Walking London

London is a city made for walking. There is plenty different modes of transportation at your fingertips, but walking is the only way to really get to know a city. Early Sat. morning, HH and I left our hotel for a quick walk. We ended up being gone about 3 hours and had a great time sightseeing. We headed down Embankment next to the Thames and crossed the bridge so we could get better views of Parliament.

The sun started to peak out from behind the clouds, but it was still really cool, in the 50's. Perfect for walking.

Across the street from Parliament is Westminster Abbey. This is where Princess Diana's funeral took place and many famous people are buried here. We were unable to go in because it was closed for a special pilgrimage. I've seen it before so I wasn't too upset.

We then headed down Parliament street to the Horseguard Parade grounds. We passed this pub with all the flowers. So pretty.

Must have been too early for the guards to be on their horses. This guy was guarding a stable/dressing room area and when HH walked up to the barred door to get a better look, the guard yelled at him to clear the arches. This of course made HH want to walk back and forth through the arches just to see if the guard would yell at him again.

We then headed over to St. James' Park. My favorite. When we were young, we would come here and you could buy bird food and the little sparrows would land in your hand and eat. It was a thrill. Now there is mostly pigeons and ducks. The squirrels will come right up to you and take food from your fingers.

Buckingham Palace is at one end of St. James', but I didn't get any pictures of it this time. This is St. James Palace, a tudor style palace, and is where some of the royals have their offices. Built by Henry VIII

We then made our way to Picadilly Circus and the heart of the Theatre District. From here, it was an easy 20 minute walk back to our hotel through Leicester and Trafalgar Squares.