Tuesday, July 15--The Queen's house and Big Ben

Kathy here:  I have to say that jet lag is not a figment of someone's imagination....it is for real.  Hurtling forward in time 8 hours is really hard on the body and mind.  But with frequent naps and the urge to explore we were up and at 'em.  First we had to change rooms from one with twin beds and not much room to one with a queen bed and a little more room.  In a flash we were moved and out the door to go to the Queen's house--Buckingham Palace.  As luck would have it, the tube delivered us just in time to see the changing of the guards.

At the gates with a crowd of viewers

Buckingham Palace

The guards march around the circle to the gates

Guarded by Bobbies on horseback

Monument to Queen Victoria

After the guards were appropriately changed, (I believe it may have been pampers) we walked through St. James Park

 Then went past the parliament buildings to see Big Ben

Parliament

Part of St. James Park

Not so big...I can hold Ben and a bus in my hand

Iconic Telephone booth

The "Eye"

After a long nap went to Leceister (pronounced Lester) to have dinner and look around.  It's an area full of theaters.

Perusing the menu at a great Italian restaurant--dining al fresco

Head Waiter Darrin.....a very nice guy.

Street Dancer

Pretty wild scene for a Tuesday nite.

Some thoughts on London so far:  The Brits that we have met have been unfailingly helpful and kind.  They go out of their way to help us poor lost tourists  Also, it's not easy to get lost.  The Underground/Tube is easy to ride, easy to figure out, and not too expensive.  We can easily get anywhere we want to go.  There are a million tourists here from all over the world.  Most of them are staying at our hotel--The President.  The President is located in Russell Court, a fairly quiet area close to a tube station.

The President is decidedly non presidential.  It is run down and tacky.  Our room, even though we changed to be able to sleep together, is small and hot and the bed is hard, the towels paper thin and it's noisy.  The breakfast is "continental" and consists of cold cereal, cold toast, old rolls, canned fruit and bad coffee.  We have been searching for a good breakfast ever since we got here.  We thought about moving, but decided we are not spending much time there anyway, so we are staying.  Another thing that is bad about the President is there is really no internet.  After several frustrating tries, we finally went to a coffee shop across the street to write the blog and get really good coffee. 

 London is really clean for a big city.  And there are lots of street signs to tell you where you are and where to go.  I am having a great time.  I'll let Jeff write tomorrow and he can tell his impressions.  Meanwhile, it's last call, so I'll say goodbye for today.