Landmarks Day

Today's weather felt very London-ish. Spurts of misty rain, wind, and clouds. Our agenda for the day was to hit the main touristy spots. After grabbing a quick bite at the flat, we headed out shortly after 9:00. First up was the Tower of London. You realize how young America is when you see these buildings that have been around since 1078! There's lots of history there, too much to read every sign unless you want to spend a whole day. Some of the high points for me were the story of the Princes in the Tower, the ravens, and seeing the Crown Jewels. 

From Tower of London we had a good view of Tower Bridge and even got to see the drawbridge go up for a big ship! This isn't very common, apparently. 

We walked across the bridge to our lunch spot, JD Wetherspoon. We all ordered fish and chips and mushy peas. The fish was crispy and delicious; the chips and peas were excellent as well, if slightly lacking in salt. Food here is definitely less salty and sugary. To order, we scanned a QR code at the table and placed our orders online. A seamless experience that needs to catch on in America, as well as the no tipping culture! Sabrina met us there and spent the rest of the afternoon with us.

We took an Uber boat down the Thames to our next stop, Westminster. It was neat seeing the city from the river. We went under London Bridge, past the London Eye, and came out at Big Ben. All the landmarks/monuments have been more gold and shiny than I expected! Big Ben struck 3:00 as we approached. We didn't go into Westminster Abbey since you have to queue and pay. Walked by Buckingham Palace, then through several parks for what felt like miles, finally hitting the Diana Memorial and Kensington Palace. Sabrina chatted the whole way; she has such an interesting life story! It was great being with her some more. She showed us how to catch a red double-decker bus to where we needed to be for our night tour.

Since the night tour was scheduled for later, we nipped into a nearby Pret for a bite to eat, got comfy, and worked on our diaries. Pret is a cross between a coffee shop and Wawa. You can pick up pre-made salads, sandwiches, and wraps; plus get your coffee and pastry. I had a halloumi and falafel wrap, a good choice!

The night tour was on a double-decker bus and we opted to sit on top outside in hopes of getting the best view. It was windy and cold and we were thankful for every layer we wore! The tour took us past all the famous landmarks; the same ones we'd been to earlier in the day plus a few more. It helped me visualize the layout of the city. The ride lasted an hour and a half so we were quite stiff with cold by the time it was over. Got back to the flat as quickly as possible, and it's nearly midnight again.

We put in approximately 25,000 steps today!