Writing this at 11pm after our first full day of touring - and a wonderful day it was!
The sun rose ever so early but our travelers were ready to hop to it! Customs was a breeze with no lost luggage and no other trouble, and soon we were met by Alan, our tour guide for the day, and we were whisked off to the center of London (well, as whsked as you can be while stuck in rush hour traffic)!
We were treated to a knowledgeable, funny and very helpful day-long orientation to the city that included a morning photo stop at Buckingham Palace and a driving tour of many sights, incliuding Westminster Abbey and several Harry Potter related sites, leading to a nice late morning meal at a pub close to the Tower of London.
After we'd sat and rested our bones for a while we walked down to the Thames right by the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, and then back on the bus to go to a photo stop that included great views of Westminster Abbey and Parliament. We walked all around the government district, ending up back at the bus with an hour to spare before check-in - a good thing since it took an hour to go the short way to our accommodations - Alan's wonderful stories may have fallen on deaf ears given the number of sleeping passengers by that time!
Bankside House is baxically a dorm for the London School of Finance = comfortable but not much air flow - so the night will be hot tonight. After a couple of hours rest we had dinner at Bankside and most chose to turn in. One intrepid group took off with me to the London Eye and had a spectacular view - clear as can be!
Tomorrow kids have a choice of what to see that interests them - they will have tube passes and will be ablr to take in their favorite sights in smaller groups. Then tomorrow night it's on to the West End for a perfornmance of ONCE!
Back tomorrow with another report! All are safe, sound and happy!
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