Hop On, Hop Off!

---

This was a VERY busy day involving LOTS of walking (14,656 steps so far!) so I will show the day more with pictures than with words. Suffice it to say that we saw new buildings, old buildings, ancient buildings, The Tower of London again, the Thames via boat, statues, palaces, bridges, monuments, The Eye (and no, Kim, we did not ride it today), the outside of Winchester Abbey (not open for tours on Sunday...may go tomorrow), Pubs which we discovered make good potty breaks here like McDonald’s at home, fancy gates, Buckingham Palace, Cleopatra’s obelisk, a HUGE protest in front of the Brazilian Embass (several hundreds at least), views across bodies of water, and two police who (at two separate times) helped us find our way back to our hotel! WHEW! It exhausts me just writing it down. Our weather, though cool, was perfect. The sun was out in all its glory and we enjoyed our views from both the top of our Hop on, Hop off bus and the boat. We are regrouping at our hotel right now, and are not sure if we are finished for the day yet or not. We have some thoughts for tomorrow, but nothing definite yet. Today was actually the last day of our tour with CIE, and the next two days will be our own invention. We shall see what happens!

---

Photos

Baby Ben—Big Ben is under repair for the next few years
Note John under Baby Ben in the wind and the rain yesterday evening.

Cleopatra’s Needle
Ancient Egyptian Obelisk

Comments

[KC]

Eye
You seriously need to suck it up and go on the London Eye. I hate Ferris wheels and it didn’t scare me. And you can see so much up,there. The chances of it breaking while you are up there are relatively low.:)

[DWLPtravelkids]

The Eye
Thanks for being so incredibly interested in the hope for survival of your parents on the Eye. We aren’t afraid to get on it. We mainly just explored today on Hop On, Hop Off and walking. We do have only two more days here and there are a few things I definitely want to do, so we will have to weigh our options.

[Mike]

St Paul’s
Looks like a great day of touring! Don’t forget to do St. Paul’s cathedral. You have done so many wonderful ones, you have to do this one for comparison. I loved it. I walked up a bunch of stairs to the top of the dome (inside). Kim opted out.

[Judith]

P an p
Sounds like you have this travel thing whipped into shape! Potties and pubs, what a good combo. Is it just me or have you noticed that when you have to ‘go’ it’s always downstairs or upstairs?

[DWLPtravelkids]

P & p
AMEN! Every bathroom here, in the older buildings especially, are ALWAYS upstairs or downstairs using winding steps like they have in the turrets of castles. THEN the stall is so small you have to be a contortionist to navigate the process! It’s all fun! We are always thankful just to have found one.

[Dorothy Holland]

Great Pictures
Great Pictures; glad you guys are enjoying your fabulous vacation. Dorothy & Lozy

[Lora Carbary]

Fantastic
Can’t wait to see London next year I can finally see some of these same spots. Enjoy.

[Keep Smiling]

More than a church!
This architecturally-splendid building is actually Westminster Cathedral, the mother church of the Catholic faith in England and Wales.

[Ed C]

London
Enjoying the pictures and blog. If you get a chance go to Harrods we enjoyed seeing it. The food court was amazing.

[DWLPtravelkids]

London...
Thanks for the encouragement Mike. We are really enjoying your beautiful country...and Harrods is on our list for tomorrow!