London

My long overdue narrative of London. We had such a great time while we were in the city. There will be another post about leaving the city. Margaret and Gordon, my London relatives (my Grandma's cousin's daughter...I think), picked us at up the airport. They remember me as an eight year old and I remember them as forty years olds. Needless to say, I didn't quite know who I was looking for. They are simply wonderful people! We were welcomed warmly and treated like it had only been a few years, instead of nineteen, since we had seen one another.
From the airport we were off to Hampton Court Palace, home of Henry VIII. What an amazing place! Real Tudor architecture right on the Thames River.
The next morning we went to London. We started at Big Ben, House of Parliament, and moved quickly to Westminster Abbey. Margaret and Gordon accompanied us on this adventure which was very fortunate because there were major changes to the metro lines. Without their help we would have been lost. Gordon is from Scotland, and basically everything he says is awesome because of that fact alone. Anyways, from Westminster Abbey, home of a lot of dead kings, we moved to Buckingham Palace. The Queen, anticipating our arrival, was in residence. Next we hit the National Gallery. By this point every part of me hurt from walking, so we zoomed through the Gallery. For some stupid reason I wanted to go to the Tate Modern Museum, a modern art museum. It was dumb, but I got to see St. Paul's Cathedral (site for Charles and Diana's wedding).
Sunday, Claire, Margaret and Gordon's daughter, met up with us for a tour of the Tower of London. We got to see the crown jewels, coats of armor, and the Beefeaters. For dinner we went traditional English and headed to a carve-ery. Basically, it's a buffet with three different meat options and unlimited sides. By the way, the staple vegetable of England is peas...gross. The meat was great and I got to have a Yorkshire pudding...amazing.
We packed the days full and had a great time. Hope you enjoy the pictures!