LONDON is our last stop on this 4 week trip! Saturday, August 20 we flew from Belgrade to London on a 10:20 am flight that lasted three hours. No connections and no lost bags! Mike Vear (coaching friend from England) picked us up at the airport and took us to our London hotel, Grosvenor House, a JW Marriott hotel. Opened in 1929, it was designed to accommodate the first trans-Atlantic passengers.
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| front entrance |
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| back/car entrance |
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| our room |
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| marble throughout the bathroom |
After settling in we had a delicious steak dinner at JWSteakhouse in the hotel. Then off to the Savoy Theater to see Funny Girl.
Sunday morning we purchased a two day hop-on, hop-off bus tour to see and explore London. We got on at Marble Arch which is very close to our hotel. We are stop 4 on the agenda and we got off at stop 11 to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and then do a Thames River cruise.
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| Marble Arch - used to be a part of Buckingham Palace area - our starting point. |
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| Entrance to Buckingham Palace |
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| Changing of the guard ceremony |
Thames River cruise. From the Westminster Pier we took the cruise to Greenwich. It was a three hour cruise with stops at Tower Pier (good views of the Tower Bridge and Tower of London) and Greenwich before returning to Westminster.
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| The London Eye and the old City Hall which is where the Marriott is that we stayed in 2012 |
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| Tower of London |
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| Tower Bridge |
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| Big Ben and the House of Parliament |
Back on land....
We walked from our hotel to a recommended pub near by - The Audley. We both ordered the Sunday roast beef dinner.
Second Day of Hop on Hop off Bus Tour
Happy birthday, Don! We caught the bus at Marble Arch for our second day of sight seeing. We got off at stop 10 for the historic walking tour and it was very informative. The highlight was the changing of the horse guards.
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| On the bus again. |
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| Hamley's - seven floors of toys |
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| We got off at Trafalga square |
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| Ceremony of the changing of the horse guards |
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| Entrance to Buckingham Palace |
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| Beautiful garden in front of Buckingham Palace |
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| Buckingham Palace gates |
Back on the bus to Hard Rock Cafe for Don's birthday lunch!
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| Fajitas! |
And back on the bus to complete the three hour tour of London
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| Wellington Monument |
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| Marble Arch which used to be the front entrance to Buckingham |
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| Pubs usually adorned with lots of flowers |
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| Big Ben and Parliament |
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| St Paul's Cathedral |
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| On the Tower of London bridge |
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| Tower of London castle |
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| On the Westminster bridge viewing the Eye |
Back at our hotel......a complimentary "happy birthday" cheesecake was delivered to our room NICE!
Off to the Prince Edward theater for Aladdin. It was a wonderful and fun musical.
What a great 64th birthday day for Don!!!!
Tuesday, August 23
We got 11:15 tickets to visit the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace. Of course I couldn't take photos inside but it was beautiful! Also in the tour was a special display for the Queen's 90th birthday of her fashions from the christening gown, wedding dress, coronation dress and so many others. She took over as Queen in 1952 so it was fun to see the style changes.
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| Back side of Buckingham Palace |
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| We walked to the Victoria Station area for lunch - fish and chips |
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| Lunch at The Shakespeare pub |
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| We walked back to the hotel through Hyde Park |
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We met Mike Vear at Covenant Garden for a steak dinner
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| Heading back to the hotel via the underground tube. |
Wednesday noon we got picked up to go to the basketball camp. We will be living in the forms at the Crystal Palace athletic complex. Let's just say the dorms are a long way from the Marriott living!!
Thursday as Don is coaching Mike Vear and I take the trains to Hampton Court to visit the Palace where Henry VIII lived..
Back at Camp
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| Our dorm - 9th floor with no AC! |
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| Crystal Palace where the camp was held. |
Saturday, August 27 we have a 10:35 am flight to Chicago (arriving at 1:35 pm) and then to Colorado Springs arriving home at 7:30 pm. Four weeks + one day on the road - two national cities and four international cities (Houston, Boston, Mexico City, Brussels, Belgrade, London). It feels great to unpack and be home!
