When we got there, we had several people who desperately needed to use the bathroom, so Dina and I headed down to the other end of St. James' Park with a group of kids. Donia assured us that it was right there, but it took us 15 minutes to find it and another 12 minutes to potty everybody. I was afraid we were going to miss the Changing of the Guard, so when it was time to head back, I was leading and I left everyone in the dust. Poor Dina was trying to keep up but I have longer legs and I was on a mission!
I don't know what I thought the Changing of the Guard was, but I was not expecting the band to be playing Copacabana. We were across the street from the main entrance, so we couldn't see what was happening inside the gates. Still, it was Buckingham Palace, and I was there.
We didn't have time to wait for them to come back out, since we had to be at the London Eye by 1. We went back to the other end of St. James Park to have our sack lunches, and then we walked to the London Eye. It really isn't very far, and we were able to see some parts of London that we wouldn't have otherwise.
We waited in line for the London Eye for about 45 minutes. It was hot, and I got sunburned. I was not expecting to get sunburned in London. We all crowded into one car and got some really nice views of London. It was a little nerve-racking getting 33 people off the car while it was moving, but we managed. The London Eye is something that I'm glad that I did once, but I don't need to do it again.
After the Eye, we met our tour guide for a coach tour around London. She was very good, but by far the coolest part about that was going to St. Paul's Cathedral. We drove by it, and I thought that was it, but then our driver needed a break, so we stopped about 2 blocks from the cathedral and the guide was going to walk us down to a bridge that had been in a Harry Potter movie. I asked if I could go to the cathedral instead, and of course was told to go. I paid £16.50 to get in and told the girl at the desk that I had a great-uncle who had been killed in WWII and I would like to see the Roll of Honor. An employee met me and took me back to the book and told me to take as many pictures as I wanted, in spite of all of the signs that warned No Photography. She then started shooing people away who saw an exhibit opened and wanted to see what it was, telling them that this was a personal, private family moment and to please give me some space. It was a little surreal. Then she took me back to see the original book. I wasn't prepared for how emotional it would make me, but I kept thinking of Grandma and how pleased she would have been.
We continued with the coach tour, which was very good but too long. We drove to Wembley Park, where our hotel was, and I was looking out the window thinking what a ghetto this area was. It got a little better the closer to the stadium we got, but it was definitely a low income area. The best part of it, though, was that I had my own room. I'm not sure how Dina managed that, (she told us it was black magic) but all the leaders had their own rooms and it was so nice.
Tomorrow, the Tube!!
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