Lauren's Visit, Part I

My wonderful sister came to visit me!  She booked her ticket about 10 days before she flew, I checked weather.com and the day she was arriving was already on the weather forecast.  That's a pretty quick turnaround!  It was so amazing to have her here, she gets a three-part blog post!

This was her first full day in London, we're heading out to do some exploring!  This is my tube stop:

We went to the Borough Market for lunch and general exploring - Stephen and I went to this market during our first visit to London last year and it's one of my favorite places in the city.  

It only runs Thursday afternoons through Saturday evenings, and it's always bustling!  

There are giant vats of different kinds of curry all of which you can sample...

Stephen (with the beginnings of his Movember mustache) and Lauren eating Thai chicken curry:

Fresh fowl!

After that we crossed the river and went to the Tower of London - below is the White Tower which give the whole complex its name (which is actually a collection of towers, buildings and walls):

Lauren is standing above the bird cages where the famous ravens live - there is an old superstition that if the tower ravens are lost or fly away, the crown of Britain will fall.  They keep them from flying off by clipping one of their wings, but don't feel too badly for them as they lead pretty nice lives!  The average life span of a Tower raven is 40 years.  

The Tower Bridge over the Thames:

I am afraid of monkeys.  Not all monkeys, the real ones in the zoos don't bother me, it's the fictitious representations that usually freak me out.  I had a bad nightmare about one when I was a young kid and it has never left me!  These wire monkeys were on the walls of the tower.  Why??? Why would someone make them and put them on the walls??  Creepy!

This dragon is more my speed.

After we left the Tower we went to the London Eye, which is great to ride at night because you can see the city all lit up.

A bride and groom were having their wedding photos taken underneath the Eye:

Looking across the river at Westminster:

In the Eye going up!

The view from the top:

I absolutely love this picture of Lauren, doesn't she look beautiful??

Back at home at the end of our day.  Grady loves his aunt Lauren!

That night we looked and found great tickets on the Eurostar to Paris, so we book 3 and a hotel room and were off to Paris the next morning!  That's all coming in Part II!