The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

Today we were up early and after breakfast we went right down town because we wanted to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.   The day before we had purchased advance  tickets to tour the palace right after the changing of the guard today.

To go into Buckingham Palace you have to go through security like at the airport. Your backpack had to go through xray machines and you had to walk through a scanner.  No pictures were allowed to be taken  in the palace

at the back of the palace was a reception area where you could have tea and cake etc.  We can officially say we dined at Buckingham Palace

The grounds around the palace are well kept

Strikes in England

On our way back to London we ran into a huge traffic jam and the bus only moved a few car lengths every few minutes.  We thought it was partly because we were behind schedule because earlier  some passengers  had got lost and caused us to be late.  We were told that some of the extra traffic was caused by a London Tube strike (subway strike)  but it was to officially be over at 5 o'clock so we would have no trouble getting back to our hotel.  Since we where down town and not moving anyway we decided to get off the bus and make some use of the time before heading back
We  (i) decided to go on the London Eye.  A huge Ferris wheel in downtown London.  It makes one revolution every 30 minutes and the view from the top is incredible.  Ann Marie than confessed to being suddenly afraid of heights but I talked her into going anyway. 

Ann Marie sat in the middle of the car afraid to get to close to the windows

Now it was time to head back to the hotel and when we entered the Tube we found the gates closed and the place empty.  The strike had been extended a norther 12 hours.  Because we had bought the Oyster Passes  we always used the tube and we had no idea how to get back to the hotel.  Taxis were full and would not stop and although the buses were running we didn't know which one we needed to get back to our hotel as they must of had 15 different routes all going from the same area.  Also we didn't know what the bus would cost. but we did know that they wanted exact change and would not take credit cards.

We roamed around down town for a while

 We watched the break dancers at Piccadilly Circus for a while all the time asking people what bus to take and where to get it.  After asking a  lot of people we finally found the answer and found a lot of people lined up waiting for the bus.  Some  for as long as a half hour.   When the bus finally came it was already full and just drove by.  When the next bus came we pushed  our way on and it was then we found that the Oyster passes we had bought where good on everything.l  We were on our way back to the hotel.

Another Wirlwind Tour of London Englands Countrside

Again we were up early to meet our tour bus which took us to Leads Castle

Leeds Castle is a privately owned Castle that you could even stay at if you had the money.

Its famous for its swans,  has a golf course behind

This Castle would allow some photography but it was not as plush as any of the

Royals

Next we off to Canterbury

Here we witness a unfortunate circumstance for one of the older ladies on our bus.  We had been told to be back on the bus no later than 2 o'clock.  As we were about to leave one of the women noticed her mother had not yet returned to the bus.  They had gotten separated while in the church.  The guild went with the women back to the church to try and find her mother after explaining that he was on a tight schedule and could not wait too long.  After about 15 minutes he returned to the bus and explained they had not found the missing passenger and they were going on with out her.  We pulled out with the women standing on the corner waiting for her mother to return.  They both would now have to find their own way home.

 

We were now off to the White Cliffs of Dover

We stopped here only briefly and then we were on our way back to London

Touring Englands Countryside

After getting up early and having a big English Breakfast we were off to meet the tour bus.  The Tour bus picks you up at your hotel and takes you downtown to the main bus terminal where you board the bus for your tour and meet your tour guide 

Today we were off to Windsor Castle

More Buskers in front of a church in Bath

The roman public baths in the town of Bath

On the way home we stopped at Stonehenge

Touring around London England on foot

Today we decided to have a look around London on foot  First we went through Hyde Park because it was near our hotel

It also was where Diana's

Castle was

We than took the  tube (subway ) downtown to see some of the other sights that you hear about

Buskers

The famous red telephone booths

Buckingham Palace

The tower of Big Ben

Fish and Chips