London: Second Day

The London Pass we bought was good for entrance to many of the main attractions in London but it was for two consecutive days which meant we had to try to tackle as much as we could during the two days.  Sunday (24th) was almost as long and hard a day of sight seeing as Saturday had been. In retrospect doing this on the weekend probably wasn't a good idea as I think it is more crowded in London on weekends this time of year. Despite the crowds we were able to see all that we wanted to see. (Warning: long blog entry to follow :) )

We took the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus and enjoyed the views for a while.

Marble Arch

Marble Arch was built in the early 1800's as the entrance to Buckingham Palace but apparently Queen Victoria hated it and had a coach built that wouldn't fit through it, so the arch was later moved off to a new location.  There are many statutes, memorials and interesting things to see just riding around London.  (If you click on the pictures, they will enlarge.)

Mini-Cooper Modern Art Statue

Horse Head statute ???



Parliament

Whitehall Horse Guard

Mad King George with traffic cones on his head

Largest Ship in a Bottle

We ended up near Buckingham Palace at 11:15, prime time for seeing the changing of the guard which happens at 11:30 each day in the summer.  The mob there was absolutely amazing (and just a little scary).  We held up our cameras to take pictures of things we couldn't see. 

Eventually Colleen and I climbed up on the iron fence and could take pictures of the palace yard from there.  All in all, not a wildly successful endeavor, but an interesting experience.

We then rode the bus back to the Tower of London, crossing Tower Bridge on our way.

We grabbed a lovely lunch at a nearby pub (Sunday is roast day!) and then headed in to tour the Tower of London - to me, the most amazing, interesting site in London.  We had a fabulous Beefeater guide named Dickie who was interesting, funny and told us a lot about the bloody history of the tower. 

Dickie

Important Prisoner Barracks (Queens)

Bloody Tower

The White Tower (seen from River Thames)

Changing of the Guard at the Crown Jewels

We waited in line to see the crown jewels and got to see a second changing of the guard.  The jewels were very impressive, but I suspect that only a small portion of what they own is actually displayed. (Sorry, no photos allowed.)

By then our feet were giving out so we left the tower and opted for a nice river cruise up the River Thames to Westminster and back.

The ferris wheel pictures is called The London Eye and was built by British Airways in 1999 for the millenium celebration.  It costs $30 to ride around once.  It goes a constant 1 mph.

We even got to see Tower Bridge open to let a boat through.

Somewhat rested from the lovely boat ride (notice how spectacular the weather was), we decided to go on the Jack the Ripper walking tour of the East End of London.  Our Beefeater guide, Dickie, was leading the tour tonight and since we had enjoyed him so much at the Tower, we thought this one would be fun.  It was a lot of walking, the story telling was fascinating but grim and gruesome due to the subject.  The east end is the seamier side of town so it was interesting to walk through there - not something we were likely to do otherwise.  All in all, very good street theatre.

After the tour, we dined near Victoria Station and took the tube home.  The food here is not nearly as good as in Ireland but it isn't quite as expensive either.  Attractions, however, are much more expensive here.  It costs $15 - $20 to get into things like the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey.

Phew - another long day, but London is beginning to feel like home now.