Buckingham Palace

 To the Palace......for the changing of the Guards. We were there plenty early and had a great spot. Until we had to move back into the crowd because they come out the front gate. Oh well, we got to meet a family on holiday from Spain.

 crowds starting to gather - if you go to London and want to see this even, I'd stand right where the lady in the pink jacket is - just on the other side of the gate, or up higher to get a view over everyone else. That is if you can't get up to the gate for a front row seat.

this lady is our friend from Spain - they left before it all started - we only waited 2 hours.

 I got a little bored and took a picture of my nails....could use some tlc.

 This was the police officer who kept us entertained by repeatedly saying - move back, behind the gate, move back, keep moving, move along and other things that would sound awful if it wasn't for his accent. :)

   all of our friends - I didn't realize just how many people there were until I saw these photos.....a smidge claustrophobic

 not being very tall, we were at a disadvantage to see the actual changing take place.

 

On to other sites.

A tribute to Abbey

Quick story you may not know. I love the name Abbey, Abbie, Abby, Abigail. I wanted to name Abbey, Abigail and call her Abbey, Abbie, Abby. Friends of ours with an Abbie, said words of wisdom - we were just going to call her Abbie, so why not name her Abbie? duh. So our #3 child came and I asked Jeff her name (he has named all of our kids - we've narrowed it down to a couple of names and ultimately he's the first one to see the baby so he's always been inspired to what name they should be called). He said Abbey, Abbie, Abby....Rebekah. Okay I love both those names, but how do we spell it. Knowing my husband is a big, big, BIG fan of the Beatles, I suggested like Abbey from Abbey Road. And there you have it.

We couldn't visit London and not visit Abbey Road Studios (a friend of ours has actually recorded in there - no, not the Beatles, but Rob Gardner of Spire Music) Off to find THE Abbey Road.

here's the album cover: source

We found it!

awwwwwww!

We did what all sane people do when they visit - we did the walk and tried not to get run over or hold up too much traffic.

pretty good. :)

There was another group there trying to take photos, so we took theirs and they took ours.

I don't quite pull of the look, but it was fun trying!

Love my Abbey!

London Eye

To the London Eye - it was getting dark and things were starting to glow. The City is beautiful at night!

As we were approaching the pier to get off the river cruise.

 This is the picture Jeff took - iphones take amazing pictures. seriously.

A little London Eye info: it takes a 1/2 hour for a full rotation. After each 'stop', 3 crew members, search each tube with mirrors to check under the bench to make sure nothing was left behind. They search it quickly and the Eye never stops moving unless there are people who need assistance getting on. I felt like I was trying to enter a double dutch jump rope - go, no, wait, no go, no....go! Hurry and latch that door and I'll be sure to stay away from it. :)

 St. Paul's Catherdal

 getting higher....breathe.

 almost to the top.

 so beautiful! Westminster Abbey to the right of Big Ben, House of Parliment and there you can see the River Cruise boat we road at the bottom of the picture.

 this tube is at the top of the Eye.

 We made it to the top! This is the tube next to us.

 Oh man, I love London

I've always wanted to go on a cruise

 Well, not really. I don't mind boats, on lakes or on the river, but a large ocean liner in the middle of the ocean, just scares me....ever seen Titanic? Dramatic.....probably, but what can I say, I have a lot of irrational fears - I'll save those for another post - you're welcome.

Lucky for us, we got a free cruise on Thames River when we purchased our bus tour. And bonus, the boats automatic audio tour was broken, so we got a live tour guide! He was actually the co-captain of the river boat - which was only one flat boat with a bunch of metal seats - don't go thinking we got royal treatment as far as seating, but it was inside and warm. The guy was hilarious - this was his 2nd time ever giving a live tour in 20 years - he did great!

 a look back at Tower Bridge

 HMS Belfast - we took a tour of that later

 go ahead, sing it loud! (I did, not out loud - too myself) Thank goodness this bridge didn't fall. haha!

 Shakespeare's Globe Theater - the white building to the right with the thatched 'roofing'. We didn't take in a show there - too cold as it's an open air theater.

 a famous pedestrian bridge we didn't walk across, but cruised right underneath. :)

 and the London Eye. We were going on that kicking and screaming because I wanted to prove I could do it even if I had to stand in the center of the 'tube' to keep it balanced.......another one of those fears.

 And then there's Big Ben - totally fascinated with it - it's beautiful, especially all lit up at night. Which as you can see from the time, it's almost 6 o'clock.

 Jeff getting a good photo on his iphone - we were so impressed with the architecture of every building.

Next up....London Eye