From London to Paris, Paris Day 1: Wandering

Saturday morning, we got up and ate breakfast before heading to the train station. Megan was very excited about taking the underwater train. U's step count for the day was around 11,500.

One last look at our London hotel room. It really was a great place to stay.

We went to the Kings Crossing Station to see platform 9 3/4. The line was very long (90 minutes according to the sign) so we did not wait since we'd already been there at Harry Potter Studios.

We, thankfully, did not lose Megan at the train station. Megan had gone to the bathroom by herself. The closest bathroom was closed. When Megan did not show up for awhile, Me went to find her. The bathroom that was open was quite a ways away and the line was very long. However, Megan was not in the line nor in the stalls (some nice ladies called for her). Me had a bit of a freak out moment at this point. Thankfully when Me called U, U informed her Megan was with them; Me and Megan must have passed while Me was walking to the bathroom. We were very happy to be reunited!

The underwater train ride was relatively uneventful. Once we arrived in Paris, we bought metro cards and headed to the apartment where we were staying. After unpacking a bit, we went to the Pompidou Center which ended up being closed early due to a special event.

Me, Matthew, Megan and U

Megan, Me and Matthew with the fountains by the Pompidou. Laetitia from One Thing in a French Day had used these fountains in one of her riddles a few years ago. It was cool to see them in person.

U and Me

Matthew, U and Megan sharing some crêpes. We ate some savory crêpes followed by dessert crêpes. They were one of Matthew's favorite foods on the trip.

Since we had some extra time, we decided to walk back to the apartment.

Tour Saint-Jacques. It is the only part of a 16th century church that survived the French Revolution.

Matthew, Me and Megan crossing the Seine.

Such beautiful buildings! The Conciergerie is in the background.

Statue of Charlemagne

Megan, Me and Matthew with Notre Dame. It is reopening in December!

Couple construction photos.

The fountain at Place Saint-Michel

Here are a few pictures of our apartment in Paris.

Family room with the bed Megan and Matthew shared.

Kitchen and dining area. Mathieu has quite a bit of art in his home including a couple shown in this picture that have dedicated lighting.

The bedroom

Another photo of the bedroom looking into the bathroom.

London Day 6: Tower of London, HMS Belfast

 Friday morning was quite rainy, definitely our wettest day in London. After eating breakfast, we bundled up and headed to the Tower of London. Uriah's step count for the day was 16,700.

Megan, Me and Matthew enjoying a reprieve from the rain with the Tower of London behind us.

Megan, Matthew and Me

Cool cannon with a guard outside the crown jewels which is where we went first. No pictures allowed. Summary: Lots of gaudy and ornate jewels that represent a lot of UK history. 

One of the ravens that lives at the tower. Ravens are smart birds who remember people so treat them well....

There were statues of some of the animals that used to live at the Tower. It's a bit crazy some of the animals they kept.

Monkeys

Lions

A polar bear that would dive into the Thames

Elephant

Fancy cannon

Matthew, Me and Megan in front of the White Tower, which was the first part of the Tower of London  It was built by William the Conqueror in 1066 to defend his conquest.

Some of the displays of armor located inside the White Tower.

Chapel in the White Tower

On the left is one of the ledgers from the tower, on the right are some of the gold items

An axe that is also a gun with six shots in it.

Megan with a dragon.

The dragon is made up of a bunch of weapons.

Close up of the guns that are the toes.

Knight Megan and Knight U

Knight Matthew and Knight Me

Matthew is an excellent archer! (I tried to get his picture with this screen when he got the target but it switched too quickly so I captured his picture below.)

Matthew with a 25 pound British field gun

Another raven. There were quite a few of them.

U, Me and Megan with a Beefeater. There are only 32 of them and it is quite an honor to be selected as one. The beefeater is wearing the regalia of King Charles III. We enjoyed our beefeater tour although it was the shortened rainy day version held in the church.

Megan, Matthew and Me with Tower Bridge in the background

10 people were beheaded on the Tower Green including Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey.

Megan guarding the Tower.

Tower Bridge

Me, Megan, Matthew and U with Tower Bridge behind.

White Tower

Megan, Me and U

U practicing his fighting skills.

Megan outside one of the rooms we visited.

A new guard by the crown jewels

Cornerstone laid by the Duke of Wellington after some of the Tower of London burned in 1841.

We ate lunch in the Café and then got some scones with clotted cream and jam as well as some cakes and pastries for a DIY tea.

Megan, Me and Matthew crossing Tower Bridge.

Tower of London from across the Thames.

We decided to tour the HMS Belfast. Matthew was excited to go on a UK light cruiser. She served throughout WWII including helping with Operation Overlord on D Day.

The ship's bell

The bell was also used as a baptismal font and the underside of the bell includes the names of the children who were baptized there.

Some of her missions.

Megan typing in the medical office.

In the munitions locker.

Unfortunately, U got locked up in the brig.  The brig was located at the very front of the ship and wasn't insulated.  This made it very uncomfortable, especially in the Arctic.

So did Matthew.

And Megan.

Matthew doing a simulation steering the ship following orders from the bridge. I found it strange that the helm was deep within the ship with no outside visibility.

Megan guiding the ship through the waters.

Megan on the bridge.

Matthew on the bridge.

Matthew with a big gun on the deck.

Matthew on the stern of the HMS Belfast.

HMS Belfast

St Paul's Cathedral across the Thames

London Bridge. I wonder when it moved back from Lake Havasu City in Arizona.

Monument built in the 1670s to commemorate the Great Fire of London 1666.

We picked up dinner at Tesco and packed. Later in the trip, Megan would tell us that she missed that restaurant we ate at a lot in the UK. Ha ha! Tesco is more like a convenience store like 7-11 or Circle K. It does have good food though.