The "Original" London Tour

Today we took the hop-on, hop-off bus known as the "Original London Tour," on a loop through the city!  Our tour began at Trafalgar Square and looped throughout between Westminster and London City.  We saw so many sites for which I took lots of notes and took many pictures with my camera, so those will have to wait until we get home to be uploaded.  We did manage to grab a few shots to post between my tablet and Laura's phone. :)  The loop took more than two hours to complete!

Our view of the Tower Bridge as we crossed the Thames River on Waterloo Bridge.

Laura with one of the tour buses behind her.

On the right side of the street - more than one block in length - is the famous Harrod's store.  We took a walk inside, but there was too much going on at once!

I took a walk through Kensington Gardens and caught a glimpse of Kensington Palace!

This marble arch is known as the Queen's Arch.  It was originally meant to be the entrance to Buckingham Palace, but there are several stories about why Queen Victoria had it removed and placed as an entrance to Hyde Park.  My favorite story was that she purposely had a carriage built that was too wide to fit through the center arch, leaving them no choice! :)

While walking through Hyde Park, I found a small garden area with a fountain.  It was a lovely place to sit and forget that I was in the middle of a city filled with nine million people!

Panoramic view of a garden in Hyde Park

One last glimpse of Hyde Park before returning to the city.

Wellington Square contains commemorations in honor of the Duke of Wellington who led the British in their defeat of Napoleon in the early 19th Century.

The Wellington Arch  to commemorate the peace brought to Europe after the defeat of Napoleon.  The four-horse chariot at the top is to celebrate the victory of peace, not war.

At each crosswalk, there is a message on the road to remind pedestrians from which direction the cars are coming at them.  I found this very helpful!!! :)  They drive on the left side of the road and there are many roundabouts, so it can be tricky to determine where to look for cars!

Laura took this great shot as we were crossing over the Tower Bridge.

We had a full day, so we are resting for our second adventure out of the city early tomorrow morning!