Day 1 June 23rd- Flight from Atlanta to London was long and tiring! Very little sleep, we made the mistake of taking an afternoon flight (5:15 pm) and it was hard to sleep at 7:00 p.m., so the long and short of this is, we had very little SLEEP, 3 to 4 hours tops!

Day 2 June 24th London- Arrived at Gatwick Airport 15 minutes ahead of scheduled time, but unfortunately we had to wait on board the plane for 20 minutes because there was no parking space for our plane (Don't you just love it when that happens!) Anyway, after going through customs we made our way to our train the "Gatwick Express". The Gatwick Express goes from Gatwick Airport to Victoria Station non-stop in 30 minutes. From there it was a 2 minute walk to our hotel Park Plaza Victoria, a very convenient location! We stayed at the Park Plaza Victoria, a 4 star hotel for $251.20 GBP or $376.00 USD for 2 nights. SPACIOUS, & modern especially for an European hotel.

Day 3 June 25th London-We bought our tickets on-line for the "BIG BUS TOUR" (a double decker bus) before our trip $52.00 GBP or $80.00 USD for two of us, so we were ready for a FULL day of exploring! The first thing on our itinerary was the "BIG BUS WALKING TOUR" from Trafalgar Square to see the changing of the guard at 10:00 am at Buckingham Palace. Our tour guide was a real hoot, he was full of great local info (especially on the Queen's family), and marched us like a drill sergeant. We proceeded to Buckingham Palace where we were to watch this major event, but we didn't realize that we were supposed to be marching alongside the guards as they proceeded outside the palace gates (on the sidewalk of course)! Our tour guide was 1/4 mile away from us by the time we realized he was gone! We quickly ran to catch our group, whew! Next, was the riverboat cruise on the River Thames; this also was included in the price of the "Big Bus Tour" tickets. After a 30 minute ride we got off with our friends Mike and Mary Ann who we met on Cruise Critics. We had lunch at a very nice place, the Grange Hotel directly across the street from where the river boat tour ends (the Tower Bridge). The Grange restaurant has outside patio garden seating with an ancient Roman wall as its back drop! Great food with ambiance plus, I would highly recommend it! After lunch, we were back on the BIG BUS TOUR to make sure we hadn't missed any attractions in London! Read more