Monday, 8 May. After breakfast at the hotel, we and the Brown's took the subway to Russel Square where we got on a bus tour of London's West End. The bus took us down The Strand, stopped briefly at Trafalgar Square, and entered the section where all the Government buildings are. Two Horse Guards of the Household Cavalry were mounted at the entrance to Whitehall Place. The tourists taunt these guards to try to make them move. They were very formal but not like statues as we had heard.
We took an extensive tour through Westminster Abbey. The interior was being cleaned, and the difference between "before" and "after" was incredible. The church was exceptionally beautiful, but even more impressive was the number of famous people buried there.
I tried to keep a list, but finally gave up and bought a book about the Abbey.
The bus took us by Big Ben and the Parliament buildings before crossing the Thames. There was a great view back from the other side.
As the bus drove down the Mall toward Buckingham Palace, we pulled over to the side as a large group of Life Guards (Royal Horse Guards) passed by almost close enough to touch. It was very impressive.
We all got off the bus at Buckingham Palace and watched the formal changing of the guard ceremony. That was spectacular. The famous Black Watch participated (wearing kilts, of course).
Finally the bus took us down Oxford Street, a principal shopping district, and brought us back to Russel Square. We took the subway back to the Columbia Hotel, where we had lunch. We had finally realized that the hotel restaurant, with its French chef, had better meals, service, and prices than any other place we were likely to find.
By this time the Jones' had arrived and checked into the hotel. All of us caught the subway to Trafalgar Square and went into the Whitehall area to look around more leisurely than we had on the tour. We had our first ride on a double-decker bus. We took the bus to Oxford Circus and did some shopping.
I bought some gray woolen suit material at John Lewis, a store that covers a full square block and has four floors of nothing but yard goods. What a selection! The material
I wanted came in ten different shades of charcoal gray.
After dinner at our hotel, we went with the Jones' to Wyndam's Theater by taxi to see "The Miracle Worker," the play about Helen Keller. Roy and Lucy went to the dog races at Wembly.
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