We're in London! Yeah!!! And we're here with Becky and Ian!!! Who'da thought when the 4 of us we're having drinks at the Lower Deck 2 years ago that the next time we saw each other would be in London!? Funny how we had to leave our own country to see each other. Haha. This is Ian and Becky on the open topped Sightseeing Tour Bus.
Met up with Becky and Ian in Hyde Park just after 10am and the adventure began. We grabbed tickets for The Original London Sightseeing Tour (had to do the total touristy thing!) and we were off. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace. We arrived in time for the Changing Of The Guard. at this time the Palace grounds were packed with people. We waited around for awhile as you could tell something else was about to happen. We got tired of standing and waiting in the heat, so we left. Of course 5 minutes after we left, the parade began. It was the second rehearsal for "Tropping The Colour". It is tradition that the King/Queen have an 'official' birthday the second Saturday of June - this is when the main ceremonial events take place. The parade involves 1000 soldiers, 300 musicians, and 200 horses. To prepare for this event, they rehearse the 2 Saturdays previous. So with our not so wonderful timing, we saw this from our bus stop where we were hopping back on the tour. For what we could see it was quite impressive. This is a picture of the grounds in front of the palace.
Next we saw Big Ben, Westminster Palace, and Westminster Abbey. Now it was time for lunch! Just around the corner is a pub called the Red Lion so we popped in there for some food and celebratory drinks that we're in London together!
After we had our bellies full, we headed to the British Airways London Eye. It is also called the Millennium Wheel as it was built for the turn of the century 1999/2000. It is the world's largest observation wheel and stands 443 feet (135m) high overlooking the River Thames and 40kms on London in every direction. It's quite impressive! Picture is of becky and I on the London Eye overlooking the city.
However, the highlight of the trip was the World Naked Bike Ride UK tour! As we approached Trafalgar Square there were hundreds of naked cyclists riding through the Square! Traffic was stopped and the street was surrounded by thousands in awe of the event. Even the police stood on the sidelines taking it all in. The article on the website states: "around 1,500 UK cyclists and skaters in five cities participated in the fourth worldwide naked protest against oil dependency. On all the rides, full nudity was permitted by the police. There were no arrests. The ride draws attention to the elegant simplicity of the bicycle, highlights the vulnerability of riders in traffic and celebrates the power and individuality of our bodies. It's 'as bare as you dare', so full nudity is not required." If you're interested in signing up here's the website! http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/uk/
The rest of the day was spent doing A LOT of walking! We checked out a few pubs and went for an evening catamaran cruise on the River Thames where we cruised under the London Bridge and Tower Bridge. It was very relaxing. Around 10pm we were finally hitting a restaurant with our sore feet and tired bodies. We ate at Bella Italia which is where we ate last time in London and is really good Italian food. We weren't long crashing after our food was gone and we were back to our hotels. Picture: We're tired and trying to figure out how to get back home.
We're in London! Yeah!!! And we're here with Becky and Ian!!! Who'da thought when the 4 of us we're having drinks at the Lower Deck 2 years ago that the next time we saw each other would be in London!? Funny how we had to leave our own country to see each other. Haha. This is Ian and Becky on the open topped Sightseeing Tour Bus.
Met up with Becky and Ian in Hyde Park just after 10am and the adventure began. We grabbed tickets for The Original London Sightseeing Tour (had to do the total touristy thing!) and we were off. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace. We arrived in time for the Changing Of The Guard. at this time the Palace grounds were packed with people. We waited around for awhile as you could tell something else was about to happen. We got tired of standing and waiting in the heat, so we left. Of course 5 minutes after we left, the parade began. It was the second rehearsal for "Tropping The Colour". It is tradition that the King/Queen have an 'official' birthday the second Saturday of June - this is when the main ceremonial events take place. The parade involves 1000 soldiers, 300 musicians, and 200 horses. To prepare for this event, they rehearse the 2 Saturdays previous. So with our not so wonderful timing, we saw this from our bus stop where we were hopping back on the tour. For what we could see it was quite impressive. This is a picture of the grounds in front of the palace.
Next we saw Big Ben, Westminster Palace, and Westminster Abbey. Now it was time for lunch! Just around the corner is a pub called the Red Lion so we popped in there for some food and celebratory drinks that we're in London together! 
After we had our bellies full, we headed to the British Airways London Eye. It is also called the Millennium Wheel as it was built for the turn of the century 1999/2000. It is the world's largest observation wheel and stands 443 feet (135m) high overlooking the River Thames and 40kms on London in every direction. It's quite impressive! Picture is of becky and I on the London Eye overlooking the city.
However, the highlight of the trip was the World Naked Bike Ride UK tour! As we approached Trafalgar Square there were hundreds of naked cyclists riding through the Square! Traffic was stopped and the street was surrounded by thousands in awe of the event. Even the police stood on the sidelines taking it all in. The article on the website states: "around 1,500 UK cyclists and skaters in five cities participated in the fourth worldwide naked protest against oil dependency. On all the rides, full nudity was permitted by the police. There were no arrests. The ride draws attention to the elegant simplicity of the bicycle, highlights the vulnerability of riders in traffic and celebrates the power and individuality of our bodies. It's 'as bare as you dare', so full nudity is not required." If you're interested in signing up here's the website! http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/uk/
The rest of the day was spent doing A LOT of walking! We checked out a few pubs and went for an evening catamaran cruise on the River Thames where we cruised under the London Bridge and Tower Bridge. It was very relaxing. Around 10pm we were finally hitting a restaurant with our sore feet and tired bodies. We ate at Bella Italia which is where we ate last time in London and is really good Italian food. We weren't long crashing after our food was gone and we were back to our hotels. Picture: We're tired and trying to figure out how to get back home.
No comments:
Post a Comment