London Day 2

We started the day by seeing the remains of an old Roman wall. There are glimpses of these early inhabitants throughout London.
Then we headed over to see The Tower of London. Here again we were expecting huge crowds but were pleasantly surprised. Even the room with The Crown Jewels in it was empty when we went through.

Lilly, always the actress, pretended to be camera shy as she tried out the "facilities".

St. John's Chapel in the White Tower.

Geoffrey appreciated this weapons display. The dragon is made out of weapons. An artistic way to show off your power.

Lilly and Grandma Sharon pose in front of the guard.

Costumed characters walk through the castle.

There are several buildings at the Tower of London complex as well as a surrounding wall which gave us some great views of London, especially The Tower Bridge.

Next we headed to Leadenhall Market, known to the kids as Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter movies. This was an open air covered market, again filled with good things to eat and fun places to shop. I could have spent a good deal of time here browsing and people watching. I was surprised at the number of business men who take their lunch break here. They stand outside the pubs with a pint of beer, take their time, and chat with their chums. We enjoyed lunch at a small sandwich shop where I had a very yummy warm roast beef and cheese sandwich on ciabatta bread.

We next visited St. Paul's Cathedral. It was closing soon so we just saw this building from the outside. The dome definitely reminded me of the capital building in my home town, St. Paul.

After a visit to the British Museum we went to Harrod's Department store. Wow this place is impressive. Of course, Mike and I were especially impressed with the food departments, separate rooms for fish, meat, candy, etc. The prices were good for a chuckle (and a gasp)--900 pounds for a giant chocolate Easter egg.

The kids liked the toy department. The girls are holding the Princess Catherine doll. Geoff poses with a Lego storm trooper.

We did feel obligated to buy something at this high end department store so we enjoyed some lovely hot cross buns from their bakery. At .50 pence each they were well within our budget.