Our Trip to Europe

Day 15 – Harwich to London

We were off the ship early this morning – before 7am and on the train from Harwich back to London. Another overcast, rainy day unfortunately. Got to London – Liverpool Street Station and took the tube over to Victoria Street Station where we hauled our luggage up about 3 flights of stairs and walked to our hotel. After leaving our luggage in our room, we took off again for Buckingham Palace. When we arrived we noticed that the crowds were lining up and realized that they were claiming their spots to watch the changing of the guard. We took some pictures of the palace and the Victoria Monument and decided we didn’t want to stay to watch the changing of the guards so we hiked over to see the London Eye. On the way over, we heard that the changing of the guards was cancelled due to the rain.

We saw the Horse Guards in formation and also got to see their change. Once they are finished with the change there are a couple of guards who stand on the grounds and two others who sit on horseback. They are there to allow you to take pictures but they do not speak and they do not look at you.

We saw the London Eye but it apparently was not open to passengers today. Don’t know if that was due to the lousy weather or not. We could hear Big Ben chiming in the distance and were lucky enough to get there in time to hear it strike 12 noon. It was a very busy area tourist wise and traffic wise. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are beautiful and located right on the banks of the River Thames. We walked around to get other views of the Houses of Parliament and they were heavily guarded with guards carrying assault rifles.

Across the street was Westminster Abbey. After taking pictures of the outside we decided to go in. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed inside the Abbey. This was probably the most beautiful church I have ever seen. It was very different from other churches as it was filled with graves. Some of the graves dated back to the 1300’s. Some of the graves were vaults above ground while others were plaques laid in the floor stating who was buried underneath. We saw the coronation chair and the seat that the Queen uses whenever she attends services there.

Time for lunch!! We took Rick Steves advice and took the tube over close to Trafalgar Square and found a little place called Gordon’s Wine Bar. It was located on a neat, narrow little road just outside of the tube station. You took some very steep steps down into the restaurant. They had a buffet bar on one side and a wine bar on the other. We ordered and headed back into the 15th century wine cellar where there were tables lit only by candles. It was very dark in there, somewhat warm and the ceiling occasionally dripped water on you. It was so NEAT!! We had a good meal and a great glass of wine. Overall, a very unique place and a great memory.

After lunch, we headed for Trafalgar Square. We had heard that a few days previous, they had found a car with a bomb in it. There was a large police presence and a very interesting event going on. Evidently they were having a Gay Pride Parade. They had floats with men in nothing but their tighty whities dancing around, waving rainbow flats and blowing whistles. Some of the supporters in the crowd were interesting also – especially the fellow in striped briefs and a feather mask and nothing else, or the fellow in very tight hot pants and bright pink high heels.

Back to our room for a short rest and then we took off to The Duke of Wellington Pub for dinner. This is another place that was recommended by Rick Steves. We decided to try the roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, whatever that is!! It was delicious and the pudding appears to be some sort of bread. Twice now, we have been in restaurants where there was a dog inside. Tonight there was a large German Shepard in the restaurant. He was well behaved and when we left he was under one of the tables sleeping. Most of the restaurants that we have tried have been written up as mostly for locals rather than tourists so we are usually the only outsiders in the places.

Overall, a very enjoyable day in spite of the constant rain. We saw the stuffy to the outrageous in London!! Tomorrow we have another early day as we will be joining a tour to Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle. We have our fingers crossed that maybe we will get a little sunshine.