London- Around the world stop #3

Do you know how excited I was to go to London?

This picture should give you some idea.

I can never pass up an opportunity to go to this wonderful city! 

We decided to make it a two day layover.

We did a whirlwind tour of all the main sights...

Big Ben- we were there when the tower name was
changed from St Stephen's to Elizabeth Tower.

St Paul's Cathedral

River Thames

The Tower of London

Westminister Abbey

Harrod's

 We bought some goodies at the Harrod's food court and had a picnic outside.

Sandwiches, meat pies and cupcakes.

Buckingham Palace

Tower Bridge all decked out for the Olympics.
They lowered the rings a week after we were there.

Another shot of St. Paul's Cathedral

One of the things I love the most about London are the pop culture icons like the big red bus, the Union Jack and the red telephone booths. There is nowhere like London!

Since I had faced my fear of heights in Dubai with the Burj Khalifa and the "Leap of Faith" waterslide it was time to tackle The London Eye!

View of the Houses of Parliament from The London Eye.

I thoroughly recommend a ride on The London Eye. We were so lucky to have fabulous weather and the views were the best you could ever imagine!

D on The London Eye

 There is always something new to do and see in a city with this much history. We decided to take a boat ride up the Thames to Greenwich. We were told that despite Olympic Park being in Stratford, Greenwich provides great views from The Royal Observatory.

The quaint town of Greenwich

 Countdown to the Olympic Games; London 2012!

We were surprised that the Olympics were not more prevalent around town. With only 35 days until the opening ceremony it seemed they still had a ways to go. 

Signage explaining about Olympic procedures in Greenwich

 Right in front is the venue for the equestrian competitions, while to the right is the site for the opening ceremonies. There sure was excitement in the air here. 

London Olympic 2012 sites.

 One of the bonuses about heading to Greenwich was seeing the Greenwich Meridian Time Line.

 We picked a great time to visit London. Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee was just two weeks prior to our visit, the Eurocup was being played and England beat the Ukraine while we were there, and of course the anticipation of the Olympic Games just a month away.

The closest I will ever get to the Queen!

We really loved our two days in London. Although we were anxious to make it to the good ole' US of A!

The fam on The London Eye!

 Next stop...Southern California!