We arrived in London at about 6:00 am on a bleak Monday morning, after an all-night flight and quick stop at the hotel to change clothes in a bathroom that was under a staircase and the size of a postage stamp. Literally. It was quite acrobatic trying to change out of my travel sweats into something presentable, and it left me more sweaty-feeling than refreshed-feeling. Anyway, after this quick-change we were off to pick up our London Passes and see some sights.

The London Pass place was in a small kiosk-looking building on a street corner, which had a spiral staircase going into a basement. I had a great London-first on the way out of this place when some bum on the street started explaining to me that he needed a hot drink to take his medications, which he had just picked up from the chemist (pharmacist), so that they didn't give him an upset stomach. After asking him to repeat this (still unsure what he was asking for...which, in the end, was money, of course), I told him I was sorry and moved on. I guess I either have a compassionate look about me, or else a stupid look, because it only took about 20 minutes of being in London for this to happen to me!

Anyway, we ended up seeing some of these sights, though not in this order. This was the worst day we had for weather, and even then we did not get rained on. The jacket came off and went on throughout the day, but we really did have perfect weather!

Pond in St. James Park

The London Eye in the background

Beautiful flowers

More flowers.

Right out front of Buckingham Palace, they were preparing for the Queen's Jubilee. If you saw any of the concert celebrations of this, you will recognize that this was the stage everyone performed on. It was quite a mess with construction crews and bleachers going up, so we did not go back the next day for the changing of the guard.

I was told the best place to watch the hour-long procession of the changing of the guard was from the steps of this round-about. Since it was inaccessible, we decided to pass on it.

In front of the gates.

Guards marching

The yard was gravel, not paved at all. The guard's boots made a great crunchy sound on it as they marched back and forth.

King's Cross Station, of course. I was disappointed, however, that there was not a brick barrier between platforms 9 and 10, like J.K. Rowling describes in her book.

A really neat-looking building outside King's Cross.

One of the neatest places we visited: The Sir John Ritblat Gallery. It was simply amazing seeing such original works of art from so many great masters.

How could I not get a pic of this? It smelled nasty inside, just to help give you an idea of the full experience.

Beautiful street we walked down.

National Gallery in the background, which, incidentally, is free to enter, if you ever find yourself in London. This was also and amazing experience--seeing originals of timeless artists.

Horse Guard Parade (where the Olympic beach volleyball is being held).

Beware: horses may kick or bite. Thank you. Yeah, I'll keep my distance, thank you!

Horse Guard Parade--St. James Park is in the background, and Buckingham Palace is just beyond that.

Imagine wearing that all day and sitting on a horse.