London Day 3

Today I took a tour of the city itself.  Saw many things, some of which were hard to get pictures of because we were on the bus moving.  First off we toured around sections of the city, seeing some of the expensive properties and royal and formal royal buildings.  Drove around near Hyde Park, and saw many commemorative statues and the like.  We paused at the Prince Albert Memorial for a few pictures, and right across from it we saw Royal Albert Hall.

From there we moved on to the “mall” and saw the changing of the guard, was quite crowded, and didn’t get right up to the guard positions, but did see the march and hear the band, was quite a spectacle!

We then moved through the London traffic to St. Paul’s Cathedral.  Were on our own for a bit for lunch, then had a tour of the cathedral itself.  Unfortunately photography is prohibited inside, so only external pictures to share, but I’m sure there are better than I could take online anyway. Again not a huge church fan, but the architecture was amazing as were the many memorials to Lord Nelson, Churchill etc.

Lastly we moved on to the Tower of London.  This actually used to be a Royal residence, I never knew that, but the residential part was torn down in the 1600s.  Was quite spectacular to see, even having the small cutouts (whose name escapes me) for archers.  We toured inside and saw the crown jewels (again, no photos allowed).  Must be a rough life to own these paltry little items I say. Near there also saw the tower bridge, and some spectacular skyline including the eye.

I may try to get back near parliament again tomorrow before the show, would like some better pictures, will see how it goes!

A few more photos below.