After an eventful late lunch, we took a walk to Buckingham Palace. It was a nice and clear day and we enjoyed a nice stroll through Green Park. We then made our way to St. James Park and managed a few photos along the way! We topped off the evening by meeting Ray for a traditional pub meal in one of our local favourites, The Jugged Hare. One last nightcap at The Marquis and we called it a night!
Thursday morning we took the audio tour of Westminster Abbey. The weather turned cold on us a bit today and we experienced windy showers throughout the day.
We walked through The National Gallery visiting the works of Michelangelo, Renoir, Van Gogh and all those other masters. We enjoyed lunch at The Texas Embassy and then walked through Trafalgar Square and into Leceister Square. We stopped for an afternoon coffee and to rest before a bit of shopping. We met Ray later at The Albert for another pub dinner and a pint or two.
On Friday, Lisa, Judy and I took the Big Red Bus tour of London. It was windy and cold – but luckily dry. The forecasted rain seemed to skip us today – and that was just fine! We stopped first at the Half Price Ticket booth in Leicester Square and purchased tickets for The Sound of Music. You know they had to twist my arm to see this one again! We watched the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and then rode over to the Tower of London where we joined the Yeoman tour. We also saw the famous Crown Jewels and the Tower Bridge.
After a quick lunch and a little rest back at the flat, we took off for our evening show. The show was great and we had really good seats. Sound of Music is still one of my very favourites!
Early Saturday morning, we boarded the Eurostar for a train ride under the English Channel to Paris. Ray is the ultimate Paris tour guide these days – and we walked and walked and walked, hitting many of the highlights. We saw Notre Dame and St. Chappelle (beautiful stained glass windows), had a sidewalk bistro lunch, got caught in a short rain storm, saw the Eiffel Tower by day – and after a few cocktails in another sidewalk café and a lovely dinner – saw it again at night! Eiffel Tower at night is an amazing site and we got lots of great photos.
As Ray went exploring The Catacombs and cemeteries on Sunday, Lisa, Judy and I went to the Louvre and enjoyed Winged Victory, Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo – as well as lots of other classics. The Louvre is absolutely huge, and we barely skimmed the surface in the hours we spent there.
Then, we took to the city tour bus and saw all of the remaining highlights including Champs Elysee and Arc de Triomphe . This was a great birthday weekend treat and I thoroughly enjoyed the quick trip. 3 bowls of French Onion Soup and a few blistered feet later…
On Monday, after a lie in (one of our new English phrases) we crossed off the few remaining things on the Lisa/Judy list. We visited Eros in Piccadilly Circus, we browsed in Covent Garden and –of course- had cream tea at Harrods! After a bit of shopping, we dined at our local Italian restaurant and had a great visit.
I flew to Hamburg for a week’s work on Tuesday and dropped Lisa and Judy off at the meeting point for their last day tour of Bath, Stonehenge and The Cotswolds. It was a full day, and they truly enjoyed the outing.
It was a great time and I’m so glad that they had the opportunity to visit us in London.
1 comment:
Hey Mom it looks like you had a good time with Lisa E.!
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