Day 7...London

Our first full day in London. We were fortunate that we are able to go into the city by coach bus because our first activity today was a bus tour with a local guide, Allen. The minute he boarded the bus, I knew it was going to be a fantastic tour. He was so animated and knowledgable. He kept the kids' attention and kept them engaged as he explained the history of London. He explained how London started as Londinium and how that section of the city is indicated by lion statues. We drove around the City of London and Westminster. We saw Parliment, St. Paul's, Westminster Abbey, the Mad Hatter pub (so named for the hatmaking industry That used to be there...causing people to go crazy due to the mercury that was used in the hat making process), and the millennium bridge that was built to commemorate the new millennium. Our tour ended at the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It was quite the pomp and circumstance watching the regiments hand over the responsibility of guarding the royals and the castle. A this point, our group separated, some of them were headed to Hampton Court, a castle 45 minutes away, and the rest of us to stay in the city for some time to explore. The original plan was for part of the group to go to Windsor castle, but the Queen was in town so tours were unavailable. My group decided to have a pub lunch at a very typical pub, Adam and Eve. I had a huge plate of fish and chips, while Sabrina had bangers and mash (sausage and a mashed veggie mix). Luke's burger was delicious as well. Now nourished, the group of 9 of us took the Tube to Harrod's to see the luxury goods and food hall. Talk about upscale shopping... Covent Garden was our next stop. This is a more affordable part of London, popular on a Friday afternoon due to the large number of pubs and restaurants located there. We did some window and real shopping while waiting for the other groups to arrive at our meeting point. Some of the stores were familiar, while others were new to us. Either way, we had a good time going in and out while,we were there. We did help boost the economy just a bit. Our restaurant was called Bigmo? (I think) and it was a Belgian chain featuring mussels and fries. We were served bangers and mash, but not as good as the ones that Sabrina had for lunch. It was a 50/50 split on this dinner, some of us enjoyed it, others could not stand it. Tonight was theater night. About half of the overall group headed to the nearby theater district to watch Wicked. Most of El Paso decided to head back to the hotel early instead...easy, right?! Ha! The trains were a cake walk, but finding the bus stop we needed was a whole different story. It took us nearly 2 1/2 hours to make a 75 minute journey. Not that I want to relive the experience, but I am pleased to say that we finally made it back to the hotel and despite all of the frustration, one of the girls from the other group told me, "I am just going to pray it out", perhaps the most valuable lesson that I could have learned at that very moment in time. At least today I can have a bit of a giggle about the entire adventure.