On our last full day in London we took "The Original Tour" which was a red double-decker bus that has circuits around major sites in the city. We finally hopped on, went to the top and were on the way to London Tower.
A view of St. Paul's Cathedral.
Bank of England
On the bus and our first view of the Tower bridge.
views of some of the tallest buildings in London including the Modern Gherkin Tower (cheese grater) which is in the bank district
Juliette would call this the "bubble becker bus". We all loved this ride.
New and Old. Inside the Tower of London and you can see the top of the Shard which is the tallest skyscraper in the city. It is 2 1/2 times taller then the London Eye.
A very theatrical play in the "moat". The girls loved it.
We took a Yeoman Warder tour at the beginning which was amusing and told us some of the gory history of the tower and its beheadings. The "beefeaters" actually live in the tower grounds in apartments.
The traitor's gate where prisoners came through.
A view of the cage of ravens that guard the tower and the bridge.
The girls knew of the stories of the beheadings and Juliette walked around with her little hands around her neck during the visit.
This served as a royal residence, a castle with several buildings, walls and a moat and also was a prison for hundreds of years.
Active military guard the tower.
We went into to see the amazing crown jewels which are housed inside. They are inside the Waterloo Barracks.
We thought it would be fun to take a city cruise along the Thames to see a different angle.
A better view of the Shard
Going under London Bridge! It is a not very impressive concrete structure.
We always think the best way to see a city is to walk it. We found St. James's park that had ice cream and a playground for our very good little travelers and it was a much needed break from the hustle of London and traffic. The girls had a great time swinging and doing a teeter-toter with Uncle Shawn who is a big kid himself.
Swans on St. James's Lake with a peak at Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace is Queen Elizabeth II's official residence.
We were able to get back on the bus (even after I lost the tickets) and get to see St Pauls Cathedral before it closed.
Running off some energy again near the Temple Church.
The Royal Courts of Justice
A rare glimpse of Juliette being cooperative for the camera!!!
We stopped by the original Twinings store and bought some tea.
We stopped at Punch Tavern for a typical British meal and beer. This was shepherd's pie, mash and a salad. We had toffee pudding for dessert.
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