Welcome to London!

We started our time in London with a bus tour around the city to see some sights and get the lay of the land. The reality that we really were in London set in when we got our first glimpse of Big Ben! The London Eye is a huge ferris wheel that offers panoramic views of the city. We didn't ride it, but it's impressive just to look at! We spent the afternoon relaxing in Trafalgar Square and trying to recover from jet lag. The next day was spent at the Tower of London where we saw Tower Bridge (not London Bridge as it's often called...there is a London Bridge, but it's not very pretty).

London - Windsor and Eton

Windsor Castle was one of the most beautiful places we'd ever seen! The grounds were immaculate and the castle itself was very homey and welcoming (we took a tour of the inside, but weren't allowed to take pictures). The Queen still spends her weekends in Windsor and the building you see behind the guard below is the Queen's private residence. In the picture where I'm on the sidewalk, you can see just how centrally the castle is located...I'm standing between the castle wall and the little shops on the High Street. The village has literally sprung up just outside the castle walls!

We crossed the Windsor-Eton bridge to see the small town of Eton and Eton College where Prince William attended. Unfortunately, we were there very late in the afternoon and most shops and the campus were closed. If you're ever in need of antiques, Eton is the place to go!

London - Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

One of our favorite things we did was see "The Tempest" at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The theatre is an exact replica of the original Globe and sits along the shore of the Thames.

Back in the day, they wanted everyone, even peasants to be able to see the plays, so they offered extremely cheap tickets for the floor area. You had to stand during the performance, but you still got to enjoy the play. We bought our tickets the day of the performance, and all that was left was standing room. It was a wonderful experience, but the standing was dreadful. We saw the play on Sunday, after we had been walking and walking and walking and walking for an entire week! Our poor feet were not very happy about it, but the quality of the performance made up for it. If you've never seen "The Tempest," we highly recommend it, and if you're ever in London, make sure and go to the Globe!

London - St. Paul's Cathedral and the Millenium Bridge

One of the most popular sights in London is St. Paul's Cathedral where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married. In preparation for the upcoming anniversary of the church, the building is receiving a thorough cleaning. In the picture below, you can see all three parts of the cleaning process...the darkest is the part that has yet to be cleaned (that's what the entire church looked like several months ago), the top section is in the process of being cleaned, and the section on the right, the white section, has gone through the entire cleaning process (that's what the entire building will look like when they're finished).



The Millenium Bridge is a fairly new pedestrian bridge that goes across the Thames. It led from Shakespeare's Globe Theatre straight over to St. Paul's Cathedral.

London - Greenwich

After visiting the craziness that is Portobello Market one morning, we headed out to peaceful Greenwich. While there we walked through the British Maritime Museum, learned all kinds of things about the history of latitude and longitude, and stood on the actual Prime Meridian! It was a beautiful day and there were lots of couples and families out on the lawn having picnics and playing "football."

London - Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

Here are some pictures from the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, which happens every morning at 11:30. As you can see, quite a few people gather every day, and there are plenty of "bobbies" hanging around for crowd control. Paul and I joked that it's not so much the changing of the guard as it is the changing of the marching bands! Since the actual change is not very exciting, members of the guard stay around and perform for the crowd. It was entertaining and interesting to see, but when the rain started, we headed to the next attraction!

London - Brighton

We spent one day in Brighton, which is about an hour away from London, on the coast. It was a cute town, but very "touristy." In the 1920's and '30's, it was a hot spot for celebrities and jet-setters. It's gone a little downhill since then, and seemed to be the Myrtle Beach of England...Crazy Mouse roller coaster and all! The really cool thing about Brighton, though, is that it's a pebble beach (as opposed to sand), which we had never seen before. We had our first taste of kebabs at a little cafe and they are delicious! We ended the day by sitting out on the pier and watching the fog roll in. Paul even made a friend!

London - Sights

Here are some of the things we liked in London...

Westminster Abbey - we didn't go inside because of that looooong queue!

Every time we were in the tube, we got a kick out of the "Way out" (instead of "Exit") signs.

It's like you're standing there saying, "Hey, where's the way out? Oh, there it is!"

Our local grocery store.

Piccadilly Circus, which has been called "London's Times Square."

King's Cross Station, where Harry catches the Hogwarts Express every year!

Our tube stop.

Look! A phone booth!

Harrod's Department Store.

We tried to go to Baker Street to check out Sherlock Holmes' place, but...

...there was construction going on and it covered 221B!

The street sign for Abbey Road.

Yes, that's us! It was, like, 10 pm, but we were determined to get our crosswalk shot!

London - Oxford

One of the day trips we took was to Oxford. It was about an hour's train ride away from London. Almost from the moment we stepped off the train we knew we would love it there! The village is so quaint and charming. There are adorable shops and restaurants all along the streets. One of the things that surprised us was that all of the colleges at Oxford University are walled in and gated so that outside visitors cannot just wander onto the campus. Some of them were completely closed, but we went onto Christ's Church and Magdalen College's campuses (see Magdalen College pictures below). You can see the beautiful architecture of both the village buildings and the colleges in these first two pictures.




One of the greatest thrills for me and Paul was visiting The Eagle and Child pub where CS Lewis used to have weekly meetings with JRR Tolkien and other writers and teachers of the day. They have a huge wall display commemorating the meetings of "The Inklings," as they were known.

London - Magdalen College at Oxford University

Here are pictures from Magdalen (pronounced "maudlin") College at Oxford University. It is truly the most beautiful campus I've ever seen. CS Lewis taught here for many years and Paul and I often wondered, "In this environment, who wouldn't be inspired to write so beautifully?!"




The picture below is of the chapel at Magdalen. When we first arrived, it was closed for choir practice. Though we couldn't see inside, the sounds coming out were so beautiful they brought tears to my eyes. We stayed on campus so that we could attend the service that evening.