We left Ellesmere Port Monday morning (4/26) and began our drive to London. It was a 4 hour drive so we decided to stop along the way and see another castle. Warwick Castle was built in 1068 in central England. 1068...you don't find stuff like that in America. This was by far the biggest castle we saw on our trip. The views from the top of the castle were awesome. You could see Oxford in one direction and Stratford-Upon-Avon (where Shakespeare was born/raised) in the other. We spent the early afternoon there and had lunch. We probably could have spent the entire day there but just didn't have time. From there we headed straight to London the longest stop on our trip.
London was awesome. We would go back in a heartbeat. Our hotel was situated in Pimlico which is slightly outside the main tourist areas but still close enough for us to walk or take the "tube" (London's subway system) anywhere we wanted to go. We shared a 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen. By the time we got to London, got the rental car turned in, and got situated in our rooms the day was almost over. We went out for dinner but really spent our first night getting acclimated with the city and figuring out what all we wanted to see.
Our first full day in London we decided to do a "Hop-On Hop-Off" bus tour. That way we could see all of the city and if we wanted to see more, we could just hop off as needed. We went with the Big Bus tour group and started out in western London. We saw Kensington Palace (where Princess Diana lived), Notting Hill (fashion shops and setting for the movie), and Hyde Park. We moved on to central London visiting Piccadilly Circus (known for large video billboards similar to Times Square), Trafalgar Square, and then down to "10 Downing Street" (where the Prime Minister lives). Then we got to the "big sights". The London Eye (450 ft Ferris wheel), the House of Parliament (clock tower with Big Ben), and finally Westminster Abbey (where Princess Diana's funeral was held)...I could spend an hour writing about just those 3 things but I won't bore you....Then we headed eastward and saw St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London (where the crown jewels are). At the Tower of London, we hopped off and ate lunch. We then took a river boat cruise back down the Thames river and got to see many of the same attractions from the water. That was pretty cool. On the cruise we also got to see Shakespeare's Globe which has London's only remaining thatched roof. After the river cruise, we got back on the bus and finished up with Buckingham Palace (where the queen stays). That was the end of our sightseeing for day one. Wow...we did a lot huh?!? No wonder we were so tired. :-)
We found out that the "changing of the guards" doesn't happen every day so we started off day two at Buckingham Palace. We arrived early so we could get a good spot and man were we glad. By the time it started the place was packed. They put on quite a show with a parade and horses and a band. Now you would think that this would be some official government type ceremony and for the most part it is but about half way through the band starts playing the exact music from the intro to the movie, Austin Powers. You can't do anything but laugh at that. In fact, the band eventually even played "Thriller". Needless to say, it was half ceremony, half show, but definitely worth seeing. After lunch, April and I did a full blown tour of St. Paul's cathedral while Andy and Lisa decided to go see some other sites. St. Paul's was beautiful and absolutely huge! We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but the artwork was huge and so exquisitely detailed. It is something we were really glad we experienced.
On our third full day in London, we started off with a tour of the Tower of London. It is a historic castle located on the Thames River. Throughout history it has been everything from a royal palace, to a fortress, to a prison. It was the location of the beheading of King Henry VIII's 2nd and 5th wives, among other executions. The tower is currently the residence to the Yeoman Warders (also known as Beefeaters - half guards/half tour guides) and the Crown Jewels. Pretty cool place. We probably only saw half of everything that was there. Lots of history and a couple pretty good museums. After the Tower of London, we headed back towards the House of Parliament and took more pictures of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. Still my favorite area of London. It is so cool to be able to see all three sites at once. Lastly, we visited the Royal Pharmaceutical Society museum for the girls. They enjoyed seeing the old pharmacy tools and drugs and seeing how much things have changed.
Overall, we loved London. We thought it was so clean and beautiful. You can tell the people that live there actually care about their city and take care of it. Everyone was very nice and we never felt unsafe or uncomfortable.
Paris...now that was a different story.
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