Trips

Sat., 5/4/16 – London
        This morning our tour groups each got on a separate 55-passenger bus for about 20 of us.  Our step-on city guide took us around the highlights of London.  She was very good.  London is about 1,000 square miles with 8 to 9 million people and 44% are now non-white.  The new mayor of London is a Muslim, Sadiq Khan.
         We drove past many of the usual sights: Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, etc.

Statue of Neptune, Old Port of London Authority building	Some of the skyline on a foggy morning
	Big Ben
Church of St. Margaret at Westminster Abbey	Sculpture - Skeleton of a riderless horse in Trafalgar Square
Today was the Colonel's Review, which is one of the practices for the Queen's Review, which is next weekend. Our guide suggested, and we all agreed, that it would be interesting to see some of the pageantry associated with this event, so we left the bus and walked to the Mall to see some of the parade of regiments. We watched the bands in red jackets, black pants, and high bearskin hats and the infantry in columns of three in tight formations.  We waited for the cavalry and carriages.  The horses were groomed to perfection and the brass was all shiny.  The two outstanding groups were an Irish bagpipe regiment in tan kilts (not tartan) with green capes and a brass and woodwind band on horseback!  Two huge horses, like Clydesdales, each had a soldier with two large drums by each knee.  They beat the tempo for the band.  Since it takes two hands to play most instruments, they controlled their horses with their feet and knees in English saddles and rode in four columns!  The pageantry was spectacular.  The Brits sure like their royal heritage.	Admiralty Arch between the Mall and Trafalgar Square
Irish bagpipe band	Irish bagpipe band
Mounted band
	We got back on our bus and drove around some more before ending in the Covent Garden area for lunch at the Freemasons Arms.  We had Guinness beer, fish and chips (I had a juicy hamburger), and apple tart with vanilla sauce.         Marge and I decided to walk back to the Tower Hotel and see the sights along the way.  First we stopped at a Tube station (subway) to buy Oyster Cards to use on public transportation for the next week.  Then we walked around the Royal Opera House.  Only ballet is currently going on.  We stopped in at St. Martin-in-the Fields church.  There is a concert Thursday at 7:30 but we have a Welcome dinner at attend.  We crossed Trafalgar Square and crossed the Thames by the Golden Jubilee Footbridge, opened in 2002.  Trains cross on the Hungerford Railway bridge between the two pedestrian spans.
Freemason’s Hall
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden	Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
	Bridge of Aspiration
London Coliseum - home of the English National Opera	Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields	Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Golden Jubilee Footbridge	We walked east along the south side of the river.  The area was every bit as crowded as the city center.  There was an Udderbelly Festival going on with all sorts of street performers.  There was a sand area for kids to build castles and a large paperback book sale.         Eventually, we passed the Tate Modern Museum, the Globe Theater, and Southwark Cathedral and crossed the Tower Bridge back to our hotel - at last! It was a long walk.
Udderbelly Festival
Busses lined up on the Waterloo Bridge	St. Paul's Cathedral
London skyline - Blackfriars Bridge, the Leadenhall building (the “Cheesegrater”), and the Fenchurch (Walkie-Talkie ) building	London skyline - Blackfriars Bridge, St. Paul’s, the Leadenhall building (the “Cheesegrater”), and the Fenchurch (Walkie-Talkie) building
London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Bridge insignia	The Tate Modern Museum
Millennium Bridge	Globe Theater (reconstruction)
	The Golden Hinde II
Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral	Interesting sign
Tower Bridge	Tower of London building
Street scene	The Shard
St. Mary Axe or the “Gherkin” building - as you might guess, it has some other nicknames as well	The Leadenhall or “Cheesegrater” building
Cute coffee vendor truck

This is the end of the Maritime Jewels of the British Isles and Ireland tour. You may continue to the England, Scotland, Wales tour or return to one of the links below.