Last Thur/Fri we had a 48 hour bus tour ticket with "The Big Bus" hop on hop off double decker bus, but we missed Friday as Max was sick (Tonsillitis as it turns out). We were not very impressed with the service, so yesterday we went with "The Original Bus" company instead. For a one day pass, the prices were very similar, and the recorded narration of the Big Bus really lacked compared with a live commentary that we got on the Original Bus which we found it much more interesting.
First though, we needed to get there! Boy what an effort driving just 45 or so kilometers is in London traffic! It took up the better part of three hours! Finally, we go to the hotel, checked in and then dropped off the car. We joined the bus tour at Marble Arch where they have some new sculptures based on the theme "Animals at War" there was a fantastic horse's head - it kept making me think of the "Why such a long face" joke! There as terrific Dali'esque statue of Genghis Khan on horseback.
London Eye with Big Ben and St Pauls cathedral
Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast
London Shard
We hopped of off the bus to have a look around the Tower of London, here they have a current theme of "Animals in the Tower" to celebrate some of the exotic animals that have been kept at the Tower over the years - diverse animals such as Lions. Tigers, Polar Bears, Snakes and Baboons. Part of that celebration included sculptures made from what looks like chicken wire.
Traitors Gate - the way that traitors would enter the tower - via the Thames river.
The Tower of London
The London Shard - already the tallest building in Europe, but a long way short of the Burj Kalifi in Dubai!
Tower Bridge
From there, we headed to Buckingham Palace, where we were treated to a two flight flypast by the RAF. The first flight was made up of a E-3 Sentry EWACS flanked by a pair of Eurofighter Typhoons followed by a Gulfstream Survelance aircraft with a pair of Tornados. Nice of them! Shame the Royals weren't out to see it too.
How many icons can I fit into one photo? let's count... Red Phone Booth, London Taxi, Double Decker buses, Nelson's Column... check!
Ornate fence at Buckingham Palace
No royals our today!
Flypast flight 1 - E-3 Sentry and Typhoons
Flight 2 - Gulfstream and Tornados
By that time, it was too late to catch the hop-on, hop-off bus beck to near the hotel, so we braved the Tube in rush hour. The trains were packed, but we survived. Interestingly, kids under 10 travel free at any time on the tube. By the time be got to the hotel, everyone as too zonked to go out again, so we opted for room service and a light dinner. As I write this post, I am sitting on the Eurostar en route to Brussels. We're in France at the moment, but we'll be reaching Belgium soon.
First though, we needed to get there! Boy what an effort driving just 45 or so kilometers is in London traffic! It took up the better part of three hours! Finally, we go to the hotel, checked in and then dropped off the car. We joined the bus tour at Marble Arch where they have some new sculptures based on the theme "Animals at War" there was a fantastic horse's head - it kept making me think of the "Why such a long face" joke! There as terrific Dali'esque statue of Genghis Khan on horseback.
We hopped of off the bus to have a look around the Tower of London, here they have a current theme of "Animals in the Tower" to celebrate some of the exotic animals that have been kept at the Tower over the years - diverse animals such as Lions. Tigers, Polar Bears, Snakes and Baboons. Part of that celebration included sculptures made from what looks like chicken wire.
From there, we headed to Buckingham Palace, where we were treated to a two flight flypast by the RAF. The first flight was made up of a E-3 Sentry EWACS flanked by a pair of Eurofighter Typhoons followed by a Gulfstream Survelance aircraft with a pair of Tornados. Nice of them! Shame the Royals weren't out to see it too.
By that time, it was too late to catch the hop-on, hop-off bus beck to near the hotel, so we braved the Tube in rush hour. The trains were packed, but we survived. Interestingly, kids under 10 travel free at any time on the tube. By the time be got to the hotel, everyone as too zonked to go out again, so we opted for room service and a light dinner. As I write this post, I am sitting on the Eurostar en route to Brussels. We're in France at the moment, but we'll be reaching Belgium soon.
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