So much to see in London

The big cities of the world require much more than two days to properly see the sights. In fact, we've often said that you need to spend a full month in places like New York City and Mexico City. And of course London.

But, when all you've got is two days, then you just make the best of it!

We had a good visit with Ruth's Auntie Nice, and it was wonderful that Cameron got to meet his great-great-aunt.

Kevin, Nice, Cameron, Ruth.

We hopped on the overland train, then connected on the tube and made our way to Buckingham palace. Not as much going on as when Ruth and I were in the area last year just after Queen Elizabeth passed away.

Still a lot of tourists around though, which is to be expected given that it's the middle of August.

That's a big tree!

The gates at Buckingham Palace.

We got there about 11:00am which is the time they usually do the changing of the guard. We had done the research ahead of time so we knew that they only do the changing of guard on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Not on Thursday.

So there were tons of tourists with their noses stuck right up to the fence making like they were waiting for it to start.

Or, maybe it's just like that all the time. Who knows.

Cameron at Buckingham Palace.

It was another beautiful summer day!

Flowers at the gardens outside Buckingham Palace.

Pelicans in St. James Park.

St. James Park.

Cameron always finds a tree to climb.

We made our way over to see the guards.

Cameron, being a 12 year old.

The London Eye.

Checking out yet another souvenir stand.

Big Ben Clock Tower.

This beautiful entranceway at the parliament was closed.

Cameron and the various police people.

We stood and talked to them for five minutes or so. I think they were bored!

River Thames.

Big Ben Tower and the house of Parliament.

We were starting to be in need of some lunch, so I checked google maps for some street food or other inexpensive food. But nothing caught my eye, and of course we know that anywhere in this touristy area is going to be expensive. 

And the fact that anything in London is expensive to begin with.

But we noticed the St. Thomas Hospital, located right across the river from the Parliament. Seems kind of odd having this big hospital campus right at that location in downtown London beside the Thames River.

Anyhow, we remembered my mother once saying that it's always a good price if you eat at a hospital cafeteria. But we never made it that far. As we got there, we saw a stand set up in the gardens outside the hospital where they were doing BBQ day. But all we could see was hospital staff in line getting food so we thought maybe it was something special for hospital staff only.

But if you don't ask, you don't know. 

So we went and asked, and they said that we were more than welcome and the food is for anybody who is hungry. 

A burger and a drink for £6 ($10.35 CAD, $7.65 USD). And it was a good thick burger!

Cameron and Kevin sitting having our lunch.

From there, we hopped on a bus to Harrod's Department Store.

Lots of petunias!

The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel.

Harrods Department Store.

The exterior is currently covered by a huge piece of material that actually looks like the building itself as there is maintenance work going on underneath.

If you don't know anything about Harrods, it is a huge luxury department store. They have over 330 different sections including separate ones for very expensive champagne and wines and even one specifically for Hennesy cognac.

Cameron in the stuffed animal section.

And the LEGO section.

The escalators are made to look like they're in ancient Egypt.

By the time we finished there, we were getting pretty tired. And we knew that it would take at least another hour on subways and trains to get back to Max who was waiting for us near Heathrow Airport.

The Victoria and Albert Museum is an interesting building.

We were back at Max by 5:00pm or so. 

Slept well, but we were up at 5:30am to get out of London area before the traffic got heavy. We are headed to Dover Castle and the White Cliffs of Dover today. Taking the ferry to France early Saturday morning.

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