Hello LONDON!

We are in LONDON!!! We arrived late last night by bus. We were suppose to have arrived into Heathrow Airport at 3:30 pm, but arrived at 8 pm instead. There was severe rain, and despite monitoring the traffic radio and making several detours, we hit a patch of flooding. The bus we were on was virtually stationary for 4 hours. We moved 4 miles in 4 hours. We arrived into our accommodations at Earl’s Court at about 11 pm, but at least we arrived safely.

We set our early in the morning, and purchased the Tube day pass. We planned to take the train directly to the Tower of London, but there was some construction. We had to go to the London Bridge first. We were able to see the Tower Bridge from there.

From the London Bridge, we took the footpath along the north side of the Thames River toward our original planned starting point, the Tower of London. We didn’t actually go into the Tower of London, and opted to take a cruise down the Thames River. It just started to drizzle, and we figured the cruise would provide some shelter from the train. We bought tickets and boarded the Catamaran Cruise.

The rain started to pick-up. We got off at the Eye of London and didn’t know where to go from there. With all the good weather we’d been getting, we completely forgot to bring our umbrella and the kids rain attire. The queue going into the Eye of London was terribly long. I think everyone was looking for shelter from the rain. For a few minutes, we lingered between buildings until the rain cleared. Soon after, we proceeded across Westminster Bridge on foot toward Big Ben.

We took a short rest at Big Ben. Melur had to use the facilities, and Mommy scrambled to find a toilet nearby. Once everybody was settled, we continued through St. James Park toward Buckingham Palace. St James Park was beautiful, lots of flowers and birds, some of which very peculiar. I couldn’t identify this one bird with webbed feet. It wasn’t a duck, or a goose, or a swan. What is it?

Buckingham Palace was also majestic. The flowers were in full bloom, and very vibrant. But dark clouds were lingering, and we feared the rain would return. We headed back toward Trafalgar Square and took some pictures by the fountain.

Just then, it really started to pour. We ran to the nearby Tube station and made our way to Edgeware Road for some dinner. We were told we could get lots of Halal food there, and we found some very easily. Just like in Dundee, we opted for Briyani. Yummy…

Finally, before heading back, the aunties wanted to check out some shopping around Marble Arch and Bond Street. And that’s how we ended our first full day at London. Unfortunately, Nenek and the Aunties will be heading back to Malaysia tomorrow. They will be missed. We, on the other hand, will be spending an extra 2 days here in London. What will we do until Tuesday?