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Tanzania Trip -- Thursday, July 12, 2012

July 12
St. James Park; Buckingham Palace in far distance

Day 06. Thursday, July 12. London, England.

Day 2 in London, our only full day here.

The days dawn early here: 0430 hrs in the hotel room, and the early-morning light lingers for a long time before the sun comes up. I've been up awhile now, but Cathy is still sleeping (it is just now sunrise). The day promises to be a bright and sunny.

Link to trip map.

July 12
London Eye and double-decker bus

We skipped breakfast and rode the "tube" (subway) to downtown London. For a subway, it was interesting that most of the tracks run above ground. Along parts of the tracks, red foxes take up residence in spots seldom visited by on-foot humans.

We got off at St. James Park, which is right in front of Buckingham Palace. The park is an historical open area with ponds, trees, and flower gardens. Several species of ducks and geese, plus 3 pelicans, Great-crested Grebes, and lots of pigeons live in and around the pond. They even have a large population of Eastern Gray Squirrels imported from the States that have become pests and driven the local squirrels to extinction in London.

July 12
Cathy with Parliament Building and Big Ben

We walked around the park, stopped in front of Buckingham Palace, and then headed towards Big Ben and the Parliament Building on the banks of the Thames River. We visited a small church (St. Margaret's, free) adjacent to Westminster Abby (where entry cost about $30 per person). We crossed the Thames and walked around town a bit, stopping in a nice park to rest our feet and watch the school kids eating lunch. For us, we stopped for lunch at the Three Stags Pub (for me: fish and chips costing about 10 pounds; about $17 yikes!).

After lunch, we wandered back, took another loop about St. James Park, and rode the tube back to the hotel, arriving in the rain at about 4 PM. We had hoped to walk about the county park again, but the cold rain dampened our enthusiasm.

We ate dinner in the hotel again, not wanting to venture out into the weather, then headed off to bed before another early morning departure.

July 12
Above-ground Tube on they way out
July 12
Blue Bridge in St. James Park with Rock Pigeons and ducks
July 12
They do like the Royals
July 12
Buckingham Palace
July 12
Big Ben
July 12
Westminster Abby
July 12
Street scene
July 12
Parliament Building on the Thames River
July 12
Three Stags Pub
July 12
Under-ground Tube on the way back
july 12
American White Pelican (L; Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
and two Great White Pelicans (R; Pelecanus onocrotalus)
July 12
American White Pelican (R; Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
and Great White Pelican (L; Pelecanus onocrotalus)
July 12
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
July 12
Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus)
July 12
Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis)
July 12
Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis)
July 12
Smew (Mergellus albellus)
July 12
Fulvous Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)
July 12
Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)
July 12
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
July 12
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
July 12
White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala)

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
copyright; Last updated 240224

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