We enjoyed sightseeing in London for but one day...  On our day off, Gene was determined to show me this spectacular city, the one place on our tour that he had actually been before. Chris dropped us off in town at 7am after driving all night and a ferry ride across the channel from Paris. We endured waiting in the hotel lobby with bunk hair and morning breath, and all our luggage stacked everywhere until noon, before we could get in our rooms. So, sleep-deprivation notwithstanding, we dropped off our bags in the room, showered, then hopped the Underground and were off to sightsee.

We were awed to actually be walking in, yet, another city I have known only through books, movies, and television. As we walked through the park just beyond the palace, I remarked that even though we were in London, it really didn't feel like I was. So far, it seemed we could have been in any northern U.S. city. I had yet to come across any really distinguishing landmarks, like Big Ben or London Bridge, I told him. He said we could see Big Ben from the Buckingham Palace, but that there just wouldn't be time to do everything I wanted to do.

Gene wanted to show me the Tower of London. He said it was one of the coolest places he saw before, and he wanted to get there before it closed, at dark. Since it was only 2pm, I felt we had time to see a few more things, but he insisted we not get sidetracked for too long.

There were several stops along the route, but the one I've picked to share with you is our visit to Buckingham Palace. We walked through this huge park to get there - I can't remember its name - it was so tidy! All the foliage was gold and red - so much color - we thought the weather in London in November was going to be cold and rainy. It was just like an warm autumn day should have been - in October! When we arrived at the palace, we took lots of pictures - well, Gene took lots of pictures of statues and pigeons.

a royal geek at the gate :-)

While Gene snapped away, I noticed a small crowd gathering by the palace gate. When I mentioned the crowd forming, Gene remarked that people always gathered there because Buckinham Palace was so famous. So we walked around taking more pictures, until I saw a news truck pull up. I convinced Gene to find out what was happening. Then the buzz of the crowd became a roar, and I quickly motioned to Gene - we took a spot near the gate with a group of young school children to see what all the buzz might be about.

Suddenly, there came a royal motorcade with none other than the Queen herself in its midst! Gene aimed his camera, even though it all happened pretty fast and caught us pretty much by surprise. The royal couple waved at us, and I almost fainted!

After that bit of excitement, Gene and I hurried to the subway, heading toward the Tower of London. I tried hard to think of anything which could have topped seeing the Queen and Prince wave at you...

As we arrived at Picadilly Circus, I noticed that the sun appeared to setting, although my watch read 3:30 in the afternoon. Gene said my watch was probably wrong, so we continued to walk around for awhile, until he, too, noticed that it was getting darker outside. So we looked for the nearest subway, accidentally walking by the famous Sherlock Holmes hotel. Gene told me he and his good friend Terry Hale had eaten there when they toured with George!

As we boarded the subway, the sky was growing really dark. Even though the ride only took about ten minutes, by the time we reached the Tower of London, night had arrived, as well. And to our extreme disappointment, we found that the Tower gates had closed at 4:00pm sharp. Gene bought me a consolation hot dog, and I stood at the rail by the Thames, moaning about having missed the Tower of London Tour, when I spied this huge ship moving down the river. I knew it must be a special ship by how huge it was and how festively it had been illuminated. But Gene had the camera... Suddenly he appeared with our drinks and gasped, "there's the Brittania!!"

So he snapped a picture of Her Majesty's ship...