Last Day in London

Day 3

Monday was our last day in London and we stayed true to form and filled the day with as many sites to see as possible. We started out the day by touring Shakespeare’s Globe.  Brian tried to hop on stage but was quickly reprimanded by our tour guide before we could snap a pic.  The Globe premiered Shakespeare’s greatest works including Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth. We would have loved to see a Shakespeare play there but because of the upcoming Olympic games a global festival was being held and the only shows available were in Japanese. Something about Japanese and Shakespeare just doesn’t go. 

Next we headed over to the London tower, and enjoyed an entertaining tour with a Beefeater tour guide.  The tower was initially built by William I and over the years his successors added more walls, towers and even a moat.  This place served as the royal residence but is more famous as a prison and execution site.  This was the site where Henry the VIII axed his ex wives including Anne Boleyn.  The tower is now where the Crown Jewels are kept under constant watch of the Queen’s Guard. With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee approaching the Crown Jewels seemed extra interesting. 

 The famous black Raven's and one of the Queen's Guard

 Westminster abbey was our next stop. This is the church where William and Kate married and also the site of the Queen’s coronation 60 years ago. This church was probably the most beautiful cathedral I have been in after St. Peter’s at the Vatican.

 We ended our day by taking a stroll through the charming neighborhood of Notting Hill. We did not run into Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts but still enjoyed shopping in the unique stores that line the unique street.

At the end of the day we took one last trip on the double decker big bus tour back to our hotel and went to bed early because our train to Paris left at the crack of dawn. Brian loved taking the tour bus around London to all the sites and said he would really like to take a tour on the New York Tour Bus.