Big Bus

Day 2-Today we did all the normal stuff. You know, the reasons people come to London in the first place?  After waking up to Bacon Butties from Eat, we tried to get to a bus stop to take a double-decker tour of London.  We wanted to get on in time to see the changing of the guard at 11:30, but we got lost. Finally catching a bus, we went to several famous places such as the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and Big Ben (among lesser attractions and minor monuments). Despite the odds, we made it to Buckingham Palace in time to see the changing of the guard! It was a long and complex ceremony, and the guards were always in perfect formation.  we ate at a pub called The Clarence-ha! My dad’s name is Clarence-and three fourths of us had fish and chips. It was very good. We got tickets to a show at Buckingham Palace, and HRH The Princess Royal would be there!  Ellery was excited about that, but she said she’d rather see the queen. We then took a tour boat to look at the many bridges and their particular history.  Afterwards, we took another tour bus to Piccadilly Circus (Circus is Latin for circle) and Oxford Circus.  I can’t remember off the top of my head, but one of those places hosts Waterstone, a 7-story bookstore, and Hamley’s, a 6-story toy store.  Pizza Express was our dinner location as we ate at our hotel waiting for the show to start. It was officially called the Beating Retreat, and was a chance for official militia to show a royal what they could do. They played songs in bands, marched in formations, did ripples, and commanded horses in an open air pavilion with Big Ben in the background. The military that performed was grouped in battalions, such as the 1st battalion Scots guard. Tomorrow we go shopping in the famous areas, like Piccadilly Circus!