After the nearly 9 hour flight, we landed in London and were greeted to a cool but overcast day. We queued up (along with hundreds of others) for passport control. After clearing customs, we began the trek to hunt down our bags. If you're accustomed to air travel, you are probably used to getting to baggage claim and waiting for your bags to appear on the belt. Well, thanks to the long line at passport control, our bags had not only arrived but were smartly lined up on either side of the carousel.
Once everyone claimed their bags, we had a quick comfort break and then exited the baggage claim to find our tour guide Helen. Helen warmly greeted us and then led the way to our awaiting coach (that's bus to us Americans).
After brief introductions, we were on our way for our tour of London. Once in town, we picked up our local guide, Jan, who was a knowledgeable and colorful lady. She quickly gave us much information about our surroundings and the customs of London and the U.K.
We made a brief stop in the business district (an area where people work but no one lives) to see a bit of history (and a building used for an exterior shot of a "Harry Potter" movie.)
After some more sight seeing, we stopped near St. Paul's Cathedral to take a walk on the Millennium Bridge, nicknamed the "Wibbly Wobbly" bridge by Londoners. (The Brits have a nickname for almost everything!). The bridge is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames, linking Bankside with the City of London. Initially opened in June of 2000 only to be closed 2 days later because pedestrians felt and an unexpected swaying motion. It reopened in 2002.
Here is Will Tate standing in front of the museum that bears his family name.
We only went half way across the bridge as we going to St. Paul's and get some lunch in the area.
While walking around, we discovered the diverse London architecture.
After getting some food, we were back on the bus for our appointment with the London Eye.
When it was built in 1999, it was the world's largest Ferris wheel at 443 feet tall. It offers the highest viewing point in London.
Although the wheel moves slowly, our wait in line (or queue as they call it here) wasn't too bad.
When it was built in 1999, it was the world's largest Ferris wheel at 443 feet tall. It offers the highest viewing point in London.
Although the wheel moves slowly, our wait in line (or queue as they call it here) wasn't too bad.
There are 32 capsules, representing each of the London Boroughs, and each holds up to 25 people.
After a spectacular view of London, we rushed down the nearby dock for our Thames River cruise, again offer great sights of London, just from a different angle.
....while others found the peaceful ride too irresistible to overcome the effects of jet lag.
Once off the boat, we boarded our coach and headed to our hotel where we would eat dinner. Our hotel was in the "posh" neighborhood know as Kensington.
We had about an hour after checking into our rooms before we met in the hotel's restaurant for a buffet dinner.
By this time of day, we were all exhausted from the long flight from Miami and a full day of sight seeing in London. Fortunately, our departure time for tomorrow is not so early so we should be able to get a good night's rest. To compound our ability to adjust to London time, it doesn't get dark here this time of year until around 9:45 p.m. So even though our watches say it's 9:30, it is not completely dark yet, which makes us think it isn't as late as it really is.
This picture was taken at 9:15 p.m. from our hotel.
This picture was taken at 9:15 p.m. from our hotel.
Time to call it a day. Our first concert of the tour will be tomorrow in Arundel Cathedral. Looking forward to a great concert!
