Day one in London, in which we spend hours walking so we don't fall asleep.

Once we got off the plane, we walked. We walked at least a mile in the airport, we sat on the underground (fun fact, much of it is above ground until you actually get into the city centre) and then we walked to the hotel. It was only 3, so we needed to stay awake at least 5 more hours. Sitting down wasn't going to cut it, so I decided we should walk through Hyde park, and we could cross Buckingham Palace off our list (Dane really wanted to see it...) I think altogether we went about 6 miles on foot. So much for easing into it. Here are some pictures from our wanderings. :)
Lunch with dad before we left.




Just touched down in London! We look about how we feel.




Dane's first fish and chips in London. Complete with malt vinegar... And tomato cheese focaccia...




Our view from our lunch table. What I love is that it has layers. Construction mayhem on the ground. Beautiful private garden park (notting hill, anyone?) across the street. And if you look closely, you can see Mary Poppins chimney sweep-esque chimneys on the rooftop.




Ok, so hotels in Europe are different from hotels at home. They are in old buildings, and these buildings often have tiny walkways, doors, rooms, etc. so here is what we have to do to get to our room: walk through a maze of halls to get to this lift (you are seeing the entire thing in the picture). We almost didn't fit with both of us and our luggage.




Open the door by hand to get out.




Walk up these stairs.




Then turn a corner and walk up these stairs, which pitch to the left and have a sharp turn at the top.




I wasn't clear on what was posing the threat to my life here, but the sign worked. I was cautious and did not hang around.




The bus messed this up, but Dane and I thought these buildings together were an interesting combination. Then we found it even more interesting when we realized the middle one is a convent.




Hyde Park! There was a light drizzle falling, and we had just passed a British couple on bicycles who'd had this conversation: "What a lovely, refreshing rain this is today." "yes, it is lovely. It's quite english, isn't it?" and Dane almost cried because he loves Englishy statements in English accents so much.




We'll work on Dane's camera aim. This is the main gate to Hyde park. The lion and the unicorn have some historical significance, but I won't bore you with that. That's what Wikipedia is for. :)




There is an area that has about 6 different war memorials near Buckingham palace. This is sort of the central one.




A kind person took pity on us trying to do the arm-stretch camera shot.




This is still the palace.




I find Buckingham palace kind of drab, except for those bursts of red color from the guards.




Here's my attempt at a panoramic shot with the camera. There's a funny angle thing that happens in the middle that I don't know how to avoid.




Sara wood, I have it in my head that you like mermaids. If this is true, this is for you. If not, it's a picture of a mermaid just because.




Where is this kid's parent?




There are several flower gardens in parks all over London. It's possible that this is actually Kensington Garden, but I'm not sure we were far enough over yet. It might just be pretty flowers. Megan, these pictures are because I thought you would love this place.
















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Location:London