The Virgin Atlantic flight across the Atlantic was very nice.  It was my first international flight so I have nothing to compare it too but it seemed a step up from our domestic airlines.  Will see how it compares to the Delta flight back across.

Our chariot to Merry Olde England!

Our only problem with the flight is neither one of us got any sleep.  I had upgraded the seats for more room but we just couldn’t get comfortable.  I don’t sleep that well at home so I’m not sure why I thought I would on an airplane.  So we hit London without sleep and serious jet lag – double trouble!  We soldiered through although by afternoon we were just going through the motions.

We got our bags dropped off at the hotel around 9AM and hit the hop-on-off bus tour of the city which gave us a quick viewing of all the major sites.  Stopping at St Pauls Cathedral and The Tower of London we toured each of those sites.

Nice panorama of Parliament Building from upper deck of bus.

St Pauls is the magnificent creation of Sir Cristopher Wren.  He was an astronomy professor and had never built a building . What a building he built!  After the great London fire of 1666 he was assigned to rebuild the battered former St Pauls.  It was decided to tear the old one down and build a grander one in it’s place.  The main feature is the towering lead covered wooden dome. One of the iconic photos of World War 2 is the St Paul’s dome surrounded by smoke and debris surviving another air raid during the bilitz.  They actually had volunteers who would climb the roof during air raids to protect it as best they could if a bomb fell.  There was damage during the war but the dome and most of the building survived.  Wren and a many other famous citizens are buried in the crypt.  Churchill’s funeral was held there.

Interior of St Paul’s famous dome.

Towers of St Paul’s with London in distance from first level of dome.

The Tower of London was built on the River Thames by William The Conqueror in 1078.  It has been used for various purposes over the years.  Early kings and queens lived there.  It has also been used as a prison, a mint and currently houses the royal jewels.  We first took the Beefeater tour which gave us the background and ins and outs of who all was held prisoner, tortured and/ or executed there.  After a bit of that we decided to get in the very very long line to see the jewels.  I must say they were incredible and worth the wait to see.  By the way the Beefeaters and their families live on the tower grounds.

Tower of London

Tower guard

Tower Bridge from Tower of London grounds

Big Ben inside London Eye!

By the time we finished the tower tour we were just about to the point of exhaustion.  We made our way down to the Thames and took the river cruise back down debarking at the pier near Parliament.  From there we took a cab back to the hotel.  We had an early dinner and were in bed well before sunset.