London (24-hour Layover)
Today we woke up for our speed tour of London. We started with a nice stroll through Hyde Park. We passed by Kensington Palace, saw some horses riding, and saw many dogs playing in the park. We quickly walked by Buckingham palace since we would be back later and walked to Westminster Abbey. The Abbey was very spectacular from the outside and the surrounding square had many beautiful Victorian style buildings, but was rather crowded. We could see Big Ben behind and it was just a quick walk before we were amazed by the massive clock tower.
On a schedule, we continued to the pier where we hopped on a boat for a short sight-seeing cruise. The boat took us up the Thames where we were able to see war ships, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, St Paul’s Cathedral and more. At Tower Bridge we got off to have a look around while waiting for the return boat. After the return boat we walked to the Covent Garden area for lunch at Dishoom, an Indian restaurant recommended by some friends from the Inca Trail. The food was very good and a great rest from about 6 miles of walking so far.
Our final stop of the day was Buckingham Palace for a tour of some of the state rooms. You could definitely tell it's a palace. Each room was elaborately designed featuring decorative ceiling, large artwork, and gifts from around the world. After the tour we rested at the garden cafe and had a delicious Victoria sponge cake. We started making our way back to the hotel/airport to start our adventures through Norway.
