London: Monday

So, Monday was our first full day in London. Make-a-Wish had arranged for tickets to a hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus tour run by The Original Tour, and it was a great way to start our trip. We chose to do the red tour, the "city sightseeing" tour, but there were a couple others. The ticket was good for a day, and you could do all the tours and a boat tour, but you really wouldn't have time to do everything. We used the tour to get to St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London, two sights we wanted to see that were beyond walking distance for us. We walked to Victoria station and onto the bus. It was a beautiful day - notice the clear blue sky. Here are a few pictures from the tour.
This is the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square, with St. Martin in the Fields in the background. The green wall was a piece of "living art," which I thought was very cool in person.
Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square.
The Royal Courts of Justice. We were very close to the LSE, where I took classes way back in 1997.St. Paul's Cathedral. We spent a good bit of the morning here. They had a helpful audio guide for us, but I couldn't take pictures inside. Daddy and I climbed up to the whispering gallery. We got sandwiches at an M&S and ate them on the steps. And then back on the bus!
Tower Bridge as we drove under it.Tower of London from the outside.
Tower BridgeThis Beefeater was our tour guide. He did not always look this angry, unless he was talking about France.

The White Tower. The oldest part of the Tower, and also where the weapons are kept (which Daddy really wanted to see). I have lots of pictures of armor and weapons, but that might have to be a separate post.

Daniel with this crazy dragon that was in the White Tower.
We made it back on the bus and back to the hotel, and went to a yummy Italian restaurant for dinner.
Next: Patrick and I walk our feet off.