Pip pip! Cheerio!

Things are back on track.  Erik's leg is healing up nicely, and the weather has been gorgeous this week-- around 80 (F) and sunny.  We finally made the trip into London today to see some sights.  We took the train from Sunningdale to London's Waterloo Station.  It was a very pleasant 45-minute ride, and the kids loved riding the train.

Malcolm boarding the train

Sunningdale to Waterloo

Our "Frommer's London With Kids" guide lists the London Eye as the top London attraction for kids, so that was our first stop.  We waited in line for about an hour, during which time I began to have second thoughts about boarding a glass capsule to ride a giant ferris wheel for a half hour, seeing as I am terribly afraid of heights.  You only live once, so I decided to go for it.  If my preschoolers could do it, so could I.  The views were amazing, and we couldn't have asked for a clearer day.

The London Eye

Soren and Big Ben from near the top of the Eye

Looking down on the Thames

Me being a chicken and sitting as far away from the edge as possible.  The views were still amazing.

After we disembarked, we walked across the river to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  We hoped to stop into Westminster Abbey, just next door, but the lines were down the block.  We'll have to save that for another day.

Big Ben up close (this one's for Ms. Read's class!)

Westminster Abbey

We decided to head toward Buckingham Palace via St. James's Park, which is similar in feel to New York's Central Park.  Every person in London seemed to be sitting on the lawn, enjoying a picnic and soaking up some rare sunlight.  We enjoyed the exotic (to us) waterfowl and the floriferous shrubberies.  The gardens were beautiful, and it's the first time I've seen thistles intentionally planted in the landscaping.

 I am still awaiting my "Birds of Europe" from Amazon.co.uk, so I can't tell you what these are yet.

St. James's Park

We made our way to Buckingham Palace where they are in the midst of preparations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebration, in honor of her 60th year on the throne.  We were excited to see a bobby and the guards in red coats and bear skin hats marching back and forth in front of the palace.  As we were getting ready to leave, Soren said, "I would like to see the queen now."  He was very disappointed when I told him she wasn't available to see us today.  He said, "But I need to tell her pip pip, cheerio!"  Our fellow tourists got a kick out of that.

Buckingham Palace

Gate at the palace

Setting up for a concert for the Queen's Jubilee

We were low on energy after all that walking, so we decided to climb on a double-decker bus to take the long way back to the train station.  From the top level of the bus, we saw Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park,  and Trafalgar Square.  There's so much to see, we'll definitely be making a lot of weekend trips into London.

Upper level, front row

A view from the bus.