London!

We are back from London and had a GREAT time (again)! It is definitely my favorite European city and one of my favorite cities world-wide. Yes, it's expensive, but so much fun!

Our first day, we found our hotel and got checked in. Then, we headed over to Harrod's for a true London shopping experience. We paid WAY too much for some dried up burgers, but Bean had some awesome fish 'n chips. We should've ordered what she did! I bought my first book in the UK versions of Harry Potter: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I'll keep adding as we return back to England until I have all seven.

After Harrod's we walked through Hyde Park to reach Buckingham Palace.

Then, we headed over to Westminster to see Big Ben and the Abbey.

The next day, we started out at the British Museum. Hubby absolutely loved it.

He stayed most of the day there and then headed over to the British Imperial War Museum.

After lunch, Bean and I took the tube to go see the Tower of London, which we had missed on our first trip. It was quite pricey to get in, but with so much history there, how could we not go? We got to meet a Beefeater.

There is a legend that says if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, then Britain will fall. These ravens have their wings clipped, just to be on the safe side.

I had a lovely cuppa with scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam. How could I come to London and not have tea?

That night, we all had fish 'n chips for dinner!

The next day was Bean's 12th birthday, so we let her decide all our activities for the day. We first headed to Leicester Square to pick up our show tickets and saw the theatre where the London premiere of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" had been held.

Then, we headed over to the London Zoo. They have a wonderful gorilla exhibit.

Some big cats.

And the Reptile House is just as it looks in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". However, there is no Burmese Python in the adjacent enclosure. I believe it was a tortoise.

I had a lovely Beef & Horseradish sandwich for lunch (along with some Walker's Cheese & Onion Crisps -- yummy!)

That evening, after dinner at Chiquito's, we went to see "Lord of the Rings: The Musical". There is a three-way split in opinions of the show: 1 for "Ugh!", 1 for "It was okay" and 1 for "The special effects were totally cool!!"

The next morning, it was back to Leicester Square for more show tickets. Then, we took the tube to Westminster and bought tickets on the boat to Greenwich. It was a nice cruise down the Thames. When we got to Greenwich, we were very sad to find that Goddard's Pie House, which we had loved so much on our first trip last October, had closed. We managed to find lunch somewhere else and then walked over to the Observatory.

Hubby and Bean stood on either side of the Prime Meridian so that one was in the Eastern Hemisphere and one in the Western (but don't ask me which is which!)

This was the Queen's House when she came to stay at Greenwich.

After the boat ride back to Westminster, Hubby decided to head back to the hotel for a nap, while Bean and I headed back to Harrod's for some last minute shopping and another lovely tea/scone/clotted cream/jam experience. I love London!!

That evening, we met back at Leicester Square for dinner and then saw The Reduced Shakespeare Company's "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)". It was hilarious!!! It was about 97% family friendly (there were just a few bits) and we all loved it.

We had a grand time and plan loads of return trips!

TTFN~