We started our day with a brisk walk across the beautiful bridge that gives a magnificent view of Big Ben. Just beyond the bridge lies Westminster Abbey the home of royal weddings and burial site of the monarchy, along with plaques of honor for famous British authors.
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| A few boys ready to head out for the day |
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| The side entrance of Westminster Abbey |
A unique and exciting event that took place before we entered the grand cathedral was a marriage proposal between Savannah Wyllie and her newly betrothed, Ethan. Talk about romantic!
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| She said YES! |
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| Ethan surprised her, flew in from the East Coast, hid at Westminster Abbey, had Big Ben in the background...couldn't get much more romantic than this! |
We took along our new beaming couple as we next visited the Parliament. Basically it's equivalent to us visiting congress, except of course, they do government differently here. They have a long line of kings and queens for one thing.
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| Tour of Parliament |
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| Security was no joke... |
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| ...well, maybe to this guy! |
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| Uh Oh... |
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| Inside Parliament...No photos allowed beyond this point! |
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| Tired after the Parliament tour, but its not even noon yet! |
Today was the first day we ventured into taking the tube with all 44 of us now, since we gained Ethan. It was so fun for everyone to experience public transportation in a big city, as many have never done that before. It was bustling but we managed to make all our stops without anyone skipping a beat (or missing a train).
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| Heading down into the depths of the city |
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| Definitely crowded |
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| Waiting |
After visiting their amazing building where a 900 year-old hall is attached to Parliament, and riding the underground, we got off at Kensington Gardens. This is the park where J.M. Barrie met the family who inspired him to write the play and book of Peter Pan. :)
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| The newly engaged couple, still beaming, in some of the gardens in Kensington |
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| The lake in the middle of Kensington Gardens |
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| Silliness at the Peter Pan statue |
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| The ladies |
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| Girl's turn! |
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| Before leaving Kensington Gardens, we stopped to pray for a sweet couple from The Master's Seminary. They are missionaries at a church here in London |
While in London you do enough walking to average nine-miles a day. After taking in a peaceful stroll through the vast park, we headed towards Harrods department store. This is a store like nothing we have in America. It is the creme-de-la of shopping, but the highlight of this place is the food floor. It's vast and filled with fresh variety beyond your imagination. Yum-yum! You can pretty much have whatever your heart desires.
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| It stretches about 1 block long as well as deep, and has 6 floors. |
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| Ready for some shopping at a place most of us can hardly afford...but still fun! |
Dinner this evening was a special treat! We were able to dine with the finest at the Georgian Restaurant inside Harrods. It was beautiful inside and we received several "looks" as we tried the best we could to quietly and gracefully enter with all 46 of us. (We added 2 more for dinner). It was a delicious meal and we learned quickly the proper manners of the British culture.
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| Adam and Dana Waller (Associate Pastor of Grace Life London and from The Master's Seminary) joined us for today. |
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| Celebrating the 3 birthday kids...Their birthday's we ALL today =) |
Our next stop - Buckingham Palace. The queen was not actually in the palace on the day we visited, but we enjoyed viewing the outside of this actual home to the queen of England. It's decked out in lots of gold set against black ornate gates protected by the Queen's guard.
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| Beautiful gardens right near the Palace |
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| It was a beautiful walk to Buckingham |
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| Buckingham Palace |
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| At the beautifully ornate front gate |
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| We jump everywhere else...why not at Buckingham! |
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| Even Sandra and her dad wanted to be included in the jumping! |
Our last stop of the day was the grand ferris wheel, the London Eye. It is 433 feet high (135 Meters) and is the 2nd tallest observation wheel in the world (second only to the High Roller in Las Vegas which is 550 feet high). When you ride in one of the enclosed pods with 25 people from our group, you have room to walk around and view every angle of the great, big city. You get a birds-eye view of what Peter, Wendy, John and Michael must have seen. It's a beautiful site to take in with all the lights, stretched out miles upon miles across England.
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| The London Eye |
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| The Eye at night, shining brightly into the rooms facing outward at the County Hall Marriott |
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| Each capsule can hold 28 people, with room to spare |
After another busy but exciting day, we went straight from the Eye to our hotel for the night. That was the easiest, shortest walk of the day. Another good night's rest was in store at this wonderful hotel, to energize us for our last full day in London tomorrow.
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