Spring Break in London (Part I)

It's time to share the details of our trip to London with you. Since I've already dramatically given you the lowdown on the ash cloud issue that prevented us from returning to our home in Spain, I'll try to refrain from slipping back into that whole scene, and just stick to the highlights. You will forgive me, however, if I simply have to refer to the "AC" every now and again, won't you? I mean, it makes for such awesome blog fodder. A blogger's got to use the good stuff, you know?

We flew into the airport in Heathrow, and had planned on riding the Underground (a.k.a. "The Tube," which is London's underground subway system), however it was down for maintenance in a few areas and we had to take the train instead. From there we took a cab to our hotel.

Aren't the cabs cute? All cab cars look like this. They may be different colors or have wording on the sides, but they all have the same body style.


We stayed here at the Victory Services Club, a hotel that caters to retired and serving members of the Armed Forces, located at Marble Arch in the heart of London's West End.


Our first day in London was spent riding on one of these double-decker buses, touring the city and seeing the highlights, which would help us determine what we wanted to go back and see up close and personal during the rest of our stay.


We got on the bus near the Marble Arch (in the background), only a couple of blocks or so from our hotel.


There were beautiful flower gardens in the Marble Arch area.


My hubby and I pose for a rare photo together. We were intrigued by the greenish sculpture in the background, therefore we checked it out for a closer look.


Ahhh.... it's a horse! Thought my Kentucky peeps would enjoy seeing this beautiful work of art.


I couldn't help but snap this photo of all the chimneys on the rooftops. They were so very London to me. I was reminded of the Disney movie "101 Dalmatians," my favorite.


This is the beautiful Westminster Abbey, the church where royal coronations have been held since 1066. 17 monarchs are also entombed here. We would go back to see the inside of this incredible structure, however, it was closed at the time and we never made it inside. Maybe next time...


We saw several protesters near Parliament.


In case we forgot where we were, all we had to do was look up. There were British flags flying everywhere!


If I remember correctly, the bus was driving across London Bridge (over the Thames River) as I took this photo of Tower Bridge. I remember singing "London Bridge" as a little girl, but it's Tower Bridge that's actually quite the sight to see.

We saw so many sights while riding on the tour bus... Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye, the London Tower, Buckingham Palace, etc. I'll share each of these places with you, as we visited each of them and more. Stay tuned for more highlights from spring break in London...