Sept 7

We hit the ground running today ... well, maybe I should say biking. A few blocks from the hotel (after packing and leaving our luggage at the bell stand) we met up with a bike tour group, and for the next 3.5 hours we peddled our way around London. We went back to places like Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and Trafalgar Square, but many times got to see them from a different perspective. Also included was Leicester Square, Chinatown, Lincoln Inn (a lawyer society, or as they would say, solicitors and barristers), and old London, with a conclusion at Saint Paul's Cathedral. It was a delightful time, shared with tourists from Canada, Holland, Israel, Germany, Mexico and Japan.







We stopped to enjoy a traditional Sunday Roast (beef or lamb) with all the fixings (carrots, potatoes, parsnips, green beans, Yorkshire pudding and gravy) before walking our way along the River Thames toward the Tower of London.


We arrived at the Tower too late to get the whole Beefeaters tour (that's what they call the guards), but listened in on the end of another group's tour. Very entertaining! We did get time to visit several towers and the Crown Jewels (Lynne started her Christmas list). Most amazing was the almost 888,000 poppies that have been placed in and around the now dry moat encircling the Tower. Each one honors one of Britain's dead from World War One. Add to that the Blitz in WWII followed by another bombing run late in the war, and you have to feel for all this country has suffered in the last century.

We ended the day with a fabulous dinner at May Fair Kitchen (the tiger prawns were maybe the best ever) after relocating to our Hilton overlooking Hyde Park. Another busy day coming tomorrow!

" Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red"




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Location:Hertford Street,London,United Kingdom