. . .
The bus tour guide explained that, in Victorian times, people designed these lamposts as representations of dolphins. Perhaps not very accurate, but at least slightly less insipid than the things that trail pink and lavendar bubbles on some tacky paintings I've seen! . . .
I like this picture of Trafalgar Square. Note the red phone booths in the foreground.
I took this picture of Tower Bridge (you know, the bridge that's near the Tower of London!) while I was on the "River cruise" that was included with my bus tour. Another bridge, but one I didn't get a good picture of, was the Waterloo bridge. It was built during World War II, and because there were so few men available in the country, 80% of the labor force was women. Cool, hunh? But at the right hand side of this photo, you can make out a reproduction of the Golden Hind, the ship Francis Drake used to sail around the world.
. . . .
. .
This is a picture of another London "institution," the queue. Apparently, it's quite popular to wait in long lines. Apparently, you haven't truly been in London until you've done this. Apparently, I picked one of the longest lines in the city....
And, just so you know you're somewhere other than home, you see the nice "American" restaurants, done in new ways: . .
A picture of Big Ben, taken during a few hours of sunshine. But somehow, this next photo, of a lion, seems more "London-ish" to me. Perhaps because it was sunny for so short a time when I was there....
.
.
.
Despite the overall chilly weather, nothing says "summer" so much as an ice cream truck.... and nothing lets you know you're in a different country so much as a phrase which means something entirely different at home!
.
Here is a picture of the old London wall, with a lifelike statue of the Emperor Trajan in front of it. Okay, so the statue isn't that lifelike, but it is a nice picture.
An interesting thing about London, in addition to the kind provision of signs instructing you to look in the correct direction when you cross the street, is the "Zebra crossing." I'm sure I annoyed many a motorist, because I never trusted that they were actually going to stop for me. But that's what the rule is with a zebra crossing--that motorists will always stop for the pedestrian. So that it's safe to cross. What a very novel idea.... 
.
Here is a picture of the London Eye. There was a longer name associated with it, that told about the corporate sponsorship, but I figure I'm doing well to remember anything beyond "that really, really big ferris wheel I rode on in London." "Really big. Really, really big." For perspective, I believe the building in the foreground is at least 2 stories tall. The London Eye moved really slowly, and never stopped. Well, except for when I was on it, about 1/4 of the way up, when it apparently stopped and moved backwards, so that someone who was freaked out at the height could get off. But otherwise, it just circled, very slowly, and you had to get on and off while it was still moving. For some reason, this was quite a popular ride.
Above is a picture of Parliament, taken when I was in the London Eye. You can make out Big Ben in the center of the picture, and see a long way into the city in the background.
Looking past Parliament, you will be able to see Westminster Abbey. Looking in a different direction (in this next picture coming up, for instance!) you will see the train station, where you'd take the Eurostar to go to Paris, perhaps.
For the curious, this is not the station that is mentioned in the Harry Potter books. That would be King's Cross station, and there is no "Platform 9 3/4" there. At least, not that I saw....
