Day 8 Gloria goes to London

Gloria was up early and very excited. She told Earl that today was the day that willow and hubby were taking her up to London! Earl said “That’s wonderful Gloria, I came here from London, willow was born in London and hubby worked in London so they will have a great day planned. ” Gloria was positively beaming. ” We are going on a Train and a tube…. But I am not sure what a tube is?” “Ah!” Said Earl, a tube is a small but long train that goes along an underground tunnel. All the stations are under ground and there are lifts and escalators to reach the platforms. ” Well I never said Gloria…lifts and what’s the other thing, an escalator, Earl ?” “Moving stairs Gloria, that take you up and down! “

I came down stairs and asked Gloria if she would mind riding in a backpack because there was going to be a lot of walking today. Gloria thought about this and decided it would be a very good plan and fun too. So I helped Gloria into one of our backpacks. We tried three but none were quite right. Then we tried hubby’s new backpack and it was a perfect fit. Don’t you think Gloria looks happy and comfortable.

The three of us set off for the 20minute walk to the station. When we arrived we bought our tickets, all day travel cards including zones one to six on the tube. The lady in the ticket office said Gloria didn’t need a ticket because she was not old enough. We didn’t have to wait long for our train to arrive!

This is the view from inside the train. At first Gloria stayed in her bag on the seat having a good look around.

Then she got inquisitive as more people got on the train….then she asked me to lift her up so she could look out the window at the passing scenes.

The journey was an hour and ten minutes long with lots of stops 16 in all. At every stop Gloria asked “Are we there yet willow?” To which I replied “Nearly Gloria”. With my fingers crossed 🤞.

Finally we arrived at Waterloo Station and boy it was so busy. We were glad Gloria was in her bag… I think Gloria was too.

We left Waterloo Station, ( it’s called Waterloo after a huge battle which was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, which is ten miles from Brussels. Marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army under the command of Napoleon were defeated by Arthur Wellesley and the Duke of Wellington)

The sun was out and the sky was blue and Gloria had a great view. We walked along the Thames and across the bridge towards The Palace of Westminster, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey past the London eye. Here are some photos.

Gloria spotted Big Ben and the houses of Parliament.

The London Eye

The London Eye

A London Bus

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

After Gloria had seen the houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey we headed off to see Downing Street. Then HorseGuards Parade, we were headed off towards Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column .(The Battle of Trafalgar took place on 21 October 1805.) Gloria wanted to see and know everything. I was glad to carry her because I did not want to loose her!

Gloria in Trafalgar Square

London Buses in Trafalgar Square

Gloria and me outside Downing Street

Gloria and me in Trafalgar Square

Important Street Sign

One of the Lions at Trafalgar Square

Winston Churchill not Keir Starmer. 😏

Gloria outside Downing Street

Downing Street

HorseGuards Parade

Next it it was time to walk the 25 minuite walk up the Mall to Buckingham Palace. Here are some pictures.

Top of the Mall

Gloria and me outside Buckingham Palace

A Guardsman

Walking up the Mall

Gloria liked Buckingham Palace

We found an old fashioned telephone box.

Buckingham Palac

Then we walked through Green Park to catch the tube and head for the Tower of London! We went on the Tube, down two escalators Gloria thought it was so exciting!

Tower Bridge

Green Park

Part of the Roman wall of London.

Gloria at traitors gate Tower of London

Platform at the tube station

Gloria posing at Tower Bridge.

Another Tube Station

Gloria looking at Tower bridge

Tower of London

The Shard

Tower of London

Tower of London

We caught the tube from Green Park. One stop on the Jubilee line to Westminster then we changed to the district line five stations to Tower Hill. As we came out of the station we could see the Tower across the road. We stopped to show Gloria the remains of the Roman City of Londinium. A prominent, 2,000-year-old fragment of the Roman London Wall stands in a garden just outside Tower Hill underground station. Built around AD 200, this, along with a smaller section inside the station’s westbound platform, constitutes a significant, accessible remnant of the original 3rd-century, 2-mile boundary wall.

We crossed the road and walked around the castle walls and saw the statues of a lion and two lionesses. “Why are there statues of wild animals here asked Gloria” I explained that that area was called The Royal Menagerie of the Tower of London was a historic, centuries-old royal zoo established in the early 1200s by King John to showcase exotic, diplomatic gifts like lions, polar bears, and elephants. Located near the western entrance, it became a public attraction before moving to Regent’s Park in 1835 to become the London Zoo.

After we had walked around the outside of the walls and Gloria had her photo taken at Traitors Gate. Gloria asked me “what is Traitors Gate? ” I explained that Traitors Gate is an historic water-gate entrance to the Tower of London beneath St. Thomas’s Tower, built between 1275 and 1279 by Edward 1st. Known for transporting prisoners accused of treason via the River Thames during the Tudor period, it served as the dramatic, often final, entry point for high-profile figures such as Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More and Queen Elizabeth 1st thoy she actually came out again.

As we walked away from the Tower we walked towards the Thames … Gloria was so excited to see Tower Bridge!

Finally on our way to get the tube to start our journey home we walked along to Pudding Lane to see the monument where the fire of London started . I explained to Gloria that The Monument to the Great Fire of London, often called simply The Monument, is a 202-foot-tall Doric column situated near Pudding Lane in the City of London. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Dr. Robert Hooke, it was built between 1671 and 1677 to commemorate the 1666 fire and celebrate the city’s rebuilding. I also told Gloria that if the monument was layed down on its side in the correct direction, it’s tip would reach the exact point where the fire started. Gloria thought that was very cool 😎

We were all tired by then so we got the tube to Waterloo and then the train home! Guess what Gloria did when she got in….Yes she told everyone all about her trip…then before going to sleep the all read GOODNIGHT MOON 🌙 🌝