London, England  April 13 - April 21, 2011..... 4/16 
Greetings from London.
We arrived safe & sound on Wednesday, 4/13....somewhat jet-lagged & tired.
But, we are now rested & back on a "normal" schedule.
Here is a photo from our hotel balcony....at the end of Westminster Bridge - looking directly out onto the Thames and Big Ben...don't need a clock in the room, when you have Big Ben!!
We've already been to Westminster Abbey - where they are getting ready for the Royal Wedding on 4/29...we will be in Paris then, thank heavens.
Also went to St. Paul's Cathedral & the Tower of London.
We went to see Andrew Lloyd Weber's new play/follow-up to Phantom of the Opera..."Love Never Dies".  It was fantastic.  It has not yet opened in the US. 
Weather has been great for London - no rain and in the high 60's.

 

 

 

4/18/2011
Well, here it is Monday, 4/18.
Just spent the day at Windsor Castle.  Even made it in time for the changing of the guard.
It was a perfect weather day - almost 70 degrees & sunny.  Is this really London?!

Yesterday was the London Marathon - 36,000 runners...with the finish line right outside our hotel....at Big Ben.
NO, we did not participate in this event - instead we went to Westminster Abbey for services on Palm Sunday.  It was quite impressive being in the church with their full choir & all the pageantry - including blessing of the Palms, Procession & sung Eucharist.

We envisioned being at the Royal Wedding (which will be in Westminster) - since we have not yet received our invitation....or, perhaps it is "in the mail" back to our home address in the states!!

We also attended a concert in The Royal Albert Hall - "Music to Celebrate a Royal Wedding" performed by the Fanfare Trumpeters of the Band of the Coldstream Guards, the Royal Choral Society, and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

So, we are very much in the spirit for the upcoming Royal Wedding.  But, as I mentioned before - we consciously decided to head to Paris BEFORE the April 29th wedding date!!

Two more days in London, so look for some more updates soon.



4/19/2011
Hi again.
Yes, it was another gorgeous day in London - temps well into the 70's and sunny.....we have really "lucked-out" with weather here (especially this time of the year...they say we are almost 20 degrees warmer than usual!!)

Today was first seeing London from the "eye"...the large ferris wheel - which is located on the Thames, across from Big Ben, and right next door to our hotel.  It is 23 metres tall, and takes 30 minutes for its full rotation ride.  Quite a panoramic view of London.

Then we took a canal boat ride along the Regent's Canal to Camden Lock.  It was very relaxing riding down through what they refer to as "Little Venice".
Well, we will just have to see how this compares to "real" Venice when we journey there on May 3 - 6!!

Next we spent all afternoon at Wembley Stadium....the new one which has only been open since 2007.  It holds 90,000 screaming "football" fans (soccer to us in the States)...and hosts concerts & other major attractions.  The tour was quite extensive - we even got to sit in the Royal Box and see/touch/photograph the FA Cup (an "official" replica..we saw the real one along with other trophies in a case, too.).
This stadium will be one (of many) sites for the upcoming 2012 Olympics being held in England.

So, one more day in London tomorrow - we'll see how we end our "British adventure"!!  Until then - cheerio!






Wembley Stadium

4/20/2011
This is our last day in London...tomorrow we head for Paris, via train using the Channel Tunnel (also referred to as the Chunnel).
It is 31.4 miles undersea (beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover), and it takes only 2.5 hours!!

Before I tell you about our last day, I have to correct something from the previous email.  The London "eye" - the large ferris wheel is really 135 meters high (443 feet) or 40 stories high.  I incorrectly said it was 23 meters....sorry for my mistake!!

Anyway, today we walked to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard.  On the way we were surprised to come upon the Coldstream Guards preparing for the "changing" and also for next week's Royal Wedding....the band & guards.

Then we had another "afternoon/high tea" at the Athenaeum Hotel....very, very nice....leisurely & quite private. 
After two hours we walked back to the Palace & did a tour of the Royal Mews - the working stables which is responsible for all road travel arrangements for The Queen - cars, horses, coaches, carriages....including the Glass Coach (used by royal brides), and the Gold State Coach, which has been used at every coronation since 1821.

So, now "WE" (at least one of us will be packing), and getting to bed a bit earlier than usual for the second leg of our European adventure.

We'll see you next from Paris.
PS.  I forgot to mention, it was ANOTHER glorious day in London - high 70's and sunny.
Hope it cools down a bit as we continue - since we packed for the "normal" temps....not summer temps!
But hey, if it continues to be warm, I'll just have to do some shopping in Paris!! 
changing of the Guard


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