Today was our first day with our tour group. Since we missed the welcome dinner that Go Ahead Tours provided last night, it was nice to meet our group for the first time today.
With our tour group we spent the better part of the morning sightseeing on a motorcoach bus. I was admittedly bummed that it wasn't a red double-decker bus but I can't really complain as our tour guide (not tour group manager) was hilarious. We went all around London on the coach bus so I didn't take many pictures. I mostly took in the facts that the tour guide was giving us as well as soaking up as many of the sights as possible. We did make a stop to get some great photos of the London Tower/Bridge!
Afterwards, we headed to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards! It was loads of fun even though the first time we saw them they didn't have their marching band with them. When we moved closer to Buckingham Palace, we got to see the guards from slightly farther away but at least the marching band was accompanying them! Two fun facts: 1) Did you know that the guards don't wear red suits during the winter? Instead they wear grey; 2) The Queen has 5-6 homes, including Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and a place in Edinburgh -- you'll know where she's staying at depending on whether her personal flag is up.
We did more sightseeing onboard the bus which was really quite a whirlwind. As I mentioned, our tour guide was quite funny and I had fun geeking out as he mentioned places where the Harry Potter movies were filmed at and any literary character references he made. :)
At the end of our sightseeing tour, Tom and I stayed on the bus as we had opted for the optional excursion that day: Windsor Castle. If there's one thing you should know about me, it's how much I absolutely LOVE castles. Windsor Castle was incredibly impressive from the outside and equally breathtaking on the inside. The downside was that we didn't get to take pictures once we were inside. (Though I imagine that being a good thing for my camera as I'm sure I would have taken hundreds of photos!!) The upside was that the Queen was staying at Windsor Castle! However, we didn't run into her or anything. Oh, well.
The rooms in only part of the castle were ginormous. Everything was absolutely stunning. I know my mom would have loved seeing the first room of tour which held an intricate doll house given to the Queen. I think the room that stood out most in the mind though was the one room with the less shiny stuff (no procelain plates or lots of silver/gold embellishments). It was the room with insanely high ceilings that had coats of arms ON the ceiling of all of the guards knighted. There were even white/blank coat of arms for knighted (I think I'm using the right word there) guards who had done something wrong or dishonest.
Once our tour of Windsor Castle was over, Tom and I hurried over to St. George's church. Another aspect of European countries that I love are their beautifully intricate churches. They are beyond amazing! Of course we were also not allowed to take pictures inside and words really cannot desribe the detail we saw as we walked through the church.
Before leaving the Windsor Castle tour, I stopped to take a picture a guard! I really wanted to try to make him laugh or break his serious pose but, alas, I was unsuccessful.
Tom and I made a quick stop at some shoppes then we headed to meet the rest of our group at our tour bus to head back to our hotel. By the time we did get back though, we only had time to drop off our things and freshen up before meeting up with my friend Jenny who is studying for her Masters degree in London. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at The Spaghetti house and spent lots of time catching up. Then we met up with one of her closest friends from her university. Our plan was to go clothes shopping but it was far too late to do so. Instead we took the Underground to Trafaglar square. We didn't get many good pictures as it was too dark but it was lit up enough to enjoy the colorful lights of the fountains (and for Tom to climb up one of the huge statues).
So that was our our day! Busy with lots of facts and enjoying a quiet evening out with friends. Tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us as we're traveling to Stonehenge and Bath but I'm so excited for the excursion!
Until next time, cheers!
PS: I will be editing this post at a later date to correct grammar and spelling mistakes as well as adding pictures & links where necessary.
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