JB & Calee's visit

A couple of weeks ago, we had JB & Calee come visit us from San Diego.  We were super exicted about their coming & planned out a pretty non-stop itinerary for the 9 days they were in the UK.  When they arrived, JB & Calee hadn't spent any time in England before, so we started off the week with an easy stroll up Port Meadow.  A bit of walking capped off with a pint at the pub--not a bad way to acclimate, right?

 

The weather was nice, & so were the cows. 

We sat outside at the Trout at one of their picnic tables by the river..

& enjoyed watching their peacock.

That evening we all took the bus into London, where we were due to stay for the rest of our weekend.  No pictures from the bus-ride.  Sorry if you're disappointed.

Saturday morning we rose bright & early to head out to Whitehall, where the (actual) Trooping the Colour was taking place--the one Fi & I saw the previous weekend was a rehearsal.  Although we didn't have tickets for bleacher-seats, we arrived in time to find standing room on the parade route, which offered a reasonably good view of the various parties as they headed toward the grounds.

Here are some of the horse-guards...

& then Queenie!!

Fi & I had never seen the Queen out & about before, so that was pretty cool.  It was especially nice for our guests as that's not something every tourist can accomplish while in England.  After our sighting, we turned back through St. James Park in search of more sights to see.  Like this enormous crown sculpted from hedges.

& these pelicans!!!

Amazing birds. They're huge!  Anyway, our route took us past Big Ben.

Right there outside the tube station is a phone booth, where JB & Calee seized the opportunity for a photo.
 

From there, it's only a short hike to Westminster Abbey.

The girls toured the inside, while JB & I took a load off.  Bizarrely, our sitting there coincided with a half an hour or so of bell-ringing, 30 minutes straight of this:

Upon finishing at the Abbey, we all crossed over the bridge to head to the Southbank.  While walking, the aircraft participating in the Queen's Bday flyovers passed overhead.  Look just to the left of the London Eye, & you'll see four of them in formation.

Pretty cool.  Around this time, it began to feel like far too long since we'd had any refreshment, so we veered off the beaten path, wandering down a few rather empty streets..

& stopped at this pub for a few beers.

Whistles wet, we then to Borough Market for some substantive vittles.

After lunch, we cruised down the South Bank, stopping as usual at the Swan for another round.

 
Rested & revitalized, we redirected back across the Millenium foot bridge toward St. Paul's, where, as luck would have it, a service was taking place.  Normally it's £15-20 for admission, but during times of worship, it's free.  No photography during the service, though.

JB getting artistic.

He wasn't the only one.

& that was about it for the first day in London.  Thinking back, it was a great time to have visitors in town, with forgiving weather & so many Jubilee flags!

Stay tuned for more posts about their trip.  I'll write as soon as I can.