London, United Kingdom

luvinspud

Thursday, May 9th - Sunday, May 12th, 2024

We had 2 clear days in London, so the first day we decided to do a River Thames tour to maximize our sightseeing. It was the best way to see all of the major monuments along the river from Westminster to Greenwich - Big Ben (officially renamed Elizabeth Tower and previously the Clock Tower), The London Eye, The Towers Bridge, The Shard, and the Cutty Sark to name a few. We took the tour on the City Experiences hop on and off boat. It turned out to be the perfect tour option for us. The captain narrated the sites along the river from stop to stop, which turned out to be about 1 hour from Westminster to Greenwich. There are other boats that go up and down the Thames, but not all have the informative commentary that this one had.

We rented an Airbnb in the area of Chelsea, which turned out to be a hip inner city area. We had pubs and restaurants in walking distance and plenty of transportation options along the main roads. Scot and I took the opportunity to leave the kids to their screens at the Airbnb and walk to a pub (Three Kings Pub) for a couple of pints. Cheers! 

One of the many gates around Buckinham Palace.
Big Ben from the crowded road.
Passing under the London Bridge on our tour.
I forgot what this one was called, but it is a cool castle looking building. . . I'll have to ask Scot.
The iconic Tower Bridge with a London double decker bus.
The Shard.
The Cutty Sark at the Greenwich pier.
If you look in the middle of the two domes, there is a tower with a red ball that represented the Greenwich meridian (GMT or UTC+0) at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
Entering the Rose Garden at Hyde Park. It was very crowded on what seemed like the first day of sunshine in London!
Swans, ducks and other birds in the Serpentine River in Hyde Park.
Many paddle boats along the river!
Prince Albert Memorial from afar.

This article was updated on May 17, 2024

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