Boat trip on the Thames to Greenwich

Yesterday we took a boat trip on the Thames to Greenwich and back. It was a cloudy day to start with, but the sun came out and it became a really nice afternoon. There was a guide on board and he told us interesting stories along the way, so it was a really nice tour. The photo at the top is Sean and Mike in front of the Tower of London. The next one is left-over from the protests the day before.... we didn't have any problems because of the protests, but we also stayed away from where the mobs would be. There was some violence, but it wasn't as bad as predicted. The bottom photo is my "hip dudes" in front of the HMS Belfast, the ship they went to earlier in the week. HMS stands for "Her Majesty's Ship" by the way... the last picture is of the Houses of Parliment - not the greatest photo, but oh well! We boarded the boat right below Parliment, right next to the tube station, so that was an easy walk!

We had a nice time in Greenwich. Met up with Nesba and Madelely for lunch, and then walked around a bit. Mike took Sean and Madelely to a park and Nesba and I showed mom and dad the Painted Hall and the Chapel at the Royal Naval Academy. We also got to shop a bit at the market!

Today mom and dad leave for their tour - they stay in London for 2 nights, then off to Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and France. They will get a great taste of Europe on their bus tour! We are going to Regent's Park, a park we've wanted to play in for weeks now!! Apparently there is a ship to play on there, and bumper boats. We were going to go there earlier this week, but President Obama was staying across the street so the park was closed all week. We didn't get to see him at all, but friends of ours might have because he visited the American School and their oldest boy goes there. That would have been so cool!! We are hoping the sun comes out as predicted - it is supposed to be partly sunny and 60 degrees this afternoon.

Tomorrow we are going to Dorking - a suburb of London to see one of Mike's friends from his post doc days in Dallas. His friend has 2 kids (boy and girl), 6 and 4, so Sean will have fun!