A dreary looking day welcomed us at London's Gatwick airport at 6:00 am, but at least it wasn't actually raining. The Gatwick Express train was standing room only as we joined sleepy commuters for the 30 minute ride into the city. At Victoria station we bought our Oyster cards (prepaid transit fares) and transferred to the Underground. After only one wrong transfer, which we quickly realized, we arrived at West Brompton station. I'd forgotten that most of London's tube stations have no escalators or elevators, so hauling our suitcases up and down the stairs was a bit of a struggle. Luckily Sherry got some assistance from some friendly Londoners, including a hefty looking woman who quickly heaved Sherry's suitcase over the turnstiles, after she got it stuck in one.

From the tube station it was about a 5 minute walk to our hotel, a Holiday Inn Express in the Kensington area, where Ron greeted us at the door. They had arrived 24 hours earlier, via Vancouver.

Luckily our room was ready, so after checking in and supplementing Air Transat's breakfast "snack" at the hotel buffet, we embarked on our day of sightseeing. By shortly after 10:00 we had picked up our London passes (prepaid sightseeing cards) near Leicester Square tube station and began our self-guided walking tour.

First was Trafallager Square, followed by a quick stop at St. Martin In the Fields church. We continued down Whitehall, past Downing Street, and timed it well to catch the changing of the guards at the Horse Guard parade ground at 11:00.

From there we made our way to Westminster Abbey, which we toured for about an hour and saw parts that Jim and I missed on our previous visit in 2010. Sure are a lot of dead people (kings, queens, and other famous and not so famous people) buried in that place -- since 1066!

We then made our way past the Palace of Westminster and half way across Westminster Bridge for pictures of Big Ben. From there we took a river cruise on the Thames to the Tower Pier. Next we toured the Tower Bridge, which included a walk across the top level. Interesting displays and great views, especially since the sun had now come out. From there we walked to London Bridge and did the "London Bridge Experience". Basically a kitschy touristy thing -- glad we didn't pay extra for it. Next on the schedule was Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral at 5:00 -- more walking. By this time we were getting pretty tired, so it was nice to relax and listen to choral and organ music in that magnificent cathedral.

By this time we were famished so we went into the first best restaurant near St. Paul's. The entrees didn't appeal to us, so we just had drinks and appies, which took the edge off. We hopped on the tube back toward our hotel and a guidebook recommended restaurant near there (Balans). Had a light dinner there (salads) and took the bus a short way back to the hotel. By then we were dead tired, and in bed by 9:30.

It was a very long and event filled day. Hence the lengthy blog.