Mike & Kris - Enjoying The Ride

We have moved on from London to Paris but what memories we created! Our last few days in London were spent traveling a bit further from our neighborhood to learn even more about the history of this beautiful city.

First we made our way on the Underground to the Tower of London. The famous historic home to the Crown Jewels and Execution Tower. And it also has a palace that was built around the year 1000. We loved our tour given by a Beefeater (officially named Yeoman Warders) These guides have served in the military for at least 22 years. They are retired from the military and must be chosen-there are only 35 of them altogether. They are very funny too!

Next we traveled by Uberboat down the Thames River to Greenwich. We toured the Cutty Sark Clipper, the town of Greenwich (which included a fantastic market), and then made our way up the hill to the Royal Observatory of Greenwich which was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II. He defined the purpose of the observatory as a place to perfect the art of navigating. So not only were there amazing views from up there but so much more. Basically they needed to figure out their location when traveling by sea. So using the skies and an accurate clock they could figure out their longitude!! Needless to say, these were some smart people. The final step was to invent a clock that was accurate and small enough to travel on a ship. To get the final version of the clock was a 60 year endeavor.

On the next day, we traveled by foot from Saint Paul’s Cathedral to the Tower Bridge, through the Borough Market, and back down the other side of the river. The sights are spectacular-everything from the crazy crowded marketplace to huge towering structures to an ancient church-around every corner there is something to see.

We ended our week in the Brown’s Hotel for Afternoon Tea. We both loved it. The hotel is the oldest in London and it beautiful. Of course the food was delicious. And yes, Mike liked it too. We used the Eurostar train to travel from London to Paris in 2 1/2 hours. Stay tuned for Paris…