Tower Of London, City of London, Tate, and more

Our first real London day was Sunday and we took the tube from Notting Hill Gate to Tower Hill.  Kind of a thrill to be back at NHG.  

We arrived well before opening by design, and were maybe the third or fourth in line.  Kids were able to wander around a bit and get a view of Tower Bridge.  We wanted to hit the crown jewels very first thing so we didn't have to wait in lines that tend to be horrific.  It was a very good plan.  We walked right into the crown jewels but when we came out it was already out the building and snaking around.  Hours of time saved.  Go us!

Back in the day exotic animals were kept at the Tower and now there are some fun sculptures as a hat tip to such times. 

The other highlight was the beefeater tour.  The Yeoman Warder have guarded the Tower for centuries.  And they are not just decorative tour guides as ours pointed out.  They are elite military members who have earned their stripes.  They know their history extremely well and they also could double as stand up comedians.  Lots of poking fun of arrogant Americans.  It was great. 

This is a super ugly memorial for the royals who were beheaded here.

After the Tower we stopped for lunch right across the way at Wagamama, a delicious noodle chain.  Our waiters were from Brazil and enjoyed speaking with my Dad in Portuguese. 

Next our expert guide took us through the streets of the city and pointed out all the Wren churches, many of which were bombed in the blitz.

We went up the monument (which is a monument to the Great Fire of London in 1666).  I'm not sure how I feel about endless spiral staircases.  Kind of freaky.

From atop the monument it is clear London is a very modern city. 

After getting some Magnum bars and Clara stepping in front of a taxi, we walked past Lloyds of London, a cool building, to Leadenhall Market.  Since we were in the City on a Sunday the whole city was shut down.

The former Royal Exchange (like unto the stock exchange, which is now in a modern building).

The Bank of England, where Jane and Michael Banks were told "if you invest your tuppence wisely in the bank, soon you'll see..."

We had to walk down Cheapside to get to the Cathedral but all Austen fans will be pleased we did not stoop to visit Jane Bennet whilst she stayed with her relations there. 

Beautiful St. Paul's Cathedral was next.  On Sunday it's open only to worshippers, and the bells were going nuts.  Very cool. 

 Clara pretending to feed the birds for tuppence a bag. 

Our guide pointing out the architectural details of Sir Christopher Wren's greatest creation. 

Paternoster Square.  The old gate into the city was taken back out and repurposed.  Pretty cool. 

This old bombed out church is a park and posh flat.  Pretty cool to live in a Wren church tower.

 We swung by Postman Park which is a monument to people who died trying to save people.  Many of them children.  Pretty sad place. 

Clara was ready to head to the convention. 

 We headed back towards St. Paul's to walk across the Millenium Bridge to the Tate Modern. But we had to replicate the selfie being taken nearby.

The Tate Modern is a very cool museum housed in a repurposed giant power plant.  Super cool space.

 Next to the Tate Modern is the recreated Globe.  Tours were all full so we could only admire from afar.

Super thrilled to get to see the Guerrilla Girl exhibit.  I did my senior thesis on them.  Very cool. 

Then it was back across the bridge to catch a bus to Trafalgar Square.

It was pretty magical seeing this view for the first time. 

We could have stayed listening to these buskers for hours.  They were amazing. 

But we made our way through Picadilly Circus to Regent Street, which was closed to traffic on Sunday.  A treat. 

We caught a bus near Oxford Circus which took us back to the hood, where we grabbed dinner at Pret, treats at Sainsburys and enjoyed a picnic in Kensington Gardens. 

The founder of the feast and the trip.

The boys topped off their day back at the flat with a European Cup game.  

A double thumbs up day.