classy, in kind of like a basement feel and many businessmen enjoying their lunch/meetings. Taylor and I would look at each other and shake our heads - this group!!! No stopping for a quick pretzel to tie us over til dinner in this group!!

Simple appetizer at lunch time

Crab sandwich

The Cathedral was first built in 604 AD but was destroyed and rebuilt 5 different times.  Massive cathedral with beautiful mosaics.  Dome, super high - 365 feet. Christopher Wrew was the famous architect.  Taylor, David T and I all climbed to the top!!

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any photos while inside any cathedral....This day was extra special for me because a choir was rehearsing inside for a 5:00 service and it was truly delightful hearing their voices in this enormous space. As we walked all around the alter, a rush of emotion came over me. It was indescribable.....I just felt so incredibly BLESSED to be in this spot, at this time. This happened quite often during the entire trip, but on this day, walking around the alter, it just HIT ME like a ton of bricks! Of all of the roads that had to cross, God led me right to THIS church, with these beautiful people, on THIS day in history. Unreal! Never to be forgotten.

St. Paul's Cathedral

People just hanging out on the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral

England is so proud of this new baby aka future KING!! So sweet!

The view from the very top!!!

David T reflecting

It was a beautiful day and you could see FOREVER!!! David T and I really enjoyed the views. It truly was spectacular!!

Notice the hand holding....because Tay was SO SCARED!!! 
With a fear of heights and he is 365 feet high!!

Seriously, Taylor and Dick (David N. too but he doesn't admit it as often) all have a fear of heights. As we climbed up, we were INSIDE between the inner dome - that you see INSIDE the cathedral and the OUTER dome, that you see on the OUTSIDE! It was very interesting and very safe as we made the climb. Then, we had to go OUTSIDE and walk around the entire perimeter and that is when Tay FREAKED! I'll never forget when he asked, "Barbara, where is the bloody door?" Ohhhhh!!!! It was hilarious and we still laugh when we think about it. When asked if he learned anything about going out there, Tay will answer, "Yes!! I learned that I have a definite FEAR OF HEIGHTS!!!" He cannot believe it when I tell him that to me, it is as if I were on the ground! I have no ill effects at all when up so high. Weird.

Hugging the wall tightly, but Tay made it!

After St. Paul's we take the Underground to Harrods - the largest department store in the world! Amazing was the amount of products and variety offered.  We enjoyed about an hour of shopping and then headed to meet with Chris and LeeAnn and family.

Harrods! WOWZA!!

So proud of this baby!!

Inside of Harrods

More inside of Harrods

Absolutely polished!!

We planned on meeting up with David's cousin that lives outside of London at this pub but the traffic was so bad for him that we ended up meeting him at the restaurant. Meanwhile, David N. entertained us BEHIND the bar!!!

HAMMING it up!!!

So who is this "Christian Man" hanging out in the pub!! His shirt says: Leading Listeners to Jesus!

A good time was had by all - except for Dickie Boy - brother is some times
 too much for him to handle!! hahaah!!!

Eventually, we met up with the rest of the family - David's cousin LeeAnn, her husband Chris, their 2 children, Chris' brother and his children, Chris' parents and US!! We ate at a Mexican Restaurant - Chiquito's - that was pretty good for England!!! We had a wonderful evening catching up!!  We were SOOOOO tired by this point. I mean, it took EVERYTHING to stay awake!!! They are all such sweet people and we were fully entertained by their stories and recent adventures.

By the time got off of the train, it was NEARLY MIDNIGHT!!! 4 more minutes!! Talk about SEIZING the day!!!

Summer Vacation 2013 - Day 2

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Met in the lobby at 9:30 a.m. and off onto the tube by 10:00. Due to the commuting schedule, it was 'asked' on our London Pass that we do not board until after 10, to leave the space for the working bee's. That worked for us!!

Today's goal: Changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben in Parliament Square, the London Eye, a ride along the Thames River and The Monument.

Feeling pretty refreshed!

 The Changing of the Guards was a huge pomp and circumstance that happens EVERY DAY at 11 a.m.!! WOW! Such dedication and protocol! Horses, bands, music, rifles, marching!!

The Exchange

When the flag is flying, the Queen is home! (The flag was flying!)

The public gardens as we walked from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.

I was most impressed to actually see the graves INSIDE of the Westminster Abbey of Sir Isaac Newton buried 1727, Charles Darwin buried 1882, Charles Dickens, Robert Burns, Mary Queen of Scots...just to name a few! 

Westminster Abbey - so much history! Consecrated in 1065!! Now that is OLD!!!

AMEN!

That all cooked up quite the appetite! We asked one of the guards at the Abbey where he would suggest for lunch, without a doubt - THE SANCTUARY!! Great little spot where Pimm's was introduced to us - kind of like an iced tea/lemonade/mint and light rum. Very refreshing!

 This time Tay got the fish and chips! His was better than ours!

This place was known for their meat pies. Oh my! By looking at this pic, my mouth waters!! It was soooo yummy!!!

Big Ben!!

Big Ben, Big Tay, Big Dick, Big Red bus and some other white dude! haha

Heading over to the big ferris wheel called The London Eye

It is the tallest ferris wheel in Europe - 443 feet tall and diameter of 394 feet. It has 32 sealed and air conditioned capsules that hold about 25 people. 

The views were spectacular!! Everyone enjoyed the ride, except Dickie. He has a fear of heights and just could not make the trip....but he enjoyed the pics!

Oh the views!! It was a magnificent ride! Taylor was freaking a little because he also has a fear of heights but he did great!

The Thames River

We hopped on the last boat to go out on the river. We wanted to go all the way up to Greenwich but it could only take it to the Tower of London. The tour of the river was interesting and many places were pointed out to us - including Shakespeare's Globe. We wanted to check this area out more but really had no time. Plus, we have to save some things for THE NEXT TIME!!  

Interesting old bridge

Tower of London from the river. (We'll check this out more tomorrow)

 We walked to The Monument (it stood in the back right of the photo below). I found it interesting that every pub we walked by, people were always standing outside, enjoying the sunshine (fairly rare in London).

The Monument!

There was a great fire in London in 1666 about 200 feet away from this monument. We could have walked to the top - 311 steps, but it was getting later in the day and they were closed. 

The men had to check the maps to figure out where to catch the tube back home.....

We made our way back to our beautiful hotel lobby, had a few drinks and appetizers for dinner and called it a day.

Hotel lobby/kick it area.

 When we arrived in the room, a towel and slippers were set and the lights where on a romantic low!