So on Day 4, we attempted to see all of London in one day. We started at the Tower of London first thing, skipped the line and headed straight in for the jewels. Another benefit of the London Pass is no need to queue for tickets - you just flash the pass at the entrance. I used my same membership card and headed straight in with the ladies. The jewels are the first thing you want to see at the Tower. The line can get ridiculously long, so we headed the first there. No line had formed yet, so we had the place as close to "yourself" as you are going to get there. They have conveyor belts that move people past the jewels and because it wasn't busy, we went down them at least three times. Perfect timing.
Unfortunately all of my pics are group shots, so just words and a few random ones of me :)
We then headed for a Beefeater (Yeoman) tour of the grounds. You cannot go to the Tower without taking this tour. Part comedy show, part history lesson, it's definitely the best part. They show you some of the basic parts of the castle, but it's also they only way you can see where Anne Boleyn is buried.
The castle took about 2 hours. Then we caught the old 1950s number 15 bus from Tower Hill to Covent Garden in search of food. We grabbed food at the M&S, from which I miscalculated our timing and the need to find benchs to eat. Apparently City Mapper (great app, highly recommend) doesn't map out park benches...sad days. So we caught another bus and ended up in the tourist madness near Westminster eating our lunch outside the tube station under the overhang with 500 of our closest friends from around the world while it rained. The weather was so typical London that day....if you didn't like it, give it 15 minutes and it will be something different. Off and on rain, cold and warm wind, it was all over the place.
After finishing lunch, we went to Westminster Abbey (covered by London Pass). S commented on the number of tombs and graves throughout the church. I never thought about it as being weird...it's a very European thing. Kings get buried, memorialised in churches. But I guess it is kind of weird to see tombs laid out everywhere.
After walking through the Abbey, we walked through Green Park to Buckingham Palace to hit the Royal Mews before they closed:
Royal Mews is the centre of all things carriages, cars and horses for the royal family. Its one of the hidden gems of London in my opinion. Free to take as many pictures as you want and gorgeous carriages throughout. And modes of transportation you have definitely seen on TV. (covered by London Pass)
Statue outside Buckingham
Then we walked back through Green Park, stopped for ice cream (even though cold...yolo!) and the ladies went to Churchill War Rooms while I snuck into work to fix some stuff for my house closing (that's how close I work to Westminster....I can just sneak off quickly to print and sign!). I snuck onto a different floor so I didn't see anyone in my trainers and jeans. It was touch and go though...thought I was going to get caught and then asked questions about my job!
Then it was back to the Covent Garden area for dinner at Jamie's Italian. I know Jamie Oliver can be annoying, but I really like his restaurants. He had me at "heritage tomato salad".
After that it was hobbling slowly back to the flat through the madness of the Picadilly line. I think I was asleep within minutes of getting back.
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