Day 1 & 2

Day 1

Here we are the last time you saw us as we gathered before boarding the plane in Tulsa and you can see by the next two photos we arrived unharmed but changed. Some got some sleep on the flight and others of us not so much. I ended up taking the one seat that was separated from all of the others in the back of the plane which had more side to side movement than up and down. The best news about the London flight is that we made it and it is now “History.”

After making our way to the hotel and unloading our luggage but not checking into our rooms we were ready for out first adventure and off we head for London. The trip into the city took about 45 minutes and included walking, a train ride and a ride on the “Tube,” mind the gap. Mind the gap is a prerecorded message that is played at each stop as you enter and exit to keep you thinking about where you step.

Our first stop was at the Emperial War Museum which has exhibits from all of the conflicts in English History. I walked by one that had British artifacts from the Colonial Wars of North America but spent most of my time in the Holocaust exhibit.

Outside the War Museum we took several group shots and then took a bus and walked a short distance to eat our first real meal in London. We had bangers and mash and in spite of how that sounds they were pretty good and your talking to the picky eater of the group. In case you don’t speak English as its spoken here bangers are sausages and mash refers to good ol mashed potatoes with a sauce or gravy over them. Most bowls were empty on their way back to the kitchen.

We then took a short walk in that area and decided that we’d had all the fun we could stand for today and headed back to the hotel which is pretty nice and located next to a wild game preserve although “wild” game is a bit of a stretch.

This is one of several photos that I've added this evening to give you more of what happened on day one. This was in the financial district and these are bankers and such having a little down time after work. It is also the location of a scene in one a movie that all the kids knew that I can't remember now but you can ask them about it.

Tomorrow morning comes early as the wakeup call is at 6:30 AM, that’s 12:30 AM Oklahoma time so I’m heading to bed and not sure when I’ll be able to post. I got a one time 30 minutess free today and have not figured out tomorrow yet but I’m working on it.

Day 2

We had an early start to our day with our first stop at Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. My comment is that the British certainly know how to do pomp! :-) Very impressive performance and they do this once a day 7 days a week 365 days a year.

We took a bus tour of the city prior to the changing of the guard ceremony and say St. Paul cathedral, the London eye, London Bridge and the Tower of London to name a few of the highlights. We picked up a picnic lunch near St. Paul and after the changing of the guard had lunch in the park nearby. This was a great morning.


After lunch we visited Churchills War Bunker Musuem.

We visited Trafalgar Square , had dinner at Wagamama, an Asian place and had the noodle infusion, at least most of us did, I found a McDonalds nearby and we were all happy.

We ended the evening with a ride on the London Eye which provided a great view of the city.

!