July 28 and 29 - Days 15 and 16 - London!

We had a couple of days to rest between Rome and London, and that was a good thing. I was feeling a LOT better!
We had to be at the airport before 6am, so it was an early start on Monday.

We flew in to London City Airport and then walked to the train. The London train/Underground system is awesome! We spent a lot of time on it.

We took the train from the airport to the station near the hotel. We stayed at the Melia White House. It was very nice! They even had plants inside of the revolving door.

We couldn't check in yet, but we got to drop off our luggage, then we headed back out.
We took the train to St Paul's Cathedral. It was very big, but we would have to pay to go inside (a recurring theme) and they didn't allow pictures. It wasn't as nice as the churches in Rome, so we passed on it.

John Wesley (the founder of the Methodist Church)

Then we walked on Queen Victoria Street toward the river. Two funny things happened: first, a couple that was following us while we were wandering around (and even backtracking some) joked that they were going to find different tour guides. Then a little later we had people asking us for directions. (?)

We took a pedestrian subway and then walked across the Millennium (pedestrian) Bridge.

A view of the River Thames with a cool castle-like building in the background.

We walked along the Thames River for quite a while. We stopped at a restaurant by the river and each of us ordered a "bacon and egg" sandwich. Well, it was bacon, I guess, but it looked and tasted more like ham. Also, "lemonade" = Sprite and donut holes have filling in them here. I've stopped getting excited when I see something that I like on a menu because it's not going to be what I expect.

We crossed the river again at the Westminster Bridge. Here is the Westminster Palace and Big Ben.

This is called the London Eye. It's a huge ferris-wheel type observation ride. The line was very long and we didn't feel like waiting (or paying for it). 

Mounted Police. 

The Horse Guard. The horses do NOT stand still and there is a warning that they might bite you. From what I saw of the people milling around them, I think that is very justified.

Buckingham Palace. We did not see anyone important.

One of the Palace Guards. They do not move very much. What you don't see is next to one of the guards there was another guard in a regular police vest with an even scarier rifle. Those are the "real" guards. 

Picadilly Circus. Not what I had imagined, even if I knew it wasn't a real "circus". The British have some strange names for things... 

The highlight of the London trip for me. Forget history and architecture. There are four M&M stores in the world - Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, and London! I have now been in three of them. Only the New York store left to visit (bucket list item). I got some new things for my collection. [insert extremely happy face emoticon thingy here]

We ate supper at a place called Angus Steak House and I had fish and chips (chips = french fries). Then we went to a "theatre" and watched the play "Mousetrap" by Agatha Christie. It was cool to see something I had read before be acted out live. I'm pretty sure the cast was not the original one from 62 years ago.

After the play we went back to the hotel and went to bed. Total miles walked for Monday = 9.1 (21500 steps) and more than 50 flights of stairs. I need to find a way to get this kind of activity level at home...

Tuesday we started out after breakfast and went to the London Tower, which is actually a castle. We didn't go through it because, 1) I didn't want to walk that far, and 2) it cost a small fortune to get in. We walked around most of the outside of it.

 

Then we walked to the London Bridge. Here's the cheesy picture for London.

After the London Bridge we took the Underground to the Kensington area and walked to the Kensington Palace. Again, we didn't see anyone important. They have a very beautiful garden and a huge park.

In the park there was a lake, and about a million ducks, geese, and swans. Some of them were like this guy: "Well, don't just stand there gawking. Got any food?" (They were not aggressive at all, but they were totally used to people).

We walked through Kensington Park and Hyde Park, then headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage, then took the train(s) back to the airport. A very nice two days. (Total miles walked on Tuesday = 6.75).