Saturday night, we got a good night’s rest…which was important considering we had another day of site seeing ahead of us. Our expensive cab driver told us that Sunday would be a good day to see the “changing of the guard.” He told us to arrive by 10:45 to be sure we could get a good spot. So we did just as we were told. Unfortunately, once we got into place (and waited a good 15-20 minutes), we were told that there would be not changing of the guard today. I initially thought they might have cancelled due to the weather but then realized that there was a major cycling event that would have interrupted the procession. Either way, I went to YouTube to learn a little bit about the ceremony: click HERE.

Unlike Saturday afternoon, Sunday was rainy and gray…thus the reason I went black and white on so many of my shots. Here you see Buckingham Palace. A little rainy weather didn’t seem to slow down the tourists.

I mentioned a cycling event above. I’ve learned that this event was actually part of the Sky Ride campaign, aiming to get one million more people riding a bike by 2013. You can read more about it HERE. I know one thing…if I lived in London, I could totally see myself riding a bike.

The crazy thing about the Sky Ride was that you saw bicyclists of all shapes and sizes – my favorite of which is this guy on the right. Even the clowns came out for a bike ride. I just love it! If you look closely, you can also see that it’s exactly 12 o’clock at Big Ben.

Here you see Big Ben. “The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster, commonly known as the Big Ben, is one of London’s most famous landmarks. The clock was the largest in the world and still the largest in Great-Britain. The tower was constructed between 1843 and 1858 as the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, now better known as the Houses of Parliament. The clock tower – its official name is Saint Stephen’s tower – is 316ft high (96m) and consists of a 200ft (61m) high brick shaft topped by a cast iron framed spire.” 

And right beside Big Ben are the Houses of Parliament. It was about this time that it started raining again. I quickly pulled my camera into my jacket and we took cover.

Finally, Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately, we were unable to go inside but I did capture a few photos from directly outside of the building using my wide angle lens adapter. It’s such a shame that we don’t build more buildings like this today.

Gosh – Day 2 felt really short (at least in pictures). Because it was raining…we left Westminster and took the subway to Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus (these are both shopping areas). I wasn’t really interested in getting my camera wet, so I thought we might find a replacement jacket for the one left in the taxi the day before. Unfortunately we came up a bit short (I’m told that my mother-in-law is on a mission for a new jacket…for Christmas), but we did buy a couple of small umbrellas and a couple of long-sleeve shirts for my husband.

Anyways, come back for Scavenger Hunt Sunday to see a few more pictures from our time in London. I’ll also pick up on Tuesday (following good to WOW) with Day 3 of our trip, which includes meeting up with Muse Kirstin at the London Eye. Have a great Friday!