Larsen's European Vacation - Day 3 - London

We got up early and hit the ground running. First stop was just next door when we got on the London Eye.




Alex and Jake waiting to get on the London Eye.


Our neighbor London Eye capsule. You can fit 25 people in each capsule. There are 32 capsules and one round takes 30 minutes. The views of the city were incredible.


Our happy family with the city in the background.

The next stop was the Tower of London. Everyone told us that we HAVE to go see the Crown Jewels. On the map it looked like a short walk, but in reality it took 2.5 miles with lots to see in between.

We happened to come to a men's store that was "open" on Sunday. Rod saw some nice cufflinks in the window and we walked in to buy them. But like with women and shoes, you need an outfit to go with the shoes, with Rod, you need a suit to go with the cufflinks. Come to find out, the store wasn't open on Sunday. The owners had just come in to clean the store and take the "rubbish" out. But they were so nice and let Rod buy the cufflinks and the suit. When Rod decided to buy the suit, the owner told him "smashing!" These British are so lovely with their language.


Jake and Alex were looking at the cars that passed the store while Rod shopped, and the store owner's wife came to ask me if the boys were bored. She quickly called Alex over and had him dress in a typical British "Advocate" or "Barrister" outfit that they still dress in court. Her husband was a wig maker in the 70s when they met but he didn't make the wigs anymore. I think Alex looks the part.


Rod is a happy suit owner from Stanley Ley.

We were getting hungry after the suit shopping and we found a little hole in the wall, called Tipperary. It was London's first Irish Pub where we decided to order "Fish and Chips". I had warned the boys about the tastiness of the dish after my friend, Päivi, told me that fish and chips in England will not taste as good as they taste in the U.S. What we got was a whole filé of white fish that still had the skin on. It was good and filled our tummies. We were ready to walk on.

On the way to Tower of London, we stopped by at St. Paul's Cathedral. Because it was Sunday, we couldn't tour the cathedral inside.

We finally reached Tower of London and headed to see the Crown Jewels. When we saw this HUGE line, we thought that our tour would take hours. But the line moved quickly and we were happy we got to see the "African Star" and other magnificient jewels.

Alex at Tower Bridge

Rod and I at Tower Bridge

Then we took the double-decker back to the Trafalgar Square so we can walk to the other sites.

Buckingham Palace. The flag was flown so the Queen was home. We were hoping that she would come to the balcony to pick us for an afternoon tea and crumpets. No such luck. Maybe next time.

Alex and Jake at the main gate to the Palace.

The Queen's Crest. I'm curious why she picked an Unicorn to be on the Crest. To me it tells that her power is as bogus as the unicorn is real. But that's just me. I want to know the history of these crests.

A handsome Household Cavalry member/officer

Number 10 Downing Street. I wanted to see the Prime Minister, but yet again, no such luck. I think his wife was about to give birth.

We also walked to the Hyde Park and walked around Trafalgar Square again. At the end of the day our feet hurt. So much walking.

Sunday night we went to dinner with Aki and Geordie at Wakamama and had a delicious time with them. Our time in London was so short. We hardly got to see anything. I didn't even have time to shop at Harrod's or have afternoon tea. Next time.

The following morning we flew to Finland.