Day 1 - Tower of London

After we check-in to the hotel and changed our clothes. A group of us went to the Tower of London. It was so neat to see a place I have read so much about, considering I use to think it was just one square or circle tower.

Inside the tower we went on a Yeoman Warder tour, which was lots of fun! Saw the Crown Jewels, several Lady Jane Gray name carvings, the White Tower, ravens, and so much more.

Underground Sign or the Tube at The Tower station

Roman Ruins

Outside of the Tower

You see that small hole? That is were they dropped down rocks and stuff on the enemy that was trying to break into the Tower. Remember in Henty's?

 Arrow Slit (Were Archery's would shoot their arrows).

Inside the Tower

Traitors Gate

White Tower

The Crown Jewels were inside this tower area.

Outside the Tower

This is were the Queens stayed while in prison within the Tower.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into the Tower of London!

~Ashley

London - Bus Drive

On our first day in London which was Friday, September 11th, we all took a private tour of London on a coach in the morning. We saw so many sites that morning. St. Paul's, Tower of London, Victoria & Albert Museum, Harrods, Natural History Museum, Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace, Trafargar Square, 10 Downing Street, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, George Washington Statue, and so much more!!!!

Do you want to see pictures? *huge grin* Of course you do! Well then, on to the pictures!

First Double-Decker Bus I saw in London! :-)

Albert Memorial

Buckingham Palace

10 Downing Street

I forgot the name of this, but I do believe it was in the St. James's area.

One of the four lions guarding the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square.

The top part of the Lord Nelson Column

The George Washington Statue in Trafalgar Square

St. Martin-in-the-Fields

The steps of St. Paul's were the scene Feed the Birds in Mary Poppins was filmed. Fun!

St. Paul's

OK, Americans what bridge is this?
I know you are thinking London Bridge, but guess what?
It is called, Tower Bridge.

Tower of London

Some pretty church in London

The London Eye

What is the name of this Americans, the true name?
It is not Big Ben but, Bell Tower. The bell inside the tower is called Big Ben, so everyone calls it Big Ben.

Westminster Abby

Westminster Abby again from another view.

Upstairs Downstairs Houses in Kensington.

This picture shows almost all of our bags, not mine and my moms but, the whole tour groups.

We were able to see so much in the morning, things we really wanted to see that we don't have to visit them latter this week. Hurray! Another good thing was that we were able to get out at the Albert Memorial, Buckingham Palace, and St. Pauls to walk around a bit and get some great pictures.

I'll try to post more pictures Tuesday, as we have Victoria & Albert, Suzi's House, and As You Like It play at Shakespeare Globe on Monday.

I'll give you all a taste of we have done in the past few days. I will try to post pictures later. I promise! On Friday, the day we arrived, we visited the Tower of London in the afternoon. Saturday, September 12th we toured Shakespeare's Globe, visited Portobello Road Market (Oh, I have a funny story to tell about that), and Marylebone. Sunday, September 13th we attended Metropolitan Tabernacle, Charles Spurgeon's church. After church my mom and walked to the Imperial War Museum and the Westminster area. Afterwards we took the tube back to the hotel to rest our feet, then we back out on the road. We walked to Kensington High Street to visit a Laura Ashley store to browse around, as they left America. :( Then we walked to Kensington Gardens and saw the Peter Pan statue. After that we headed to the hotel and I'll tell the rest latter, as I HAVE to get to bed. It is like 12:48 AM here! :-)

Talk to you all later!

~Ashley

Flying into the London Airport

When we were flying to London this morning we went right over Ireland, in fact very near Dublin. :-)
And I have pictures of Ireland, thanks to Amy who had the window seat.

 The coast of Ireland

More of Ireland

Little Flight Map

The flight seamed very long. It was a evening flight, so I tried to get some sleep. I got about 1-2 hours of sleep at the most I think, don't take my word as I never really looked at a clock while on the flight.

Well, it is getting late over here and I must get some sleep. For in morning I'll tour Shakespeare Globe and in the afternoon go shopping. I'm also hoping to stop by at The Sherlock Holmes Museum too. 

I'll try to post more pictures of today tomorrow. I have a good many to share! Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and many more! 

Sorry if anything is spelled wrong, I can't tell and I'm so tired!!! Goodnight.

~Ashley