Here we are again! This is day 3 of our trip in London in February. We had a London pass we won on an auction online before we left. It was actually a miracle we got it since the delivery man kept taking it to the wrong address, and then finally Jay had to run and meet him in Times Square, literally as we were leaving to the airport. So we really wanted to get the most out of it, and used it for 9 places in one day.
The first place (and one of our fav's) was St Paul's Cathedral.
It is so big and beautiful! The inside domes were amazing, but we were unable to take photos. We climbed all the stairs to the top were there is an amazing view of the city (even on a cloudy day!). The pics that follow were taken from the very top area above the dome you see in this pic.
Next we ran over Millennium Bridge (see it?) to Shakespeare's Globe Theater. This is built is the same style and very close to Willie's original theater back in the day, and it took years to recreate.
We got some tokens to play at an arcade and ride bumper cars, which was actually quite fun.
Here's Jay on a 18-wheeler.
There were such long lines for the aquarium as it was a school holiday, but luckily our cards let us pass right in. We've been to better aquariums, but it did have a large tank of sharks and a petting area with Manta Rays...and lots of informational signs...
We grabbed a little lunch...Jay wanted to try the giant hot dogs to compare them with NYC. His conclusion? Bigger isn't always better...
Next we hopped on a tour boat and learned more about the river front as we went to Tower of London. Our comical tour guide sounded like (and resembled) one of the chimney-sweeps from Mary Poppins.
So here we are at Tower of London, a very old castle full of history and excitement. There is even a moat! Above you can see the outer fortress walls with a tall building in the middle. As we approached, we expected some guards to look over and ask us questions about European or African swallows.
Here are some shots around the inside. We couldn't take pictures in the Jewel house which has millions of dollars of crowns, scepters, and robes of monarchs of the past.
Jay's fav spot when he came as a boyscout many moons ago...the torture chamber...
Nearby is Tower Bridge, built more recently (115 years ago), and it is commonly thought to be London Bridge. We walked up along the top walkway to take some rainy photos, the bottom roadway is a draw-bridge.
Last, the only thing we could do after 9 pm on our pass was to go bowling. So we had our worst games ever, but had a lot of fun. It was more fun to finally sit down after a long day and watch the people next to us bowl, who appeared as if they had a little too much wine tasting, if you know what I mean!
