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Day TwoThis was a busy and fun day that started at 8:45am when the group met in the hotel lobby. We didn't see that hotel lobby again until about 12 hours later!
As a group we took the Tube to Westminster Abbey. There was a great surprise as we exited from the Tube station: There, RIGHT in front of us, was the parliament building and Big Ben. Well, to be correct, Big Ben is the name of the bell, not the clock tower! Westminster Abbey was amazing. It is hard to wrap your brain around all the history that lies within those walls. Gillian gave a brilliant tour showing us the famous grave stones, and giving us insider information on the Royal wedding. Rebecca really enjoyed seeing where the wedding took place and was thrilled to find a souvenir booklet about the wedding in the gift shop. Donna, being an English teacher, enjoyed the Poets' Corner where some of the great writers are honored. My favorite part was the ceiling of the Chapel of King Henry VII, also known as the Lady Chapel. It is carved stone, but looks like dainty lace. Towards the end of the tour we will admit that we were getting tired feet and "museum back" (You know that tired feeling in your back when you have been standing too long, and you just want to sit down... ANYWHERE!) Gillian being the amazing guide that she is, knew exactly how we were feeling so our next adventure was a boat ride, sitting down, along the Thames. We had just watched on TV the Queen's Jubilee Flotilla with the 1000 boats, and now we were floating along the same route. There were still signs and banners up from the celebration. The boat took us to the Tower of London. Gillian set us off on our own to eat lunch before meeting again to enter the Tower of London. We got take away sandwiches at a place Gillian had recommended called EATS. With full bellies, we were ready to tackle the Tower. Gillian gave us the lay of the land, some helpful advice to best see the area, and a meeting time and location! We really liked that several times on this tour Gillian took us into the attraction, but then we were set free on our own to explore at our own pace. Our first stop was seeing the Crown Jewels. It was amazing the history some of those item have. Since it was a Jubilee Celebration year, there was lots of information about the Queen's coronation and even actual news footage of it. Next we went to listen to the Beefeater's tour. Their stories and presentations are very entertaining and educational to listen to. Our brains were full of history, our feet were tired from seeing all the history, and our mouths were parched! So with that, we took some photos with a friendly Beefeater, then sat down to relax and have a cold drink before meeting the group again. Our final adventure of the day was a fish 'n chips dinner with the group. Gillian led us on the Tube once again to her favorite fish and chips restaurant. There we enjoyed a traditional British meal, beer, and conversation with our fellow travelers! Whew! We saw so many classic sights of London, it was hard to believe it was just one day! |
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