The Queen's Guard Band Bubble on the Eye The London Eye
Today we slept in a little. Up for breakfast and then out the door for a walk down to Westminster wharf. On the way we stopped to check out the Queen’s Guard Mews. The band was forming to begin the changing of the guard ceremony. After watching them play and begin their march we continued on our walk. Reaching the wharf we boarded a river boat and rode it over to the London Eye.
Judi finally talked me into riding this big Ferris wheel. It is about 410 feet high and never stops. Never stopping is a good thing. It takes about 30 minutes to make a full revolution. You get on the bubble, which holds 28 people, as it passes where you are standing. The movement is very smooth and the view is incredible. The pictures I took did not come out too well, what with shooting through the glass and some haze in the area. When you are getting off you just walk off as it is moving, then security comes on and checks the bubble for anything that should not be there. A note for those of you planning a trip on Eye. Do the fast track ticket for the ride, otherwise you will be in line forever.
After the Eye we got back on a river boat and rode it round trip to Greenwich. When we were at Greenwich we saw the observatory where Greenwich Mean Time is kept. Along the way we passed London Bridge and London Tower where the bad guys and gals lost their heads. If they really didn’t like them, they put their heads on a spike and placed it on the Tower Bridge for all to see. We saw the New London Bridge as the old one is in Arizona. The round trip took about 2 hours. The commentary from the guide on board was quite interesting. A piece of trivia, the word wharf is an acronym for warehouse at rivers front. A lot of the old warehouses have been converted into condos. These little gems start at around 1.5 million pounds.
Returning to Westminster pier we took a taxi back to the hotel to freshen up. We were both tired and hungry as we had not eaten since breakfast. So off to a pub for fish and chips again. For those coming to London and saying near the Palace, I recommend Shakespeare pub. No relation William.
The weather yesterday was outstanding. Temperature in the high 70, few clouds and a nice breeze.
Monday we put our bags in a car and head for the Crown. London has been a great adventure and now we are looking forward to the next one.
Judi finally talked me into riding this big Ferris wheel. It is about 410 feet high and never stops. Never stopping is a good thing. It takes about 30 minutes to make a full revolution. You get on the bubble, which holds 28 people, as it passes where you are standing. The movement is very smooth and the view is incredible. The pictures I took did not come out too well, what with shooting through the glass and some haze in the area. When you are getting off you just walk off as it is moving, then security comes on and checks the bubble for anything that should not be there. A note for those of you planning a trip on Eye. Do the fast track ticket for the ride, otherwise you will be in line forever.
After the Eye we got back on a river boat and rode it round trip to Greenwich. When we were at Greenwich we saw the observatory where Greenwich Mean Time is kept. Along the way we passed London Bridge and London Tower where the bad guys and gals lost their heads. If they really didn’t like them, they put their heads on a spike and placed it on the Tower Bridge for all to see. We saw the New London Bridge as the old one is in Arizona. The round trip took about 2 hours. The commentary from the guide on board was quite interesting. A piece of trivia, the word wharf is an acronym for warehouse at rivers front. A lot of the old warehouses have been converted into condos. These little gems start at around 1.5 million pounds.
Returning to Westminster pier we took a taxi back to the hotel to freshen up. We were both tired and hungry as we had not eaten since breakfast. So off to a pub for fish and chips again. For those coming to London and saying near the Palace, I recommend Shakespeare pub. No relation William.
The weather yesterday was outstanding. Temperature in the high 70, few clouds and a nice breeze.
Monday we put our bags in a car and head for the Crown. London has been a great adventure and now we are looking forward to the next one.
Great pictures. It looks as if you will have a beautiful sailaway. Looking forward to seeing you Sept 5/6.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've had a wonderful two days in London. Was this your first time there? Also, really warm weather--hope you packed some warm weather clothes!
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