It's my Birthday -- Monday June 3, 2013

Being in England and having it be my 64th birthday, I can't help but hum the Beatles song "When I'm 64" all day long!  Very fun!

Our host, Jane has decided that today is her day of rest from London! She has been a great tour guide but we're looking to do a few 'touristy things' today, so she is going to set us free to do it on our own. And the weather cannot be better!  Temps are in the 60's and the sky is bright blue with shining sun!

Big Bus

Our goal today is to take a Bus tour of the city.  There are a few to choose from.  We decided to go with Big Bus Tours. 
They have city tours in many of the major European cities.  It's a red double decker bus with live commentary (and on some routes, headphone commentary) and includes free River Boat trips down the Thames and walking themed tours if you'd like.  Lots of options.

It was a good choice.  We got into the city very easily and found the Big Bus tour quickly and got on board.  As we were getting on, they offered us a 'deal' for a second day for only six pounds.  Knowing that we probably can't see everything in one day, we took it....so we'll be back again tomorrow! You can get on and off these buses anywhere you choose along the way.  Great way to see a city! 

I had modest goals for my Birthday:  I wanted to ride a double decker bus, ride The London Eye, and see Westminster Abbey.  And of course eat well!

The London Eye

The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames in London, England. The entire structure is 135 metres (443 ft) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft). It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually.^[5] When erected in 1999 it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, until surpassed first by the 160 m (520 ft) Star of Nanchang in 2006 and then the 165 m (541 ft) Singapore Flyer in 2008. Supported by an A-frame on one side only, unlike the taller Nanchang and Singapore wheels, the Eye is described by its operators as "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel".^[6] It offered the highest public viewing point in the city^{[citation needed]} until it was superseded by the 245-metre (804 ft)^[7] observation deck on the 72nd floor of The Shard, which opened to the public on 1 February 2013.

It didn't disappoint!  Although there were long lines to get tickets and to get on the Eye, it really moved along quickly.  The wheel's 32 sealed and air-conditioned oval shaped passenger capsules, designed^[15] and supplied^[16] by Poma, are attached to the external circumference of the wheel and rotated by electric motors. Each of the 10-tonne (11-short-ton)^[17] capsules represents one of the London Boroughs,^[18] and holds up to 25 people,^[19] who are free to walk around inside the capsule, though seating is provided. The wheel rotates at 26 cm (10 in) per second (about 0.9 km/h or 0.6 mph) so that one revolution takes about 30 minutes. It does not usually stop to take on passengers; the rotation rate is slow enough to allow passengers to walk on and off the moving capsules at ground level.^[17]  And on a clear day like today, you get to have a birds eye view of everything London has to offer!

We got back on the double decker bus to continue the tour and find some lunch.  We found a really nice café called The Cote with an outside seating area.  I had a salad with chicken and avocado and Ed had the Salmon and Haddock fish cakes.  Along with wine of course.  All excellent!

Although my goal was to get to Westminster Abbey today, the Queen's Coronation celebration tomorrow has prevented us from going there due to their preparations. We then continued along our bus tour of London until we went to Green Park to set awhile.  It's amazing how many people actually hang out in these parks!  Lots of green space in a city atmosphere that everyone really appreciates.

Green Park is near the Ritz Hotel so we decided to find dinner near there rather then going elsewhere.  Down a few blocks, we found a side street with a cute restaurant/pub named  The Clarence.  We continued to have a good meal and waddle our way home to Jane's! 

A great ending to a 64th birthday!