Flight of the Elams: ye olde London

My parents and I went to London for the day and we had a blast. We saw the changing of the guards at Buckingham palace, visited Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London. The Train ride from Leicester to London is around an hour and half, which isn't bad, but we felt exhausted by the time we made it back to Leicester that night. My parents were amazed again how different London was since the last time they were there.

Mom and Dad, right we we got off the Tube

The three of us in St. James Park

The Changing of the Guards

Westminster Abbey

This is how my dad felt after waiting in line to get into Westminster Abbey. The Abbey was packed with people, but it was amazing to see where all of the old king and queens were buried, the coronations of the king/queens and to see where Kate and William were married! We weren't allowed to take pictures, so we don't have any of the inside besides this first one with my dad.

Eating lunch at a pub. Yummy fish and chips and steak and tanglefoot pie (which I just looked up is a type of ale they used)

The Tower of London where Anne Boleyn and many others were beheaded and kept prisoner.

The Tower of London was built during William the Conqueror's time in 1080. The tower's main function was a fortress stronghold up in the 19th century. It is a huge structure with many different towers that have different stories to each of them. Some of the kings kept lions, tigers, elephants, monkeys and other animals in the towers. It was a place of resident for the kings but also a prison for some. Here is some more information about the Tower of London if your interested.

I think King Edward I chair??

Walking between the towers

Tower Bridge right outside the tower of London

Role Playing

There is so much to see at the Tower of London and I know we didn't get to see it all. We did stand in line to see the Crown Jewels though. Just as it started to rain, so there were a ton of people waiting to see them. (not totally worth the lines)

The gate from the top.

Houses near Tower Green where Anne Boleyn was beheaded

A medieval torture machine.

Trafalgar Square

My parents got a kick out of the london Ducks tours

At Trafalgar Square in front of the National Gallery

Living Wall

Pub drinks.

When my parents were in London 32 years ago they stayed in Piccadilly Circus. We went back there to try to find the hotel they stayed at and to see how different it was then. They stayed in the Regent Hotel which is was right to the left of big TV's in the picture below.