London: Day 2

Day 2 in London started off with a quick visit to see that, in fact, the London Bridge is not falling down as we once all thought. Phew!! Proof:

A few tube stops later we found ourselves awestruck by the impressive (does that make sense?) Parliament:

And Parliament's handsome brother, Ben:



Both Parliament and Big Ben were much larger in real life than we imagined and just as striking as we hoped. Later in the evening, as you'll see, they proved to be perfect models for a nighttime photo shoot.

From Parliament we made our way to the Churchill War Rooms, but on our way there we just had to get this classic London shot:



I just love those phone booths! When we reached the Churchill War Rooms Brian got things going out front:



The War Rooms were a real treat. We had expected some interesting information and unique artifacts, but we were absolutely blown away with the Museum. Top notch. The Museum is located in Churchill's actual underground, secret War Rooms. We both learned a lot about Churchill (who sounded like a hoot!) and the British side of WWII. Here are some images from our visit:




If you ever find yourself in London, please go to see Churchill's War Rooms, the entry fee is a bit high, but it is so worth it. With our brains filled to the brim with WWII information, we decided to satisfy our bellies at a nearby pub. Lunch is served, cottage pie for the lady and bangers & mash for the chap:



I had no idea what cottage pie was like before I ordered it, but I had a feeling we'd get along! Underneath that lovely rectangle of mashed potatoes was a mixture of ground beef, carrots, and peas. The potatoes are dolloped on top and then it's baked. Y-U-M!

After lunch, on our way back to the tube stop, we passed by Westminster Abbey and took a look around outside. Stunning!

Ready for some downtime we made our way back to the hotel. A few hours later we were back out, headed for our ride on the London Eye. Our view as we approached the Eye from the bridge:



The ride in our EyePod (Ha! I just made that up. No big deal.) last about 30 minutes and provided breath-taking views:

We disembarked our EyePod and returned to the hotel for a good night's sleep...we needed it, Day 3 proved to be just as busy!

Up next: Day 3 (Portobello Road Market, Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, and Hyde Park)