England #17

Here is the London Bridge. Impressive, huh? I was surprised to see it, and thought "What's the big deal?" Daniel told me how people tend to mix-up the London Bridge with the Tower Bridge. Thus the London bridge story in Arizona. :)
Here's the proof it's actually London Bridge.


Here are some interesting buildings we passed along the way.

This is the HMS Belfast. A floating Museum on the River Thames. (Between London Bridge and Tower Bridge.) I believe it was used in World War II and the Korean War.

Here I am getting ready to do a little more shopping in Hay's Galleria. Which is a wharf that was converted to a riverside shopping center.

While I was shopping, Daniel saw these guys on the River Thames. We are assuming they are British Navy Seals or something. (He used his zoom lens to get this close up shot.)

Here are some pictures of Tower Bridge.

The view walking across Tower Bridge, heading over to the Tower of London.

The Tower of London. The Tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). (wikipedia)

Tower of London and Tower Bridge

Moat around Tower of London.

We had planned on taking a tour of the Tower, but ended up getting there about 20 minutes too late! We were so disappointed. I guess we'll just have to go back someday! The outside was quite impressive on it's own. Here's some pictures.


I really am almost done with our trip!!

England #16

Next we headed over to see Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the Jewel Tower.

Here is a view of Big Ben, right as we came out of the Underground station.

Some of the Security at Parliament.

Here are some pictures of Parliament. It is huge!

Here are some pictures of Westminster Abbey.


This is the Jewel Tower. It is one of only 2 surviving sections of the original Palace of Westminster.

The Jewel Tower Sign

I cannot remember what this is, but it was next to the Jewel Tower.

I know that I am a terrible tour guide! :)

England #15

Here are a variety of buildings we saw around London and thought were interesting.




Cool Buildings and construction near Trafalgar Square.


Map of where we were.

Some pictures of Trafalgar Square


Fountain @ Trafalgar SquareInteresting?

Statue at Trafalgar Square of General Charles James Napier. He was a British General and Commander-in-Chief in India.

A better picture of one of the accordion buses.

We thought this was fun because the soccer team at Bethel College (where Daniel went to college) are called the Bethel Threshers.

England #14

London has a lot of museums, several which are free. So we decided to visit The British Museum. It is one of the world's greatest museums of human history and culture. (wikipedia)


It was such a massive museum, it was overwhelming! You would have to live in London and visit it numerous times before you could even begin to experience it. There is SO MUCH to see there. We only skimmed the surface. Here are a just a few pictures for you.





One of many sarcophaguses.

The Gates to Balawat


The Rosetta Stone.


An African chair made out of guns.

England #13

After the Changing of the Guard ceremony, we took some more pictures near the Palace.
Here are some close ups of the statue of Queen Victoria in front of Buckingham.
Queen Victoria

Here I am sitting on a tiny fence in front of some really pretty, colorful flowers.

While we were taking pictures, some of the guards came marching back and went to the Palace. Maybe they forgot something? :)

We were on our way back to the Underground to go to our next stop when we passed this sign on someone's driveway.

Daniel kept trying to get a good picture of the British flag flying in the wind, but the wind kept dying down just as he would get his camera out. He finally got it to work and it ends up being a tattered looking flag! Oh well.

One of the many interesting buildings we passed on our way.

Here are some pictures of the very steep escalators for the Underground. The first time on was a bit surprising.They do have signs that tell you to stay to the right if you are just riding, so that those who want to walk as they go, get the left side. That is very helpful when you are in a hurry!

We thought this Pub was quite nicely decorated.