John, Mike and Michael went out for a proper English breakfast, while Patte and I sat back and enjoyed a second cup of coffee. We knew it was going to be another long day of seeing London!
We jumped on a train (or two or three or four) and headed to see the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge!
The Tower of London was used as a prison and was where executions were held. The building itself was magnificent (aren’t they all, in London?).
The iconic Tower Bridge was a sight to see! Of course we all had to get our picture taken with it! (If only the sky was blue and the sun was shining!)
The Tower of London had chambers called The Bloody Tower, The Battlements and Torture at the Tower.
The Crown Jewels were housed there as well. We saw it all. And there were several LARGE ravens cackling and hopping around to add to the ambiance.
There were also British guards walking the premises,
and marching around protecting the Crown Jewels.
The Torture Chamber depicted three types of torture that were used back in the day. The first was Scavenger’s Daughter,
the second type of torture was The Rack,
and the third was the use of manacles. Michael said he saw a sign that said the Torture Room could cause distress in some people. We all agreed we’d seen much worse on Netflix! Thank goodness none of us were traumatized!
After the Tower tour we stopped at yet another wonderful English pub, St. Stephen’s Restaurant, for lunch.
It was packed; it was loud; and the food was really, really good.
After lunch we had a few minutes before our tour of parliament, so we hopped into a quaint little coffee shop for a brewski (and to escape the pouring rain).
Finally it was time for our tour! (Michael had made all the arrangements—thank you, Michael!) We were met at the gate outside the Palace by very dapper guards who, after Michael gave our names, welcomed us inside, where we met up with our FABULOUS tour guide, Lord Graham Brady.
We couldn’t take photos (OMGoodness, how difficult THAT was as the place was MAGNIFICENT!) so I asked Michael to summarize the visit…
We toured the Palace of Westminster - which is home to the House of Commons and House of Lords.
We were given a personal tour by Lord Graham Brady who spent 25 years in the House of Commons before being appointed to the House of Lords by King Charles III.
We were able to go into the galleries of both the House of Commons and House of Lords and watch proceedings that were happening in both.
He took us on us on the path the King makes during the opening of Parliament each year. The rooms were all beautiful and covered in artwork detecting important moments in British history.
There were also numerous statues and memorials to important British political figures like Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.
He showed us where Queen Elizabeth lay in state in Westminster Hall. And then took us into the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft - a highly ornate, active place of worship within the Houses of Parliament.
Then we said goodbye near the base of Big Ben.
Michael presented Lord Brady with some tokens from the Ohio governor’s office to thank him for his time.
After a few more train rides we arrived at our next destination, the infamous Harrod’s department store!
This was what Harrod’s Food Court looked like!
We could have spent hours walking around that food court, but Mike had arranged a dinner with a couple who were friends of one of his relatives and who had worked in parliament with Lord Brady. (Or something like that!) It was a delightful dinner filled with many stories and lots of laughter!
After dinner we navigated the trains yet again to get to our theatre where we (got all dressed up in our theatre garb) and saw The Devil Wears Prada, starring Vanessa Williams!
By the time the show was over we all agreed that we were POOPED! So it was train, train, train and a walk back to the flat where we could finally say:
Good Night, London!
A wonderfully exhausting day!!!!
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