Today, we took an all-day tour of London in a big tour bus, which I really dislike doing. I am guessing I didn’t read the description fully, but it did hit all the places we were looking to hit. We started our day at the Buckingham Palace, the royal residence. For the last few generations, the Royals have spent less and less time here and more time at the much favored Windsor Castle. The flag flying at the top of the Palace is the flag of Britain, indicating that the King is NOT in residence. Above the guard, you can still see it is ER with a little II in teh middle. This stands for Elizabeth Regina II or Queen Elizaebeth the Second. Throughout London, we saw a mixture of the new cypher for King Charles and the old cypher for Queen Elizabeth.

After Buckingham, we headed to St. Paul’s Cathedral. St. Pauls Cathedral is an anglican church that is the seat for the Bishop in London. Construction started in 1675 and the architect was Christopher Wren. St. Paul’s Cathedral survived the great London fire and the two wars, where bombs dropped around it. Christopher Wren designed it to be a simple church, but as you can see, it has been beautifully adorned since his time.

Next, we went to the Tower of London. The White Tower was built in 1078 by William the Conqueror, the first King of England. Everything around the White Tower (which is the castle looking building in the middle) was built after. The Tower has a rich, interesting history. Currently, it houses the Crown Jewels. You cannot take pictures when in viewing the Crown Jewels, but they are remarkable. To be that close to the Crown! If you are planning to visit, the line for the Crown Jewels looks very long, but it moves very quickly and it is definitely worth it!

The Tower of London has housed all kinds of animals that were gifted to the Kings and Queens of England, including Elephants, Tigers, and Monkeys. Currently, at least 6 ravens live at the Tower at all times. I guess they all have quite the personality. Also, Yeoman Warders, or Beefeaters, are at the Tower. They are ceremonial guardsman thave have been active since Henry VII in 1485. The interesting armor in the picture below is the armor of Henry VIII. If you know anything about Henry VIII, this is not suprising. The White Tower has a display of armor from past Kings and Princes. IF you go to London, make time for the Tower of London.

Next, we took a cruise down the Thames and took a ride on the London Eye. While we did pre-purchase tickets through our tour guide, these were not skip the line tickets and our wait was probably close to an hour. The London Eye was a nice view of the city and we enjoyed finding different landmarks. It is not something I would revisit.