London - Day 1

We had to say au revior to Paris this morning. We loved our time in Paris and were sad to go but were excited for our trip to the London on the Eurostar. We arrived at the station and went through all the customs and security before having our final breakfast of french pastries. It was a nice waiting room until we were ready to board the train. They don't fool around, the doors closing and the train leaving on time.

Our Eurostar Train.

I had my camera out for the 2 hour trip in case I saw anything cool. The train was going unbelievably fast so when I saw something that I liked, put the camera to my face and tried to get it ready, the picture I wanted was no longer there, lol.

Here is my favourite one to show you the speed we were going with a very cute little village in the background.

Another village just before we went into the tunnel.

One of the first things we saw after arriving in the UK. Made us think of our boys Rip & B :) The funny thing is the first dog I saw in Paris was a wire fox terrier and the first dog we saw in the UK was a border collie...I am sure we will see a few more of those in a few days at the Worlds.

Arriving at the London train station.

Plaque at the London St Pancras Station.

After arriving in London we figured out which direction to go for the hotel and made our way there. The tube system is as easy as the Paris one which is great. After checking in early and dropping off our fairly heavy bags we headed out for some lunch and then to check out a few sights.

Rick and his new best friend?!

A phone booth or a washroom stall?! Rick said it stunk like the later.

An old and a new double decker...so British :)

Are we allowed to cross without a horse or bike?! lol

Our first official site was the Wellington Arch. They say it is one of the most viewed London landmarks thanks to its proximity to Hyde Park Corner.

Wellington Arch - note the horse poop under the arch...I guess they were allowed to cross the street, hehe.

Our next stop was the shopping district off Knightsbridge. We didn't buy anything today but I did see a few things that I want to go back and check out in the next few days.

The Burberry Store was a beautiful building.

The corner of Harrods.

Harrods from a distance.

More shops, such beautiful buildings.

Some housing in the area, some seriously fancy cars in the neighbourhood. Rick loved that.

Our next stop was Royal Albert Hall. It opened in 1871 and was dedicated to the memory of Victoria's consort, Prince Albert. The circular building holds one of the world's most famous auditoriums. Sadly we arrived to find out that the tours were not being done until Friday as they have some awards ceremony this coming Thursday.

Albert Monument across from Royal Albert Hall.

Royal Albert Hall

I made Rick walk all the way from the Piccaddilly Circus tube stop to Harrods then to Royal Albert Hall, he wasn't too happy with that much walking. After we finished we ended up taking a double decker bus back to avoid the hour-ish walk that we did to get there :)

Tomorrow we plan to go on the River Thames cruise and check out lots more sites. Rick wants to go to Westminster Abbey or 10 Downing and be a part of the election protest to get onto tv. Watch for us on the BBC around 1pm EST tomorrow :) bahaha.