Arriving in London with Curt and Deb!

Changing of the guards at the Palace, just in time for the main event!

Bands, horses, and fresh guards march through the streets!

Given our extended stay abroad, we decided to coordinate a trip with my parents to come to Europe to check out the sights and some of the big destinations.  They were flying over from Chicago, and we met them in London.  Paul and I took a late flight after work Wednesday night, only to get delayed, take a bus into the city, and slowly walk to our hotel.  We arrived around 2AM Thursday morning simply exhausted.  My parents weren’t going to feel much better after a red-eye from Chicago. 

Curty making us crack up I assume.

They made it to London - let the games begin!

Thursday we got up, had breakfast and started moving.  I was anxious for my parents arrival and had given them a step by step itinerary in order to facilitate their travels from the airport to the hotel.  They were navigating the old fashioned way.  I knew what streets they were going to come down, so about the time I thought they would be there I started to walk to see if I could intercept them.  Sure enough, I caught them on the street corner!  I couldn’t believe it actually worked, but I found the two lost Americans, my parents.  My dad was still recovering from surgery so I wanted to help haul luggage back to the hotel.

The London Eye.

Big Ben in the sky, London.

Lunch and caffeine for the weary travelers!

We arrived at the Apollo Hotel and they too were impressed by the number of beds and the quality of rooms you can get for a pretty penny in London.  London hotels are extremely expensive and somehow Paul managed to find a room next to Hyde Park with two queen beds, one twin bed and a set of bunk beds. We had plenty of beds to go around, but barely enough room to walk through them. It had a small private bathroom, sheets that were questionably clean (mine had blood and fly poop all over), very tall ceilings, and a nice draft of cigarette smoke coming from the bathroom vents.  Overall, it was a good laugh and a place to rest our heads while recuperating from jet lag. 

Westminster Abby, a hefty admission kept us on the outside...

Shakespeare's Play House.

Our first day in London my parents decided that they would rather press on and see the sights instead of trying to nap, so into the city we went.  We flagged a cab and went to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards.  We got there just in time to see the magic happen.  It was crazy to be able to speak English again and we laughed with a police man over tourists bolting into the street.  We mentioned that his job must be difficult, and his response was… “well, it’s all those Americans” with a smirk.  We got a good laugh out of that and then made our way down to Big Ben and the sights on the Thames. 

Excellent view from my front row seat of the Tower Bridge, London.

Before committing to any more sight seeing we got lunch at a small pub that had a Badger on it’s business card – had to be a invitation to Wisconsinites. Once full of fuel we went down to the Thames to purchase a afternoon river cruise.  The journey was excellent.  We caught some of the tour as the waves lulled my father to sleep.  Most of the crowd got off at the first stop and then we pretty much had the whole ship to ourselves as we continued down to Greenwich.

This is how I found Paul in the museum. 

Nothing like tasting some local brewed flavors!

After we pulled Paul off of the phone inside the booth.

Once in Greenwich, we stopped at the brewery pub and Deb tried some mulled wine while the boys sampled local beers.  My only demand was that we try to get to Starbucks before the next boat went back.  We were kind of pushing our time limits so Paul and I sent my parents ahead to catch the boat and we would run quickly behind them.  We caught up pretty fast and were able to jump on the boat as it was leaving… until I noticed something wrong, my parents were not on the boat!! I yelled for Paul to get off the boat quickly!! He was straddling the dock and the boat until we saw my parents coming from behind us looking lost.  Whew, that was a close one.  We passed them up and almost left them in Greenwich, haha!

Paul running under the River Thames!

Starbucks were worth it!

Greenwich, tunnel to the other side of the Thames!

While waiting we took a glimpse at the tunnel running under the Thames, which is a pretty impressive sight.  However we decided to head back to the boat early this time, because this was the last departure and we weren’t about to be stranded in a place as expensive as London!  The boat ride back was in the dark and the sights took on a completely different appearance.  Tower Bridge opened for us, and we froze our buns off on the top deck of the boat to catch a glimpse.  The cruise was recommended by our cab driver, and didn’t disappoint.  It was a full day for tired travelers.

Big Ben and Parliament all lit up!

London Eye at Night!

Tower Bridge at night, it even opened for us!

After we got back to the Apollo, Paul and I went for a walk to check out the nearby Bayswater street.  It was the perfect evening stroll and we topped off our day with a Lebanese meal from a nearby restaurant.  We were not exactly certain what the wrap contained, but it was absolutely delicious. 

Simply a perfect start to our time in London.


 *****

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Alyce Jane, Living Simply