June 20, 2024
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| South Bank Lion watches tourists cross over the Thymes |
We have all day to do London. London is large and it will take more than a day to do all of the interesting things. We understand our limits. We have decided to not bite off more than we can chew.
Our Plan: Book passage on London's Big Bus Tour.
We will ride about London on the upper level of our Big Red Bus in this day's fair weather with complimentary earphones that act as a cheesy tour guide for the sights at the current location. We will use this tour to get a feel for the options before us and then debark when we spy a place of interest. We have already set our sites on touring Christopher Wren's masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral - unless we decide otherwise.
We're riding high with the wind in our hair (in my case, I speak metaphorically).
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| The London Eye |
We take in all the major attractions; The London Eye, Parliament, Elizabeth Tower, 221B Baker Street (Residence of Sherlock Holmes), Whitehall and the seat of the UK's government, Trafalgar Square, London's once notorious South Bank, Mayfair hoity toity shopping district, across the Tower Bridge and idle in front of the Tower of London.
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| Monument to Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square |
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| Parliament as seen from Westminster Bridge |
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| The Tower Bridge spans the Thames. The Bridge is christened as a ship and has a Captain and First Mate |
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| The Tower of London Home to the Crown Jewels |
At the end of our Big Bus Tour our tickets included a short cruise up the River Thames from Parliament to the Tower Bridge as we viewed London from its watery arterial.
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| Cruising the River Thames Departing from Westminster Bridge |
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| Passing the Halls of London's Municipal Government |
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| Gazing upon London's riverscape on a fine late June afternoon |
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| HMS Belfast moored in the Thames A party place |
After we docked, we followed the walk around the Tower of London, built by William the Conqueror in 1078 as symbol of strength and power of the new Norman ruling class. The Traitor's Gate enters the castle's interior and is accessible only by boat from the river. You don't want to be brought into The Tower this way.
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| The Tower of London built in 1078 and the Traitor's Gate |
Just for the experience, we wandered the short distance from The Tower to walk across the Tower Bridge.
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| Sue crossing the Tower Bridge |
I saw the first two pickup trucks in England on the Tower Bridge. Otherwise, very few pickups in England; but they were more common in Scotland.
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