First Full Day in London, April 12, 2025

 We walked a lot today - almost 7 miles!

 We started on the 15 bus from Tower Hill into Charing Cross. First stop: St. Martin's in the Field Church where we saw a bit of a rehearsal for Good Friday and the Crucifixion. 

  Then - across to the National Gallery where we cruised through a few older paintings and some Impressionists. 

  From there - back to St. Martin's where we had our lunch in the crypt. Sebastian and Mark had fish and chips and Barbara had soup.

  Then - a walk through Trafalgar Square and down the Strand where we saw the Horse Guards, 10 Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament. 

It was really, really crowded, especially by Parliament. Sebastian enjoyed listening to a bagpiper. 

Then, we walked across to Westminster Abbey, but all the tickets were sold out and none are available the rest of the week which is too bad. So, we walked to the Supreme Court, which was closed. What do to?

     We got on a random bus and got out at Sloane Square thinking it was near the British Museum, but it wasn't. (That is Russell Square). So, we walked through the very expensive neighborhood and saw Bentleys, Lamborghini, McLarens, Rolls Royces and Ferraris. We went looking for iced coffees as we were hot and tired. More walking, but ended up a a Costa Coffee on the Brompton Road almost across from Harrods. 

Harrods was not on our bucket list, but we actually had a lot of fun going up the Egyptian motif escalators. We checked out a very expensive baby's dress for over 400 pounds! We walked through the Food Halls. 

     From there, we made our way via the Tube back home. We got tickets for the Tower and for the British Museum for later in the week.

     After a little rest, we walked to the other side of the Tower and ate ramen at a Wagamama's.