It’s been so much fun to share photos with all of you from the anniversary trip that my husband and I took to the U.K. (back in 2013) in honor of our most recent anniversary of 30 years!

And as promised, today I’m sharing the last installment of that trip with a look at all the sights and sounds (well, imagine the sounds!) of London.

I also want to share one more tip for any trips or dates that you might be planning to go on in the near future.

Researchers discovered several years ago that couples who do new and exciting things together are better able to keep romance alive! You can read an article about it here. But before you do, check out the new and exciting things my husband and I did and saw first . . .

We started day one of our time in London by touring London Tower that you can see behind me (not the most flattering spot to take a pic! But what did we know?!). This is where the Queen’s jewels and crowns are on display. You can also view many dramatic recreations of historic events as you walk around inside. We also got to tour the dungeons that held many royals, such as: Lady Anne Boleyn; Queen Elizabeth I; and Henry IV, to name a few. It also held the Scottish rebellion leader, William Wallace, who I’m sure looked nothing like Mel Gibson. 😉

After touring London Tower, we walked over London Tower Bridge. Here behind me is a photo of Eads Bridge which is in St. Louis, Missouri—the city where I grew up (actually the suburbs of St. Louis). An.y.who . . . it was “exciting” for me to see my  beloved StL bridge being recognized for its unique and advanced design for the time it was constructed in the 1800’s.

We walked through indoor sections of the Tower Bridge, then headed outside to walk along the car path. Gary and I found all of this experience to be, you guessed it . . . new and exciting! 😉

As we made our way through London, the next sight we came by was the London Eye. We didn’t go up in this iconic sky-high ferris wheel because it was too pricey for our pocket books! ha! But we still enjoyed taking in the awesome wonder of such a new and exciting sight!

As we crossed over Westminster Bridge, the majestic and towering Big Ben that stands alongside the House of Parliament came into view.

 

On day one we walked by Westminster Abbey, but didn’t tour it until day two. One of my favorite sights to see in the chapel was the tomb of Charles Dickens.

Next, we walked through Buckingham Palace Gardens. Along the way, we met a nice guy who must feed the squirrels “peanuts” all the time since they came right up to him. He even took my hand and helped me to feed a squirrel too! I’d say, feeding a squirrel a peanut for the very first time counts as new and exciting, wouldn’t you?

 

We made our way over to Buckingham Palace and took this pic from afar because there were so many tourists swarming the gates that we couldn’t manage a decent pic up close. 😉

Unfortunately, at the time we were in London, these scaffoldings obstructed our view and shot of Harrods Department Store. But that didn’t hinder us from taking a look-see at what was inside this impressive and high-society landmark.

Gary caught me whizzing by in Harrods. There was so much to see, although we didn’t spend a dime (or ten pence?) in that pricey retail establishment. However, we did head around the corner to a cafe for dinner afterwards.

Gary spotted this very important man—perhaps a sheikh—leaving our little cafe with his entourage. Who knows? Maybe we were dining with royalty?! That’s certainly new and exciting!

Day two began with, of course, a ride on the Tube! You can’t do London properly without lots and lots of rides on the Tube. And don’t forget to “Mind the gap” while you’re at it! ha!

One of our first stops was at Piccadilly Circus, where I spent a good ten minutes trying to find the circus! jk!

We then wandered around looking for new and exciting sights in Chinatown. Later we headed back over to Westminster Abbey to take a tour. Quite a study in cultural contrasts! 

After Westminster came Kensington Palace with this beautiful garden just outside. This palace was the home of Princess Diana and is now where Prince William and Princess Katherine live. I loved getting to see the portraits of Princess Diana inside, as well as touring a gallery of the many iconic dresses that Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana wore in times past (insert a yawn for Gary!).

The last thing we did on day two was board a tour boat that took us down the River Thames where Gary caught this shot of London Tower Bridge all lit up!

Day three of our three days in London began with a tour of all things Windsor—including the quaint town of Windsor. Can you spot part of Windsor Castle peeking above the cityscape way back in the distance?

Here it is . . . Windsor Castle! And this isn’t a postcard photo either! See the little van in the front? We saw that van drive onto the castle grounds and I’ll be sharing a video of that van entering in a very unique way on Facebook next week! So be sure to friend me—Beth Oster Steffaniak—if you haven’t already. I’ll be posting that cool video, as well as some other photos that won’t be posted here on MM.

Here’s Gary wearing the audio tour headphones for Windsor Castle.

What is it with the Steffaniak’s and British bathrooms? ha! Gary wanted to capture me coming out of the Queen’s loo, since he was able to visit the “loo” that John Lennon used back in the day! Visit my Liverpool post to see more about that.

 I kind of felt like those palace guards were marching toward me to usher me out! But you’ll be happy to know, we exited of our own accord! 

Next on our agenda was Madam Tousseau’s Wax Museum. Here’s Gary telling Muhammad Ali that he (Gary) can “sting like a bee” too! 😉

This was my attempt at becoming a Bond girl! 😉 Oh, and doesn’t it look like Daniel Craig is sticking his hand in my purse? Lol!

We ended day three at the spot where the Beatles were photographed for an iconic album cover, walking in front of Abbey Road studios. Just envision me as John and that woman in the background as Ringo. Doesn’t work for ya? Me either! But it sure was fun, as well as . . . new and exciting to try!

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What new and exciting things do you hope to do with your spouse or family this summer?

 

If money was no object, what far away place would you like to visit, and why?

 

If you’d like more information about visiting some of the places we’ve visited on our trip, then click on the links: Tenby, Liverpool, London. #travelhappy

I’ll be taking a summer break from blogging for about 8 weeks beginning June 15th. I have two very important projects that need my undivided focus during that time. But I can’t wait to hit the ground running when I return the second week of August! 

Be sure to scroll down below to comment! 

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