LONDON

...in a nutshell,

OUTSTANDING!

Achilles

the first nude statue in the UK

Bag o' Nails Pub

where some guys named John, Paul, George and Ringo first played together

Boeuf Gras

Statue in front of National Gallery

Downing Street

The Prime Minister of England lives on it

Gates of Buckingham Palace

home of the Queen (and ostensibly King) of England

Golden Statue of Queen Victoria

(Britain's longest-ruling monarch)

St. James' Palace

London home of Prince of Wales (Charles, these days; not sure if he and Camilla live there now)

Tower of London

Home of the Crown Jewels

Beefeaters

guards of the Tower of London

Lambeth House

Home of Archbishop of Canterbury

Monument

Great Fire of 1666

5 days; 436 acres; 13, 200 houses, yet only 6 confirmed deaths

stands on the former site of the house that sparked the blaze

Hard Rock Cafe

just a few pigeons in

Trafalgar Square

statue/column in Trafalgar Square

One of 4 bronze Lion Statues at the base of the column

the pedestal stands roughly 5 feet high

Me in Trafalgar Square

Built to commemorate Admiral Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar

At the center of the square is a column that stands 185 feet high, and has a 17-foot statue of Nelson on top.

Legend has it that Nelson's body was returned to London in a barrel of whiskey; upon arrival and burial, his compatriots each toasted him with a shot of said whiskey

London Dungeon

wax museum

London Eye

450' high, takes 30 minutes to complete one revolution

London Bridge

London Bridge

the original is in Havasu City, AZ....the millionaire who bought it had it moved piece by piece, thinking he was buying the....

...Tower Bridge

The Thames River

Tower Bridge in the distance

St. Paul's Cathedral

where Diana and Charles were married

Parliament and Big Ben

the name of the clock, NOT the tower it's in

Parliament

the seat of British government

Richard the Lionhearted

in front of Parliament

Wellington Arch

Peace Descending into the Quadriga of  War

close-up of statue on top of arch

Westminster Abbey

too much to say about it, so just go here

I had a spectacular time in London, and in England in general. Obviously, I didn't get to see everything, and went inside very little of what I did encounter. I guess I'm just going to have to return, and do it again....

 

Stay tuned.