London, days 1 & 2

Rollie and I made it to London around noon yesterday after an overnight flight with layover in Reykjavik, Iceland. We each slept 2-3 hours total on the flights and then dealt with trying to withdrawl money and find our way to our hotel. Those were a little stressful, but everything worked out! We arrived at our hotel at the Chelsea Football Club around 2pm and then set out to see some sights. We've quickly figured out the Tube and have taken it everywhere, as well as TONS of walking. So last night we walked by Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and took a ride on the London Eye, an enormous ferris wheel on the banks of the Thames.

this is from our cabin on the Eye, you can see the Houses of Parliament in between us

After the London Eye we walked up and down the Thames, walked around Picadilly Circus and had a good italian dinner. We took the tube back to our neighborhood and bought some food for today's breakfast at a Sainsbury. After very little sleep and a 6 hour time difference, we were back at the hotel and asleep by 9pm.

Today (Sunday) we woke up refreshed after a full nights sleep and went to church at All Soul's Church in Langham. Then we picked up lunch, walked around Regent Street and a bunch of other places (the buildings are amazing and cafe's are everywhere. Not to mention great people watching.) We walked through St. James Green and caught the very end of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace:

Then we took the tube to the Tower of London and were given a fantastic tour full of British History (like beheadings, when each of the 19 towers were added, the Royal Jewel collection, the White Tower where the royal family lived for 500 years, etc). Our "Beefeater" made the tour very entertaining and interactive.

After this our feet were aching and went to Waterloo Station and then found a place to get fish and chips for dinner. Most things close around 6pm on Sunday nights, so after dinner we came back to the hotel and Skyped with the kids and Rollie's parents. They went to the Minnesota zoo yesterday and church this morning. It sounds like they're doing really well.

Tomorrow is our last day in London before flying to Dublin Tuesday morning. Time to relax and get some sleep!