London - Day 3 through 6

DAY 3

LEADENHALL MARKET

Just down the street from our flat is the covered Leadenhall Market. It is one of the oldest markets in London, dating from the 14th century.

Under the arches and cobblestones lies the remains of an old Roman Forum (market).

HORIZON 22

Horizon 22 is a commercial skyscraper on Bishopsgate. Completed in 2020, it sits one block from our flat and is the second tallest building in the United Kingdom.

Only a limited number of timed free tickets are available to go up to the observation gallery on the 58th floor.

St. Paul's Cathedral from the top of Horizon 22.

Sky Garden (which we have tickets later in the week) in the foreground and the Shard across the Thames River.

Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.

DAY 4 - Palm Sunday

ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL

St. Paul was about a half mile from our flat, so we walked to church on this gorgeous Spring Day.

Approaching the Cathedral on the narrow streets of London.

The high-domed structure was completed in 1710. To worship is free, but tourists pay 26 sterling pounds to tour the Cathedral.

The tulips were blooming their heart out.

Palm Sunday Service began outside the Cathedral with a lone riderless donkey walking across the steps.

After the Choir Anthem we sang "Ride on, Ride on in Majesty" as we proceeded into the Cathedral.

Spring has definitely sprung.

ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT

St Bartholomew the Great, sometimes abbreviated to St-Barts-the-Great, is a medieval church in the Church of England's Diocese of London. The building was founded in 1123.

Statue of St. Bartholomew, an apostle of Jesus, who died in martyrdom by being skinned alive.

Incense still hung in the air following the Palm Sunday Service.

YE OLD RED COW

We found a lovely historic pub built in 1854 that served the traditional English Sunday Roast.

We both ordered the same thing, roast loin of pork served with fresh vegetables, cauliflower cheese, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, gravy and apple sauce.

BARBICON CENTER AND OBSERVATORY

The Barbican Center in London, an arts and culture center, is the home of the London Symphony Orchestra since 1982,

The Barbican Center Conservatory. 

DAY 5

VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

This life-size cast of Michelangelo's David was a gift to Queen Victoria from the Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany.

The Cast Court

The magnificent plaster cast of Trajan's Column is one of the stars of the V&A collection and has towered over the cast collection in two halves since the opening of the Courts in 1873.

Dale Chihuly Glass Work in the main lobby.

HARRODS LONDON

We made a quick stop at Harrods of London for dinner and a quick look around. All the merchandise was very high quality as was the restaurants located on each of the 5 floors.

DAY 6

NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM AND QUEEN'S HOUSE

Another bus ride, this time to Greenwich, south of the Thames River to the National Maritime Museum.

The artwork is a scaled-down replica of HMS Victory, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

This uniform jacket of Admiral Horatio Nelson contains the musket ball hole that shattered his shoulder at the battle of Trafalgar and resulted in his death.

Models of English War Ships.

These stained-glass windows were once installed over a staircase at the Baltic Exchange in London in 1922, is a memorial to the members of the exchange who were killed while serving during the First World War. They were moved to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich in 2005.

The Astronomy and Planetarium Center is located on a hill behind the National Maritime Museum.

Adjacent to the Maritime Museum is the Queen's House.

The Queen's House is a former royal residence in the London borough of Greenwich, which presently serves as a public art gallery. It was built between 1616 and 1635 on the grounds of the now demolished Greenwich Palace, a few miles downriver from the City of London.

The famous "Armada Portrait" of Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

London - Day 1 and 2

On April 1st we left our winter home at Marinoff and drove eight miles north to Alamo Rose RV Resort to stay for the month of April. This was a safe haven for our RV while we traveled to London for two weeks.  The park was fairly empty because the Winter Texans had departed. 

Site 416 was level and just long enough.

TRAVEL DAY

We departed from Mcallen Airport on April 8, connecting through Dallas and arrived in London on the morning of April 9.

Since this was a nine-hour overnight flight, we opted for business class seats.

The seats were comfortable and fully reclined for sleeping.

DAY 1

48 BISHOPSGATE

We rented a large second floor Air BnB flat in this former Embassy for two weeks. It was conveniently located in the heart of City Center, the financial district of London, just one-half mile north of London Bridge, crossing the Thames River.

The flat encompassed the entire 2nd floor. We had a full kitchen, living room, dining room, and bedroom with large, attached bath including double sinks and a bidet. The flat was complete with dishwasher, oven and clothes washer/dryer.

TOWER BRIDGE

Our first morning we walked 1/2 block to the bus stop and hopped on a city double decker bus to ride to Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. We had purchased Visitor Oyster Cards prior to our trip. These prepaid cards are necessary to pay for and board all public transportation in London. We used our Oyster Cards on the Elizabeth Line from/to the airport, city buses as well as the Underground ("the Tube").

We walked across the iconic Tower Bridge that spans the Thames River. The bridge took 9 years to build from 1886-1894.

View of the business district and the Tower of London from Tower Bridge. The taller building in the left front is the "Sky Garden" and the tallest building is Horizon 22, which is just a block from our flat.

TOWER OF LONDON

The Tower of London is located just over the Tower Bridge across from the ultra-modern building known as the Shard.  

There is a wide public walkway between the Tower of London and the Thames River. We purchased tickets to enter the Tower wall and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the historic Tower of London. It has functioned as a fortress, a palace and a prison.

Entrance gate through the inner wall of the Fortress.

The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078.

The Courtyard within the Tower Walls and the remains of an even older Roman Wall.

Within the Bloody Tower is numerous torture devices. The "Rack" is just one of the tools with which prisoners were occasionally tortured.

A guard outside the Crown Jewels.

King Charles wore this crown for his coronation.

Inside the White Tower several floors displayed medieval armament and weapons.

View of the Bridge from inside the White Tower.

Cannons and rifles

The Moat, drained of water, is now a large lawn. The Tower of London is a 1,000-year-old Castle that protects the Crown Jewels and is now a world-renowned historical site.

DAY 2

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

We got an early start to board a bus and then transfer across town to Parliament Square, home of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and 10 Downing Street.

The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is a popular ceremony where the Old Guard is relieved by the New Guard. The Grenadier Guards often participate in this ceremony, providing musical support and marching with the new guard.

View of the London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel as seen from St. James Park at Buckingham Palace.

10 DOWNING STREET

10 Downing Street, home of the current Prime Minister, is heavily guarded.

These phone booths are everywhere and now provide Wi-Fi service.

PARLIAMENT

The pipes were playing at Big Ben.

The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative chambers which occupy the building.

We stopped for lunch at the historic Red Lion which stands at the site of the 1434 tavern know at the Hopping Hall. The Red Lion was frequented by Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill, and other notable members of parliament and now us.

WESTMINSTER ABBEY

Westminster Abbey is an Anglican church. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British monarchs and a burial site for 18 English, Scottish, and British monarchs.

At 5:00 pm we attended an Evensong Service. 

We were seated in the choir loft, which was an excellent way to hear the choir and organ and enjoy the acoustics.