The Big Bus Tour

Well, after a lot of hard work and almost as much fun I am finally home! I worked long hours during my two weeks away and so it was only fair that I was rewarded with a trip into London for the weekend. Friday afternoon we headed to our hotel, the London Grosvenor House – a very nice Marriott hotel across from Hyde Park. My room had a distant view of the London Eye and Big Ben. It was wonderful. After checking in we headed to Brompton Road for shopping (and an unexpected adventure) at H&M, French Connection and Harrod’s.

Saturday morning we boarded The Big Bus, a traditional double decker tour bus, for a tour of London. It covers over 90% of the London sites including: Buckingham Palace, the Marble Arch, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament (aka Big Ben), The London Eye, Trafalgar Square, The Royal Courts of Justice, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Bank of England, London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London – just to name a few. We rode the Big Bus from our hotel to the Tower of London where we got off for lunch and a tour of the Tower. It was my second time touring the Tower of London but it was just as amazing the second time as it was the first. So many historical events took place at the tower of London including the execution of Anne Boleyn and the imprisonment of many of Britain’s most famous prisoners.

The Tower of London


The White Tower

The Tower of London is also home to the crown jewels and the armor of various kings. In particular, it holds King Henry VIII’s battle armor and the axe that was used to behead Anne Boleyn. We noted throughout our tour of London that between medieval torture, royal executions, the great fire and the plague – London has a very gruesome history. At the end of our Big Bus tour we headed to Piccadilly Circus to see the sites and have dinner. More to come later!

King Henry VIII's Battle Armor

Piccadilly Circus