4/16 – We had breakfast at Oakley Court, then took a taxi to London. With just 4 hours to spend in London before our flight to Spain, we asked our cab driver for recommendations. His ideas sounded pretty good, so off we went.
First stop - Buckingham Palace. We only had a little while to wait before the Changing of the Guard. While we were waiting, we admired the gorgeous statuary.
And the gates are awesome.
Then it was time for the Changing of the Guard ceremony. This is one of the most famous bits of British pageantry and they sure do it right.
I think they have an official dog.
We couldn't go into the palace and we didn't have time anyway, so we went to St. James Park, which is between Buckingham Palace and the River Thames. A lot of people were enjoying the park today, but it's a big park and never felt crowded. I loved the black swans.
St. James has large green areas but they also banks of beautiful flowers.
There were so many white flowers that it looked like the ducks were sitting in snow.
Next we went to see Big Ben - gorgeous.
And nearby are the Houses of Parliament.
Westminster Abby was nearby - so pretty!
As we got closer, we could appreciate the gothic architecture
with all those carved figures above the door.
This is an area with several statues, from Winston Churchill to King Richard the Lionhearted.
We were surprised to see that there is a statue of Abraham Lincoln here, too.
We didn't want to stop to eat so we got a quick pizza at Pizzaland and kept going. We went by to see Number 10 Downing Street next. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but that is not necessarily a bad thing for a government building.
Then on to Trafalgar Square, which is famous for it's famous monument, Nelson's Column.
I liked Nelson's Column. It's a monument to a man who kept England safe, and it has four big, wonderful lion statues at its base.
Plus it has a huge flock of pigeons who know how to work a tourist.
With just a little bit of time left, we went to see the Cabinet War Rooms, which are housed in a fine, stately building.
That was a lot to cover in one day! We will be back when we have more time to explore.
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