After a too short stay with our Czech family, it was time to move on again.
We had a beautiful morning for our journey.
Before we knew it, we were on approach to Heathrow Airport over London. Always love this view from the right side.
It’s really nice not to have to take the Piccadilly Line with luggage now that the Elizabeth Line is in full service. The Elizabeth line is a rail service that amongst other things runs from Heathrow through a brand new tunnel deep beneath the heart of central London. Here is my Elizabeth grudgingly posing for a photo with an ad for the service!
After checking into our hotel in Southwark and having a short rest, we went out for a walk. Here’s The Shard towering above London Bridge Station.
We walked along the South Bank towards Tower Bridge for some classic views.
We’ve been here a few times before. Here’s a previous photo close to the same spot, from 2018 on our return from a trip to Italy. How much has changed since then…except my shirt. 🙈
Ellie was getting really hungry. I had wanted something more interesting that was a bit further afield but she spotted a favorite right behind where the previous photo was taken.
The evening was very pleasant. Here’s a view of the towers of the City.
Ellie had been begging for a trip to the mall in London, so we went to Westfield Stratford City. She was pretty pleased with the outing.
After Ellie got her shopping fix (including a stop on Oxford Street – and a store that was entirely composed of claw machines – not sure why I didn’t take a photo), we went back down to the South Bank and checked out the eye catching London Eye (lol) from the Golden Jubilee Bridge.
The next morning was beautiful to visit some of the classic spots, like this vantage point of the Palace of Westminster and the Great Clock of Westminster at the top of the Elizabeth Tower.
And across the bridge, Westminster Abbey.
Across the street in the United Nations Green was one of the Queen’s Corgis – Jane.
And a watch, the details of which I’ve forgotten…
These ducks in St James’s Park were very friendly. They had no problem approaching people, especially kids – likely because they’d been fed snacks all the time.
We arrived at Buckingham Palace along with plenty of others trying to catch a glimpse of something through the gates. We didn’t see anything other than a guard doing his rounds. There were some lights on in one of the rooms and Ellie said it was probably King Charles.
Couldn’t stay too long and linger as we still had a reservation for our next stop. But we did go and check out the Queen Victoria Memorial which was of course surrounded by dozens of people.
Next up was Horizon 22 – a completely free observation gallery on the 58th floor of the 22 Bishopsgate Tower. It wasn’t too crowded at all thanks to their reservation system. We got to look out over the city completely relaxed and able to enjoy the moment rather than trying to jostle with other people for views or photos.
Highly recommend a visit here. The cafe at the top even had completely reasonable prices for a drink or light snack.
After exiting the tower we walked through the City of London towards lunch – passing by the distinctive Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe).
Leadenhall Market was our lunch destination where we found some great pizza. Approved by Ellie.
After our hunger was totally satisfied, we walked more. This time to the Tower of London, but we didn’t go in, rather just enjoying the views from around the perimeter.
We walked over Tower Bridge to a bus stop that brought us back to the hotel for a little break. Ellie had been really excited about using the pool. So we went there for a bit. The water was pretty cold.
After our break we headed on the Tube over to the revitalized Battersea Power Station area. This former coal fired power station close to the heart of London has been converted into shops, restaurants, and fancy apartments. The surrounding area was lively and bustling on this gorgeous late summer afternoon.
My intent of this journey was to take “Uber Boat” back to London Bridge to get some great views of the city with the lowering sun.
Sadly, it wasn’t to be. The line was massive when we arrived (I took the preceding photo as I was walking up the gangway, abandoning our mission), the first boat that arrived couldn’t take more than half of the passengers and although we would have likely been able to board the next one, there was a long delay which apparently is not that uncommon. We would have had to wait at least 48 minutes for the next boat just standing in the line, after already being there for half an hour.
So back on the Northern line it was. To our last destination of the day – a sunset booking on the London Eye.
Charing Cross Station and the Hungerford & Golden Jubilee Bridges.
The tower in center right of the photo is 22 Bishopsgate where we were at Horizon 22 earlier.
443 feet above the Thames; pretty good view!
There’s Shell Center, Waterloo Station behind, and the Shard in the distance.
Looking southwest, you can see the stacks of Battersea Power Station in the distance beyond the Palace of Westminster.
10/10 rating from Ellie!
I dragged her over to the Millenium Bridge for the beautiful view of St Paul’s as our very last sightseeing stop of the day.
Finally, back at the hotel for a meal. I had chicken tikka masala, which was just as good as you would expect in London!
The next morning we were back at the airport for our flight home to Calgary. Ellie made a beeline to one of the relaxation corners in the Maple Leaf Lounge.
Goodbye for now, Europe!
It was an uneventful flight, couldn’t see Greenland due to cloud so no pics from the flight. But after filling out Ellie’s flight book mid flight, the pilots offered us a visit to the cockpit upon arrival. It was a great way to end the trip.
Ellie's Adventures 