London: day 4

Today was iconic London landmarks day. First stop: Trafalgar Square. [Note, again, the gorgeous weather.]

We started off (after the obligatory, and entertaining, transportation) with a stroll around this wonderful urban space, skipping going inside anywhere, like the National Gallery in the background above...

...or the musically famous St. Martin in the Fields (maybe once it was in the fields?).

But the lions, Admiral Nelson, and all the steps and ramps, provided ample entertainment for our kid-centric morning.

Especially since we had more on our schedule and had to find a place for lunch. We hit upon another fantastic food court, 7 Dials Market in Covent Garden, to fill that need. Which it did, admirably [my choice of Nigerian cuisine, in honor of favorite fake soccer player Sam Obisanya, was particularly tasty].

The kids all found food to their liking, too...

...although one of our party found the whole affair rather exhausting...

Continuing on though the iconic Covent Garden, we happened upon a top-notch string quartet taking advantage of the main court's acoustics, and had to stop for a listen:

Then on to the main attraction of the day:

The grandchildren who've been studying up on their English history were particularly interested in seeing where all those people got beheaded. But the whole grounds are pretty entertaining, as well as some of the exhibits...

note the West Ham gear

And of course the grounds and buildings offer so many photo opps! Thanks to Henry for these well-composed shots:

White Tower through an arch

Crown Jewels tower from inside the White

However, partly since I'd seen it all before, partly because the Beefeaters are just a little too cheesy, partly because it was really hot (probably not more than 80° but it felt hotter), and partly because I was just about running on tourist fumes by this point in the vacation—well, I think I've seen enough of the Tower. But the kids enjoyed it.

Part-rest-day coming up next! And it was much needed. But I'll still have some stuff to show you.