Step in Time, London

Ed and I enjoyed breakfast at the hotel so much this morning, as we didn't really eat anything substantial yesterday. Wehad just snacked on granola bars and fruit snacks when we got the urge.

We needed the energy to start walking again! We started the day by walking to Buckingham Palace. It was fun taking a picture with nobody in front of it, including cars. The whole street was closed down for the Queen's visit to Parliament this morning.

We had just enough time before the parade to pop in and see Westminster Abby. Ed enjoyed seeing Isaac Newton's grave there, among the rich, famous and titled. There were a LOT of important dead people there!

While looking for a place to see the queen drive by, we found this nice telephone booth, and even better, a nice ledge to stand on, with a view unobstructed by people.

We were rewarded for our patience with a nice view of Queen Elizabeth with her carriage and horses. As she passed the band struck up God Save the Queen.

After seeing the queen we popped over to the Tower of London to see how previous monarchs tortured and executed there prisoners. We were glad we live in kinder and gentler times. We were amazed that the Tower is not one single tower, but a fortress as big as a small city with lots of towers and buildings. Who knew?

We stopped to get some fish and chips at Ed's, who makes the best fish and chips at the tower! They really hit the spot!

In a nod to Mary Poppins, we had to stop over at St. Paul's Cathedral just to see the steps and see if there were any bird ladies there. Lots of birds, but nobody feeds them anymore (on purpose, anyway).

We then dashed across town to see Kensington Palace, the home of Prince William and Katherine. It was raining again, as it had off and on all morning. We enjoyed seeing an interesting exhibit on Queen Victoria there. There is no shortage of interesting people to talk about in England.

While strolling through Hyde Park, adjacent to the palace, we saw a dog that looked remarkably like Coda. We stopped and asked the lady what kind of dog it was. It was a Cocker spaniel. I wished I had taken a picture when another man in the park told is that it was Lupo, the Duchess of Cambridge's dog!

Prince Albert was beloved enough by Victoria to get a really beautiful memorial built. Royal Prince Albert Hall is right behind it. We enjoyed a tour of the concert hall, and got to see the Symfunny practicing for an evening of music and comedy.

In the snack shop of the concert hall we had to try out the flapjacks,which were highly recommended to us by Suzanne. It turned out to be a brownie that really tasted like a hearty granola bar. It was good, but not as good as the apricot tart!

On our way to the South Kensington tube station we ran into an LDS church, which looked like a mini-temple, complete with a visitor's center and Christus in it! We even ran into two Elders, one from New Zealand and the other from South Africa. They were just as hard to understand as all the Brits here!

After all the museums were closed we still had enough energy left to run over to Abby Road for a photo opportunity! It was exhilarating risking your life just to re-enact a Beatles album cover. We watched several other tourists finish taking their pictures and step in front of moving vehicles that they weren't expecting (as they drive on the wrong side of the road over here)!

We had purchased a London Pass and a one day subway pass, and were sure we would do a lot less walking today than yesterday. We ended up with even more-30,000 steps! With another nod to Mary Poppins, we were just Stepping in Time the London way! We're renting a car and leaving London tomorrow. We hope to give the soles of our feet a rest!