The trip begins: London

Our 10-day European vacation started in London.  We arrived early in the morning and were all checked into our hotel and settled by lunch time, so we decided to do some exploring.  Our hotel was across the street from Hyde Park so we walked around the park a bit and took in the sights.  We didn't tour the whole park, but we did enjoy walking around the Kensington Gardens.

Our vacation was an organized tour through a company called Cosmos and although we didn't meet up with our tour group until the next day, there was some organized sight-seeing throughout the first day that we took advantage of.  Our first excursion was to the Royal Mews where they keep the horses and the royal carriages and limos.  We saw a few horses there, including one that pulled the wedding carriage at Will and Kate's wedding this spring.  That coach was also on display (below), and one of the most impressive carriages was the Gold Coach.  Very beautiful!

 After the Royal Mews we headed into Buckingham Palace, the London residence of the Queen.  Aside from being an impressive palace with beautiful state rooms, there were also a few special exhibits including a Faberge Collection and Kate's wedding dress.  I will say that the dress was much prettier in person than I thought it was on television.  There were other things from the wedding day on display including Kate's jewelry, shoes, bouquet replica, and the wedding cake.  There were also a lot of photos, videos of the wedding day, and also a video interview with the designer of the dress.  I didn't get up to watch the wedding in April when it was televised, but I was a bit excited about seeing all the wedding memorabilia.  Must be the girl in me. 

 No pictures were allowed inside the palace, so if you're looking for some try the link above.  We wandered around in the gardens for a bit (though it was more of a lawn and less of a garden) and then headed back to the hotel before heading out for the evening.

 In an effort to stay awake and adjust to the time change, we decided to do a big night out (or at least an activity-filled one).  Our first stop was Ye Olde Cock Tavern, which is London's narrowest frontage pub.  We had an English beer and a traditional English meal: Rick had fish and chips and I had a meat pie.  The meat pie was delicious, but I couldn't help but laugh that I was eating a meat pie on Fleet Street and wonder if it was indeed beef.  I say laugh because of the story of Sweeny Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street.  The title character of a Broadway musical and motion picture (starring Johnny Depp), the barber Sweeny Todd killed his clients and his downstairs neighbor Mrs. Lovett baked these men into meat pies that everyone loved.  No matter what was in that meat pie, it was amazing--one of the best meals on the trip!

 After dinner we headed on a river cruise of the Thames which was nice.  A bit chilly, but nice with lots of beautiful views.  It was a great way to finish off our first night in Europe!

 London Eye

 Big Ben (love the zoom on our new camera!)

 Big Ben and Parliament

Tower Bridge

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