London, Part II

So, after a day of settling in and getting used to English again after three months on the Continent, we decided to start off with the tourist hot spots, so off to Westminster.

So when one arrives in the city and comes out of Waterloo Station and heads towards the river, the first impressive sight you really notice is the London Eye.  Towering over it's surroundings, it looks exceptionally touristy and out of place... but we'll come back to that.

Next, we've crossed the Westminster Bridge and came up to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  All that's going through my head is the first two bars of "Rule Brittania!"  Once again, one of those buildings that you've seen so many times in movies and TV, but there it is - in front of you for the first time.

Following that, we quickly headed up to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guards.  While a little late, we were a little surprised to see them playing "Live and Let Die" and the Austin Powers Theme!  Good to see them having a sense of humour - I half expected the Queen to come onto the Balcony and say, "We are not amused!"

The Palace itself is not super interesting -  a large grey building, really, but the Changing of the Guard was a lot of fun.  The bright costumes, the fun music, the pomp and ceremony of it all, the police on horse back, would love to go see it again at some point.  By the time we got there we didn't have a great viewpoint, so will definitely get there early next time (trip for other travellers!)

Then a wander down Pall Mall, past Trafalgar Square and down to the London Eye again.  This time we took it for a spin (hah!  Dad Joke!).

From atop the Eye

Yes, it's expensive and touristy, but it's also a great way to get some perspective on the city which can prove difficult initially.  And the views are great, with the touch screen providing interesting history behind the different buildings.

From the Eye we made our way along South Bank where they were setting up for the Christmas Market.  We passed the Globe Theatre and walked up the Thames up to the Tower Bridge.  Stunning.  Then, after a quick visit to the Tower (we didn't go in this time), we walked back along the river to the Tate Modern.

Tower Bridge!

Tate Modern is an interesting buiding.  A converted power plant made into a modern art gallery, it has some stunning spaces.  We managed to catch a very interesting temporary exhibition on William Klein.  Absolutely fascinating.

So another busy day, and then back to the suburbs for the night. 

Plenty more London to come!