London

Our stay in London was short, but we managed to fit in quite a bit of sightseeing. We toured Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London, and also took a bus trip around the city to see the other famous sights. Westminster Abbey was my favorite- it was pretty interesting to see how many people were buried inside- kings, queens, poets, scientists, and soldiers. It was fun to picture the coronation ceremonies of the kings and queens of England. Also to see where the choir sits for the Christmas service we usually listen to on the radio. The Tower of London was also historically interesting. We toured the bedrooms of one of the kings, and then saw a special exhibit on the armor of Henry VIII. I think that was Leif's favorite part. The line was so long for the jewels we didn't even try to see them (I'm not sure it would have been that interesting to the kids anyway). One evening we walked from our hotel to the grounds of Buckingham Palace. According to the flag flying, the queen was not in residence at the time, but Elisabet was quite excited to find they shared the same name. On our bus tour we learned we were staying just a few blocks away (and had walked right by) the residences of Margaret Thatcher and some other famous movie stars. It was also a good way to learn about the major events in the history of London- it's settlement by the Romans, the great fire of 1666, the black death in the same year which killed half the population, the blitz during 1941 in which St Paul's Cathedral stood despite repeated attacks, and so on.