Day 1a: Eyes on Ben

The next morning, I had pre-booked a “guided flight” on the famous London Eye…


We arrived via the Underground, so the first view the kids had was The Eye towering over the trees!

Kathy and I had been on The Eye before, so we were anxious to see their reaction. We had a great 30 minute “flight”, and the weather (like it was the entire time we were there) was fantastic! We could see for *MILES* across London.

All of our destinations for the day were visible, so I was able to point out Parliament/Big Ben (yes, I know it’s the bell, not the tower, but it’s easier to refer to it that way), Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s, etc.

After we got off the Eye, we head across the bridge towards Parliament, etc. The kids are in awe of seeing, in person, things that they’ve only seen in books or movies/TV shows. It’s really a lot of fun to experience it through their eyes.

We spent a good deal of time walking about inside Westminster Abbey. I was pleased that both kids were able to recognize so many famous people who were buried there. Andrew commented how ironic it was that Charles Darwin was buried literally feet away from Isaac Newton’s tomb inside Westminster. Melanie liked seeing the old tombs and the pomp-and-circumstance items. Both were impressed with the “Poet’s Corner”, where Chaucer, Dickens, Browning, and Kipling are all entombed.

And, to start a theme that would be carried throughout the trip, Andrew drooled over the “cool cars”!