I spent my 2nd and 3rd days in London trying to see as many of the sites as possible. As a result I walked a combined 26.14 miles while using the underground as much as possible. I crossed over 5 bridges including the Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Southwark Bridge, Milennium Foot Bridge and Westminster Bridge. The parks in London are beautiful with such a flair for color combinations it was hard not to spend all day Sunday in the parks as many people were doing. I was able to seeing the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace – Constable Andrews who was posted at the crosswalk was very friendly and pleasant to talk with while I awaited the marching procession. I also spoke with a lovely couple from Malta who were on vacation.
I was also able to see the changing of the guard at Tower Hill right after partaking in a tour with Yeoman Warder Steven. Excellent tour guide with a great sense of humor – if you can join his group do so. I knew being an Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) was a privilege but I did not realize until the group tour the level of respect these people deserve. They faithfully served their country (England) for a minimum of 22 years in the service and reached a high rank with flawless record before applying for the position of Yeoman Warder. These men and women are dedicated to their country and Queen and are to be commended for all they have done through their service. While at the Tower I was able to see the Crown jewels which are spectacular.
I was able to see several churches including St. Paul’s Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, St. Luke’s Church, All Hallows, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret’s. All of them wonderful places with incredible architecture.
Other sites included the Guards Museum, the Horse Guards and Household Calvary Museum, the British Museum with the Elgin marbles among other artifacts, the National Gallery, Churchill War Rooms, St. James Park, St. Regent’s Park, Hyde Park, Wellington Arch, and The Monument. I earned my certificate for climbing the 311 stairs at The Monument to the top and took several pictures. While walking down New Bond Street I came across a very busy intersection with several photographers on all sides of the street. Some of them had jackets that said “Gumball Racing” and several high end vehicles came through while I was there. When I asked at the pub last night what “Gumball Racing” was the owner stated it is the ‘rich kids’ showing off their vehicles because they have nothing better to do. There is no racing involved just a lot of noise with the car engines. I had to laugh because it was true, the drivers could not have gone in such short spurts with the traffic at that hour.
Overall it was a very busy two days and there was a lot I missed but will definitely come back to visit again in the future.
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