Today, my first full day in London, was long one.
I hopped aboard an open top double decker tour bus at
the Vitoria Station near my hotel shortly after breakfast
and got off for the last time near Buckingham Palace
around 8 PM. I chose to ride the tour buses run by the
The Big Bus Company with a Live English Commentator (a red bus).
I stayed on the bus all the way to the Tower of London.
At the Tower of London I got off to get a better look at
Tower Bridge, then went for a walk to London Bridge. From
London Bridge I walked back to the Tower of London where
I caught a river cruise along the Thames to Westminister
Peir across from the London Eye. After the river cruise
I walked over to the London Eye for a ride on the wheel.
Then after that it was back on the bus to St Paul's Cathedral.
I did a full tour of St Paul's, including the long climb
to the top of the dome and a tour of the crypt in the basement.
After St Paul's I stopped in a local pub for some fish & chips
and a beer then took a walk across Millenium Bridge
to the Tate Museum. I didn't stay long at the museum
because I wanted to make sure I could catch another tour
bus before they stopped for the day. The bus I caught after
the Tate Museum was one without
a commentator (a blue bus), it was extremely boring compared
to the buses I road on arlier, so I got off at the next stop
and waited for another red bus to come along. I took a
red bus to Buckingham Palace, where I got off to wander around
the Palace a bit before returning to my hotel.
The longest stretch
on the bus was the first one in the morning, due to very slow
traffic approaching Piccadilly Cirus. The slow traffic was due to
a 40ft mechanical Sultan's Elephant parading through London
closing roads (see
http://newssearch.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4977870.stm for
more details). We didn't see the Elephant from the bus, but I
saw it later from the London Eye.
Here's a few of the 550 photos I took today:
The tour buses.
Stuck in traffic.
Piccadilly Circus.
Tower Bridge.
A whole lot of bridges.
On the London Eye.
The Sultan's Elephant.
St Paul's Cathedral.
The Millenium Bridge and Tate Museum from St Paul's dome.
| 